Bible Stories for Adults

Jesus Visits Mary and Martha

Luke 10:38-42

Next Week - Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (Luke 11:1-46)
Bible Words to Remember:
Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it ... But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:29, 31

At what point in Jesus' ministry does Luke place this story?
Luke 9:51 = Near the end; Focused ministry in Galilee during AD 27, 28 & 29
What date does John give for when Jesus began focusing His ministry in Judea?
John 7:1-11, 14 = October 29, At the Feast of Tabernacles (Killed in Spring 30)
What specific date is given in John that is understood to have been after today's story?
John 10:22-23 = Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) in December 29 - last week's lesson

How did Jesus show it was now time to reveal Himself in Judea as His disciples had suggested?
Luke 10:1 = He sent out 72 in pairs to go ahead of Him throughout Judea
How effective were these missionaries?
Luke 10:17-19 = Tremendously, they even had power over Satan's legions

What does Luke tell us about where this story took place?
Luke 10:38 = Just one of the villages Jesus traveled through
What village does next week's lesson tell us this was?
John 11:1 = Bethany
Was this the Bethany on the east side of the Jordan where John baptized (John 1:28)?
John 11:18 = No, it was a suburb of Jerusalem
Where did Jesus spend the night when He was in Jerusalem?
Mark 11:11 = Bethany

What separated Jerusalem from Bethany that became an important place for Jesus?
Luke 19:29 = The Mount of Olives - Bethany was on eastern slope of Mt. of Olives
How did Jesus spend His time during the last week of His life?
Luke 21:37-38 = Days in temple teaching, evenings on Mount of Olives praying
What happened to Jesus when He was praying on the Mount of Olives one evening?
Luke 22:39, 47, 54 = He was betrayed by Judas and arrested
What happened when Jesus visited the Mount of Olives for the last time?
Luke 24:50-51 = He ascended (Acts 1:12 tells us it was on the Mount of Olives)

Who else does Jesus meet in Martha's home? = Only male disciples would sit at a teacher's feet
Luke 10:39 = Mary, Martha's sister
Where else do we see the worship-filled example of Mary? = Women never let hair down
John 12:1-3 = Anointed Jesus the week before He died; Not afraid to show her love
Did this also take place in Martha's house?
Mark 14:3 = Unsure, Yes if Martha was Simon's wife or widow

Did everyone recognize and appreciate Mary's pouring out of love for Jesus?
John 12:4-6 = Judas Iscariot, the treasurer, thought it was an expensive waste
How did Jesus feel about Mary pouring out this bottle of expensive perfume?
Mark 14:6-9 = She was unknowingly preparing His body for upcoming burial
Did Judas like Jesus' explanation and reasoning?
Mark 14:10-11 = No, he was so mad he went out & offered to betray Jesus for money

Where do we always find Mary in the three times she appears in the Bible?
John 11:32 = At Jesus' feet

What does the story tell us about Martha?
Luke 10:38 = Had the gift of hospitality, Apparently affluent, Likely the oldest
How might this hospitality have been especially appreciated by Jesus?
Luke 9:57-58 = Jesus had no home and relied on loving hospitality of others
How did Jesus feel about Martha and her family?
John 11:5 = He loved them
How did Martha feel about Jesus? = Family members stayed inside mourning, friends came to them
John 11:17-20, 30 = She loved Him and left her house to meet Him outside of town

Did Martha recognize that Jesus was from God?
John 11:21-22 = Yes, she had faith that God would give Him anything He asked
Did she recognize who Jesus really was?
John 11:23-27 = Yes, she confessed that He was the Messiah, the Son of God
How did Martha have one last chance to show her love for Jesus before His death?
John 12:1-2 = She hosted a banquet in Jesus' honor; The way she showed her love

How did Martha feel about Mary neglecting the call to serve Jesus and His disciples?
Luke 10:40 = She felt Mary was wrong and needed correction
Why wasn't Martha able to recognize the value of what Mary was doing?
Luke 10:41 = She was distracted by worrying about other details
What details should Martha be concerned about at this time? = Wiersbe:
Luke 10:42 = "What we do with Christ is far more important than what we do for Christ"

Does this mean that God wants His faithful to live their lives worshipping instead of serving?
James 2:26 = No, our faith is to be revealed to others through service
So which should we do, worship or serve?
Luke 4:8 = Both - Worship and serve the Lord your God
Charles Wesley wrote in one of his hymns:
Faithful to my Lord's commands,
I still would choose the better part;
Serve with careful Martha's hands,
And loving Mary's heart.

How do we know when and how to worship and to serve?
Matthew 22:35-40 = Put God first, others second, ourselves last

Don't we automatically put God first when we serve Him?
Philippians 1:15-17 = Our motives are important. Is it for God or for ourselves?
Will selfish motives prevent God from being glorified?
Philippians 1:18 = No, God can take what man intends for evil and turn it to good
What is the risk of keeping ourselves very busy in service?
Haggai 1:9 = We could get too busy to listen to God or to even serve Him
What should be our purpose in serving?
1 Peter 2:12 = Bring glory to God (not ourselves)

How was Martha's problem with priorities made more difficult? = v22: worry - "torn apart"
Luke 12:22-23 = She was too worried about details of life
But didn't Martha have to make sure Jesus had something to eat?
Luke 12:24 = If God takes care of His animals, He will certainly provide for His children
But we have bills to pay and retirement to save for and jobs to worry about and ...
Luke 12:25-26 = Worrying won't help any of these things

But what about our clothes? If we don't worry about them, we'll be naked and catch cold!
Luke 12:27-28 = God will clothe us more magnificently than we can imagine
But we need to eat! We'll die if we don't have something to eat or drink!
Luke 12:29-31 = God know you need these things; He'll provide them as we seek Him

Now we need to worry about seeking His kingdom! How do we do that?
Luke 12:32-34 = Don't worry, God brings His kingdom to us; Build your treasure there
So what should we do when we have worries, be proactive and solve them ourselves?
Philippians 4:6-7 = NO! Take them to the Lord in prayer and He will give His peace

What were Samuel's final instructions to Saul after he anointed him as king over Israel?
1 Samuel 10:1, 8 = Go to Gilgal and wait for Samuel to come to sacrifice offerings
What happened when Saul went to Gilgal as instructed?
1 Samuel 13:3-7 = The Philistines rallied thousands of troops, Saul's men were afraid
What did Saul do when he began worrying about his situation?
1 Samuel 13:8-9 = He took matters into his own hands and offered his own sacrifices

Saul had done the right thing by turning to the Lord, right?
1 Samuel 13:10-13 = No, he had disobeyed God's simple command to wait for Samuel
How did God punish Saul for this misguided solution to worry?
1 Samuel 13:14 = His dynasty would end with him

What should we remember whenever we try to take matters into our own hands?
John 15:5 = Apart from God we can do nothing

Unless we meet Christ personally and privately each day, we will soon end up like Martha: busy but not blessed. Often in my pastoral ministry, I have asked people with serious problems, "Tell me about your devotional life." The usual response has been an embarrassed look, a bowed head, and the quiet confession, "I stopped reading my Bible and praying a long time ago." And they wondered why they had problems!