At the end of Luke 10, the little story of Jesus’ visit to Bethany is a witness against much of evangelical activity. 

Jesus had nowhere to lay his head during those ministry years, but he did have a home away from home in Bethany. 

Just a few miles from Jerusalem, Jesus seemed to have a familiar place to stay with his close friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

On this occasion, Martha was interrupted making dinner for two or three by a knock on the door.  Thirteen tired men had just arrived. 

Jesus had nowhere to lay his head during those ministry years, but he did have a home away from home in Bethany

 Dutifully, she returned to the kitchen to turn a meal for two or three into a meal for fifteen or sixteen people.  I’m sure Martha was pretty adept at performing miracles in her kitchen.  

Still, on this particular day, nothing was working as it should.  The fire gave off smoke but no heat.  The salt had run out.  The flour spilled. The onions had gone past their point of usefulness.  Martha was frustrated.

Looking for Mary, she found her sitting at Jesus’ feet in the main room.  Martha lost it.  In one quick outburst, she rebuked the guest of honour and then inappropriately issued a command at him. 

Everyone would have felt the tension in that room.

But Jesus responded with grace and clarity, “Martha, Martha, you are upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

 

What was Martha’s mistake?  

Everyone knows that Martha got it wrong, but many seem confused by her error.  Was Martha simply wrong for being busy?  Not at all! 

Before you preach against a Martha spirit in your church or ministry, be careful; your ministry would not exist if it weren’t for the hard-working pragmatists who carry so much on their shoulders. 

It is not wrong to be busy with ministry work.  In fact, we need more people to be motivated to join the church’s efforts.

Now, this portrayal of Martha as busy and bitter is common.  Some children’s Bible storybooks paint Martha as sour and driven, with a stern look and her hair tied back in a tight bun. 

Meanwhile, Mary often looks like a young model, lounging with a big smile near Jesus.  This depiction is so unfair.

Martha’s mistake was not being busy.  It was a matter of priority. 

Martha’s mistake was not being busy.  It was a matter of priority

 In the previous passage, Jesus meets a lawyer who wants to know about eternal life.  They discuss “love God, love neighbour” – the Jesus ethic the lawyer had picked up on.  (That episode focused on the lawyer clarifying who his neighbour was.) 

In the following passage, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with this pattern: God first, neighbour second. 

So what about the Martha incident?  Well, she was loving her neighbours – all thirteen of them! 

The problem was not that Martha was loving her neighbour, but she had not first prioritized loving her Lord. 

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and let him minister to her.  Martha busied herself, loving her neighbours.  Such an approach was unsustainable, and the cracks soon started to show.

 

The signs of “doing a Martha”

The signs will soon show when we do what Martha did.  The pressure rises, and the steam starts to whistle.  A little comment from the side gets a sharp response. 

A little setback in our task unleashes the tension that others feel.  It doesn’t take much.  When you or I are doing ministry in our own strength, people will sense it because they will be on the receiving end. 

It could be a little practical task or a big ministry duty.  It doesn’t matter.  When we are running on empty, those around us will start giving us extra space.  They will avoid getting in our way.  They might even start to ask us if we are okay. 

When you or I are doing ministry in our own strength, people will sense it because they will be on the receiving end

 Doing a Martha ongoingly will go beyond sharp responses to emotional and spiritual burnout.  But praise God that the signs will tend to show much earlier. 

The question is, are you willing to hear when others raise concerns with you?  It is easy to dismiss the little tensions. 

After all, you have thirteen extra people to feed.  And nobody else is doing it!

When you bring tension to a room, the atmosphere becomes thicker.  When you find yourself “justifiably” rebuking and commanding the guest of honour, it is time to think of Mary and Martha. 

Specifically, it is time to think of Jesus’ gracious response to Martha.

 

The evangelical excuse does not cut it 

I am sure Martha would have been an excellent evangelical, and she would have probably said what most of us would say if challenged about this.  “Yes, I know I need to spend time with God, but you need to understand that I am loving God by loving my neighbour!”  

It sounds good, but it does not change the point of the story.  We all need to get these things in order. 

We cannot self-sustain any ministry!

 Suppose we allow God to minister to us first by sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him.  In that case, we will be like a bucket filled from above, filled to the brim, and running over to others. That makes for sustainable ministry!

Suppose we do not allow God to minister to us first but insist on being busy.  In that case, we will love our neighbours from an emptying bucket.  We will run out of fuel.  We will start to burn those around us with our tension releases. 

And ultimately, we will grind to a halt.  We cannot self-sustain any ministry!

 

Conclusion

It is so simple, but we must learn this lesson!  Love God first by listening to him.  Spend time in his word.  Spend time sitting at his feet.

Let the Lord minister to you before you head out for the day to minister to others.  Love God, then love your neighbour. 

Let the Lord minister to you before you head out for the day to minister to others

 Get that out of order, and everyone around you will spot it before you do. 

What we need today, as always, is a whole army of pragmatic Marthas, ready to serve and prepared to love their neighbour because they have first been an army of devoted Marys.  Love God, then love your neighbour.

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.