I have written this week with the Lord’s help about the
Most Important Thing. In this article we will focus our
attention upon the story of Martha and Mary found in
(Luke 10:38-42). This scripture is only found in the
Book of Luke. This book was written by Luke, the
beloved physician and travelling companion of the
Apostle Paul (Colossians 4:14) (II Timothy 4:11). Luke
also wrote the Book of Acts the only book of history in
the New Testament. And addressed both books to most
excellent Theophilus, (Luke 1:1-4) and (Acts 1:-3). His
purpose for writing to Theophilus was to confirm his
faith in Jesus Christ. Luke also wrote to the Greeks (the
Gentiles) showing Jesus as the perfect divine man, and
as the son of man. In the Book of Luke he deals with
the humanity of Jesus Christ. One of the distinctive
features of this book is how greatly its author honored
womanhood. Women appear prominently in Luke’s
narrative, namely Mary and Elisabeth (Luke 11:39-56)
Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) Anna, a prophetess
(Luke 2:36, 37) other widows (Luke 4:26) (Luke 7:11,
12) (Luke 18:3) (Luke 21:1-4) and the daughters of
Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-29). The Bible says = Now it
came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain
village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into
her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at
Jesus 'feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered
about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid
her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said
unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke
10:38, 42). This is a beautiful Bible story about two
women named Martha and Mary.
As Jesus was conducting his ministry in Perea he
entered into a certain village. The name of this village
was Bethany. Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem about
fifteen furlongs or two miles. A certain woman named
Martha received Jesus into her house. She welcomed
him into her house and became the hostess to him. We
believe that Martha was the owner of this house. When
we began to search for more information about Martha,
we found out that her name only appears in two books
in the New Testament: Luke and John. Read (John
11:1-45) and (John 12:1-9). Martha had a sister called
Mary, and she had a brother named Lazarus (Luke
11:1, 5). When Jesus was received into Martha’s house
she made sure his feet were washed and prepared a
delicious meal for Jesus and wanted to serve it in a fine
fashion. The most important thing as far as Martha was
concerned involved making everything perfect for
Jesus. But her sister called Mary went into the room
where Jesus was and sat at his feet and heard his
word. Mary took the position of a pupil or learner at the
feet of the one who was teaching the word of truth.
She chose to be a disciple of Jesus Christ she wanted
to hear something to feed her soul. As far as Mary was
concerned this was the most important thing for her
life. But Martha was cumbered about much serving.
The word CUMBERED means = to be distracted with
care or to be overloaded with burden or worry. Being
cumbered began to retard her progress she was trying
to do everything and she became hyper, nervous, and
full of stress. And she came to Jesus, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid
her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said
unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things: Jesus called her name two times for affirmation
and to settle her down a little bit. He saw everything she was
doing to be a gracious hostess, and honor his presence in her
home. It was not rebuke to Martha, but rather a
commendation for all of her hard work and effort. But
one thing is needful: the word NEEDFUL means = a
requirement necessary or of necessity. Hearing and
receiving Jesus’ word is more needful than serving
good meal to special, honored guest like Jesus. (John
6:63) says = It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit, and they are life. And Mary hath chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her. She has
made the most important thing, the most important
thing in her life. She will never lose it thieves will
never be able to steal it, it will never rust or decay. The
word of God is Spirit and it is life. Time, age, or mental
condition cannot completely erase God’s holy word
from our minds and our hearts. Somewhere in the mind
are embedded scriptures, and words of songs and we
can recall them and retrieve them from our long-term
memory. The word of God is the good part of our life
that cannot be taken away from the beloved saints of
God. Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church and all of God’s
people who read this article make sure that we hear the words
of Jesus. Don’t stay away from the hearing of the anointed
preached word, come to Sunday school, and Bible class. Expose
your mind to the word of God eat it, and assimilate it into your
spiritual heart. Take your mind off of eating and drinking and
watching TV seek for a greater knowledge of God’s holy word.
Open your brand new Bible, read it, study it, seek for
understanding of it. This is the most important thing!
Reprint (2017)
Suffragan Bishop Charles L. Smith, D.D., Emeritus
