The Good Portion

Robert Wurtz II

As Jesus traveled, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Martha had a sister named Mary, who chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to his teachings. Meanwhile, Martha was busy with much serving, feeling overwhelmed. 

Frustrated, she approached Jesus and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.” Jesus responded gently, addressing her by name, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary: Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

The Bible is filled with stories about people and their personalities, starting with Adam and including many figures from the Old and New Testaments. There are lessons to be learned from the events in their lives, whether good or bad. 

The Scripture divides between soul and spirit, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. Reading the Bible is like looking into a mirror. Studying the lives of biblical figures can be insightful, helping us to see and understand ourselves and others. 

Contrasting Mindsets

In the Gospel of Luke, we encounter the story of two sisters, Martha and Mary, whose contrasting priorities and mindsets serve as a profound lesson about our spiritual lives. Mary was allowed by Jesus to sit at His feet, just as a male disciple would, which was a great blessing. Women didn’t usually do that in the first century. Mary chose to take advantage of this moment. 

Martha was cumbered about or distracted with “serving.” This is a Greek word that means preoccupied with cares or business. She invited Jesus to her house and saw serving through domestic tasks as a means by which she could bless Jesus. She was serving, but it wasn’t the “service” Jesus wanted. She was performing her own preferences and desires rather than sitting at his feet and waiting to hear what he wanted her to do. The world refers to this as “misaligned service.” Worse is “performative service,” where people appear to be serving others, but in reality, they are serving their own agenda. 

Misaligned Service 

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, an audible voice from Heaven (bat kol) spoke and said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear him!” Unless a person knows their Master’s will, they can’t serve them effectively. Listening is the first step. Martha wasn’t listening; she was doing what she viewed as necessary, and it was wildly off from what Jesus expected. 

When our priorities are wrong and our focus is off, we can believe we’re doing the right thing, and to the uttermost, while in fact we couldn’t be more wrong. We try to make it look virtuous when we miss God’s will. It’s not. It’s a sin. 

Furthermore, we learn from observing Martha that the enemy can fill a person’s mind with tasks that have no value to God. We need to ask ourselves, is this what God wants, or is this what I want? God’s will accomplishes his eternal agenda, not some temporal thing. 

We should ask ourselves, “What does our service accomplish in light of eternity?” Some things seem important at the time, but by comparison, they are vain pursuits. Martha learned this fact. When we get distracted from what truly matters (our relationship with Christ and fulfilling His will), we end up elevating earthly concerns until they contradict our own profession that saving souls is the most important thing we do. 

A Divine Encounter

Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary. It was a priceless encounter of a lifetime, perhaps not to be repeated. Martha, busy with preparations and hospitality, allowed herself to get overwhelmed with the many tasks at hand. Meanwhile, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, like one of his disciples, listening to His word. Martha valued and focused on domestic tasks, which are temporal in nature and plentiful in supply. 

Martha comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40, ESV). 

Not content to ignore Jesus herself, now she wants Mary to join in. One of the hardest things for people to do is to zoom out and think about what they’re doing. What is the impact of what I’m doing? What is more important? Pride gets in the way, personal ambition rears its head, old grudges manifest, and other things that steal, kill, and destroy. 

Martha’s mind was in a completely different place than it should’ve been at that moment. She obviously believed she was doing the right thing. But what she didn’t see was that her mind was focused entirely on worldly matters. 

Troubled About Many Things

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things (Luke 10:41 ESV).

Martha was earthbound and the opposite of heavenly-minded (Colossians 3:2). She had two more problems to add to the distraction. She was anxious and troubled. What was she anxious and troubled about? Anxious is similar to our word worry. Jesus gave the parable of the seed and the soil where the seed fell among thorns, which are the riches and cares of this life. The word was choked in Martha’s life. 

When the widows were neglected and needed serving in Acts 6, the Apostles did not allow that distraction to lure them from the word and prayer. We’re not told what Martha was anxious and troubled about other than the household duties. But Jesus said she was troubled about MANY things. I wonder how well she got along with her sister? Just asking. After all, she tried to get her own sister in trouble with Jesus. That’s more like something the accuser would do. We have to be careful. 

The Voice of the Devil

The enemy will withstand a person when they are giving him their undivided attention. He will do anything he can to break that up because he knows that when change happens. Martha wasn’t listening, and now she’s distracting her sister. She was actually being the agent of Satan and didn’t realize it. 

I recall once a group of young men would occasionally come to the church and seek the Lord after their secular workday. A visiting minister who saw what was going on commented, “If you want to impress me, come by here and mow the grass for your Pastor.” 

Never be guilty of such a comment. The young men were not trying to impress men, but to seek God. I’m grateful that those men didn’t take this “Martha-like” advice to heart and leave off prayer and the word to mow grass. It could’ve destroyed their faith. It sounded spiritual and ethical, but it was the devil talking through the man, and he didn’t realize it. How rare it is for young men to spend hours seeking God in a prayer meeting? You’ll find 1000 lawn workers before you discover one such prayer warrior. 

An Unexpected Reaction

Martha probably didn’t expect Jesus to respond the way he did. Jesus answered her demand in a gently critical way, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42, ESV). 

People often prioritize hard labor, work, practices, policies, protocols, or expectations over what truly matters. In other words, what they are good at or enjoy doing. Martha was probably an excellent domestic woman who was taught from a child how important it is to cook, clean, and take care of visitors. Hospitality is a great Christian virtue, but it can be deadly in the wrong context. 

Martha’s Anger

People get angry about things and expend an enormous amount of energy on things that really only matter to them. It certainly didn’t matter to Jesus, and it probably didn’t matter to most of the others there. There would be plenty of time to clean up and do all the chores after he was gone. 

The sad thing is that Martha’s emphasis and attitude were actually an affront to both her relationship with Christ and her sister. She was walking in violation of both of the great Commandments at the same time, but believing she was doing Jesus a service. Mary chose to spend time with Jesus, and Martha chose to spend time with the pots and pans. 

The Good Portion

Jesus said that one thing is necessary. The word is translated “needful” in the KJV. Mary needed that time with the Lord. She had a critical spiritual need that was being met in that moment. Mary needed to hear what Jesus had to say more than Jesus needed his glass filled or his dishes taken away after dinner. 

Mary chose the good part. She decided to be a partaker of Christ in that moment. We don’t know what happened to Martha. Knockaert suggests that there is a deliberate contrast here between Martha, who tells Jesus what he must say, and Mary, who listens to what Jesus wishes to say. (WBCNT) That is the good portion that we all need.