MARTHA: PART 1 (LUKE 10:38-42)

This well-known passage introduces us to Martha and her sister Mary, friends of Jesus. They have invited Jesus over for a meal, and Martha becomes upset because her (probably younger) sister is sitting listening to Jesus talk rather than helping her with the preparations. Taking this story one verse at a time, there is not much to say concerning v. 38 since it basically just sets the scene.

Luke 10:39

The problems in interpretation really begin with this verse in which Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet. Commentators will point out that “sitting at a teacher's feet” was a sign of one being willing to be a disciple, which “is an act of submission and teachability (Lk 8:35; 10:39).” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery) And at least in later rabbinical teaching, only men were allowed that privilege.

The one problem area is caused by the very common Greek word kai, which is usually translated as “and” but can also have other meanings such as also, even, indeed, moreover, likewise, in the same manner, very, yea, yet, or both. KJV translates it “also” in this verse; NASB renders it as “moreover;” and most other translations leave out the word altogether. Geldenhuys notes two possible meanings in v. 39: (1) It merely adds intensity and emphasis to the action (Zahn) or (2) Martha keeps on fixing the food, but Mary in addition to helping, also listens to Jesus (Morgan). I would add a third less likely possibility not mentioned by any of my sources: Mary sits at Jesus' feet in addition to Martha doing so.

Option #1 may call attention to the unusual nature of Mary's action; option #2 removes some of the criticism people have to the fact that Mary is seemingly making Martha do all the work; and option #3 gives us the picture of Martha popping up and down between Jesus and the kitchen paying more attention to whether the food is properly cooking than to what Jesus is saying. Geldenhuys appears to favor this last possibility when he says, “Martha had tried to listen but found she could not listen and think about preparations for the meal at the same time.”

Luke 10:40

This verse begins with a description of what Martha was doing. She was “distracted by her many tasks.” It is obvious that she is not just planning on serving Jesus peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, but instead has planned an elaborate meal. That may have been a noble goal, but it certainly distracted her from any more meaningful fellowship with the Lord.

Sometimes when we have had our whole family over for an occasion, we simply order pizzas rather than prepare a home-cooked meal so that both my wife and I can enjoy our time with the others instead of having to be distracted with kitchen duties.

The last part of the verse is where Martha complains directly to Jesus and practically demands that he tell Mary to stop listening and start helping. Geldenhuys was the only commentator I consulted who drew attention to more than one way Martha goes wrong at this point in the story. He says, “What we do learn here is that in our life's active service we must not be anxious and agitated, sulky and dissatisfied with our fellow-Christian or with our Master...” More specifically, “It is her wrong attitude as revealed in her condemnation of Mary and her dissatisfaction with Himself that had to be set right and rebuked.”

Luke 10:41

Jesus begins his reply to Martha by repeating her name twice. We sometimes use the same technique today to indicate that we may be a little concerned or disturbed with someone, but only mildly so. Thus, scholars label his rebuke as “gently chiding,” “gently rebuking,” or “gentle but firm.” Commentators such as Spencer also ask us to keep in mind that Jesus was not at all criticizing her action, but only her anxiety. Smalley adds that Jesus' words address Martha's impatience with her sister, and her excessive concern for the practical details of the meal.” And DBI puts it this way: “Jesus rebuked the domestically preoccupied Martha for being 'anxious and troubled about many things.'”

Luke 10:42

The interpretive problems begin to multiply at this point. Despite that fact, Marshall states, “The text is uncertain, but the meaning is clear,” and Soards says, “This enigmatic account affirms the importance of listening to Jesus...”

As to trying to pin down the original wording of the text, Marshall counts six variant readings of vv. 41-42 among the ancient manuscripts, one family of which was apparently “caused by scribes applying drastic surgery to deal with the existing confusion,” a process which Metzger labels “a deliberate excision of an incomprehensible passage.” I will not bore you with all the possible wordings of this verse since some of them are rather small variations that do not appreciatively affect the overall meaning. But the first confusion is over the underlined phrase translated in NRSV as, “There is only need of one thing. The alternative reading found in other manuscripts is “few things.” Here are a few comments related to these two possibilities:

    Craddock asks, “Is Jesus saying that Martha is preparing too many dishes when only one or a few would have sufficed?” If so, “The word of God and not food is the one thing needful, for we do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes form the mouth of the Lord.”

    “This passage is somewhat subtle, since Jesus' answer to Martha's fretting request seems at first to reassure her, telling her that she need prepare only one dish. But when his pronouncement is complete, one realizes the the 'one thing' means more than 'one dish' and has taken on another nuance.” (Fitzmyer)

    Smalley: “'Few' refers presumably to material provision, 'one' to spiritual apprehension.”

    Geldenhuys expresses his thoughts on this subject in the following way, “From the context it is clear that it is not 'one course' or 'one kind of food' that is meant (as several modern critics take it), for it appears from the next phrase that 'the one thing' is the spiritual exercise of communion with Jesus.”

So let us take Geldenhuys' cue and look at the related issue with the next phrase in the verse: “Mary has chosen the better part.” The problem here is not in determining the original Greek text, but in properly interpreting it. The literal reading is “Mary has chosen the good part (or portion).” But as Fitzmyer points out, “The positive degree of the adjective ['good'] is often used in Hellenistic Greek for either the superlative ['best'] or comparative ['better'], both of which were on the wane.”

These two ways of understanding the problem adjective have given rise to two basic ways to look at the whole passage. Jesus is either stating that there is only one acceptable way of serving Him, by listening to and heeding His word. Alternatively, He may not discounting active service at all, but just placing it on a somewhat lower plane than spiritual contemplation of the Word of God. Before attempting to wrap up the findings, I will randomly cite the words of a few scholars below that lean toward one or the other of these two options.

    Marshall: “The story is not meant to show the value of the contemplative life compared with the life of action, but to teach that service to Jesus must not be misdirected to such an extent that person has no time to learn from Him.”

    DBI: At the home of Martha and Mary, Christ teaches that Mary had 'chosen what is better' in learning from him, as opposed to Martha, who was consumed with the social obligation of feeding her guest.”

    J.A. Martin: “The focus of this passage is not that people should be unconcerned with household chores, but that the proper attitude toward Jesus is to listen to Him and obey His words...The phrase, 'only one thing is needed,' refers to listening to His words, which Mary had chosen to do. The same theme is seen in 8:1-21.”

    Spencer: “Contrary to some popular interpretation, Jesus does not elevate Mary's quiet contemplation over Martha's active service (diakonia). Overall, the brief story presents laboring for and listening to Jesus as complementary responses of discipleship.”

So which point of view is the most correct here? Is Jesus contrasting the two ways of Christian service and elevating one above the other, or are both equally necessary? The similar opinions on this subject below appear to me to best summarize the overall meaning of the passage, and they all rely on considering the proper context, especially the directly preceding passage, for these few verses:

    “On the heels of the good Samaritan episode, this one emphasizes the listening to the word of Jesus, something that goes beyond love of one's neighbor.” (Fitzmyer)

    “After the parable which elucidates the meaning of the second [great] commandment comes a story which may be regarded as elucidating the first commandment.” (Marshall)

    “The meal that Mary and Martha host draws attention to the need for service (Lk 10:29-37), but more importantly to listen to Jesus (Lk 10:38-42).” (Twelftree)

    “The parable of the Good Samaritan emphasizes the need for practical application of God's word; the little scene in Martha's house shows that meditation has its place as well.” (Porter)

    “If we were to ask Jesus which example applies to us, the Samaritan or Mary, his answer would probably be Yes.” (Craddock)

The technique of placing side by side two stories that seem to point in opposite directions is quite common to Luke's style, especially seen in the Book of Acts.

The real meaning of this lesson was pointed out to me decades ago during the waning years of the Ecumenical Movement when our church was paired up with a more liberal congregation from another denomination for some sort of joint exercise in writing a combined position paper. During the discussion, a young man from that other church began reciting all the service projects he had been doing lately such as delivering meals to shut-ins, staffing a soup kitchen, etc. I know that those representatives from our church, myself included, were rather shamed by our own lack of involvement in actively helping others.

But then, rather sadly this man floored us by admitting that he had no idea why he was doing all this and what in the world it had to do with being a Christian. It became obvious that the pastor of his church treated his congregation as if it were just another branch of the Kiwanis in which a group of loving people got together out of their own good will to serve those in need. But there was absolutely no connection with any teachings from the Old or New Testament to put those actions into a theological or eternal perspective. This man was an extreme example of a Martha.

On the other hand, I knew that those of us from our own church could go on for hours citing from memory verses from the Bible relating to service toward others, even though few of us ever took the time to follow through with action on our own. We were extreme examples of what a Mary would be if she always let her sister to the hard work for her. We all need a little, or a lot, of both Martha and Mary in us.