KITCHEN OR THE KINGDOM: The Great Chasm between Mary and Martha!

Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38–42

I’m curious, what do you think the tone of Jesus’ voice was when He answered Martha that day? What expression do you see on His face? Was this a soft and gentle admonishment from a loving Savior: a bit of a slap on the wrist? Or did His tone of voice reflect a great seriousness? Was Martha’s error a minor deviation? Or could she have been in great danger? How do you read it?

We live in a time where it has become quite acceptable for professing believers to be just like Martha: anxious and troubled about many things! A life, and a calendar, filled with distraction, busyness, and hurry has now become an acceptable Christian life. We tell ourselves, “Jesus understands, it’s just the world we live in.”

But what if we are wrong? What if a life of distraction, and a heart that is anxious and troubled about many things, is not acceptable. What if this story was included in the pages of Scripture because the folly of Martha was extremely significant? What if Jesus was very serious when He rebuked her, in the living room of her own home, with a house full of guests looking on?

I believe the answer to these questions can be found in two words: “Martha, Martha.”

We must understand that in Jesus’ day the repetition of a word had great meaning. It meant that what was being said carried great significance. It was weighty. Possibly even—urgent!

The great Charles Spurgeon had this to say: “Jesus calling her name twice shows His tenderness and seriousness, urging her to prioritize the right thing—His presence.”

Renowned theologian John Calvin says it this way: “The repetition of her name is both a loving and [a] solemn call for her to reassess her priorities …”

The great commentator Matthew Henry said that by Him calling her name twice “He speaks as one in earnest, and deeply concerned for her welfare. Those that are entangled in the cares of this life are not easily disentangled. To them we must call again and again.”

I think we live in a time when most professing believers have no trouble hearing Spurgeon use the word “tenderness,” but we do not understand why He used the word “seriousness.” We can easily receive Calvin’s word “loving,” but we dismiss that word “solemn.” We live in a time when we cannot fathom why Matthew Henry thought Jesus would be “deeply concerned for her welfare.”

Yet these words represent exactly how Jesus guards and protects His children, how He preserves the saints until the end; He pulls them like a magnet from the front, with kindness, grace, and tenderness, while simultaneously pushing and prodding them from the back with eternal warnings.

My friend, please hear me when I say this: The words of Jesus to Martha on that day were full of love and grace and tenderness. But do not be deceived; they were also solemn and serious. He was issuing a warning to her.

He was, in fact, deeply concerned for her welfare. The warnings of Scripture couldn’t be clearer: To be distracted in this life is a very serious matter. To have a heart that is anxious and troubled about many things is a very serious matter.

Martha was a commendable woman. She was a woman of hospitality (which is a sign of Godliness). She was a well-intentioned woman with a heart to serve. Martha had gotten things almost right!

But here is the problem: Sometimes in life, almost right … is entirely wrong. And I think this is the case with Martha. She was so close, yet at the same time she had missed the point completely.

Why do I claim she had gotten things so wrong?

Because I think the choices of Mary and Martha on that day represented a great distinction in the hearts of these two women: Mary was a woman who possessed what the saints of old called “poverty of spirit.” She was a woman desperate for His presence. She hungered and thirsted for His word. She could not fathom the thought of letting a meal from the kitchen keep her from a feast in the living room. She was truly … UNDISTRACTED!

As I ponder this story, I can’t help but wonder, had Mary also been sitting at the Rabbi’s feet when He said those words …

“Blessed are the poor [poverty] in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

The Kingdom of Heaven is reserved for those who hunger and thirst! For the Marys of this world—the desperate ones. The undistracted ones!

Listen to the prayer of Moses at Sinai: “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). John Calvin describes the heart of Moses in this way: “He signifies that it would be better and more desirable for him to perish in the desert than to go any further without the manifest token of God’s presence.”

Or consider these other words from Jesus: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 10:12).

In speaking of this verse, Matthew Henry says: “They who would enter into the kingdom of heaven must strive to enter; that kingdom suffers a holy violence … The violent take it by force … They who will have an interest in the great salvation are carried out towards it with a strong desire, will have it upon any terms.”

My friend, have you come to the place, like Moses, where you would rather perish in the desert than go any further without His presence in your life? Have you come to the mountain of desperation? Are you ready to cast aside all distractions in your life so that you may beat down that Kingdom door with a Holy violence? Are you so hungry that you must be sitting at His feet, no matter the cost—upon any terms? If the answer is yes, be encouraged, my friend; He has cleared a spot on the floor next to Mary; the Kingdom of Heaven is near to you.

But for those who answer no—the Marthas of this world, the distracted ones, the ones whose hearts are anxious and troubled about many things—please hear me today: You are in danger! I say those words as any loving brother would, with grace and tenderness, yet also with deep concern for your welfare. You must know this: The casting aside of the distractions of this age is an evidence that one has, in fact, squeezed through that narrow gate and entered this great Kingdom we speak of. I beg you to heed that great warning on the pages of Scripture (Matthew 7:21–23) and remember that many will call Him “Lord” on that day, just as Martha did. Many will tell Him of the things they did in His service, just as Martha was doing that day. And Many will hear those dreadful words “… away from Me, I never knew you.” Mary was a woman He knew. Martha was distracted. There is a great chasm that exists between the kitchen and the living room.