Women Of The Bible- Mary And Martha

Our second visit to my "Women Of The Bible" poetry series has us take a look at the story of Mary and Martha. These sisters can be found in Luke 10 and there's a lot we can take from this particular encounter with Jesus.

I hope these verses and points for reflection are a blessing for you today.

Women Of The Bible- Mary And Martha

Luke 10:38-42
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

"Women of the Bible. So many in this Book.
Let’s focus on two sisters who we read about in Luke.
Both were friends of Jesus who knew He’d come to save.
They’d watched Him raise up Lazarus, their brother from the grave!

They loved their Saviour equally, their feelings didn’t vary
And yet there’s quite a contrast here with Martha and with Mary.
Revealing hearts of worship in the way each sister acts
But Jesus draws attention to the thing which Martha lacks.

Her preparation not a flaw but pleasing course of action,
The fault lay not in servitude but lay in her distraction.
Though Martha’s heart desired to bring honour to her King,
Jesus gently showed her that it meant she missed one thing.

The thing which every spirit needs, where every soul is stirred;
To simply sit before her God and listen to His Word.
To rest before the Saviour is no small, unmeaning thing.
It’s where we find the kind of peace that only Christ can bring!

It’s at the feet of Jesus where we’re given sound instruction,
Resting by our Father keeps our soul from deep destruction.
It’s where the things of good report can gladly be accrued,
It’s in the Saviour’s presence where our strength can be renewed.

Where Jesus’ holy counsel overrules the wicked flesh.
Where wisdom, joy and righteousness can wash our souls afresh.
Oh keep us from distractions, Lord and may we take a seat.
Help us always be prepared to rest at Jesus’ feet."


Psalm 27:4-5
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”

Philippians 3:13-14
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Points For Reflection And Insight
I find the account of Mary and Martha really interesting and it always inspires me to think about how I would behave if I knew Jesus was coming to visit my house! I know the hoover would definitely come out, as would the cleaning products. As I always say, there’s nothing like a guest coming to visit to make you notice the dust in your house! That’s just with any guest too so I know the idea of Jesus coming to visit would definitely inspire some cleaning!

I think Martha’s desire to prepare is certainly relatable but what’s important to note is that Mary wouldn’t have been unprepared and she certainly wasn’t being lazy. She would have been making preparations as well as Martha but the difference was, Mary also sat at Jesus’ feet. She would have done plenty in advance of Jesus coming but once He was there, Mary chose to stop the preparations and spend time with her Saviour.

I think Charles Spurgeon summarised this moment well. He said,

“The one thing needed evidently is that which Mary chose- that good part which should not be taken away from her. Very clearly this was to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His word.”

Mary’s chosen focus was Jesus, sitting with Him and listening to His Word. She chose to put all distractions aside, stop any tasks or chores that were going on and give her wholehearted attention to the most important thing of all- spending time with Jesus.

Martha did nothing wrong in working hard for her Saviour, her actions were honest and honourable. It could even be argued that her desire to make things as good as possible for Jesus and honour Him through her work were a sincere form of worship, straight from Martha’s heart. The problem came however because she was distracted with much serving and these things were taking her away from important and beneficial time with God.

It’s not surprising to hear that Martha ends up getting frustrated and a bit irritable in the midst of her service for the Lord. This is often what happens when we take our eyes off of Jesus and overwork ourselves by focusing on the endless list of things that need to be done. A crabby and critical spirit can easily creep in when we’re neglecting to spend enough quiet time with the Lord, simply resting in His presence and dwelling on His Word.

As I mentioned in my poem, to rest before Jesus is no small, unmeaning thing. The presence of our God is where our troubled hearts find peace. It’s here where we can learn from Him and receive sound instruction for every area in our lives. It’s in His company where we are renewed in strength, granted wisdom, filled with joy and can get fired up with a zeal and a boldness to share His truth with the world.

Spending time with God implies we are prepared to be submitted to Him and open to His will for our lives. It shows discipleship and a heart of love for our Maker. As I said before, it is no small thing to rest at the feet of Jesus! It could be argued that it’s the best and most important thing we can do!

Looking at the story of Mary and Martha, I think it could definitely be said that both women loved Jesus and wanted to show their devotion to Him. Their forms of worship however were very different and we can certainly learn from this picture.

There is definitely more than one way to express a heart of worship for the Lord and not everyone worships God in the same way. Whatever way we choose to demonstrate a sincere heart of devotion towards Jesus though, the important thing is that our main focus remains on Him. We need to make sure our priorities are in the correct order and that we’re not getting distracted by the busyness of life and the many things going on around us.

Some helpful questions to ask ourselves might be:

How much quiet time am I spending with Jesus in my day to day life right now?
Do I feel overworked and distracted by life’s endless chores and tasks?
Am I making time with Jesus a priority each day and giving myself time to listen to and digest His Word?
What kinds of ways do I look to worship God and express my love for Him?
What areas of my life do I see as a direct form of worship to Jesus?

We can certainly hear in Jesus’ response to Martha, the deep love He has for her. His gentle words to this hard working daughter of His are comforting, reassuring and instructive for us. He sees her efforts, appreciates and acknowledges them but guides her back to the truth that He’s more interested in her than the things she does.

Whether our day today is hectic and busy or pretty relaxed and chill, may we take time to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His Word. May we choose the one thing that is really needed in our day, that good part that cannot be taken away from us- resting in the presence of our Saviour.