4 Wonderful Life Lessons from Mary and Martha

4 Wonderful Life Lessons from Mary and Martha

We’ve heard the story of Mary and Martha. So many of our studies want us to choose whether we are Team Martha – the doer who doesn’t always take the time to be present. Or are we Team Mary – the one who values being present? (Luke 10:38-42)

I want to suggest that we are missing some major themes from this story when we choose a team.

Who were these women?

Let’s look at Martha first. Martha has invited Jesus to her home. She is excited and honored to host Jesus and His disciples. She wants to offer the best in hospitality; maybe she will even get to hear some of His teachings. After all, He was the most incredible teacher of their time.

Martha was busy tending to these hostess duties and was just a wee bit irritated with her sister, Mary. Mary wasn’t helping with the hostess duties at all. Instead, she was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to what He had to say.

Our western culture knows that intentional time with Jesus is best. We often either rejoice in being a Mary or lament being a Martha – wishing to be a Mary. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus; she wanted to hear His words and teachings. As always, there is more to the story when you dive a little deeper.

Here are 4 Wonderful Life Lessons from Mary and Martha

This story, so short and seemingly of little substance, is packed full of changes and lessons we can learn from today.

1 – Martha was a good Jewish woman

It is believed that Martha was the eldest of her siblings and that the home Jesus and His disciples visited was her’s. Martha lived her life according to Jewish traditions. In the Jewish culture, Martha was doing the right thing. In those days, Jewish women were expected to take care of guests in their home, creating an environment of comfort and nourishing their friend’s bodies with food and drink. Martha understood the significance of having Jesus, her friend and teacher, and his disciples in her home.

The opportunity to offer hospitality to a famous teacher was considered an honor in Martha’s time. And she was reveling in that honor. It’s possible she made an elaborate dinner and invested in making her home perfect. Unfortunately, Martha had too much on her hands and brain, causing her to snap at Jesus. Her sister wasn’t doing what a good Jewish woman does. Martha’s behavior fits the cultural expectations.

2 – Mary was a devoted rebel

Mary chose to sit at Jesus’s feet. This is not where you would typically find a woman that day. Women were allowed to hear the Torah in the synagogue but weren’t permitted the teaching of the Torah. That is so foreign to us today, but this was the accepted attitude of that time; Mary was violating cultural expectations.

There was something that Mary instinctively knew about Jesus that possibly even His disciples didn’t know. Not only did she sit at the feet of Jesus in their home, but she was also the one to anoint Him with oil (John 12:1-8). Hosts typically provide water for the feet, anointing only the head with a small amount of oil. Servants typically were the ones to handle the feet of the guests. Mary was extraordinarily extravagant in this beautiful act of devotion.

3 – Jesus changes the paradigm for women

In the middle of this drama between sisters, we find Jesus quietly changing the culture of Jewish women. When Jesus said to Martha, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her, we see the winds of change coming.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus gently transforms the cultural norms for women. For example, in John 4, we see Jesus deliberately walk through Samaria, a place Jews refuse to inhabit, for a divine appointment. Not only did He meet this woman here, but He offered to drink from her cup, knew all about her, and she is the first person He shared that He was the Messiah too. She ran back to the town to tell everyone what she had witnessed. Friends, this makes her the first evangelist, a woman!

The fact that Jesus allowed Mary to sit at His feet as He taught broke several barriers for women. First, she was allowed to hear the teachings, let alone in a seat reserved for His disciples. Second, not only did He permit Mary that seat, but He told Martha it was better than serving. Third, he wouldn’t let Mary leave his instruction or get up from the position she occupied. This concept was mind-blowing to the Jewish women of that day.

4 – Both women offer something to Jesus

Both Martha and Mary offered the best of what they had to Jesus. Martha chose the way of service, desiring to pledge her devotion to Him by being the best hostess she could be. Mary knew she didn’t want to miss a word Jesus said and even welcomed Him by anointing Him with expensive oils.

We make Christianity less than if all we are doing are works and not resting in faith (Ephesians 2:9). Martha and Mary show that devoted service and devoted faith are necessary and significant. Jesus reminds us that service is good, but time with Him is best. 

Whether you are Team Martha or Team Mary, you have much to offer our Lord. Sometimes Jesus needs us to be Marthas to complete what He requires of us, but more often, He wants us to sit with Him, soaking up His Word, getting to know Him, and just enjoying His presence. Being a Mary is also important because it reminds us to rest in Christ and put Him first. 

Written by Nita Wilkinson.

Nita Wilkinson is a writer and speaker that encourages women to pursue joy and freedom with the most important tool in the toolbox of life, the Bible. You can find out more about Nita at her web page www.inthewhisper.org, through her podcast The In the Whisper Podcast and through various social media outlets.