Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a
certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
(Luke 10:38)
Though the hospitality of Martha deserved commendation, and
is commended, yet there were two faults in it which are pointed out by Christ.
The first is, that Martha carried her activity beyond proper bounds; for Christ
would rather have chosen to be entertained in a frugal manner, and at moderate
expense, than that the holy woman should have submitted to so much toil.
The second fault was, that Martha, by distracting her
attention, and undertaking more labor than was necessary, deprived herself of
the advantage of Christ’s visit. The excess is pointed out by Luke, when he
speaks of much serving; for Christ was satisfied with little. It was
just as if one were to give a magnificent reception to a prophet, and yet not
to care about hearing him, but, on the contrary, to make so great and
unnecessary preparations as to bury all the instruction. But the true way of
receiving prophets is, to accept the advantage which God presents and offers to
us through their agency.
We now see that the kind attention of Martha, though it
deserved praise, was not without its blemishes. There was this additional evil,
that Martha was so delighted with her own bustling operations, as to despise
her sister’s pious eagerness to receive instruction.
This example warns us, that, in doing what is right, we must
take care not to think more highly of ourselves than of others. (Commentaries)
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