CHOOSING THE GOOD PART

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 7, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 7, 2020 from Luke 10:38-42

Theme: Of all the things that we might do for the Lord, the thing He called ‘the good part’ is to sit in fellowship with Him at His feet.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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This morning, we come to one of the sweetest stories in the Gospel of Luke. Personally, I think it’s one of the sweetest stories in the Bible. Every time I read it, it helps me to put my priorities in order—and it thrills my heart with the love of Jesus for me. It’s a story, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that we would do very well to remind ourselves of every now and then.

It’s the story of our Lord’s dear friends Martha and Mary—and how Mary was commended for sitting at the feet of Jesus. It’s found in Luke 10:38-42;

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

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Whenever I read this story, I think of my days in Bible college—and of the times I got to listen to the lectures of Dr. John Mitchell. He was the founder of the college—and, without question, the greatest Bible teacher I have ever known. He was a man who—I’m convinced—spent a great deal of time sitting at the feet of Jesus.

He used to have a class every week called “Spiritual Life Class”. There really wasn’t much structure to it. He simply shared his heart with the students, and talked with them about what it means to walk with Jesus and to enjoy His love. I’ll never forget what he told us all one morning. He looked out over the hundreds of undergraduate students sitting in the auditorium and told us, “Always remember, young people: Jesus doesn’t want your service. He doesn’t need your service. What He wants most of all is your fellowship. He wants you!” That was wonderful to hear—and to hear it from a man who had spent a great time sitting at the Lord’s feet himself.

And what Dr. Mitchell said to all those students is also true of you and me, dear brother or sister. There are lots of things that we may think that we can do for the Lord Jesus. And there may be lots of things that other people think that we ought to do for the Lord Jesus. But our Savior didn’t die on the cross in order to have a bunch of workers. He doesn’t need a bunch of workers. He made everything that there is—and sustains all that the universe contains—without any of us helping Him one little bit. Instead, what Jesus died on the cross for is to take away our sin, so that He can have deep, personal, loving fellowship with us forever.

Yes; it’s true that He calls us into service. Yes; He does want us to minister to others in His name. But He doesn’t want all of those other things if He doesn’t have our love and our fellowship. As He said in Matthew 11;

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Think of the times when Jesus called His apostles to come away from all of their business to a solitary place and spend time with Him. That’s what He truly desires. Time with us—with us sitting at His feet in loving communion with Him—is the thing that He wants most of all. And what’s more, when we shut our ears for a little while to all the demands of this world, and choose instead to give that time to Him as we should, we also find that it’s what we really wanted and needed all along.

It’s what the Lord Jesus Himself told these two women was ‘that good part’.

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Now; these two women were dear friends of our Lord. They lived in a town called Bethany—which is about two miles from Jerusalem, at the northern base of the Mount of Olives. The Lord Jesus must have spent many happy hours at their home. You might remember that these two women also had a brother. His name was Lazarus. He was the man that Jesus raised from the dead. And the story of that event tells us much about the unique characteristics of these two women.

In John 11, we’re told of how Lazarus became sick and died. Our Lord went to Bethany to raise him from the dead. On the way, though, Martha—the older of the two sisters—ran out to meet Him. She came to Him and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You” (John 11:21-22). Later on, she secretly called Mary and said, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you” (v. 28). You get the sense that Martha was the kind of person that made things happen and told others what they ought to be doing. You can see this even more when later on in the story—when Jesus came to the tomb of her brother Lazarus and commanded that it be opened—she chose to inform Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (v. 39). She was someone who seemed to always be in charge, and who always cared about details, and who always sought to make sure things were just so. Praise God for people like her. Life would be pretty chaotic without them.

But we also see something of what Mary is like. Mary was not someone who was ‘in charge’. She seemed to be quiet and sensitive and perhaps even a little timid. She didn’t come running. She had to be called. And when she heard that Jesus was calling for her, she ran to Him with the same words; “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died”. When Jesus heard those words from Martha, He responded by instructing Martha about Himself and His power and what He would do. But when the Lord heard those same words from Mary, He groaned in His spirit—and it brought Him to tears.

And do you remember how in John 12, after the Lord Jesus raised Lazarus, Martha put on a big dinner to celebrate? I’m sure it was a big feast. Lazarus was there; and I’m suspecting that Martha made his favorite dish. Jesus was there also. And we’re told that during the dinner, “… Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3). Some who were present criticized Mary strongly for this—saying that it was a wasteful act. Maybe some even thought that it was a little bit weird of her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial” (v. 7). He understood perfectly what she was doing; and He loved her for it.

From this, you can see the differences between these two dear women. Martha was an ‘in-control’, orderly, ‘doer’. Mary, however, was quiet and sensitive and reflective. We may find ourselves represented in one or the other. Both types of people are needed—and Jesus loves them both in their own unique ways.

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So then; back to our passage in Luke’s Gospel. In verse 38, we’re told, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.” It was Martha’s house, and it must have been a wonderful place to be. In John’s Gospel, we’re told that the members of this family were Jesus’ friends; and He probably went to their home many times. I suspect that there would have always been the smell of good food cooking. And you could be pretty sure that Martha would never let your plate sit empty for long.

In verse 39, we’re told, “And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” It’s a delightful picture. It might have been that Mary was sitting with the group of disciples who were also listening to our Lord as He taught. But this frustrated Martha. We’re told in verse 40 that Martha was “distracted with much serving”.

The word for “distracted” in the original language means that Martha was “drawn away” by all the things that she was doing. It must be that, as a result, she was not listening to Jesus and was distracted from His teaching. And more; she felt that it was unjust that she was left doing all the work while Mary was sitting there listening. She even approached the Lord—perhaps even interrupting Him as He taught—and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” (Isn’t that just like Martha, by the way? She doesn’t tell Mary to help. Instead, she goes past her and right to the top.)

I don’t feel that I can come down too hard on Martha for this; do you? There have been many times when I have lost my sense of priorities. There have been many times when I have felt that what I was doing for the Lord was more important than what the Lord really wanted from me. There have been many times when I was so distracted by ‘serving the Lord’ that I failed to have fellowship with Him. And I feel too that the Lord Jesus was tender with His dear friend Martha. He wasn’t harsh with her. But He certainly tried to get her attention back onto what was important. In verse 41, He said, “Martha, Martha …” And you know that the Lord is trying to get your attention when He says your name twice! Perhaps in the course of our busy day, there are a few times when—if we listened—we would hear the Lord calling our name.

He said, “Martha, Martha …” to get her attention back to Himself. And what He then said to her is very important to notice. He said, “you are worried and troubled about many things”; and in saying this, He was acknowledging what was happening to her. Internally, she was “worried”; and this speaks of an inner condition in which the care of outward things was disturbing her inward sense of peace. And He also said that, externally, she was “troubled” or “distracted”; and this speaks of a condition in which outward circumstances or demands were taking control of her. I’m afraid I have been both inwardly “worried” and outwardly “troubled” about things many times. And because of it, I have been often “drawn away” from the Lord when I should have been at His feet.

In verse 42, Jesus told her, “But one thing is needed …” And what was that one thing? It was the thing that Mary was doing. All of Martha’s wonderful food preparation and serving was a blessing. But it wasn’t the thing that was most needed. And because of it, she was letting herself be robbed of the joy of that one needful thing—to sit at Jesus’ feet and enjoy sweet communion with Him—to quiet down and listen to His instruction—to bask for a while in His love. He said, “and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” He was protective of it; because it was valuable to Mary … and to Him too.

I don’t find in this story that Jesus commanded Martha to stop serving. But I think that, after this, she probably served with a much calmer and sweeter spirit. When we come to Jesus and let Him heal the “worried” and “troubled” places of our lives through an encounter with Himself, He makes our strengths even stronger and our service even better. Perhaps the next time you find yourself behaving like Martha—distracted and impatient in your service to the Lord, and perhaps even becoming a bit agitated with other people—it would be a good idea to do what Martha did. We should come to Jesus with it all. We should stop and pray; and say, “Lord; forgive me for being distracted from You in the midst of the things I am doing. Make me a little less like Martha, and a little more like Mary. Help me to fellowship with You and listen to You for a while—and then serve.”

I believe that we will serve Him better because of it.

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Now; Mary found that “good part”—that was, to be sitting at the feet of Jesus and enjoying time in His fellowship. Jesus protected that “good part” for her.

Let me ask—when was the last time we turned away from all the worries and distractions of this world, and sat at Jesus’ feet and just enjoyed fellowship with Him for a while? The Lord Jesus Himself desires it. And dear brother or sister … we truly need it!

EA