It’s unbelievably easy for life to get unbearably busy. When life seems to be pulling you in so many different directions, how often do we take quiet time to sit at the feet of our Savior and listen to him speak to us in his Word? It’s easy to think of that as a chore to complete, or as an extra task to cross off my to-do list; and when we treat God’s Word that way then we push ourselves into a guilt-driven devotional life—it’s a thing that I have to do. Today we will look at two women, one who understood and one who learned, that spending time at the feet of our Savior in his Word is not a task that I must accomplish but a privilege in which God wants to give me all the blessings he promises in his Word. So sit at the feet of the Savior and listen as he fills you with the one thing needed.
In our text today Luke takes us to the home of Mary and Martha. We don’t know much about these two women, or their brother Lazarus, and we don’t really know how they met Jesus. What the Bible does tell us is that this family became close with Jesus. They were more than just acquaintances… they were good friends. We see this from the fact that Martha was willing to open her home to Jesus and his disciples… we see this close relationship even more so later on when Lazarus gets sick and dies… Jesus is the one the sisters reach out to… and when he arrives at their home he comforts them, cries with them, and ultimately proves to them who is and what he’s capable of by raising their brother from death. But backing up to our sermon text we hear about this occasion when Jesus spent some time with these two sisters and taught them an important lesson about the one thing that is needed.
You know, very often when Christians read this account we end up painting Martha as the bad-guy… we react like she was going insane by running around the house while her sainted sister
Mary sat angelically at the feet of the Savior… hanging on his every word. But that’s not really what Luke portrays at all when you look at this text. We’re told: Martha opened her home to [Jesus]. The Greek word there implies that she welcomed him and treated him kindly as a guest, offering him food and lodging. She was genuinely concerned about Jesus and his disciples… and in fact she was doing exactly what Jesus so often tried to impress on his followers… she was serving others and their needs… and by providing for the physical needs of Jesus and his followers she was also supporting their gospel ministry which served the spiritual needs of so many. What Martha was doing were good things… Yet while doing these good things, Martha forgot the best thing of all.
We’re told that while her sister Mary sat and listened to the Word of God being taught by her Savior Martha was doing what? Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
The problem was not in Martha wanting to be hospitable… it wasn’t in her eager and earnest desire to serve… the problem came when Martha put serving others ahead of listening to God’s Word. And not only did Martha put her service ahead of God’s Word, but she used her service as a reason for her sister Mary to stop listening to God’s Word. Do you see the problem now?
It’s important that we understand what Martha was doing here when she neglects the Word and tries to pull Mary away from the Word too… It’s important because it’s something that happens to us all the time. Think for a moment about the things that distract you… that pull you away from regularly reading and hearing the Bible… sometimes it is the sin we’ve allowed to find a place in our lives… the lust we allow to smolder… the lies we defend… the bitterness we embrace… but very often Satan doesn’t even have to use wicked things to pull our attention away from God’s Word. He uses the good things in our lives.
I’ve found myself many times so wrapped up in my work and my family that I neglect taking quiet time each day to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear him speak his promises to me… I tell myself I’m doing good things… playing with my kids… working on a sermon… meeting with members who are hurting… spending time with my wife… but it’s easy to let those things all build to the point that personal time alone with God’s Word is pushed out of the picture. Can you relate?
I could stand up here and give you a million examples of how I’ve neglected the Word of God in the past… or what that looks like in your life too. At the end of the day though… no matter what this neglect of God’s Word looks like in your life or mine… it really betrays a messed up mindset that lurks in all of us… So often we think to ourselves, “What I’m doing is important. My kids’ athletics and academics are important. My job is important. My marriage is important. My friendships are important. My crisis that needs attention is important…” And maybe… without even realizing it… we’ve used all those things as excuses for neglecting the most important thing of all—the Word of God.
And what’s the end result when we neglect the Word? The things that start as good things—kids, work, marriage, friendships, responsibilities—they end up bringing trouble and heartache into our lives because we are not equipped to deal with the problems that come into those good things. What do I do when I lose my job? What do I do when my family is torn apart by sin? When my grandson comes out as gay? When my husband betrays my trust? When my parents get divorced? What do I do when those I’ve always leaned on for support are gone? What do I do when those I love are robbed of their health or their very lives by sickness? When our lives are not enriched with the Word of God, we are not prepared to deal with life. We end up feeling like Martha… worried and upset about many things.
So what’s the solution? Well, Jesus tells us… just as he told Martha. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” When we find that our lives are filled with distractions and worry… when we’re upset about the people in our lives and the problems they bring with them… Jesus would call us by name… and tell us “there is only one thing needed.” And when you have the one thing needed – God’s Word – well… then you have the one thing you really need… the one good thing that will bring a new perspective to all the good things God has given you in your life… and all the bad things that happen to those good things.
And I’m not saying that if I’m in the Word of God daily at home and weekly at church… then all my problems will suddenly disappear. No… In fact, God tells us in his Word that we will face troubles, trials, temptations, difficulty, and suffering in this life. We know it’s coming. But the more we neglect the Word, the more unprepared we are for those difficult times.
Did you ever have a pop-quiz in school? I know I did… If you had a teacher who gave those unannounced quizzes you knew you always had to be ready. And so you’d listen… you’d listen when the teacher spoke… you’d read the book the teacher gave you… you’d study and take notes and review the things you’d been taught… and if you didn’t… well… we all know how those quizzes went don’t we…
God wants us to be prepared too. That’s why he’s given us his Word. We can’t always see the tests that are waiting around the corner for us in this life… And while God’s Word doesn’t make our problems go away, in his Word God equips us to deal with all those problems and face the tests of life knowing we have God and his promises behind us.
And really, that’s the reason God wants us to sit and listen to his Word… to be reminded of the promises he’s made and kept for you… so that you won’t be shaken by the tests of this life. Promises like the one he made in our text. He said when we chose to listen to his Word we will have something that can never be taken away from us. God’s Word will never disappear… and it will never disappoint us. Mary and Martha would learn that lesson in their own lives soon after this visit from Jesus.
When their brother Lazarus died Jesus came to them and talked with Martha. Even in the face of death she looked to Jesus and told him, “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Martha had learned to look to Jesus and trust him in the face of a hopeless situation. And then Jesus spoke to her those famous words many of us know: I am the resurrection and the life He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). And do you know Martha’s answer? “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27). Martha may have been distracted on that day when she was busy preparing her home for Jesus… but clearly she took Jesus Word’s to heart that day as well… she was reminded by her Savior of the one thing needed. And she listened to God’s Word… she learned from Jesus that he was the Savior whom God had promised and who was here to do what God had promised.
My friends, that’s what you will find too every time you open God’s Word and sit at Jesus’ feet. You will see the amazing love story of our God and this world… Our God who knows all of our problems… who knew the cause of them was the one big problem of sin… and best of all he knew that the big problem of sin and all the problems that we have because of it could only be fixed by him stepping into our messy world and dealing with the problem himself. And so he did. Jesus faced the same trials, temptations, and frustrations that you do in your life. But he faced them with a perfect trust in God and a complete dependence on God’s promises. Simply put, he did what none of us could do. And he did it so that when he offered up his life as the payment for our sins – his Father would accept it… and our debt of sin and the eternal punishment we deserve would be removed forever. And in place of it we receive the gift of eternal life thanks to his resurrection and his never-failing promises.
This is what we hear in God’s Word. This is what we are reminded of when we sit and listen at Jesus’ feet. And this truth about our eternal security and happiness gives us a new outlook on the troubles we deal with at home and at work. We no longer see a rocky marriage as a hopeless situation… because we see the renewal and healing Jesus can work through his Word. We don’t give up on our children or grandchildren who stray from the faith… because we see the patience and loving reach of our Father time and again in his Word. And when sin has ensnared us… when the good things of life have turned our focus away… when we feel broken and lost… even then we don’t give up on ourselves… because we see in the Word of God a promise from our faithful Lord that he will never leave us… he will always forgive us… and he will reshape and refocus our lives through his living and enduring Word.
It is the one thing needed in this life… and it will guide us through this life to the eternity that God has won for us and reveals to us in his holy Word. God grant that each of you find daily refreshment and regular reminders of all of God’s promises as you sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to the one thing needed. Amen.