Jesus Visits Mary and Martha in Bethany

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Monday August 19, 2024}

Luke 10:38-42

Father, change my heart so that nothing is as important to me as my personal relationship with Jesus. Please make everything else in my life pale in comparison to Him. I want Jesus to consume my thoughts 24/7. I want to live to serve Him and long to please Him. Father, mesmerize me with Jesus so that my thoughts and feelings are completely consumed by honoring and glorifying Him. Amen.
In this passage we read that Jesus met two women named Mary and Martha. John 11:1 tells us that the women lived in the village of Bethany and that they were related to Lazarus. Bethany was a southeastern suburb of Jerusalem that was less than an hour away from the city by foot. Jesus entered Bethany and was welcomed by Martha into the home she shared with her sister Mary.
How did these two women make a connection with Jesus? While the text doesn’t answer that question, we can speculate.

1. The women had made a connection with Jesus during one of His previous visits to Jerusalem, perhaps when they witnessed a healing or listened to Him teach.
2. The women knew somebody in Jesus’ entourage who introduced Jesus to the women. Perhaps this anonymous individual had suggested the women’s home as a place for Jesus to stay.
3. The women walked up and introduced themselves to Jesus, expressing their faith in Him.
4. Jesus ministered to these women in a manner not recorded in the gospels. In their appreciation for His performing a miracle, they invited Jesus to stay in their home.
5. Jesus knocked on the women’s front door, seeking a place to stay, while at the same time longing to bring the gospel into their home.

We do know that, despite the eagerness of modern-day revisionist secularists, many in charge of Hollywood movie studios, Jesus was not seeking some sort of romantic interlude with either of the women .

1. Jesus had one goal and one goal only in life – to honor and glorify You, Father. He did not live to satisfy His fleshly desires.
2. Jesus was not longing for emotional intimacy with a woman when He had a perfect connection with You, Father.
3. What could Jesus offer a woman? He was about to die a miserable death on the cross.
4. All that Jesus had preached about the Kingdom of Heaven would have been rendered null and void if He had decided the satisfaction of His temporal desires was more important.

The text tells us that while Jesus was in their home, Martha was busy preparing and serving the food while Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to His every word. In this text we have clearly presented the collision of two dominant world views:

1. Worldly Martha - The details of today are more important than our eternal destiny. The trivial and insignificant are so important that the work of the Kingdom of God should take a backseat. “I will consider serving Christ after I finish grocery shopping, landscaping, going on family vacation, earn my college degree, get promoted, buy a new car, lose weight, or remodel the home.”
2. Godly Mary - Our eternal destiny is more important than the details of today. “There is nothing more important than my relationship with Jesus. I’ll spend all day with Him, reading His Word and coming before Him in prayer. The house might get messy due to my lack of attention to chores but I’m going to share the gospel with my neighbors and build the Kingdom of God.”

Martha was furious with her sister Mary for not helping out in the kitchen. Showing how tone deaf Martha was, she complained to Jesus, essentially stating that Mary wasn’t worldly enough to help her. She actually expected Jesus to consider a meal more important than the eternal destiny of those in the home.
Jesus lovingly corrected her.
“Martha, do you not see how anxious you have become, worrying about all the things that don’t matter in life? Let go of your pursuit to be the perfect hostess or to make the best meal and just enjoy my presence in your home. Mary understands that there is nothing more important than having a personal relationship with Me.” Amen