What have we learned from Jesus’ conversations with Martha and Mary?

1.  Stop, Drop and Listen.  Our first glimpse of Mary’s relationship with Jesus was found in Luke chapter 10 verses 38-42.  Jesus said this about Mary, “she hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (verse 42).  Mary chose to stop what she was doing, drop to Jesus’ feet and listen to him.  Verse 39 says, “she sat at Jesus’ feet and heard (understood) his word” .  She resolved to do this, even at the scolding of her sister, Martha.

2.  Follow Mary, she’s on the move.  Glimpse #2 is found in Luke chapter 11 verses 1-45.  We learned that the purpose of this passage of scripture is “that God might be glorified” (verse 4) and that those in attendance would “believe” (verse 15).  We also saw Mary, again, at Jesus’ feet in verse 32.  She fell at his feet, crying out in mercy and exclaiming that, “if Jesus had been there, her brother had not died” .  I believe, that we can also see into “the attitude of Mary’s heart” in the way that the ‘Jews, who were mourning with her, “followed her as she ran to Jesus” (verse 31), and in the way that Jesus was “heart touched” (verses 33 & 34) by her weeping (and the weeping of the ’Jews who followed her).  BELIEVE, WITH A FAITH FILLED ATTITUDE OF THE HEART!  In verse 45, we see that “many of the ‘Jews, which came to Mary, saw the things which Jesus did, and believed” .

3.  In glimpse #3, we see Mary’s Extravagant Devotion-Serving From Her Heart (John 12:1-8).  I believe, that the fact that Mary was willing to “Stop, Drop and Listen”, the lessons she was learning from the Lord, and the attitude of her heart, gave her divine revelation.  Jesus said, “Mary kept this valuable ointment for the day of my burial” (verses 7-8).  Only one who had spent time with the Master, listened and heard (understood) his word, could have done what she did.  She was serving Jesus, again at his feet, giving to him what was needed (there was purpose in her serving).

If we learn nothing else, from this woman named Mary from Bethany, we should learn that to BE Disciples of Christ, we need to become available to Him.  We need to:

1.  STOP ~ Purposely find the time to spend with Jesus

2. DROP ~ Place ourselves in a position to hear Jesus

3. LISTEN ~  To hear and understand Jesus 

As Disciples, we will do these things so that God will be glorified, so that we will gain divine revelation, and so that we will serve Jesus Christ.  We will serve Him according to His needs and serve our fellow man according to his/her needs.  We do this by BEcoming like Jesus.  We BEcome like Jesus, by spending time with Him, spending time in His Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“The Disciple” Points of Interest

• Become available to Christ
• Become a constant attendant to Christ
•  Look at the ‘Big Picture’, to gain total understanding
• Choose that ‘good’ part
• Jesus is your friend, and His love for you is compassionate
• Follow Mary, she’s on the move
• The heart of the matter
• Stop! Drop! Listen! Believe! Serve!

THE DISCIPLE

“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher”  Luke 6:40  AMEN!

Today, we will take our journey through John 12, verses 1-8.  This is the third account of Mary of Bethany “at Jesus’ feet”.  Here is how I hope the conversation went between Mary and Martha, before Jesus arrived for supper that  day.  I hope that Martha’s heart had been radically changed by the two previous conversations, we have studied.  I hope that she “believed” and “understood” what Jesus had been trying to teach her.

As Mary and Martha prepared supper, before Jesus had come to their house, perhaps Mary said to Martha…”Martha, I have something to ask of you?  When Jesus comes to sit at our table I want you to understand that there is “a thing I must do”.  I will leave you to serve, by yourself, for a little while.  I ask that you grant me this?”  I hope that Martha said, “Yes Mary, I bless you in “this thing you must do.”

In John 12:3, we see that Mary uses a very costly ointment to anoint Jesus’ feet.  Have you ever smelled this ointment (oil)?  It is called ‘spikenard.  It has an extremely pleasant, heavenly aroma and could have cost as much as a whole years wages.  “The root word for ‘spikenard (sometimes referred to as ‘nard) in the Greek means “genuine” or “pure”.   This oil is known as “The Fragrance of the Bride”.

As you study today’s lesson, picture in your mind Mary at the feet of Jesus, for  the last time.

Extravagant Devotion To Her Lord ~ Serving From Her Heart

~~~~~~~~~

“Six days before the passover…”

The Feast of Passover (See Exodus 12:1-28) serves as a remembrance of the deliverance and Exodus of the Children of Israel from the dominion of Pharaoh as slaves in Eqypt.

“Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom had been raised from the dead.  There they made supper for him, and Martha served.  Lazarus was one of  them that sat at the table with Jesus.  Then Mary took a pound of ointment of ‘spikenard, and she anointed Jesus feet with it.  Then she wiped Jesus feet with her hair.  And the fragrance filled the house.”  John 12:1-3 KJ

“Then one of Jesus disciples  (It was Judas Iscariot who would betray Jesus) said, ‘why is this woman using this expensive oil’?  ‘It should be sold for a year’s wages and given to the poor.”   “The Scripture says that Judas was a thief.  The ‘Greek word for thief is ‘Kleptes’ and it means he steals by fraud and in secret.  He was dishonest and he was a fake.  Only Jesus knew who Judas really was.”  John 12:4-6  Quote From The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible 

What a ‘Kleptes’!!!  (I added that) 

“Then Jesus said, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.  For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.”  John 12:7-8

Mary’s servant act foreshadows  the typical ‘Jewish anointing of the dead, and she had apparently saved the ‘spikenard for “the anointing”.

“In that she hath poured this ointment on My body, ” Jesus said, “she did it for My burial.”  As the alabaster box was broken, and filled the whole house with its fragrance, so Christ was to die, His body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the fragrance of His life was to fill the earth.  ‘Christ hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor’   Quote by Unknown Author  (See Ephesians 5:2).”

Thought to Ponder:  Remember when we were kids, and the local firemen would come to the school for fire prevention week or fire safety week?  Perhaps you remember this saying, “Stop, Drop and Roll!  This is the picture I have in my mind about that.

Mary ~  Stopped! Dropped! and Listened!

Your assignment today, is to write down what you have learned from Jesus’ conversations with Mary and Martha.  And, what qualities of “A Disciple of Christ” do you see in Mary’s life?

Please Read John 11:28-45

After Martha’s conversation with Jesus, she went to Mary (secretly) and told her that “The Master is come, and calleth for thee.  And as soon as she (Mary) heard that, she arose quickly, and came to him.  Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.  The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.”  John 11:28-31 KJ

I love that part (verse 31).  I have this picture in my mind of all these sheep running after the shepherdess.  It’s very interesting to me that whatever Mary was doing, or did, was so important to those comforting her.  Perhaps they saw something in her, that drew them to her.

Verses 32 - 37 say, “Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she FELL down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the SPIRIT (refers to Jesus’ personal spirit), and was troubled.  And said, ‘Where have ye laid him?’ They say unto him, Lord, come and see.  JESUS WEPT.  Then said the Jews, Behold how he LOVED him!  And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?”

What was it that caused Jesus to be brought to tears?  I read a comment (unknown author) about why “Jesus wept”.  “Was it Mary and the Jews mourning that caused Jesus to weep?   It didn’t make sense for Jesus to be upset over Mary and the Jew’s mourning, or Lazarus’ death, because he (Jesus) knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus was upset because of their unbelief.”

Could be true.  But, I believe that Jesus is perfectly capable of shedding tears of compassion.  I can see that Mary knew just where to be…at Jesus’ feet.  I really believe that the Jews with Mary were sincerely mournful about Lazarus’ death.  And, they saw something in Mary that drew them to her ( they stayed with her, even when Martha left, and then followed her to meet Jesus.  Certainly Jesus knew of their lack of understanding (unbelief).  As we read the account of “Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life”, we will see again that Jesus reinstates the reason for ”the rise” of Lazarus. “That they may believe that thou hast sent me and so they may see the Glory of God.”  Please remember,  Jesus ‘Agapao, compassionately loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

COMPASSION

I can close my eyes and see Mary sitting on the floor, weeping and waiting for Jesus to come.  When Martha whispered to her, “the Master has come and he is asking for you”, I imagine her immediate response to go to him.  And when she saw Jesus, she fell at his feet, crying out to him for mercy.  When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews weeping with her, he also wept because of his great compassion for his friends.  It is a mental picture for me of Mary’s intimate relationship with the Lord (Teacher and Disciple).  Because we too are his disciples, we can fall at his feet.  He wants that from you and I, and he will be touched by our weeping as he was with Marys’.  We can cry out for mercy, comfort, the grace and the peace that only he can give us.  We can be totally dependent on Jesus.  Because of the compassion that we receive from Jesus, we are to be compassionate toward our fellow human beings.  One of our priorities, as Disciples of Jesus Christ, is to BE compassionate, to love as Christ loves us.

The Heart of The Matter

John 11, verses 38-45

Jesus came to the grave of Lazarus and said, “Take the stone away“.  Martha heard this and said, “wooee, he’s been dead for four days and by this time he stinketh (I know, she didn’t say it that way!)”.  Then Jesus said, “did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”, and they took away the stone from the grave.

At this point, Jesus lifted his eyes and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.  You know, that I know, that you always hear me, but I said this (aloud) to these people so that they would believe that you have sent me to them.”  Then He said, “Lazarus, come out of that grave“.  And to all of their eyes appeared  Lazarus.  He was bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound with a napkin.  Jesus said, “unwrap him and let him go“.  Verse 45 says that “many of the ‘Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”

Answer the following questions.

1.  What is the point of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead?

2.  What does this have to do with being “The Disciple” of Jesus Christ?

The “Heart” of the matter is that Jesus is the one who gives life, and He did this to cause those, who heard and  saw, to “believe”.  I think that it is important for you and I as “The Disciple” to believe just that…that Jesus is the One who gives life.  We know that Martha had some “heart” issues with the belief thing, from the content of Jesus’ conversations with her.  If Mary did, it’s hard to see.  From the content of the conversations Jesus had with Mary, I believe that Mary’s “Attitude of Heart” was quite different from Martha’s.  Did you know that the Bible speaks (approx.) 765 times, as to the condition of the ”Heart”? 

Thought to ponder:  The  attitude of our heart is continuously changing, as we build our relationship with Jesus.  Place yourself at His feet, often.

Scripture to ponder:  John 12:1-8

Read John 1:17-27

We can only imagine the scene as Martha and Mary cared for their sick brother, all the while wondering why Jesus did not come to them.  After all, Jesus loved them and they were his friends.  Martha may have said to Mary, “Jesus could have saved our brother“.  Mary’s answer might have been, “I know“, her eyes filled with tears.

Verse 19 tells us that “many of the ‘Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them“.

Verse 20 says, “Then Martha heard that Jesus was coming, and (immediately) she went to meet him, while Mary sat still in the house.”

Was she (Martha) overcome by her grief (emotions are high at the death of a loved one), and in tears as she ran to meet Jesus?  Verse 21 and 22 say, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  But I ‘KNOW, that even now (he is dead), whatsoever thou ‘WILL ASK of God, God will give it thee.”

“Oida is the ‘Greek word for ‘know.  It means to perceive, to know intuitively, with the outward senses.  ‘Aiteo is the ‘Greek word for ‘will ask.  It means to request or beg.  The seeking by the inferior to the superior.”  Quote from The Hebrew-Greek Key study Bible 

Then Jesus said to Martha in verse 23, “Thy brother shall rise again.   She (Martha) said in verse 24, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection“.  Can you imagine how we would say this today?  “I know that Jesus!  I know all about the resurrection!“

I love how Jesus always takes the time to teach Martha (I’m sure, not only for her benefit, but for those  listening to the conversations…including you and me).  He says to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believeth thou this?”

Do You Believe This Martha?

Scripture to Ponder:  And she said in verse 27, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

Thought to ponder:  The question….Do You Believe This Martha?  Let’s rephrase the question.  Can you take this all in Martha?  Jesus was saying, “I am declaring that I am supremely divine.  I have power given to me by my Father, to open the grave, give life and call forth from the grave to give new life.  Eternal life is given by me, through me and I am going to do it for you, to teach you about victory over death“.  Did Martha get it?  Your guess is as good as mine.  I like to think that she did, or was in the process of getting it.  Remember, Jesus loved Martha.  Think about the time Jesus has taken to teach Martha…just as He takes the time to teach us….His Disciples. 

Today, I will ask you to read John chapter 11, verses 1-16.  Our purpose is to see “the purpose” in this passage of scripture.  According to verse 4, “Lazarus’ sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby,” 

What Is The Glory of God?

It is the manifestation of All that God is, and Who He is.  It is the very presence of God. In the Old testament God’s glory was likened “to a devouring fire on the top of the mount” (Exodus 24:16-17).  This was a visible manifestation of the person (glory) of God, showing His might and His power.  John 1:14 tells us that God manifest Himself in and through Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 43:7 says that God created us for His glory.  We glorify God through His glory that can be seen in us…like the Love and Honor we give to Him and to others.  We are in a sense carrying all that belongs to God inside of us (Jars of Clay; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7).  We are the vessels that contain His glory, for the purpose of glorifying Him.

Notice in verse 11, that Jesus refers to Lazarus as “Our Friend“.  It is very significant that Jesus calls Lazarus “friend”.  In John 15:15, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”  You see, friendship is a very special relationship.  Friendship has to be about something.  Friends have something in common.  To be a friend to Jesus, you have to know Him.  We share in His message of hope.

Think about those who you call “your friends”.  Who are they?  Write their names down and think about why you call them friends.  You will see that, if they truly are your friends, you do have something in common….something that you share……something that you both believe in.

I also want you to make a mental note of verse 5.  It says, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.  Here, the word loved is ‘Agapao in the ‘Greek.  It means,“to love, indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in anything.  ‘Agapao is used of God’s love toward man and vice versa.  ‘Agapao stands higher above ‘Phileo because of its moral import; love that expresses compassion.”  Quote from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible

Today, your scriptures to ponder are John 11:4,5 and John 15:14-15 

Jesus is “Your Friend” and His Love For You is ‘Agapao-Compassionate

That Good Part

“But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  KJ  Luke 10:42

NIV  “But one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better…”

NLV “There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it.”

ISV “There is only one thing you need.  Mary has chosen the good part.”

GWT “There is only one thing you need (worth worrying about).  Mary has made the right choice.”

Bible in Basic English “Little is needed, or even one thing only.  Mary has taken that good part.”

‘Douay’-'Rheims Bible “But one thing is necessary.  Mary hath chosen the best part.”

‘Weymouth NT “And yet one thing is really necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion and she shall not be deprived of it.”

“..one thing is needful.”  The ‘Greek word for needful is ” ‘Chreia.  The need represents that part of us which needs building up or filling up.  The “thing” is the “edifying Word of God”. 

Jesus affirms Mary by saying, “she has chosen that good part”.  The ‘Greek word for good is ‘Agathos and it means that which is good in character.  It is beneficial and pleasing to God.” Translations from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible

Jesus ends the conversation by saying, “this shall not be taken away from her”.

No matter how you put it (as in the different Bible translations above), it’s pretty self explanatory.  I love the personal conversation that Jesus has with Mary and Martha.  So many times, with those named, Jesus teaches us the difference between what is ”that good part” and what is “that not so good part“.  

Today, I want to leave you with a piece of “Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible“. 

“Sitting at Christ’s feet, signifies readiness to receive His Word, and submission to the guidance of it.  Martha was providing for the entertainment of Christ, and those that came with him…Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving God, and getting good to our souls…The favor of God is needful to our happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety.  Where this is attended to , all other things will be rightly pursued.  Mary hath chosen the good part.  One thing is needful, this one thing that she has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ.  The things of this life will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that love…Let us mind the one thing needful more diligently.”  end quote

Scripture to ponder:  Psalm 119:73

Thought to ponder:  The first requirement of “The Disciple” is to ‘BE’come obedient to the Master’s teaching.  We are to daily place ourselves in a position to learn, free from distractions.  It is a choice we make, daily.

Tomorrow, we will see “Mary’s Heart” as she “falls down at Jesus’ feet“.

My husband is invited to a men’s retreat each year, in Nebraska.  The men meet at a monastery out in a rural area for three days.  Most of the focus is directed toward finding solitude in the presence of the Lord.  At the last retreat Ed (my hubby) attended, the men were instructed to find a quiet place to meditate and pray, listening for the Lord, and asking themselves “have I heard the Lord in the past,when, and how often“?  Ed said, “What we all found out was, yes we have and we do hear the Lord“.  And, “it is in those times when we become available to Him to listen, that we hear“. 

This is not to say that the Lord can’t speak to us while we are in motion.  But, speaking for myself, I always have to slow down to understand. There are times that I have been awakened in the middle of the night, or early in the morning with thoughts that only the Holy Spirit could have put in my mind.  If I don’t get up and write my thoughts down, I will forget what my mind and/or my heart is telling me.  I will also say this:  We don’t have to sit on the ground (as Mary sat at Jesus’ feet-some of us have trouble getting up off the floor), but if you have not spent some time there…you will never know what a sweet time of listening to the Lord it is. There was nothing wrong with Martha’s kind hospitality and serving, it was the fact that she was being distracted from what was happening.  She had the presence of the Lord in her home, flesh and blood.  We only have five verses of scripture to describe the encounter.  I can only imagine what it would have been like for the Lord to sit and teach in your home. 

Let’s go on to verses 41 and 42.  Verse 41 says, “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things.”

What do you think it meant when Jesus spoke Martha’s name two times?

I think it was because the message Jesus was about to give her, was very important. 

The ‘Greek word for careful is ” ‘Merimnao.  It means to be anxious about and to have thoughts that divert your attention.  ‘Thorubazo is the ‘Greek word for troubled and it means a disturbance, tumult or uproar.  Tumult is like the confusion and noise of a crowd or a violent commotion”.  I would say these are very strong meanings for “careful” and “troubled”.  ‘Greek translations from Vine’s Concise Dictionary of The Bible

Think of a time in your own life when you were “careful and troubled about many things“?  Have you ever had thoughts that divert your attention?  Have you ever been so confused, your life was in an uproar? 

Most of us have heard the phrase…”running around like a chicken with your head cut off”.  Martha must have been doing that!   

Scripture to ponder: Verse 42

 ”But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” 

Thought to ponder: “Christ did not appoint professors, but followers”  Quote by Soren Kierkegaard

Tomorrow, we will conclude our first encounter with Mary, Martha and Jesus, and move on to the second encounter.

Who says, we’re either a Mary or a Martha?  Why can’t we be the best of both?  It’s like when we have our family get-togethers.  I prepare and ready our home (kind hospitality).  When we are through eating the meal, the men clear the table and do the dishes (sometimes daughter, daughter-in-law, niece help clear the table).  But for the most part, the guys clean up.  Don’t ask me how this tradition came about, it just happened.  The best part is, I get to play with the grand-kids and nephews (building relationships). 

Yesterday we learned that Martha kindly showed hospitality to Jesus.  A very nice, positive thing for her to do. We learned that her sister Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word, placed herself in a position to understand Jesus.  The word “also” has caught my attention.  Could it be that Mary had been helping Martha until Jesus started to speak?  Then “she (also) sat at his feet and listened“.

Let’s look at verse 40.  “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?  bid her therefore that she help me.”  Oh my, can you imagine tattling to Jesus about your sister?

The word “was”, in front of the word cumbered, is another one of those words that is hard to translate.  It indicates continuous action in the past, just as the word “sat” in verse 39 did.  The ‘Greek word for cumbered is “Perispao.  It means distracted”. This could mean that being distracted was a lifestyle for Martha.  This may not have been the first time Martha became distracted about much serving.  Here, the ‘Greek word for serving is ” ‘Diakonia.  Its meaning is: a form of labor that involves compassionate love in benefiting others.”  The next part is very interesting.  Martha says to the Lord, “don’t you care that my sister is not helping me to serve“?  The ‘Greek word for serve in this instance is ‘Diakoneo and it means to wait upon, with the emphasis on the work to be done and not on the relationship between lord and servant.  Next, Martha says to the Lord, “Bid her to help me”.  Tell her to get up and do some of the work around here (I added that).  ‘Greek translations from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible

Here is a comment that I just now read:  “A careful reading of the context shows us that Mary had been in the kitchen with Martha until Jesus started teaching.  Note Martha said that her sister had left her alone to do all the serving.”  Author Unknown 

Today, ponder verse 40.  Think about the above statement by the unknown author.  The statement is very thought provoking, especially since the same thought came to my mind earlier.  But, my focus is on the life of “The Disciple” and the lessons to learn from Jesus’ conversations with Mary and Martha. 

For tomorrow write down your thoughts, according to what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you about Mary and Martha. 

First of all, I want to answer the question: What is the most important thing we can do to build a relationship with someone?  I’m sure you came up with the same answer.  The most important way to build a relationship with someone is to spend time with them.  This goes for our families, our friends and of course, the Lord.  We want to become a “student” of those we desire relationships with.

Next, I want to explain “Jenna’s Picture” to you. 

The figure in red is Mary.  The figure to the right of Mary is Jesus.  There is a very faint figure to the left of Mary, this is her sister Martha.   I don’t know whether you can see it, but Jesus is crying.  Jenna said that Jesus is very sad, because Martha is working so very hard.  Jenna said she drew the dark circles on the paper to make Jesus feel better (your guess is as good as mine as to why she did this, but she thought it would help the situation). 

Yesterday, I asked you to draw a picture of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet.  If you did this, you probably did exactly what I asked you to do.  Draw MARY, sitting at JESUS feet.   Jenna, on the other hand, did not follow my directions.  After hearing the story, she saw a bigger picture, the whole picture.

What Jenna helped me to remember is this: We want to always look at the entire situation.  What is going on all around, as we read the account of Jesus, Mary and Martha (as well as the account of any of the beautiful stories in the Bible).  Every detail is important for our understanding.  It is very important when we study scripture, not to add to or take away from its intended meaning.  We want to pray that the Holy Spirit puts the Lord’s revelation in our hearts.  Although we are going to look at the verses separately, we will keep in mind that the purpose and meaning of this passage would be lost if we were to separate Martha, Mary and Jesus.

Today, we’ll look at verses 38 and 39.  Remember, I am using the King James translation.  The Bible that I am using is “The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible”, Spiros Zodhiates and AMG International, Inc. Publishers.   If I were to encourage you to purchase one item for studying the Bible, it would either be a Hebrew-Greek Study Bible or a Vine’s Concise Dictionary Of The Bible.  The Vine’s is a quick access to the original Hebrew and Greek words of the Bible, and is less expensive ($13 at a Christian outlet store).

Verse 38 “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.”

The Greek word for received is “Hupodechomai.  It means to receive hospitality and kindly.”

Martha accepted Jesus into her home and showed Him hospitality.

Verse 39 “And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.”

 Sometimes there are words in the Greek that do not translate well into English.  The word sat is one of those words (this is where a Hebrew-Greek Bible can help you in ways the Vine’s cannot).  It’s meaning can be better understood when we look at its relationship to the word (verb) heard (sat at Jesus’ feet and heard). 

Taken from “Grammatical Notations” pages 1568-1571, Hebrew-Greek Study Bible:  “Sat refers to a simple action.  However, in its relationship to the verb heard, it possibly signifies action prior to that.  The word heard refers to continuous action, which conceives of an action in past time as simply having taken place; Greek word for heard is Akouo, and means to understand.”   “His word”, word in the Greek is Logos.  In this case, it is the divine communication of Jesus.

Isn’t it amazing, how a little explanation can fill your mind and your heart with an absolutely beautiful picture?  Because Mary placed herself in a position to “hear” the Lord, she understood His divine communication.  If I understand what the Holy Spirit is revealing to me, this was not the first time that Mary had sat at the feet of Jesus.

Scripture to ponder:  Luke 10:38-39: Martha’s kind hospitality to Jesus and Mary’s availability to Jesus.

A Very Personal Thought to ponder:   When was the last time I sat at Jesus’ feet?  How often do I make myself available to Him, to hear Him? 

There once was a woman named Mary, from Bethany, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to Him.  She could not take her focus off of Him and what He was saying.  She was most comfortable at His feet, literally.

Answer this question:  What is the most important thing we can do to build a relationship with someone?

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I am totally fascinated by this woman, named Mary, from Bethany.  I believe that she had a beautiful relationship with the Lord.  We will see, as we study the conversations Jesus had with Mary, her sister Martha and others, that in three very different situations Mary truly was most comfortable with Jesus at His feet.  We will follow Mary from being Student to her Rabbi, to becoming Attendant to her Master.  We will see her listening and learning, asking for His mercy and recognizing who He is, and serving her Lord.

For today, I will ask you to read Luke chapter 10 verses 38 – 42.  I will be reading from the King James version because I will be studying some of the words in the Greek language.  If you want to read another translation, that is okay.  I will share what I find, with you.  I will write the passage of scripture, in KJ version, for you.

38 “Now it came to pass, as they went, that He (Jesus) entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.”  39 “And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.”  40 “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.”  41 “And Jesus answered and said unto her, ‘Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:”  42 “But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her’.”  Luke 10:38-42  KJ

After you read the passage of scripture, please write down your thoughts, and then draw a picture of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus.

About two years ago, when I first began to study the relationship between Jesus and Mary, I read the story (from a children’s Bible) of Mary, Martha and Jesus to my (then) 4 year old grand-daughter Jenna.  I asked Jenna to draw a picture of Mary sitting at Jesus feet.  Jenna taught me something with her beautiful picture.    Tomorrow, I will share Jenna’s picture with you and convey to you, what Jenna conveyed to me.