{"id":66115,"date":"2024-01-23T20:59:33","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T02:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=66115"},"modified":"2024-01-23T21:10:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T03:10:05","slug":"martha-and-mary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/martha-and-mary\/","title":{"rendered":"Martha and Mary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Martha and Mary<\/h1>\n

Reading Assignment:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Luke 10:38-42<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Did you understand what you read?<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Using a cross-reference, in what village did Martha and Mary live?<\/li>\n
  2. Describe Martha’s character.<\/li>\n
  3. Describe Mary’s character.<\/li>\n
  4. What problem did Martha have from her viewpoint?<\/li>\n
  5. What problem did Martha have from the Lord’s viewpoint?<\/li>\n
  6. What is the one necessary thing?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t

    Martha and Mary<\/h1>\n

    Now that the seventy have prepared his way, Jesus begins traveling through Judea teaching. He stops in the town of Bethany at the home of Martha (John 11:1).<\/p>\n

    Her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to his teachings (Acts 22:3; Luke 8:35), but Martha was able to listen well because she was busy with her preparations for her guests. Eventually, she complains, not to her sister, but to the Lord himself. She asked him if he did care that her sister sat there while she did all the work. In essence, she is saying that it was Jesus’ fault that she was working alone because Jesus was distracting her sister from the work. She wanted Jesus to tell her sister to help her.<\/p>\n

    But Jesus kindly tells her that she is worried and bothered by too many things – things that are really not that important. By repeating Martha’s name, Jesus is taking the edge off of his rebuke (Luke 22:31; Acts 9:4). There really is only one important thing and that was what Mary chose.<\/p>\n

    It must have been a great honor to have the Lord Jesus Christ in her home. Martha focused on the preparation of food and serving. But in the long run, it wasn’t that important. Nor did it give as much honor to Jesus as you might at first suppose. At the end of the day, when the meal was done, people would not remember the hard work Martha put in to serve Jesus.<\/p>\n

    Mary, though, gave Jesus true honor. She made listening to his teachings her top priority. It was an honor to be with Jesus, but the marvel at the moment was to hear the Son of God himself teach the gospel. Relatively few people would have that opportunity, and Mary took advantage of every moment she could get. In essence, Jesus was the one doing the feeding as the meal was being prepared (Proverbs 10:21).<\/p>\n

    In truth, Martha honored Jesus as a guest in her home, but Mary honored him as a teacher. Both are commendable, but Mary’s position was best. The most important thing should be secured first, then other things can be added to it (Matthew 6:33; I Timothy 4:8). The thing of most important is seeking God (Psalm 27:4; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Mark 8:36).<\/p>\n

    As a side note, notice that this puts an arrow through the teaching that everything is predestined. Jesus stated that Mary, not God, chose the good part, just as others did before her (Hebrews 11:25; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 119:30).<\/p>\n

    Thus we learn that even good things, such as being hospitable, can become a hindrance when we allow these things to distract us from the truly important things. Mary put the highest priority on the one thing that would give her eternal life, while Martha allowed herself to be distracted from it. It is the motivation behind Paul’s suggestion that Christians not marry because of the present persecutions (I Corinthians 7:32, 35). It wasn’t wrong that Martha prepared food for the Lord. What was wrong was that she fussed and fretted over it to the point that she missed out on being able to listen to Jesus’ teachings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Gospel Accounts\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Martha and Mary Reading Assignment: Luke 10:38-42   Did you understand what you read? Using a cross-reference, in what village did Martha and Mary live? Describe Martha’s character. Describe Mary’s character. What problem did Martha have from her viewpoint? What problem did Martha have from the Lord’s viewpoint? What is the one necessary thing? Martha…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":10690,"menu_order":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-66115","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66179,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-resurrection-of-lazarus\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":0},"title":"The Resurrection of Lazarus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Resurrection of Lazarus Reading Assignment: John 11:1-44 \u00a0 Did you understand what you read? What do we know of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus? What message was sent to Jesus? What was his reply? If Jesus loved Lazarus, why did he wait two more days? Why did the disciples object\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65016,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-death-and-resurrection-of-lazarus\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":1},"title":"The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus Text: John 11:1-46 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are introduced to friends of Jesus \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They live in the village of Bethany, which is close to Jerusalem. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lazarus, the brother, lived with his two sisters, Mary and Martha \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mary is the one who wiped Jesus\u2019 feet with her hair\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/martha-mary-and-lazarus\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":2},"title":"Martha, Mary, and Lazarus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Martha, Mary, and Lazarus Reading Assignment: Matthew 26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9 John 11:55-12:11 \u00a0 Did you understand what you read? What feast was approaching? How long would it be until the feast began? What was being discussed by people gathering at the temple? What orders had the Jewish leaders issued concerning\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65021,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/plot-to-kill-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":3},"title":"Plot to Kill Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Plot to Kill Jesus Text: John 11:47-12:11 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The leading Jews are becoming concerned \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is performing so many signs that they cannot argue against Jesus \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If it continues they fear the people will believe him, allow the Romans to come in, and they will lose their position. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":4},"title":"The Gospel Accounts: A Chronological Harmony","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Gospel Accounts A Chronological Harmony by Jeffrey W. Hamilton, 2009 \u00a0 Index by Verses Discussed Table of Content The Four Gospel Accounts The Announcements of John and Jesus' Births Jesus' Birth and Childhood John's Ministry Jesus' Baptism and His Temptations The First Year of Teaching The Beginning of Jesus'\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/scan0078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/scan0078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/scan0078.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66039,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-adulterous-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":66115,"position":5},"title":"The Adulterous Woman (Gospel Accounts)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Adulterous Woman Reading Assignment: John 7:53-8:11 Did you understand what you read? 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