Mary: Unwavering Focus - Luke 10:38-42 and John 12:1-8 - May 28, 2006

Sunday School Lesson – Mary: Unwavering Focus – May 28, 2006

His is lesson four (4) in our series “Godly Women of Devotion.”

Our scripture is Luke 10:38-42 and John 12:1-8.

We have the opportunity to study about Mary and her sister Martha. These are the sisters of Lazarus, whom JESUS raised from the dead. These are dear friends of JESUS and HE enjoyed coming to visit them. Martha’s home gave JESUS a place for HIM to rest HIS head and find comfort, plus Martha was a good cook.

Let’s read Luke 10:38-42:

38 While they were traveling, He entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.[15] Other mss omit into her home 39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s[16] Other mss read at Jesus’ feet and was listening to what He said.[17] Lit to His word or message 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”[18] Or tell her to help me 41 The Lord[19] Other mss read Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice,[20] Lit has chosen the good part and it will not be taken away from her.”

JESUS is traveling with HIS disciples and they enter into a village called Bethany. Bethany is about two (2) miles from Jerusalem. A woman named Martha invites them into her home. The house is Martha’s and Martha has a sister named Mary. We also know that Martha has a brother named Lazarus, whom JESUS later raised from the dead. Martha is the oldest of the siblings.

Martha is a person who loves to open up her home to others and share what she has.

Luke tells us that Martha “also” loves to sit at JESUS’ feet and hear HIM teach. Notice in verse 39 the word “also”. So both Martha and Mary loved to sit at JESUS’ feet.

It was custom for a disciple to sit at the feet of a teacher to listen and learn. The Apostle Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel (guh-MAY-lih-el), a teacher of the law, before he became a Christian.

The word for “listen” used here suggests continuous listening. You know when either the radio or television is on and you are listening while you work. Then all of a sudden you hear something that you really want to hear. What do we do? We leave what we are doing and go listen so we will not miss a word of what is being said. I think this must have happened to Mary.

Martha being the eldest and it being her home, the responsibility of the house fell upon her shoulders. We see this when the frustration of the work load overwhelms Martha.

Martha does not go to Mary but to JESUS to vent her frustration. Was Martha frustrated with all she had to do or was it because she could not listen to what JESUS was teaching? Was it her way of saying “Okay JESUS, stop teaching so Mary can come help me?”

Let’s look at the rest of verse 40. Notice Luke tells us that Martha says, “My sister has left me to serve alone.” The implication is, Mary had been helping Martha but she had chosen to stop and go back to listen to JESUS. If we back up a few words we see that Martha says, “Don’t YOU care?” To me this shows a bit of frustration with JESUS. It seems in her mind she is thinking, “Gee JESUS surely YOU can see there is work to be done and YOU either need to stop teaching or tell Mary to go help me. After all I am doing all of this for YOU and YOUR disciples!”

Martha wants JESUS to tell Mary to help her.
JESUS responds to Martha by calling her name twice, “Martha, Martha.” I can hear the tender voice of JESUS saying Martha’s name. I think the utterance of her name by JESUS alone calmed Martha down. She knew she had gotten JESUS’ attention. So she is listening.

Martha you are a wonderful host but you are trying to out do yourself. All that you are trying to do is not necessary. Martha you need to determine what is more important in life, making a big spread of food or feeding your soul. Martha you need to check your heart and your motives. Your sister has made that choice and she has chosen correctly.

We can reflect back to last week’s lesson when Paul tells the Philippians in Philippians 1:10 “determine what really matters.”

Sure food needed to be prepared and things needed to be done but in contrast of choosing between the good and the best, spending time with JESUS was the best choice. The physical would be gone in a few hours but the spiritual would last a lifetime.

It is easy for us to get so busy doing good things that we miss the best. We need to take time to ask our LORD to reveal to us if we are letting the good things we do rob us of the best.

Often it is our ego that gets in the way. We seek the praise of people and work very hard to get that praise through our many activities.

As JESUS looked at Martha and Mary, HE saw their hearts. Both wanted to listen to HIM teach but Martha also wanted to have everything just right. There is nothing wrong with wanting every thing just right but be careful and not go overboard. Keep your priorities in order. Life is all about choices. We all have to make sure we do not get so busy that we do not have time to meet with our LORD to learn from HIM the great spiritual truths only HE can reveal.

Let’s read John 12:1-8:

1 Six days before the • Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus[1] Other mss read Lazarus who died was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray Him), said, 5 “Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 • denarii[2] This amount was about a year’s wages for a common worker. and given to the poor?” 6 He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it. 7 Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

We fast forward to six (6) days before JESUS will be crucified. During the time between JESUS’ first visit to the home of Martha, Lazarus got sick and died. Word was sent to JESUS that Lazarus was sick. But JESUS delayed two (2) days before going to HIS friends. Lazarus was dead when JESUS arrived in Bethany. In fact Lazarus had been dead for four (4) days when JESUS arrived. Lazarus being dead for four (4) days was important. The Jews believed that when a person died their soul stayed close to the body for three days. The FATHER instructed JESUS to wait because the disciples, Martha, Mary and many Jews needed to know that JESUS is the resurrection and the life and has the power over death. (John Chapter 11gives the account of this story.)

JESUS raised Lazarus from the dead. Both JESUS and Lazarus became very popular.

Martha has a dinner party in celebration of JESUS raising Lazarus from the dead. She is working away as usual. Lazarus is reclining at the table with JESUS. Reclining was the usual manner in which they ate. They would recline on a mat on the floor, leaning on their side with their feet sticking out away from the table. This would make the feet of JESUS available for Mary to anoint.

Mary, we think with Martha’s approval, takes a flask of very expensive perfume called “Nard” and anoints the feet of JESUS.
Mary then wipes HIS feet using her hair.

Nard was imported from India and came from the roots of the nard plant. The pure oil was placed in an alabaster flask and sealed. You had to break the neck of the flask to open it. Nard was not a household oil but has generally used in the preparation of a dead body. It was expensive as we learn from the scripture. In fact the roughly 12 ounces in the flask or one (1) pound that Mary used to anoint JESUS’ feet was about a years wage for a servant.

Mary wipes JESUS’ feet with her hair. This shows her love and devotion to JESUS. A woman would never let her hair down in public. If she did it sent a message that she was an immoral woman. In this case Mary expressed her deep love for CHRIST by letting her hair down and stooping to a servant’s position to wipe HIS feet using her hair. (A servant would not use their hair to wipe a person’s feet. But the job of washing a person’s feet was the job of a servant.)

Then we see that no expression of gratitude goes unnoticed some approving and some disapproving. There is often a party pooper in every crowd. Judas has to throw cold water on a very tender moment of Mary expressing her gratitude to JESUS.

We see the heart of Judas. He has a greedy and selfish heart. He is also a thief.

JESUS comes to the rescue of Mary and puts her expression of gratitude into perspective. Mary is preparing ME for MY burial. JESUS in essence is saying keep your priorities straight. It is important to care for the poor but there is a time you need to focus upon the best and Mary is doing that. In fact this moment will be remembered down through the ages.

JESUS looks upon the heart of each person. HE knows our intent. Martha had a good heart but she let things get into the way of doing the best. She wanted to be with JESUS but she also knew things had to get done. She let the physical things of life take priority over the spiritual. Mary had a heart that wanted to be with JESUS every moment she could. She wanted to listen and learn. Judas had a deceitful heart.

So what can we learn from this lesson. We know we have to do certain things. It is a fact of life. I think the key is that we must balance the things in life. We can get so busy doing that we neglect our spiritual time. We can devote ourselves to all spiritual time and neglect the physical.

We need to pray and ask the LORD to help us have such a relationship with HIM that HE will focus our life so that we accomplish the best of both the physical and the spiritual needs in our life. The right relationship with CHRIST will result in the proper balance in our life between the physical things we have to do and our spiritual growth.