Come Sit at My Feet

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a large group of people?

We're taking our way through the story of Jesus in Luke's gospel.

Luke tells us about a moment like this where things got awkward.

We're in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Let me just read for you the first couple verses.

Luke 10 verse 38.

Luke 10:38

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way,

he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

She had a sister called Mary.

So Jesus and his disciples, they come to this village

where this woman named Martha opens her home to Jesus.

And Luke just tells us Martha had a sister named Mary.

We know from later on in the story,

and specifically from the gospel of John,

that Martha and Mary lived together in the village of Bethany,

which was just about two miles southeast from Jerusalem.

What's also interesting is that Bethany is the last stop on the highway

coming into Jerusalem from the city of Jericho.

And so that may explain why Jesus used the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

in the parable of the Good Samaritan,

which came right before this.

Jesus and his disciples, they might be traveling into Jerusalem

for another of the annual festivals at this time,

and just kind of doing ministry along the way.

We also know from the gospel of John

that Martha and Mary have a brother named Lazarus.

And Lazarus later gets sick and dies,

and ends up being raised from the dead by Jesus.

We read about that later on in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

And also in John 11, we read this.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So Martha and Mary end up being very close friends with Jesus.

We don't actually know from the gospel accounts

when this connection happened,

when Martha and Mary and Lazarus first met Jesus.

Did the women meet Jesus through Lazarus?

Was it in Jerusalem at one of the festivals?

Was this the first time that Jesus met up with Martha?

Or was it just the first time that she welcomed him into her home?

We don't know any of that.

It's the first mention of Martha and Mary in Luke's account.

Whatever it was, Luke tells us that Martha opens her home to Jesus.

She welcomes him and extends hospitality to him.

Now, Luke doesn't waste any time telling us about this visit.

And he really only highlights one moment in particular from this visit.

Something happened here at Martha's house.

There was this tension in the house.

This sort of awkward moment.

And the tension arises between Martha and Mary, the two sisters.

And it has to do with what each of them is doing.

And Luke tells us what they were doing.

Martha had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

So just try and imagine this for a moment.

What would you do when 13 men show up at your front door?

That's Jesus and his 12 disciples.

Well, you welcome them into the house.

Come on in.

You give them greetings.

And then, if you're like Martha, the one who extended the invitation,

you get right to work on the hosting part, right?

These 13 men aren't going to feed themselves.

There's probably some rearranging of the furniture that needs to be done

just to get everyone a place to sit in this first century home

in this little village of Bethany.

And is anyone thirsty?

Does anyone need a drink of water?

And the list goes on.

Luke says Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

I don't know if you've ever felt like that when having a large gathering at your house.

Have you ever had a moment like that?

You can almost just imagine Martha scurrying around in the home

trying to look after all these things.

And meanwhile, Luke says that her sister Mary is just there

sitting down at the feet of Jesus, listening to him.

Let's flip over to Mary's perspective.

Can you really blame her for wanting to just sit there and listen to Jesus?

I mean, this is Jesus himself right there in her own living room.

And he's talking.

We don't even get from Luke the details of what Jesus was saying.

But whatever it was, Mary didn't want to miss a word.

She just wanted to sit there and soak it in.

And this is where the tension begins to build.

Imagine that you're Martha

and you feel the weight of responsibility to host this large group of guests.

And there's one person here who could be a real help to you,

who knows the house, who knows where everything is.

And she's just sitting there on the floor, listening to Jesus.

Well, that's fine for a few minutes.

But then time begins to pass.

And she isn't politely excusing herself and coming to help with all the hosting stuff.

You can imagine the frustration beginning to rise in Martha's heart.

And maybe she just kept it quiet at first.

She doesn't want to embarrass her sister in front of the guests.

And so she just, we don't know, just imagining.

She keeps working harder, keeps going faster.

Try to get all the things ready.

Well, I imagine that all of them in the house

could feel Martha's temperature rising.

And eventually it sort of comes to this moment

where Martha just can't take it anymore.

She's well past frustrated.

She's in the anger zone.

She doesn't even speak to Mary herself.

But she speaks to Jesus.

She came to Jesus and asked,

Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?

Tell her to help me.

Well, if I'm Peter or one of the other disciples,

I'm thinking,

this is awkward.

Sibling conflict

between two women over who should be doing house stuff.

And maybe I'm even feeling a little guilty

since my being here

is causing indirectly this stress to Martha.

I'm also thinking about all the other times

that Jesus has been called on

to settle disputes between people.

Martha calls on the guest of honor

to direct her own sister

to help her.

Now, if Jesus were just an ordinary man like me,

this would be one of those moments

where I pause

and consider very carefully

what I say next.

You know, the last thing I want to do

is take sides here

between two sisters

about the hospitality stuff

in their own house.

And if I don't watch what I say

very carefully here,

one of those sisters

is probably going to be upset with me

for the rest of the evening.

But Jesus is no ordinary man.

He's not afraid to take sides.

He doesn't live to please people.

He just gently and firmly

speaks the truth to everyone and anyone

wherever He is.

And listen to what He says.

In response,

Martha, Martha,

you are worried and upset

about many things,

but few things are needed,

or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better,

and it will not be taken away from her.

Did Jesus, the guest,

just chide,

or even gently rebuke

His host?

Yeah, He did.

And it was probably

somewhat humiliating

for Martha in this moment

to receive that word of correction.

But then I'm sure

as she thought about it

and

pondered it,

she knew that Jesus was right.

This is one of those reasons

why Jesus is just so amazing.

This is the kind of person He is.

He doesn't just tell people

what they want to hear.

He was a true friend.

He comes over to your house

as the guest,

and He gently rebukes you

as the host.

Who else does that?

Let's also notice, though,

Jesus does make it clear.

He understands

how she feels.

He says,

you're worried and upset

about many things.

Maybe up until this moment,

Martha had even been wondering,

like,

does anybody

see the problem here?

Does anybody understand

what I'm feeling?

Well, Jesus saw it,

and He knew it.

He didn't say that

that was right,

but He did acknowledge it.

And then we see this contrast

that Jesus brings out here.

Martha, Martha,

you're worried about

many things,

but few things are needed,

or indeed,

only one.

I think it's kind of obvious

what Jesus means

when He's talking about

the many things.

That's the hospitality stuff.

That's all the preparations

that she's working on.

But then,

what does He mean

by the contrast?

What's the few,

or what's the one

that's really needed?

Now,

why does He say at first,

few,

but then narrow it down

to one?

Which is it?

Few or one?

Well,

let's wade into that

a little bit.

First,

there is a bit

of a textual issue here.

Most English translations

simply say,

say this,

but one thing is necessary.

You're worried about

many things,

but one thing

is necessary.

There's a shorter variation.

There's a longer variation.

And truth be told,

if you look back

at the ancient manuscripts,

there's several variations

at this point.

And scholars

and translators,

of course,

they recognize this

as a difficult textual issue.

The evidence kind of leans

in favor of the shorter reading

being the original one,

which is why most English translations

just say this,

but one thing is necessary

or needed.

If the few things

is part of what Jesus said,

Jesus could be saying

something like,

Martha,

Martha,

Martha,

you don't have to go all out.

Simple hospitality

will suffice.

We don't need extravagance.

A few things will do.

But at the end of this,

I'm really at your place

not for what you can do for me,

but for you,

to be with you.

And here we kind of notice,

either way,

Jesus seems to be

shifting it away

from hospitality

and toward relationship

with what he says.

The main point

Jesus is making here

seems to be that

Mary has chosen

what is better.

There she is

sitting at Jesus' feet,

listening to his words.

And she's chosen

relationship

over hospitality,

over service.

The one thing needed

is not more activity

for Jesus,

but attention to Jesus.

In fact,

I think we can even

push it a little bit

further than that.

What does Jesus

really want Martha

to do right now?

You ever thought about that?

What does Jesus

really want Martha to do?

Well, he wants her

to stop being distracted

and anxious

and come sit down

at his feet

with Mary.

I mean,

Jesus doesn't say

this word for word,

but I think it's sort of

implied, isn't it?

I came here to see you

and to spend time

with you

and with Mary.

Or to put it another way,

if Mary has chosen

the better thing,

Jesus says it

right point blank,

then what does Jesus

want for Martha

to do right now

in this moment?

Yeah.

Isn't he inviting her?

Come, Martha.

Sit at my feet.

Join us.

Be with us.

Be with me.

That's all that's needed.

I'm not going to make

Mary go help you

in the kitchen.

It's her choice

and she has chosen well.

And this is it.

This is all we get

from Luke

about this visit

to Mary and Martha's house.

Just this short

little conversation

following this tension

in the house.

Why is this here

in the Bible?

Well, it must be

in Luke's mind

and ultimately

in God's mind

it must be

that there's enough

of a lesson here

to be learned.

Not just for Martha

but for others

who would read this

as well.

For us.

And what is that lesson?

What's that main truth

in all of this?

I think very simply

what Luke is showing

what God is saying

what Jesus is getting at

and what Martha learned

is that relationship

with Jesus

is the most important thing.

Relationship with Jesus

is the most important thing.

Now there's a couple ways

we could

say it differently.

We could use

some of Jesus' own words.

Relationship with Jesus

is the better thing.

Or since there's only

one thing that's needed

relationship with Jesus

is the best thing.

Not that there isn't

goodness to the other things

but relationship with Jesus

is the best thing.

And I think when we hear that

we kind of know that

in our hearts, right?

Or we could bring in

that other word of Jesus.

Relationship with Jesus

is the only thing

truly needed.

But one thing is needed.

Relationship with Jesus

is the only thing

truly needed.

And when I say it that way

I think,

that's a little harder

to accept sometimes,

isn't it?

Do you feel that?

What about this?

What about that?

Don't we need

those things too?

Part of me wants

to defend Martha

a little bit here.

Somebody's got to look

after supper

or we're all going

to be really hungry.

And that's true.

But honestly,

what do we need more?

The meal

or to be with Jesus?

In fact,

God really kind of

answered that

a long time ago.

Back in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 8:3

8 verse 3,

man shall not live

by bread alone

but by every word

that comes

from the mouth of God.

There is something

even more essential

to life

than even the food

we eat.

And it's our relationship

with God.

And specifically

that part of our relationship

where we listen

to God's word.

Where we listen

to the words

of Jesus.

If you have to choose

between food

and Jesus,

one fills your belly

till tomorrow.

The other fills

your soul.

and your heart

and your mind

with life

and with light

that lasts forever.

One is the food

and drink

that after eating

we get hungry

again.

We get thirsty

again.

Jesus offers us

living water

and the bread

of life

and says

that it will

quench our thirst

and satisfy our hunger

forever.

forever.

I'm reminded

of these words

from John's gospel.

John 6

John 6:35

verse 35

Jesus declared

I am the bread

of life

whoever comes

to me

will never

go hungry

and whoever

believes in me

will never

be thirsty.

or maybe

we could

frame it

this way

the very

son of God

God

in human

flesh

is coming

to your

house

this evening.

what's better

that you put

out a fine

spread of

appetizers

and refreshments

and cook him

a fine meal

and offer him

the best

and most

comfortable stay

at the cost

of being

with him

or that

everyone goes

hungry

and gets

parched

by the end

of the evening

but you enjoy

several hours

of close

relationship

with

Jesus

listening to

him

talking

with him

heart

to heart

I think

when we put

it that way

we kind of

all recognize

that it's

true

relationship

with Jesus

is

the only

thing

truly needed

it is

the better

thing

it is

the best

thing

the one

thing

if

you've

been

exposed

to the

Bible

or Christian

teaching

that truth

probably

comes as

no surprise

you're probably

thinking

yeah we've

heard this

a lot

even just

last Sunday

the religious

lawyer who

talked with

Jesus

knew that

this was

the truth

he knew

that the

greatest

commandment

in the

law

was to

love the

Lord your

God

with all

your heart

soul

mind

and strength

he too

knew that

relationship

with God

is the

most

important

thing

but as

we saw

with him

last week

in the

passage just

above this

it's possible

to know

this truth

and yet

not actually

respond to

it

we have

to go

beyond just

knowing it

we have

to respond

to it

relationship

with Jesus

is the

only

thing

truly

needed

it's the

better

thing

it's the

best

thing

it's the

one

thing

but along

with that

truth

comes an

invitation

from Christ

to you

and to

me

again

what did

Jesus

really want

Martha to

do

it's

implied in

his answer

isn't it

drop all

the worries

and the

frets

and leave

those

distractions

and come

and sit

at my

feet

be with

me

just

imagine

for a

moment

that you

were

Martha

and Jesus

said these

words

that we

just read

to you

will you

come

will you

sit

at my

feet

will you

come and

do this

better

thing

that Mary

has

chosen

would you

do it

would you

just drop

all the

preparations

and do

it

how would

you respond

to Jesus

I think

it's the

same

invitation

to Martha

that Jesus

gives to

all of us

today

come

sit at

my feet

don't worry

about all

those other

things

come be

with me

come listen

to my

words

now

there is

one thing

that's

really

different

from then

to now

Martha

had Jesus

physically

present

in her

home

in flesh

and blood

and so

we know

exactly

what the

relationship

with Jesus

meant

for her

back then

but

2,000

years later

some things

have changed

the story

goes on

Jesus

dies

he rose

again

from the

dead

he ascended

into heaven

and right

now

he's sitting

in heaven

at the right

hand of God

until that

day that he

returns

we also know

that not long

after he ascended

into heaven

he sent

his spirit

to indwell

us

to live

inside of

us

and so

relationship

with Jesus

for us

today

it looks

really

different

than it

did back

then for

Martha

and Mary

he doesn't

come to

our house

he doesn't

sleep in

our guest

room

and we

can't just

physically

sit at his

feet like

Mary did

now

we talk

to Jesus

by prayer

and his

spirit

living in

us

hears

our

prayers

in that

sense

we actually

have one

thing

better

than Mary

and Martha

had

we can

talk to

Jesus

anytime

now

we don't

have to

wait

for him

to come

over

to our

house

wherever

we are

at any

time

we can

pray

and Jesus

hears us

but now

how do we

sit at his

feet

and listen

to him

Jesus

talks to us

now by

his spirit

through

the written

words of

God

through our

Bibles

maybe I'll

say it

this way

you might

think differently

about it

but there's

a way

here that

Mary and

Martha

had it a

little

better

than us

they got

to see

Jesus

face to

face

and sit

there and

listen to

him

for us

it's

different

Jesus

is in

heaven

and we

come to

sit at

his feet

through a

book

we have

to open

it

we have

to read

it

we have

to meditate

on words

that he

has already

spoken in

the past

but as

we do

he speaks

to us

through

these

words

in the

present

that's

what

relationship

with

Jesus

looks like

for us

today

prayer

is how

we

talk

to

him

and

meditation

on his

written

word

is how

we

listen

to

him

and

yes

that

isn't

the way

that I

probably

that we

would prefer

it to be

we

would rather

it be

face to

face

wouldn't

we

voice to

ear

but Jesus

said that

this is how

it's going

to be

in another

parable

he told

the disciples

how he

is like a

king

going away

to be

crowned

and who

will later

return

but we

his servants

are kind

of left

in the

meantime

to serve

and to

await his

return

he

as we

heard earlier

in the

service

has gone

to prepare

a place

for us

so that

we can

be with

him

but for

now

we wait

for him

to return

and so

our relationship

with him

it's very

different

but even

though it's

different

I don't

think it

changes

the invitation

of Jesus

to us

he invites

us all

come

sit at

my feet

listen

to my

words

draw

near

open

the Bible

I will

speak to

you

and

it might

feel weird

at first

to try

and have

relationship

with

God

with Jesus

through a

book

especially

if

you're

not

someone

who

really

enjoys

reading

and never

have

but there's

a different

kind of

reading

we can

read

for

relationship

I still

remember

the days

before

FaceTime

and video

chat

were a

thing

we did

this thing

where we

used to

write

letters

first

it was

hand

written

delivered

by the

postal

service

then it

was

type

written

then it

was

email

have you

ever

received

a

precious

personal

letter

a letter

of

relationship

from

someone

I mean

usually

that sort

of thing

happened

when two

people

were

separated

after I

graduated

from Bible

college

there was

this

summer

where

Jen and

I

were

dating

but not

yet

engaged

we just

started

our

relationship

in

January

and I

really

wanted

to marry

Jen

I was

already

sold

but you

got to

go through

the process

you got to

you know

take your

time

and

she was

off having

an adventure

in Morocco

on a

missions

trip

and I

was

sitting at

home

worried

that she

was going

to start

feeling

called

to go

be a

missionary

in

Morocco

meanwhile

I felt

God

calling

me

to be

a

pastor

in

North

America

well that

month

that she

was gone

felt like

forever

to me

I didn't

hear from

her while

she was

gone

the

relationship

was

distanced

I didn't

know what

she was

thinking

or feeling

and how

this was

going to

work

itself

out

in the

future

and then

one day

this

handwritten

letter

came

in the

mail

and it

meant the

world to

me

I didn't

just read

it to get

information

about

Jen

the words

on the

page

were her

speaking to

me

and I

treasured

those

words

I

would

have

rather

been

with

her

in

person

but

her

words

on the

page

were

better

than

nothing

that's

how we

must

relate

to

Jesus

right

now

while

he

is

away

God

has

written

letters

to us

through

the

centuries

we

have

them

all

recorded

in

different

kinds

some

of the

words

of the

prophets

some

are

actual

letters

accounts

of what

happened

things

that he

has

said

things

that he

has

done

revealing

who

he

is

to

us

some

are

instruction

about

how

to

live

others

are

just

telling

us

about

the

things

he

has

waiting

for

us

in

the

future

the

things

he's

promised

even

if

reading

for

other

purposes

isn't

our

thing

this

is

relational

reading

where

it

can

be

do

you

hear

the

invitation

of

Jesus

to

come

and

sit

at

his

feet

have

you

been

like

Mary

just

enjoying

his

words

often

soaking

in

everything

God

has

to

say

as

you

open

up

your

Bible

throughout

the

week

or

have

you

been

like

Martha

of

late

distracted

by

the

many

things

too

busy

to

find

time

to

sit

down

and

be

quiet

and

open

up

his

letter

and

read

it

are

you

making

time

throughout

each

week

to

be

with

Jesus

to

talk

with

him

to

listen

to

him

does

what

Jesus

said

to

Martha

bring

conviction

maybe

your

priorities

are

out

of

order

have

you

been

neglecting

the

one

thing

needed

for

the

many

things

do

you

need

to

change

how

you

structure

your

mornings

or

your

evenings

or

your

days

or

your

weeks

so

that

you

have

that

time

guarded

and

protected

to

sit

at the

feet

of

Jesus

now

I know

it's

easy to

hear

those

kinds

of

questions

and

think

yeah

I

need

to

do

more

and

then

jump

right

back

into

the

busyness

and

distractedness

of

life

and

forget

it

all

and

so

I

want

to

offer

a

couple

practical

helps

that

really

can

make

a

difference

one

is

this

little

yellow

book

it's

called

before

you

open

your

Bible

nine

heart

postures

for

approaching

God's

word

I got

two

of

these

they'll

be

on

the

mailbox

table

at

the

back

you

could

read

one

of

these

heart

postures

in

less

than

five

minutes

and

just

encourage

us

about

how

for

relationship

with

him

it

gets

us

thinking

and

then

we

can

jump

into

our

reading

and

meet

with

him

so

that's

available

and

if

we

need

to

order

more

we

can

order

more

Bible

reading

plans

are

also

helpful

sometimes

that

decision

of

where

do

I

read

becomes

a

barrier

well

the

plan

can

help

you

know

well

just

go

to

the

next

spot

keep

carrying

on

with

where

you

were

and

and

with

those

don't

worry

about

falling

behind

most

of

them

are

laid

out

to

get

through

the

Bible

in

a

year

don't

worry

about

falling

behind

just

pick

up

wherever

you

left

off

just

like

you

do

with

a

friend

and

last

maybe

maybe

it's

really

just

the

motivation

maybe

Jesus

invitation

is

enough

to

bring

you

near

today

but

you

feel

like

you

just

need

!

more

reminders

of

how

important

it

is

to

spend

time

with

Jesus

throughout

the

week

I

want

to

encourage

you

to

spend

some

time

in

Psalm

119

it's

got

22

chunks

in it

eight

verses

each

and

the

whole

focus

of

Psalm

119

is

the

value

of

God's

word

of

what

it

is

to

us

and

let

God

convince

you

and

motivate

you

to

draw

near

and

listen

the more

we soak

our minds

in that

truth

the easier

it gets

to just

cast aside

the other

things

the distractions

and just

focus

come

and sit

at Jesus

feet

so those

are three

things

in closing

relationship

with Jesus

is the most

important thing

but we need

to draw

near

we need

to come

we need

to engage

in it

with our

hearts

father in

heaven

pull us

closer

to you

draw us

in

as only

you can

do

lord we

confess

and we

admit

that

often

we are

so easily

distracted

we go

all over

the place

we do

all sorts

of things

we get

interested

in new

hobbies

and

things

but we

really only

have so much

time in our

lives

and it is

precious

it is a

gift

and we

can enjoy

some of those

good things

but let's not

miss the most

important thing

lord that's what

we ask

is that you

would

draw us

close to you

so that we

are with you

and that our

relationship

grows stronger

and sweeter

day by day

i pray that

that would

be the

truth

in our

individual

lives

in our

corporate

life

as a

church

that we

would be

known

in our

community

as a

people

who love

you

and who

love

your word

do that

work in us

we pray

in jesus name

amen