Luke 10:38-42 contains the account of Mary and Martha. We see Martha serving and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Read or listen to this chapter from Work and Rest God’s Way to learn when it helps us to sit at Jesus's feet.

Table of contentsWhen We Must Sit at Jesus’ FeetScripture Sanctifies but Service Might NotThe Problems with Being Overwhelmed1. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Filled with Self-Pity2. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Easily Annoyed3. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Frustrated with the Lord4. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Anxious5. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Worried About OthersA Supernatural Solution

When We Must Sit at Jesus’ Feet

Mary’s posture at Jesus’ feet stands in stark contrast to churches that neglect the one thing needed. Willow Creek has been one of America’s most influential churches. They had elaborate programs and activities, and the measure of success was the number of people served. So they thought. However, they then conducted a thorough, multi-year study of their ministry and found that their programs and activities didn’t produce spiritual growth. Bill Hybels was the senior pastor at the time, and to his credit, he was open about their findings:

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back, it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for. We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self-feeders. We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

They found that keeping people busy had not produced sanctification. The church of Sardis exemplifies this. In Jesus’ letter to the church, He said, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1). They had “a name” or reputation that they were “alive,” which means they were known as the happening church.

The people were busy, but Jesus said they were dead. How can a church be alive and dead? They were alive (and busy) physically, but dead spiritually. It’s an unbelievably sad irony that the church everyone thought was thriving was filled with unregenerate people.

Scripture Sanctifies but Service Might Not

Jesus told the Twelve to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Disciples need to receive Jesus’ teaching, and Mary received His teaching directly from Him, at His feet!

Willow Creek incorrectly thought programs produce spiritual growth. The word of Christ alone produces spiritual growth:

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“[Christ] might sanctify and cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26).

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

The Word equips us to live out the Christian life:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Ephesians 4:12 says church leaders are supposed to “[equip] the saints for the work of the ministry,” and if saints are equipped by God’s Word, then church leaders need to feed their flocks the word. God’s Word gives us faith: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Faith comes from the Word because we can’t have faith in a God we don’t know, and we know God through His Word; through sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Considering where the account of this episode with Mary and Martha appears is instructive. Luke 10:1–24 records the sending of the Seventy, which is about the preaching of the gospel. Luke 10:25–37 records the Good Samaritan, which is about serving one’s neighbor. Mary and Martha follow in Luke 10:38–41, revealing that before we can do either of the aforementioned—preach the gospel or serve—we must first spend time with Jesus. Why? He alone fuels our ministry. Physical effort can never accomplish what must be done in the Spirit. We can’t rise above our relationships with the Lord. Jesus Himself said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

When we try to serve the Lord, but we haven’t sat at His feet, it can be damaging. Few things are as harmful as people trying to serve Jesus when they haven’t spent time with Him. Consider Martha’s example. Time at Jesus’ feet is what she needed more than anything else. We tend to think service benefits us, but Martha, Willow Creek, and Sardis show us that’s not always the case! In Martha’s case, her Christless service revealed her resentful, proud, and crabby heart.

The Problems with Being Overwhelmed

The Greek word for “distracted” is perispao, and it means “over-occupied” or “too busy.” Martha was overwhelmed. You can picture her turning from one task to the next, fussing over all the details: ensuring the table is set, the food is served at the right time, and everyone is comfortable. Ironically, her fussing probably made people uncomfortable. She was driven by circumstances and pulled in too many directions. Not only did she take on more than she could handle, but she also took on tasks the Lord didn’t even want. She was making elaborate preparations, ostensibly for the Lord, but they were not the one thing needed.

This is fitting for us because we live in a fast-paced culture. There’s no end to the number of things we can do or distractions that can pull us in. If we’re not careful, we find ourselves overwhelmed. We become like Martha taking on things Jesus might not want us doing, or that might pale in comparison to what He would rather we do. My wife, Katie, has a wise perspective here, and I appreciate her humility in sharing this:

I have a tendency to put too much on my plate. I remember doing this in college when I worked three jobs and went to school full-time. When I married Scott, he witnessed this firsthand. I was often overwhelmed, so he encouraged me to focus on the tasks the Lord put in front of me—homeschooling our children and keeping the home. Even though I hate boundaries I know they are instruments of peace for me. I want to encourage any Marthas reading this to seek your husband's counsel before signing up for something. We certainly don't want our families suffering because we are too busy.

The account of Mary and Martha follows the Good Samaritan, one of the most convicting accounts in Scripture regarding serving. Then we reach Martha and learn an important lesson—service must be done the right way. Galatians 5:22 lists peace as a fruit of the Spirit. Since Martha didn’t have peace, we may rightly conclude that she was serving in the flesh, not in the Spirit.

One problem with being overwhelmed is it often introduces sins into our lives. When we’re stressed, or when we’ve taken on more than we can handle, we’re faced with many temptations. This happened to Martha, and she gave in. The feet of Jesus was the one place in all the world she should’ve been. By looking at her example we can see when we must sit at Jesus’ feet.

1. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Filled with Self-Pity

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” She thought she was being neglected and overlooked, so she felt sorry for herself. She thought nobody cared about her and all that she had to do.

The same thing can happen with us. We feel like we’re the only ones working, we must do everything ourselves, and nobody cares about us. When we find ourselves filled with self-pity, we must examine our hearts and see whether we’re serving with the right attitude.

A good test is whether we have joy. If we don’t, what is the solution? The solution is not to quit working. Having a pity party isn’t an excuse to avoid serving. We don’t put off a bad attitude by putting on laziness. The solution is to take steps to have a better attitude, and that means spending time at Jesus’ feet until we can serve Him and others joyfully.

2. Sitting at the Feet of Jesus Helps When We Are Easily Annoyed

Martha said, “My sister has left me to serve alone.” You can imagine her giving Mary dirty looks, stomping around, sighing, huffing and puffing, maybe even slamming dishes, hoping someone notices. She became more and more upset until she finally did something we wouldn’t believe if it wasn’t recorded—she interrupted Jesus while He was teaching!

We should believe she did this, though, because we do the same thing when we are not fixing our eyes on Jesus and sitting at His feet. We interrupt Him with our complaining spirit, arguments, and disobedience when He’s teaching us hard lessons.

Martha wasn’t upset about serving. For people like her, service itself will rarely be the point of annoyance. Instead, service is their element; it’s what they enjoy. The annoyance will come from others who don’t pitch in. This can happen to us, too. We feel like we’re the only ones serving, which leads us to be annoyed with those around us. When we’re impatient, agitated, resentful, rude, bossy, controlling, or insensitive in our service, these are signs we need to sit at Jesus’ feet.

Sometimes a husband comes home from working hard all day,