What a wonderful experience it would be to have the Lord Jesus as a guest in your home! This was the case for Abraham in the Old Testament and for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in the New. The Lord also went into the home of the two He met on the road to Emmaus, at their invitation. In the case of Abraham, it is perhaps telling that only the two angels with the Lord at Abraham’s tent went on to Lot’s house in Sodom, and even then they had to be pressured to go in. Lot had a prominent position and status as far as the world was concerned but little place for the Lord in his home.
The Lord Jesus seemed to be right at home in Bethany. Actually, two homes are mentioned: that of Martha (Lk. 10:38) and that of Simon the leper (Mk. 14:3). According to John’s account, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were in Simon’s house with Martha serving the meal (Jn. 12:1-3). There is some difficulty in lining up John’s account with Matthew’s and Mark’s records; perhaps the one is theological and the others chronological, or they might be two separate but similar events.
The two homes displayed the wonder of a life transformed by the Savior: for Simon, it was healing from a disease that typified sin and its consequences; for Lazarus it was life from the dead. Typically, the Lord Jesus dealt with the issue of sin and gave new life. This has happened in countless homes down through the centuries and still takes place today.
Martha’s home
The Lord Jesus stayed in Bethany the last week of His life, taking the 3 km journey each evening to sleep, presumably in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. The first recorded visit of the Lord Jesus to Martha’s home is found in Luke 10:38-42. According to a chronology of the gospels, this visit would have been about six months before the events of John 11 when Lazarus was raised from the dead.
The scene is well known to most believers with Martha busy serving and Mary sitting at the Saviour’s feet, listening and learning. It was Martha’s home, and the Saviour was there at her invitation. As the hostess, she was occupied in preparing the meal and became distracted with the amount of work to be done and all the preparations that had to be made. She does what many do in similar circumstances: she looks at all she is doing and then points out to the Lord how little Mary is doing. Her focus was on herself and on others but not on the Saviour. The Lord Jesus does not discount her work and effort but gently reminds her that her focus was on many things.
Service and preparation are necessary but never the first priority in the spiritual realm. The Lord Jesus says that Mary has chosen “the good part” or, as the NIV puts it, “what is better.” The point is that there is greater value in sitting at the Saviour’s feet, learning of Him and from Him than there is in serving Him. The basis for service should be the time spent with the Lord and the sense of love and devotion that flow from that holy place. This puts Him and not us at the center of what is being attempted. It takes our eyes off ourselves and off others and onto Christ.
Mary’s college
There are four scenes in the Gospels that show a woman at the Savior’s feet. In three of these, it is said to be Mary.
• In Luke 7:36-50, a sinful woman meets the Lord Jesus and anoints His feet with her tears.
• In John 11, Mary, a sorrowful woman, bows at the feet of the Lord of life, a sympathizing Saviour.
• In Luke 10, Mary, a student, sits at the Teacher’s feet, learning of Him.
• In John 12, Mary, a worshipping saint, appreciates all that the Lord is and all that He will do.
This place at the feet of the Lord Jesus has often been called St. Mary’s College, the quiet time where believers can sit and learn of Him. This phrase is used to depict one who has enjoyed the Lord but has not had the opportunity of formal schooling or training. That is not to despise the value of education, whether secular or spiritual, but to emphasize that there is a place to learn of Him. Norman Crawford, in his commentary on Luke in What the Bible Teaches, has a lovely devotional thought about the feet of the Savior. “Twenty-one times in Scripture the feet of the Lord Jesus are mentioned. At their first mention, they are pierced (Ps. 22:16); and at their last mention, they are planted on land and sea, claiming it all for God (Rev. 10:1-3).” He then adds this line: “No university on earth can ever teach the lessons that are learned at those blessed feet.”1
It is interesting that Mary alone anointed the Lord Jesus in anticipation of His death and burial. Why was it that she was the only one who seemed to grasp what was coming and what the Lord would experience? The disciples, for all the time they spent with Christ, seemed unaware of what would occur. It would seem, or at least one may surmise, that Mary learned something while sitting at His feet that no one else was able to grasp. Mark records that some of those in the house were indignant because of the value of the perfume that was offered. The Lord, however, commended her action and made the sacrificial act a memorial to her for all of time wherever the gospel would be preached.
The Christian home
In type, this home characterized all that a local church should be. Christ was present in the home as the focal point of all activity. There was the testimony of Lazarus brought from death to life, a fact known by the community. In Mary, one sees both a disciple learning of Him and a worshipper expressing love for Him. Martha displays service to the Lord and to His people. These occupations should characterize every assembly and Christian home, while keeping the focus on Christ and not on things.
Practically, our homes should be places where the Lord Jesus is at home. He is invited and welcome. The focus is on Him, and each one spends time daily sitting at His feet communing with Him. His Word is listened to, and His will is sought. The fragrance of His person fills the home, and there is a testimony to the unsaved.
Personally, the example of Mary should speak to us and inspire us to do as she did. Every believer should take time to sit at the Savior’s feet and learn of Him. To order our day and week so that there is time for “what is better.” It is so easy to get occupied like Martha with many things, to focus on what is good at the expense of what is best.
One of the results of time at the Lord’s feet will be the excitement of the Lord’s Supper when the precious ointment gathered during the week is poured out on Him. All the believers present will benefit as the fragrance of that time will linger on them, and others will know that they have been in the presence of the Lord. The Lord’s Supper will never suffer from pauses of poverty when the Lord’s people have been to St. Mary’s College during the week.
Taken up with Thee, Lord Jesus,
I would be,
Finding joy and satisfaction
All in Thee,
Thou the nearest and the dearest
Unto me, unto me.
—Mrs. Wellesley
Endnote
1 Norman Crawford, What the Bible Teaches, Luke (Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Ritchie Ltd, 1989), p. 195.