2) Mary was devoted to the person….Martha was distracted by the process. 39a-40 If you notice something….and this is very obvious…the whole purpose for what they are doing here in this passage is because the Lord had come to visit them. This expression in verse 40 about “much” serving….gives us an indication that maybe Martha was going overboard…maybe she was preparing well beyond what they needed…yes they needed a meal, but something simple would have been sufficient….it seems that she was going beyond that….and I can understand that…you want everything to be perfect, if you are someone who expresses their love by serving, then there is a tendency to serve more….but Martha crosses the line and she makes the process of serving more important than the guest she is serving.
To the point where she “CAME TO” which means to burst in…she bursts into the room and accuses the very guest that she is working to express her love to of not having concern for her. What is Martha’s focus…is it on Christ….no it distracted to the “Stuff” that is going on around it. What she is doing right now is no longer about the Savior… it is about herself. … Her ministry has become a burden…
Jesus led them then to the top of a mountain and commanded that the stones be made bread. Each disciple, by this time tired and hungry, was allowed to eat the bread he held in his hand, but of course Peter’s was not sufficient to satisfy his hunger. John gave him some of his.
Many times we will spend time for the Savior and not with the Savior. How do you know which one is you….let me ask you something. And may the Spirit of God do its’ work…When you went out to do your shopping did you see only hordes of people in the stores, or did you notice the expressions on some of their faces because they are as sheep without a shepherd.
If you have gone this season without passing out a tract, or speaking to someone about the Lord or inviting someone…then you are distracted by the process of Christmas and you have missed the devotion to the Person.
You are cumbered about much serving…you are having a Martha Christmas…and the person of Christ becomes secondary to the process of Christmas…and the whole thing becomes a burden.
Remember Martha is not a bad person or a person who does not have faith…or a person who does not love the Lord….she is a person who is distracted…that is her sin….and we will see it in just a moment.
I have been reading the Christmas story during part of my devotions, and the most amazing thing to me is found in Matthew 2….when Herod inquired of the Chief priests and scribes… these men, knew the prophecy…they knew that Jesus would be born 5 miles from where they sat. but they missed it…because they were caught up in the process and not devoted to the person.
