“There is Need of Only One Thing”

Luke 10:38-42

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." 41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
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I’ve been thinking about this passage for a little while now, trying to figure out what that “one thing” is that Jesus says is the only thing that’s necessary. After all when Jesus Christ says, “there is need of only one thing,” it’s really important to know what He believes that is!

I’ve toyed with several ideas, and finally drawn a conclusion. Here’s what I think.

Let’s start by looking at the verbs that are used to describe Mary’s behavior in this passage.

Sit

Listen

Choose

What is significant is that for her it all centers on Jesus Christ.

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. She listened to what Jesus was saying. She chose to do this, over anything else that might have been important in that time and place.

“There is need of only one thing,” the Lord says to Martha, who was probably doing a lot of good things by trying to get a meal ready. That one thing, I believe, is to be His disciple. Not a disciple of anything or anyone. But a disciple of Jesus Christ. It means He becomes our priority. It means we will not be distracted by anyone or anything when He speaks. A disciple in those days sat at the feet of a teacher. One chooses to be a disciple. It is never imposed.

Mary had figured out that this Jesus was worth all her attention. She had figured out that He needed to be her priority. Can you picture her? Sitting at Jesus’ feet, looking up at Jesus’ face? Her attention, therefore was focused entirely on Him: His words; His face. Mary was silent, preferring to listen to what Jesus was saying than to express her own opinions. I imagine her sitting on the floor, looking up with eyes full of adoration, maybe fighting back some tears. “He’s talking to me!” she was probably thinking. I picture her mesmerized by the Lord and His words.
She got it right, Jesus says.

And, yet, who can blame poor Martha? I wouldn’t. Read the text, and you’ll see that Jesus didn’t. She was trying, after all, to be a good host. And that’s a good thing. She’d welcomed Jesus into her home, and probably had a big “to-do” list. What woman who has guests for dinner does not sympathize with that? She was probably going about her tasks for Jesus’ supper. You’d want everything to be perfect for Him! And, quite understandably, she was peeved that her sister was just sitting around.

But, what Martha didn’t grasp was that Mary wasn’t “just” sitting around. She was sitting at Jesus’ feet, positioning herself as His disciple, focusing on Him alone, quietly listening to what He said. She was not distracted. She had her priorities right.

If Jesus’ had said to Mary, “Mary, go help your sister. It’s the right thing to do at this time,” I have a feeling Mary would have (even as she kept glancing at Jesus, keenly aware of His presence). But, Jesus didn’t tell her that. Not even when a stressed-out Martha asked Him to.

Why?

First Jesus. Then all else.

To be Christian is to be a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. We rearrange our priorities so that listening to Him becomes what we do first. And determines what we do next.

What Martha was doing wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t selfish. It wasn’t sin. In fact, Jesus’ Himself said Mary chose “the better part,” implying that Martha’s choice was good. It does raise the question in our own lives, doesn’t it? How often do good things, perfectly reasonable things keep us from focusing on Jesus Christ? Keep us from putting Him at the top of our list of priorities? Keep us from listening intently to what He’s saying?

If we’re going about other tasks while He speaks, then we are probably too distracted to listen to Him. If we’re not listening to Him, we can’t know what He wants of us.

I wonder what the Lord Jesus was saying to Mary. Was He telling her about His day? Was He telling Her about the Kingdom of God? Was He retelling the parable of the Good Samaritan that He’d just told another audience? Was He opening her eyes to what it would cost her to be His disciple? Was He telling her what it would cost Him to be her worthy Lord? Was He telling her how much He loved her and her whole family?

I don’t know. I only know that Mary got it right by choosing to make the Lord her priority.

Scripture does tell us what Jesus said to Martha. Jesus didn’t condemn Martha. I love that in this text I can almost hear the kindness and understanding in His voice. He was not offended by her question and her apparently imperious tone. (Thank the Lord for His patience with us!) Jesus did care about Martha, but He did not agree with her priorities. Martha may well have been doing things for Jesus. But even the things we do for Jesus aren’t as important as Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus defended Mary. He said that what she had chosen will not be taken away from her…surely, that time with Jesus -- every word, every expression – would have been cherished and forever emblazoned in her heart, mind and soul, even if she never saw Him again. I can't imagine that she would ever have regreted not getting on with her "to-do" list!

My study Bible points out that in another place Jesus defines discipleship in terms of service (in Luke 22). Indeed, just prior to this scene, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, illustrating that love acts.

But, here’s the truth: It all begins with Jesus Christ. Whatever else we do or don’t do, we first have to know Him. I mean, really know Him. That means spending time listening to Him intently.

I envy Mary’s one-on-one session with Jesus Christ. But, then I realize it’s available to me.

And you.

He is no longer with us physically, but if you think He’s absent, you’re dead wrong. He’s sent us His Holy Spirit, and so is now with us everywhere we go, night and day. He is not limited, as He was during His earthly ministry, to a particular time and place. And He still speaks to us just as surely as He spoke to Mary.

He comes to us (as He did to the sisters’ home), and then we get to choose our response. It’s not enough to welcome Him in, and then go about our regular tasks, while He sits on the couch and waits for us to pay Him some attention.

This text tells me that Jesus wants us at His feet, listening – that is, He wants us to choose to be His devoted disciple. He wants us to make Him our priority. He wants us to position ourselves reverentially, so that we can both see Him and listen to Him.

Reverentially, I say, because let’s be clear that this is no ordinary teacher. Mary seems to have caught a glimpse of this, but we know the rest of the story. This is the Son of God who is Lord of lords and King of kings, to whom God has given the name above every name, and before whom every knee will bow down (Philippians 2:10), and to whom all authority in heaven and on earth is given (Matthew 28:18).

And one more thing: Jesus loves us, as that old hymn says.

It’s true.

And let’s be clear that His is no ordinary love. It is the love of God Himself – self-giving, redeeming and everlasting.

Will we respond by choosing to be His disciple?

May it be so. Amen.