Sit Down Marta!
מַרְתָּא לשבת
Luke 10:38-42
Sit down: לשבת
לשבת – to sit, to settle
verb: לְהַשְׁבִּית. sit down
Definition: to sit, remain, dwell
3427 yashab: to sit, remain, dwell
Original Word: יָשַׁב
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: yashab
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-shab’)
Definition: to sit, remain, dwell
Aramaic: מַרְתָּא – Martâ – Martha of Bethany.
In the Gospels of Luke and John, Martha,
(Aramaic: מַרְתָּא Martâ),
is described as living together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem; in Iudaea Province (modern-day Israel or West Bank).
Jesus/Yeshua answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
Vayaan Yeshua vayomer eleha Marta Marta ayefa vigeah at me eenyanim rabim.
42 but ONE THING is needed/necessary.
and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The name Martha comes from the verb: מרר ( marar ), meaning to be bitter.
Excerpted from: Abarim Publications’ Biblical Dictionary. מרר.
The verb מרר ( marar) means to be strong or bitter and can be used to describe tastes and smells, and hard or difficult situations.
Adjectives מר ( mar) and מרירי ( meriri) mean bitter.
The name Martha is also translated, in Hebrew, as mistress or myrrh, again coming from the verb מרר (marar), to be bitter or strong.
Martha also means “Lady Boss”, “Mistress”, or “Land Lady”.
From Aramaic מַרְתָּא (marta’) meaning “the lady, the mistress”, being a transliteration of the feminine form of מַר (mar) meaning master or Lord.
A royal lady; mistress; a name from the Bible Hebrew meaning: Bitter disappointment
Arabic meaning: Lady
American meaning: Sorrow
From the fact that the house into which Yeshua/Jesus was received belonged to Martha, and that she generally took the lead in action, it is inferred that she was older sibling.
There is a tendency to be a Marta in each of us….
When Jesus/Yeshua, repeated her name in this instance, in Hebrew/Aramaic it is a stern rebuke! Because she was anxious and troubled concerning many things…
Greek: Marian – translated Mary, also Miriam. Hebrew Marta, is translated into English as Martha.
מִרְיָם Miriam/Mary seated herself
at the feet of the Lord
she was listening to His teaching.
Mary is the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία ( María ), found in the New Testament. Both variants reflect Syro-Aramaic Maryam, itself a variant of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.
Marta was overburdened about so much serving, clearly at that moment, the Lord was more concerned about teaching than eating or drinking and it reminds us of His words in
John 4:32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
AND in
Matt 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
We are to be meat and drink to (someone)… meaning to be appealing and/or enjoyable to someone, meeting both spiritual and physical needs.
He was not against food or eating, He got hungry too and was concerned for the multitudes who followed Him being hungry. We read on several occasions He fed them by means of supernatural provision.
We are not just physical bodies, we are spirit beings. Spirit beings have life and that life needs to be sustained. It needs to grow and the Word of God is our food.
In those verses, Yeshua/Jesus uses a metaphor, or an analogy. He says in so many words: I’ve got something else here to eat, I don’t need that physical food at the moment.
The disciples don’t understand. Yeshua/Jesus continues, and now He says unto them in verse 35, talking about this work:
I’ve got to finish this work. Say not ye there are yet four months and then cometh harvest…?”
Again another analogy, He is not talking about harvesting wheat or grain,
you say there’s four months and then comes harvest.…behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
These are those for whom He was going to die and He says the same to us today:
Look all around you, where ever the Lord brings and leads us. The fields are white to harvest.
There are people that the Spirit of God/Ruach Hakodesh has been working on and God will bring them across our path so that we can share the gospel with them.
Look on the fields, they are white already to harvest.
There are a lot of people out there that are hungering and thirsting
and we remember in chapter 7 that Yeshua/Jesus said:
“If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.”
Once more, He’s not talking about water. He said,
“And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” John:3:36
We recall that Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (I Corinthians 3:6).
This is what Messiah is talking about. Galatians:5:22-23 reminds us that there is fruit in our own lives which needs to grow.
The fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, meekness.
It is so that our joy may be full: could this be the joy we will experience in heaven when someone approaches us and says:
I’m here because you gave me the gospel? You went out of your way, or you did this or you did that which brought me to salvation in Jesus/Yeshua. What you said and did opened my heart and my eyes; your example showed me the reality of Messiah living in you and that caused me to want what you had, it was a seed that was planted and later someone explained it further.
This is more likely what Messiah meant.
Returning to Marta:
Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked,
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
In life indeed, we are so much preoccupied with a lot of activities that could sustain our lives and improve our living standards. We are so much concerned about what to eat, what to wear, what to buy what to own and the means to satisfy all these unlimited human wants.
Sitting at Jesus/Yeshua’s feet, signifies a readiness to receive His word, and our submission to the guidance and direction of that Word.
It was the hearing of the word,
the Gospel of Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach,
which Mary was occupied with; and which, ordinarily speaking, is necessary to knowing Jesus/Yeshua, and according to Rom. 10:14,17, salvation by Him, and to having faith in Him.
This is not the only needful thing;
nor does He say there is but one thing needful,
instead He says that there is one thing needful;
for there are other things that are also needful, and useful, such as meditation and prayer, and the Lord’s supper, and keeping all the Mitzvot/Commandments.
Here His meaning seems to be, that Mary
hearing the Word from His mouth,
and at His feet,
was the one necessary thing,
compared and in opposition to Martha’s many unnecessary things, about which she was cumbered:
and Mary hath chosen that good part;
or the good part, or portion;
Messiah who was, and is, the sum and substance of the Word
the good part, or portion;
She heard, and eternal life and salvation by Him,
His Way, Truth and LIfe.
In the Septuagint the same word used as here Ps.73:26 and Lam.3:24 where God Himself is said to be the portion of His people, and this is the portion that lasts for ever; and so also Jesus/Yeshua is our heavenly inheritance, eternal glory and true happiness, it is the saints’ portion so called in Col 1:12 the part, or portion of the inheritance with the saints in light.
The word answers to the Hebrew word, ; as it is said by the Rabbis,
“all Israel have, , “a part“, or “portion” in the world to come.”
In this scripture about Mary, all the middle eastern versions add the words,
for herself.
This choice she made, was not from the natural power of her own freewill, but as directed, influenced, and assisted by the Spirit and grace of God, and in consequence of God’s eternal choice of her unto salvation by Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach.
The part she chose is, that
which shall not be taken away from her;
This means it cannot be taken from her by men or any demonic means: faith which comes by hearing of the Word, and so with every other grace of the Spirit, is what can never be lost.
It is to be of great encouragement to us that as we continue steadfastly along the Way, our covenant with God, our belief in Yeshua/Jesus as our Savior, our readiness for eternal life through a repentant attitude of heart, cannot be taken away, nor can the believer ever be deprived of what was won at Calvary for us.
As we sit at His feet, we are to emulate the first half of
Psalms 46:10,
Be still and know that I am God!
It is a well known and often quoted verse used to encourage believers to be still and silent before the Lord.
While this interpretation promotes a healthy rest in His presence, it should also be understood as a command to wake up, and to stop striving, for we are to acknowledge our Heavenly Father
for who He is,
and allow Him to do what only He can do, in and through our lives.
As God was addressing Israel in this Psalm, most likely during a time of war, He was not just telling them to be still or rest He was commanding them to stop fighting and open their eyes to who He is.
It is translated as, cease striving, in some translations.
Here we are reminded of Matthew 11:28
(click link below for more on the yoke)
https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-answer-is-in-the-yoke/
It’s easy to be fearful when things aren’t going well or when we are faced with challenges and conflict in our lives. In the midst of their struggle, however, God tells His people to wake up and recognize who’s on their side.
In that light, the tone of this verse can be read:
stop striving, stop fighting,
and stop trying to do things on your own.
Stop stressing about the battle ahead and trust me.
Wake up! I am the Lord.
I AM
I AM
your refuge and your strength.
You have nothing to fear or worry about when
I AM
with you.
I will fight your battles and deal with your enemies.
So get out of my way.
Step back,
open your eyes,
and acknowledge who
I AM
and what I can do.
Let me be God.
Don’t try and do My job for Me.
Be patient, be still, and let Me go to work.
In the midst of conflict and lifes turmoil, sometimes we just need to open our eyes, step back, stop what we’re doing, and acknowledge who God is and what He can do. Doing so provides comfort in the chaos; and peace in the midst of struggle.
This is where we need to be like Mary and tell the Martha in us to
SIT DOWN and BE STILL!
Yashab Marta!
מַרְתָּא לשבת
We all have opportunities daily to be anxious and worried especially these days, we can feel overburdened, overwhelmed by situations and circumstances that cause stress and try to rob us of our faith and in so doing, steal our joy and in that, weaken us by wearing away at our strength.
Neh. 8:10
the enemy who is also …
He desires that our joy may be full that our strength may be full…
that is the enemy’s goal:
to wear out the saints. Daniel 7:25
From minor irritations, to full blown crises…things will constantly pull on our emotions, our flesh life, and try to steal our shalom, that peace that passes all understanding!
Sometimes, it’s hard to grab hold of the reality that all we see is temporary and will pass away.
Especially when there’s a situation that requires not only our full undivided attention but has to be fixed and solved immediately.
Yes we are to be doers of the Word, of course, however, there is also a time to come ye apart and rest awhile.
“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” – Mark 6:31
Ecc. 3:1-11 tells us there’s a time for all things –
the wisdom is discerning the when and how of a matter.
Putting His Word 1st place..
sitting at the feet of Jesus/Yeshua.
Listening, learning, becoming His disciple
is not only paramount, it is critical to being His child, and becoming all that He has called us to be.
Let us not be so busy that we too get a stern rebuke like Martha! because she was not only anxious and overburdened but maybe seemingly a little resentful?
Choosing the better part so it would not be taken away from us is exactly what we need to do…
and this is how we are blessed..we saw last post, Luke 11:28 blessed are they who hear and observe to do the word of God.
The Greek word Fulasso means:
to guard, protect, and take care not violate.
A similar instruction was given in Gan Eden!
It is indicative of how we should treat His Word and Jesus/Yeshua is the Word made flesh, so we must listen to His words and keep His commands that’s how we show that we love Him.
Verse 42 ONE is a necessity – meaning:
one thing that has NO option.
Choice.
Although we have a choice its not really a choice at all.
Just as choose this day and choose life –
we have free will and must make that choice and He tells us which good part will not be taken from us.
Deuteronomy 30:9
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
SIT DOWN –
take the time to sit at His feet..
if we don’t have time
…then we are too busy.
And we are actually choosing to be overburdened with the cares of this life. (Mark 4)
BE STILL and know that I AM
Be still my soul
Be calm
Be at peace
Let His Shalom rule and reign in our hearts.
These storms that are raging, those waves that are washing over us – looking like we are about to be swamped and drown like the disciples felt in the boat… are not too big for Him to calm.
When Yeshua/Jesus speaks to calm the storm, in 4:39 Mark indicates that In response to the cry of his disciples, He addresses more than a meteorological force but a being/a spiritual entity behind it.
From phimos (a muzzle)
Definition: to muzzle, to put to silence.
Strongs #5392 phimoó: to muzzle, to put to silence
Original Word: φιμόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: phimoó
Phonetic Spelling: (fee-mo’-o)
Definition: to muzzle, to put to silence
Usage: I muzzle, silence.
When He commands the sea,
Peace, be still!
the Greek phrase means:
be muzzled or gagged,
as though the storm were a maniac that had to be bound and restrained!?
We read that instantly:
“the wind died down and it was completely calm.”!!
Be muzzled!
He said
Be still!
We must invite Messiah into the midst of our storm,
into our boat, and see Him muzzle the root of that tempest and He may have us speak to it in His Name.
…in the scripture it is recorded that instantly they were at the other side, arriving supernaturally at their destination.
Safe on the shore of the lake.
He will take us to the other side of the storm
if
we will simply sit at His feet –
if
we will just invite Him into the situation –
It is all conditional according to His Word!
Be not faithless but believing…
All things are possible to those who believe..
why ?
because we are blessed.
Blessed is the one who has not seen yet believes…
that IS faith!
Be still and know that He is God..
and having filled up with His word,
be led forth with His peace.
Decide today – right now that..
