“And she (Martha) had a sister named Mary, which also sat at the feet of Jesus, and heard His word. 42. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
\Mary and Martha both loved Jesus, and Jesus, evidently, considered them to be His good friends. He seemed to be comfortable in their home. The problem arose when Martha became irate with Mary because she sat at the feet of Jesus and was not helping her with the work that had to be done. Mary’s response to Jesus impressed Him more than Martha’s. Mary sat at His feet. Martha was concerned about preparations for the important guest, but Mary chose to take advantage of His presence to sit at His feet. We need to follow Mary’s example. To see why we should follow Mary’s example, let’s look at what took place between Mary and Jesus as she sat at His feet. The first thing that took place was worship. Mary forgot about everything but Jesus. This is the essence of worship. Worship doesn’t occur just because we say that we are at worship. No matter where we are, at home, at church, or anywhere else, worship takes place when we give Jesus our complete attention. Mary worshiped Jesus because she knew that He was more than a mere man. Her conversation with Jesus in John 11 reveals that she knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and that He was the Son of God. She knew that Jesus was worthy of worship. What we know about Jesus should cause us to sit at His feet in worship as well. With this in mind, how much time do you spend at the feet of Jesus. Who Jesus is and what He did for you at Calvary should teach you that worshiping Him is important. The second thing that took place between Mary and Jesus was teaching. Mary “heard His word….” What took place was not just idle chit chat. Jesus shared His word with Mary. We can compare this to Jesus sharing His word with the men on the Emmaus Road. Jesus taught those men about Himself from scripture. This is possibly what took place with Mary. Sitting at Jesus’ feet and worshiping Him, Mary learned about the scriptures that referred to Jesus. Mary heard Jesus’ word because she knew what He said was important. Mary knew that she needed to grow in her knowledge of Jesus. We can grow in knowledge of Him if we will take the time to sit at His feet in prayer and in study of His word. The third thing that took place between Mary and Jesus was that she was commended for sitting at His feet worshiping Him. This was the “one needful thing” at that moment. Jesus did not love Mary more than He loved Martha. He commended Mary because she chose “the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” The meal that Martha was preparing would be eaten and be over, but what Mary received from Jesus could never be taken away from her. Temporal things can be taken away from us, but time spent with Jesus has eternal meaning and can never be taken away. Mary chose what was best. Spending time at Jesus’ feet is an urgent matter, and worshiping Him and learning His word is always the best thing to do. Could Jesus commend you for sitting at His feet and hearing His word? Could Jesus commend you for choosing the most important over the least important? Learn from Mary’s experience. Spend more time worshiping Jesus and hearing His word. Do not let the distractions of the world keep you from Him. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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