Martha’s duties as a hostess drew her attention away from Jesus whom she evidently wanted to sit near and listen to also (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:35). [Note: H. K. Luce, The Gospel according to S. Luke, p. 208.] She expressed concern that Jesus did not discourage Mary from sitting at His feet. She wanted Him to encourage Mary to help her with her hostess duties. read more
Jesus showed concern for Martha’s anxiety (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35), but He did not do what she asked. The many things that bothered Martha were her excessive preparations for the meal. She had allowed her duties as hostess to become too burdensome. Apparently she wished to honor Jesus with an elaborate meal, but a simpler one that would have allowed her some time to listen to her guest would have been better. The few things in view were the things involved in simple entertaining. The one... read more
10:39 Jesus (a-17) Many read 'the Lord.' read more
The Seventy. The Good Samaritan. Martha and Mary1-16. Choice and mission of the Seventy (peculiar to Lk). Another step in the organisation of the Church. The Seventy receive a subordinate commission, similar to that of the apostles, to preach and to cast out devils (Luke 10:9, Luke 10:17). Two motives may be discerned in the sending forth of so numerous a body of missionaries. (1) The time before His Passion was now short, and Jesus wished the message of salvation to reach as many Israelites as... read more
(39) A sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet.—The better MSS. give, “at the Lord’s feet.” Few readers can fail to notice the identity of character here and in the entirely independent narratives of John 11:12. There also Martha is active (John 11:20) and conspicuous in serving (John 12:2); Mary, meditative and emotional, pouring her whole soul into one act of love (John 11:31; John 12:3). read more
(40) Martha was cumbered.—Literally, was distracted; drawn hither and thither by conflicting cares.About much serving.—We may probably infer from this that our Lord had been invited as an honoured guest, and that Mary had been asked to meet Him; and, so far, the narrative agrees with what is suggested by the narrative of John 11:0 as to the social position of the household at Bethany. The use of a like word in Luke 12:42 suggests that this also may have passed from the abstract to the concrete... read more
(41) And Jesus answered.—The better MSS. give, “And the Lord answered.” (See Note on Luke 7:13.)Martha, Martha.—We note a special tenderness of reproof in the two-fold utterance of the name, of which this and the like iteration of “Simon, Simon,” in Luke 22:31, are the only examples in our Lord’s recorded utterances during His earthly ministry. (Comp. “Saul, Saul,” in Acts 9:4.)Thou art careful.—The verb is the same as the “take thought” of Matthew 6:25, and throws light upon the meaning of... read more
(42) But one thing is needful.—Some of the better MSS. present a singular various-reading, There is need of few things, or of one only. It is obvious that this might be taken either literally or spiritually. They might mean (1) that He who spoke, and the others who were coming, needed not the many things about which Martha was troubled, but a few only, or even but a single dish, to supply their wants; or (2) that the true life of men needed but a few things, such as faith, obedience, the fear... read more
The Service of Men Luke 10:1-2 Jesus in this conversation counsels His disciples concerning the conditions of the best service of man by man; and since we are all still apprentices to the Great Worker and Master, we welcome the opportunity of sitting at His feet, breathing the atmosphere of His presence, catching hints of the laws of all true work in and for His kingdom, and mastering the secret of His own intense, ceaseless, and wonderfully reproductive activity. I. But, first, we must... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 10:39
Mary (or Miriam, cf. Luke 1:27; et al.) took the traditional place of a disciple seating herself at Jesus’ feet to listen and learn (cf. Acts 22:3). Normally rabbis did not permit women to do this in Jesus’ day. [Note: Liefeld, "Luke," p. 944.] The title "Lord" further stresses the authority of Jesus to which Mary symbolically submitted by sitting at His feet. read more