The key to understanding Martha is to first understand her motivation. She was not, in my opinion, a workaholic who simply wanted to keep herself and those around her occupied with the trappings of busy-ness. She was a deeply committed follower of Jesus who, like any of His other disciples, lost sight for a moment of what mattered (and like Thomas, had her whole public identity formed by a single paragraph).
Start from the top of the story: “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.” (Luke 10:38)
Did you catch that? She received Jesus as a guest in her home. Recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:11-13 as he sent his disciples out to preach to Israel: “And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” Therefore, for Martha to welcome Jesus in was to invite the literal Prince of Peace to stay, if only for a moment, and deposit His rest on her home. Whether she realized it or not, she was already on the right track to correcting her distractions.
Note that the text in Luke says Martha “welcomed” Jesus in. There’s only one other person in Scripture of whom that is said. Take a guess, then read the answer in Luke 19:5-6 — “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received [welcomed] him joyfully.” What follows? Salvation for his house. Martha will receive no less.
Let’s acknowledge an obvious difference between the two. Zacchaeus was a filthy rich tax collector. Zacchaeus more than likely had all the resources he needed to host an important guest at a moment’s notice; if not for his misuse of his position as a tax collector, then certainly for his ability to throw money at whoever to get what he wanted. He would not have been directly responsible for the preparation of the feast set before Jesus.[1] Martha was a presumably single woman who lived with her sibling(s).[2] As the woman of the house, it was on her to make sure the guests were served well.
Don’t miss Martha’s audacity — and yes, I do mean audacity. She welcomed Jesus into her home. This wasn’t just a random carpenter who wandered into town. Even if you discount His divinity, this was the preacher, the healer, the darling of the masses. When He showed up, everyone else did too. She wasn’t just welcoming Him: she was inviting His disciples, presumably any locals who wanted to listen to His teachings, maybe the synagogue leader and his family, and whatever motley crew of sinners, prostitutes, and tax collectors happened to be in Jesus’ sphere at the moment. Ignoring anyone from town, there’s a minimum of thirteen strangers descending on her living room. Add everyone else in, and you’ve probably got on the order of 50-some-odd hungry mouths to feed. Martha, with little to no preparation, is hosting a Thanksgiving feast where the guest of honor just happens to be God Himself.
And that’s where it all falls apart. Continue the story in Luke 10:40 — “But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’” It’s been said and it’s worth repeating: the issue is not in Martha’s serving, but in her distraction. There are other stories in the Gospels where the dinner host fails to even offer Jesus water to wash up. But that will never be said of Martha. No guest walks into her home, sits at her table, and eats her food without being properly attended to, let alone the Messiah. There is no fault found in Martha’s meticulous attention to care, only in her obsession with it.
Given that Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, it isn’t out of reach to assume the same happened to Martha. Which brings us to one thing she missed. Jesus was coming to her house; the unstated but clearly implied command, as it was for Zacchaeus, was to provide dinner for the Master and His entourage. Martha ran to the kitchen and got to work — obeying the command of God, not simply working up a sweat to appear pious. Mary’s choice to sit at Jesus’ feet, then, was practically flouting that divine order. Naturally Jesus would chastise Mary for that, and all He needed was for Martha to point it out. “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha,[3] 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)
See, we have a tendency to assume that once Jesus calls us to something, it’s up to us to put our heads down and get to work. Any obstacles in our way must be the schemes of the enemy and should be summarily cast out for the demons they are. But to do so is to miss Jesus in your home. When Jesus calls you to something, treat that command as your marching orders until you hit an obstacle.[4] Then stop everything, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. Then ask Him: “Does the last thing You told me still hold?” Listen to the answer. If He says yes, He’ll likely give you a new piece of the puzzle you didn’t know you needed. Take it and ask Him how to use it. If the answer is no, that doesn’t necessarily mean you heard Him wrong; it may mean He needed you to obey to get to the point you’re at. Pause and ask for new direction.
The disciples practiced this, albeit rather crudely, in Mark 4:35-41. Jesus had given them a command: let us cross the sea in this boat. And so they did, right until a storm threatened to kill them. They went to Jesus (good!) and accused Him of not caring[5] about their imminent deaths (not so good). Jesus calms the storm, the disciples freak out. Their instinct was to run to their Rabbi the second something threatened to prevent their obedience. That’s an admirable response to emulate[6] — but if you’ve tasted and seen that He is good, feel free to skip the part where they stomp on His character.
If you’ve ever given it all to obey Jesus and nothing is working out, you probably recognize Martha’s emotions in the moment she finally spoke up. Take heart in Jesus’ response. He’s not shaming Martha for the character traits that He formed in her (i.e., the pursuit of excellence and a passion to serve), but He won’t let her continue down a path of self-destruction. He’s not comparing her to Mary to say, “Look at your sister, she gets it. What’s your problem?” He’s saying, “Martha, Martha. There is a good part, and you’re missing it. You got the first step right — you welcomed Me into your house — so sit with Me and find what’s truly good.”
Did Jesus actually need Martha to make enough food to feed everyone who showed up? Or did He just need her to bring Him five loaves and a couple of fish so she could watch a miracle unfold in her dining room?[7]
Jesus doesn’t ask Martha to stop serving; He heals her so that she can, for the first time, truly serve. A week before His death, Jesus is in Bethany for a dinner. You know the story because Mary pours everything she has out on the feet of her Jesus. But if you look closely at the story in John 12:2, you’ll see an act of worship by another woman: “There they made Him a supper; and Martha served.”
Footnotes
[1] This is not a knock on Zacchaeus! Look at the extent of his repentance. Zacchaeus and Martha met Jesus in radically different contexts but by the time He left, their lives were turned upside down. One is not better than the other because he became a generous man or because she was a willing server. The point is the transformation post-Jesus.
[2] I draw this inference from the text which says it was “her house”. You can fill in the reason why she had a house: never married, widowed, inheritance after her parents died, etc. The reason isn’t particularly important but the outcome is; she had the authority — and more importantly, willingness! — to invite Jesus in.
[3] This is completely outside the scope but is just too cool not to point out. There are seven other times in Scripture when God calls a name twice: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Peter, My God, and Paul. Read Martha’s story in the light of that and stand in wonder at the history she was injected into. (https://overviewbible.com/god-calls-twice/)
[4] The obstacle is anything that hinders you from the complete obedience: an Instagram notification that distracts you, a work email that means you have to drop everything and respond, a kid who just won’t do his bed no matter how many times you ask. Fill in the blank yourself.
[5] I didn’t notice the comparison when I drew this example, but look! Martha uses the exact same phrase as the disciples: “Do you not care?” It’s worth noting that Peter later uses the same verb to describe the kindness of God: “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Pet. 5:7) I guess he changed his mind about whether Jesus cared or not!
[6] If you’ve ever heard the wild adventure of my first days at a college, my family practiced this repeated checking. At every roadblock, we turned back to God and asked, “This is what You told us. Is this still what you want?” Only when He said yes did we take the next step — and every step was a miracle in its own right.
[7] Here’s what’s wonderful about a Martha-like heart: Jesus loves when you bring your best. I guarantee you that if Jesus asked her for five loaves at the feeding of the 5,000, Martha would have produced bread that puts French artisanal bakeries to shame. If you love bringing your A-game, don’t stop! Jesus adores the heart that honors Him.