Jesus, Martha and Mary

Jesus, Martha, and Mary
Luke 10: 38-42

One day Jesus went to a village called Bethany. And there a woman named Martha invited him into her house. Now Martha had a sister called Mary, and all Mary wanted to do was to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus and hear his teachings. But Martha was very troubled because there was much serving to do, and so she came to the Lord Jesus and said "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve all alone? tell her that she should come and help me."

But the Lord Jesus said to her "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But there is only one thing that is needed, and Mary has chosen that good thing, which shall not be taken away from her."

Not too long after that time, Jesus was again at the house of Martha and Mary, and Lazarus was there too, whom Jesus raised from the dead (there is a separate story about this called The Raising of Lazarus). And Martha served there too, but this time she did not ask for Mary to help her. Then Mary took some ointment (that is a cream) called spikenard, which cost very much money, and she put the ointment on the feet of Jesus, and then she wiped his feet with her hair, and the smell of the ointment was in the house.

But Judas, who was the disciple that would betray Jesus, said "Why wasn't this ointment sold and the money given to the poor?" But he said this not because he cared about the poor people, but because he was in charge of keeping the money for the disciples and he was a thief.

And so Jesus said to him "Leave her alone, she has kept this for my burial. You always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me."

And so once again the Lord Jesus spoke up on Mary's behalf, because she wanted only to worship him. Mary was a true believer that Jesus was the Son of God.

Memory Verse: Luke 10:42 "...Mary has chosen that good thing, which shall not be taken away from her."

Questions:
1. What was the name of the village where Martha and Mary lived?
2. Why was Martha upset with Mary?
3. What did Jesus say to Martha when she wanted Mary to help her?
4. What did Mary do with the ointment?
5. Why did Judas complain about the ointment?

Answers:
1. Bethany
2. Because she wanted Mary to help her serve.
3. He told her that Mary had chosen the better thing which was to sit at his feet and learn from him.
4. She put it on the feet of Jesus and then wiped them with her hair.
5. Because he was a thief and he wanted the money it could have brought.

Vicki C. Gross/Nov'02

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