“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING”
LUKE 10:38-42

I. Introduction
What is your highest priority? It seems like that should be an easy question to answer, but for many of us there are so many seemingly important things demanding our time and attention, that we struggle to even know what our highest priority might be. How many of us just tend to bounce from one crisis to another – each one becoming the priority of the moment. Is that the way a Christian is called to live? I don’t think so!

Yet the cares, concerns, responsibilities, and demands of this world are never-ending. And it doesn’t let up. If anything, it seems like it only increases. This world is a noisy place, and I’m not just talking about the noise we hear with our ears. It seems that every-one and everything is constantly vying for our attention. A quiet time, a quiet place, and a quiet heart are harder and harder to come by. It’s just too noisy.

But if we are willing to be brutally honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that much of that “noise” is of our own making. We like it. We must like it, because we per-petuate it. It keeps us occupied with temporal things. The busier we are, the more time and effort we consume doing “stuff,” the less time we have for God. If we make our world noisy enough, it becomes impossible to hear that “still small voice” within us.

But Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God (KJV).” And one of the more beautiful old hymns we sing here at Lighthouse is, “Be Still, My Soul.” But how can we be still and know anything about the Lord if we’re too busy to sit at His feet, and it’s too loud to hear what He says? Isn’t He the one priority above all others?

What is a priority? One secular dictionary defines a priority as that which has “prece-dence in time, order, or importance.” That’s a pretty good definition of Jesus, isn’t it? He has precedence in time – He is from eternity past. He has precedence in order – He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. He has precedence in importance – He is God! King David understood that God was his first priority.
Psalm 27:4
4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall 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 meditate in His temple.

The Apostle Paul also understood that God was his first priority.
Philippians 3:13b-14
13b …one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

“One thing” – David wanted to be near the Lord, to see the Lord, to think about the Lord. Paul wanted to pursue the Lord to the exclusion of any other pursuit. We might say that they “had their priorities straight.”

In this morning’s text in Luke we’ll meet two sisters, Martha and Mary. We learn more about them in John 11 where we’re told they’re the sisters of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. But today, Luke introduces them to us. As we meet them we will see Jesus teach Martha and Mary something about priorities.

We’ve already learned enough about Jesus’ teaching to know that it was radical. It was nothing like the Jewish teachings of the day. But then it’s nothing like the world’s teach-ings of this day either. Jesus’ teaching was life changing. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Jesus’ teaching was unlike that of the world because when He spoke, God Him-self was speaking. Look at some of what Jesus Himself said about His teaching.
*John 7:14b-18
14b …Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
15 The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
16 Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
17 “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.
18 “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the one who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

*John 8:26, 28 (speaking to the religious leaders)
26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these things I speak to the world.”
28 Jesus therefore said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.”

*John 15:15 (speaking to the disciples and, by extension, to us)
15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his mas-ter is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

It’s all about God’s Word. It’s all about hearing it, recognizing it for what it is, applying it to our lives, and then doing it. That’s our priority. That’s the lesson Jesus teaches the two sisters, Martha and Mary. And of course, the lesson is for us as well. It’s one of the most important lessons you and I will ever learn.

II. Text
Just before we go to the text in Luke I want us to consider a quote by Donald S. Whitney. He’s the Dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Seminary. Regarding the knowledge of God that we gain through the teaching found in His Word, Whitney says:
“No spiritual discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There is simply no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture. The reasons for this are obvious. In the Bible God tells us about Himself, and especially about Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God. The Bible unfolds the Law of God to us and shows us how we’ve all broken it. There we learn how Christ died as a sinless, willing Substi-tute for breakers of God’s Law and how we must repent and believe in Him to be right with God. In the Bible we learn the ways and will of the Lord. We find in Scripture how to live in a way that is pleasing to God as well as best and most fulfilling for ourselves. None of this eternally essential information can be found anywhere else except the Bible. Therefore, if we would know God and be godly, we must know the word of God – intimately.”

So you and I need to listen to Jesus. It’s our priority. One of the two women we’re about to meet already knows that. But one of them doesn’t.
*Luke 10:38-42 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
38 Now as they were traveling along, (Jesus) entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet.
40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to (Jesus), and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Jesus and His disciples have come to Bethany, about two miles outside of Jerusalem. Although Luke doesn’t name the village, we know it’s Bethany because John 11-12 tells us that’s where Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus live.
*Luke 10:38
38 Now as they were traveling along, (Jesus) entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

Martha is mentioned first indicating that she is the elder sister. The name “Martha” actually means “mistress,” or in this case, “the female head of a household.” She may well be a widow since Luke says the home belongs to her. Martha is a believer.
We know that because she addresses Jesus as “Lord” in v. 40. Mary’s reaction to Jesus would indicate that she too is a believer. But even though they are both believers, they respond differently to Him. Martha becomes distracted while Mary remains devoted. Why would two believers respond to Jesus in such different ways? Isn’t that all too com-mon among us? We don’t always have our priorities straight, do we?
*Luke 10:39
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet.

Imagine the scene. Martha has welcomed the Lord into her home, and Mary is seated at Jesus’ feet as He teaches those who are listening to Him. It’s a picture of serenity and tranquility. But there’s irony here too. Mary is seated at the same feet she will anoint with expensive perfume just two days before Jesus is crucified. (Mark 14:3)
John 12:2-3 (This is on Jesus’ return visit to Bethany after He raised Lazarus.)
2 So they made (Jesus) a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Again, Martha is serving and Mary is worshipping. This gives us insight into the nature of these two sisters. Both of them are believers. Both of them are followers or disciples of Jesus. Both of them love Him. But Martha is expressing her love in scurrying about, while Mary is expressing it by calmly and reverently sitting at Jesus’ feet.

At the risk of repeating myself, and just so there is no misunderstanding, what Martha is doing is not in itself bad. On the contrary, what she is doing is good. Sincere and loving service for Christ and His people should never be disparaged, and I am not doing so here.

But Jesus is in her home. He is teaching. Mary is taking advantage of it. Martha is not. At this time and place, while Martha’s service is good, Mary’s worship is better. Right now, listening to Jesus should be the priority. It is the best thing to be doing. Earlier in Luke’s gospel, Jesus had spoken of the attitude of a true believer, a genuine disciple.
*Luke 6:47-49
47 “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Mary is listening to Jesus. She is digging deep and laying a foundation on the rock.
*Luke 10:40
40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to (Jesus), and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

Martha is a believer, but Martha has lost her focus. The immediate issue of getting the meal on the table for at least fifteen people, the next issue of planning and preparing places to sleep for her house guests, and a myriad of other details have overwhelmed her, and she forgets her first priority. She is so busy with the minutia of the meal that she fails to take advantage of a priceless opportunity.

Think for a moment. How many times in your life have your traded the very best for the merely good? Don’t do that! There is no meal, no party, no anything, that is worth miss-ing those moments when God speaks in your life. You say you don’t know when those moments or opportunities may arise. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and discernment in this. Keep your eyes and ears open. We should always be willing to lay aside any earthly endeavor for those moments when God is speaking. (back to Martha)

There is joy in godly service but now Martha loses that. Her joy in having Jesus in her home turns to anger that she directs at her sister. And as her anger builds she loses con-trol and accuses Jesus of something she knows in her heart is not true – “Lord, do you not care…?” But now Martha is “on a roll.” She says, in so many words, “If You do care, then tell my sister to help me get this meal on the table!”
*Luke 10:41-42
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Jesus’ response using Martha’s name twice is an indication of His tender affection for her. He knows that she’s so deeply immersed in the mundane details of the moment that she’s become blind to the profound reality of the One who stands right there before her. Is there any one of us who can’t learn a lesson about ourselves from this?

When Jesus says, “…the good part” in v. 42, the lesson is intensified. He is saying, “Martha, only one thing is really important.” In this instance Mary has had two options. She could serve by helping in the kitchen or she could worship by sitting at Jesus’ feet. She has chosen to do the latter. The Lord says Mary has made a GOOD choice. The blessings, the benefits, the joys, and every good thing that results from her decision to stay and listen to Jesus will never be lost or taken from her.

In the end feeding the soul is infinitely better than feeding the body, isn’t it? Listen, our church lunches are wonderful.
I love our time together and the good fellowship we enjoy at them. But does anyone doubt that the spiritual food we receive here in this room isn’t more important than the physical food we receive in the Commons? Lunch is good, but God’s Word is better.
Deuteronomy 8:3b
3b “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”

What can we learn from all of this? Believers are called to both service and worship. It is true that serving God and His people with a humble and sincere heart can in itself be an act of worship. It is also true that true worship is the heart of our service to God.
Romans 12:1
1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

So it is clear that service and worship are not mutually exclusive. But in the case of Martha and Mary we are given an example of what can happen when service crowds out worship. In Martha and Mary we see a clear distinction made between the two.

Having said all of that, the fact remains that true discipleship includes both service and worship. Both are necessary, and there is at least one sense in which we are called to do both at all times simultaneously. As Christians, we’re always to be serving others. And as Christians, we’re always to be worshipping God. But it takes wisdom to know how to balance the two. The situation that developed with Martha and Mary illustrates the need for such wisdom.

So when the desire to serve, which is obviously a good thing, comes into conflict with the need to worship, it is worship that takes the priority. Again, disciples serve and disciples worship. That’s what God’s people are called to do. But Martha and Mary, both disci-ples of the Lord Jesus Christ, were in conflict. At least Martha was. At the start Mary may not have even noticed. As such, there was a conflict brewing.

But there should not have been. There’s a time to pay attention to the details of the task at hand and work, and there’s a time to pay attention to God, focus on Him, and worship.
How would the wise application of that knowledge work in your home, your family, your work place, and your church?

Why is it that we sometimes find it easier to serve than to worship? After all, service involves work. Worship is easy. Or is it? I would suggest to you that the opposite is often true. I would suggest that serving can be far easier than worshipping.

That’s because real worship is hard work in the sense that it is all-consuming. It requires our undivided attention and our entire being. Let me illustrate that. Some of you can list-en to a radio and keep an eye on a playing child while washing a floor or painting a wall. It’s all work; it’s all service. But true worship is different. True, sincere, Spirit-filled worship requires focus, concentration, your whole mind, and your whole heart.

In Martha we can see ourselves, can’t we? Part of her problem was that she was too concerned about other people and what they were (or weren’t) doing. In asking Jesus to, “…tell her to help me (v. 40),” it’s clear that she believed what she was doing (her ser-vice) was more important than what Mary was doing (or not doing). “Hey Mary, I’m working. I’m serving. Why aren’t you?”

Why? Because Mary was worshipping! She was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Him. She had pushed all other tasks and concerns aside so that she might focus on the Lord. Martha was serving. That was a good thing. But Mary was worshipping. That was a better thing. In fact, Jesus said Mary was doing the only really necessary thing (Luke 10:42). What do Martha and Mary teach us? Permit me to answer that question with a few more questions.
• How much time and effort do Christians spend evaluating the lives and work of their brothers and sisters in Christ? Can’t God do that? Does He really need His children’s opinion and help?

• How much time and effort do Christians spend making determinations as to the value or the morality of their brothers’ and sisters’ choices in their own personal walk with God? We’re all at different stages of our spiritual growth and maturity, aren’t we? Can’t God and His Word teach, convict, and sanctify His own? Does He really need to hear His children’s evaluations in order for Him to make His?

• How much time and effort do Christians spend pointing out the flaws in their brothers’ and sisters’ lives when it comes to their personal preferences, their ser-vice, or their worship, while at the same time being completely blind to the flaws in their own? Can’t God correct all of our errors? Does He really need His child-ren to point them out?

Those are important questions. Bible believing churches seldom fall apart from external attacks. But they can be torn to shreds from within. “I’m holier than you!” No, no, I’m holier than you!” Satan loves that kind of thing. He loves it because it works.

Listen, we do not ignore sin. But we had better learn to ignore, or at least to set aside, our assessment of each other’s walk and personal choices. The things you do or don’t do for recreation; the things you eat and drink or don’t eat and drink; the places you go or don’t go; the people you associate with or don’t associate with; the clothes you wear or don’t wear (please wear something), the degree to which you “keep the Sabbath” or don’t keep it; and on and on ad infinitum. None of these things determine your value as a child of God.

You and I can argue and debate specifics all day long. But in the end, if all we do is drive a wedge between each other, based on our personal preferences or different levels of spiritual growth, what have we accomplished?
The fact is that we are not called to judge our brother’s and sister’s decisions in matters of their personal choices.

The Apostle Paul addressed that very problem in his letter to the church at Colossae.
Colossians 2:16-17
16 …let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day –
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Christ! He is the important thing. He is to be our priority. We are not called to judge our brothers and sisters. That only serves to divide. On the contrary, we are called to love our brothers and sisters. That only serves to unite.

We’re called to come alongside of them, lift them up, encourage them, bless them, and love them unconditionally. We must deal with blatant sin, but we must also let God deal with the rest.
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III. Conclusion
So, how are you doing with that? How am I doing with that? How are we doing with that? The spiritual health of our families and our church depend on how we are all doing with that. Martha wasn’t doing very well, was she? She knew her service was a good thing, but on that day when Jesus came to her home she overestimated its value and placed it above worship. But Martha’s younger sister Mary got it right.

Mary was living up to God’s standards. It’s just that she wasn’t living up to Martha’s standards. And Martha didn’t like it. She complained to Jesus about it. There’s little doubt that Martha thought the Lord would side with her. She must have expected some-thing like this from Jesus: “Mary, stop listening to Me and go help your sister get that roast out of the oven!” Do you think Martha was surprised when Jesus said nothing of the sort? He refused to hear Martha’s complaint. But He honored Mary.

You service is critically important to this church and to God’s people. We must have it. We cannot survive without. But when it’s time to worship, worship must, must be the priority. We need the wisdom to recognize those times and to make the most of those opportunities.

Mary did. The opportunity was there. Jesus was talking. Mary set aside everything to listen. After all, when Jesus is talking, isn’t listening to Him the priority? Isn’t listening to Jesus the most important thing?

~ Pray ~