THE GOOD PORTION
Luke 10:38–42

What is your favorite food? I am about as far from being a foodie as one can get. However, as I have gotten older, I’ve developed a love for steak. A good steak is my favorite food. There is a debate among people who love steak about which is the best cut. Is the rib primal, where the ribeye is cut from, the best portion, or is it the loin, where the New York strip and filet mignon are cut from? It’s a hotly debated question.

Interestingly, the Bible has a lot to say about what the good portion is—not in the realm of steak, but in the realm of all of life. Listen to how the Old Testament Psalms put it:

Psalm 16:5 — The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

Psalm 73:26 — My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 119:57 — The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.

Psalm 142:5 — I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

According to the Psalms, the good portion in life—the very best possession—is close friendship with the Lord; awe-filled intimacy with Him. He Himself is the good portion in life, now and forever.

This teaching from the Psalms reaches into our passage this morning. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and learned from Him, but listen to how the Lord Jesus describes Mary’s choice.

Luke 10:41–42 — *But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching, and Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good portion.” The ESV Study Bible comments that “the greatest possession is close fellowship with the Lord as one’s ‘portion’ in life.”

That brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning:

Choose the good portion.

How can we do that? How can we have a Mary heart while living in a Martha world?

Our passage provides two answers:

1. Serve Jesus without getting distracted.
2. Sit at Jesus’ feet.

SERVE JESUS WITHOUT GETTING DISTRACTED

The good portion—life’s greatest possession—is the Lord; close friendship with Him. Martha is a stark reminder that, to choose the good portion in life, we must serve the Lord without becoming distracted from the Lord.

Luke 10:38–40a — Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving.

From the outset, it’s important to notice that serving wasn’t Martha’s problem. Her problem wasn’t that she provided for Jesus out of her financial means, opened her home to Him in hospitality, and served Him a wonderful meal. What keeps us from the good portion—choosing close friendship with the Lord as our greatest possession—is not serving. Serving, whether inside or outside the church, isn’t our problem.

We know that because later in Luke, when a dispute arose among Jesus’ disciples as to which of them was to be considered the greatest, Jesus said, “…let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves” (Luke 22:26).

If pouring out your life in service to the Lord were incompatible with a life of close friendship with the Lord, then the Bible would never say, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

If giving your time, your attention, your affection, your skills, and your money to serve people were incompatible with a life of close friendship with the Lord as your good portion, then the Bible would never say, “Through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13) or “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).

There is no incompatibility between friendship with the Lord as your greatest possession and a life poured out in service to the Lord and to people.

A prominent South African theologian who died in the mid-twentieth century, Norval Geldenhuys, writes:

“This story should not be taken to mean that the Saviour taught that a life of quiet worship and contemplation is the right form of religion and that an active Christian life is to be disapproved of.”

Serve the Lord and other people with zeal. Serve Him at home, serve Him at church, serve Him at work, and serve the advance of His kingdom in every facet of this world. Serve with your time, serve with your skills, and serve with your money without fearing that zealous service to the Lord and others is incompatible with choosing the good portion of close friendship with the Lord.

So, if serving the Lord isn’t the problem, what is?

I want you to notice two key words in Luke 10:40–42:

*But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which

will not be taken away from her.”

What kept Martha from the good portion? What’s the problem?

Martha’s problem is that she allowed serving the Lord to distract her from the Lord.

The words “distracted” and “much” are key. These words indicate that, at that point in the evening, Martha should no longer have been serving. She should have been sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from Him with Mary.

Martha was distracted—literally, “pulled away”—from what she should have been doing, and the reason was much serving. In other words, the problem wasn’t that Martha was serving. The problem was that she was serving when it was time to stop serving and sit at Jesus’ feet.

You can imagine the host who always needs to be fussing—rearranging the coasters, refilling everyone’s drink, and loading the dishwasher—when, at that moment, they should be sitting down and enjoying the honored guest.

And that brings us to the heart of the problem. Martha’s problem wasn’t serving; it was idolatry.

In that moment, pulling off the perfect party for Jesus was more important to her than Jesus.

She was pulled away from Jesus because she made a good thing into a god-thing.

The problem wasn’t that she was serving. The problem was that doing things for Jesus became more important to her than Jesus. Therefore, when it was time to stop serving Jesus and enjoy close friendship with Him, she wouldn’t stop. She was distracted with much serving.

Can you identify with that?

Has serving the Lord, in some way, become more important to you than close friendship with the Lord?

Has serving through doing excellent work, being an excellent spouse, having an excellent home and finances, being an excellent mom or dad, being an excellent church member, maintaining excellent health, developing excellent skills, producing excellent things, or being an excellent citizen become more important to you than close friendship with the Lord?

Martha is a helpful reminder that a telltale sign you’re becoming distracted with much serving is that you’re still serving when you should be sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from Him as your closest Friend.

The telltale sign is that serving always seems to squeeze out sitting at Jesus’ feet as the good portion of your life—sitting at His feet alone, with others, and continually throughout the day.

Honest question: Are you distracted with much serving?

Are you serving when you should be sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from Him as the good portion in life?

Is there any service to the Lord or to people that has become so important to you that it’s pulling you away from choosing close friendship with Jesus as the good portion?

The problem isn’t serving; it’s idolatry. You’ve become distracted from the Lord by doing things for the Lord.

If so, turn it over to the Lord. Get alone with Him today and say, “Lord, in my heart I’ve made serving You and people in this way or that more important than You. That’s idolatry. I’m sorry. Forgive me. Take first place in my heart again so that I can serve You without being distracted from friendship with You as the good portion in life.”

As motivation not to do that, I want to briefly point out three negative consequences of being distracted with much serving that we see in Martha.

First, self-pity will take root in your heart.

Notice what Martha says to Jesus in Luke 10:40a:

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?”

When your serving becomes the point, rather than Jesus, you begin calculating. You begin seeing all your service as a burden because you’re no longer seeing Christ, and you begin to pity yourself.

Second, a bitter, critical spirit will take root in your heart. You’ll grow bitter and critical toward fellow Christians who don’t serve as much as you do, don’t serve in the same way you do, or simply aren’t like you.

Notice what Martha says at the end of Luke 10:40:

“…Tell her then to help me.”

When serving becomes more important than Jesus, your heart will grow bitter toward those whom you don’t think are serving rightly or enough.

Finally, you’ll ruin good service.

Notice how Martha speaks to Jesus in Luke 10:40:

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

Right in the middle of what should have been a beautiful act of service and hospitality toward Jesus, Martha ruins the party.

Martha’s idolatry of pulling off the perfect dinner party leads her to do something completely inappropriate—rebuking the Guest of honor—thereby ruining the very thing she so badly wanted to accomplish.

Additionally, Jesus says that instead of enjoying her service to the Lord, Martha has become anxious and troubled.

This is a great picture of how idolatry works. Make any good thing—even service—into a god-thing, and you’ll ruin the good thing while anxiety and bitterness take root in your heart.

To choose the good portion—close friendship with the Lord—serve the Lord without allowing your service to become more important than the Lord, pulling you away from Him and distracting you from fellowship with Him.

Serve Jesus without getting distracted.

That’s the first way to choose the good portion. The second is…

SIT AT JESUS’ FEET

Our passage does not say that only Martha served the Lord while Mary did not. Rather, it says that when the time of serving Jesus had concluded, Martha kept busily fussing and serving, while Mary chose the good portion—close friendship with Jesus—by sitting at His feet in a posture of humility and learning from Him.

Luke 10:39, 42 — And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching… but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Jesus’ feet are where His disciples belong—hanging on His every word and enjoying His presence.

To choose the good portion, sit at Jesus’ feet.

I want to offer four ways to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His teaching.

See that Jesus Christ is the one thing necessary

Only He is necessary.

Good health, a good career, a good family, and good times are all good in their own way, but they are not necessary. Millions have good health, a good job, a good family, and a lot of fun, yet they are not truly content, and those things will never bring them home to the eternal city.

On the contrary, millions throughout the world are happy without good health, a good income, a happy family, or great vacations because they are walking the narrow path of faith in Jesus as their good portion, and He will bring them home to the celestial city.

The one thing that is necessary is Jesus Christ.

Seeing that Jesus Christ is the one thing necessary begins at conversion. It’s seeing that you’re a sinner, that nothing you can do can save you from your sins, and that Jesus is the one thing you need to be saved.

Seeing that Jesus Christ is the one thing necessary begins by receiving Him as your Lord and Savior and your only hope in life and in death.

Good works are not necessary. A great job is not necessary. Popularity, beauty, and romance are not necessary. They will not ultimately satisfy or save you.

Only one thing is necessary for true life and eternal life, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you been converted? Have you been born again? Have you come to believe that He is the one thing needful for true life and eternal life?

Receive Him.

That’s where sitting at Jesus’ feet begins.

Sit at Jesus’ feet alone

The Lord Jesus Christ often rose early in the morning and went to desolate places to be alone with the Father. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

To choose the good portion, sit at Jesus’ feet alone.

I love how Paul Tripp puts it:

“I encourage you to tune your heart every morning to the existence and stunning glory of God… Because of the distractibility and fickle nature of my heart, if I am going to live in harmony with the Lord of glory, it is important that I start every day by tuning my heart to him. I need to invest the time necessary to do this… Determine to nail the tuning of your heart into your morning schedule and then pray for the enabling grace to follow through for the long run.”

When you sit at Jesus’ feet alone—regardless of the time of day—the Bible teaches us to do three things: read the Bible, meditate on the Bible, and pray.

In case it helps you, I’ll share what it looks like for me to sit at Jesus’ feet alone most mornings.

I have a highly extroverted, pregnant wife, two children who have to be out the door by 7:10 a.m. so my wife can get them to the Christian school they attend in the suburbs on time, and a busy pastoral life.

Therefore, to sit at Jesus’ feet alone before the activity of the day kicks up, I have to get up early—usually sometime in the 4:00 or 5:00 hour.

Yes, it’s early. Yes, I make occasional exceptions and adjustments. Yes, sitting at Jesus’ feet is worth it.

Once I’m up, I get coffee—which I set to brew the night before so it’s ready when I wake up—and head to the basement.

In the basement are a book, my Bible, my journal, a pen, a highlighter, and my weights.

I begin by reading about five pages from a book, often by a Puritan because they uniquely stir up my heart for the Lord.

Then I read three chapters from the Bible—two from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

I have a journaling Bible, so after I read each chapter, I usually either write a note in the margins or write a prayer for our church, my family, and myself based on what I read.

Then I read whatever passage I—or another pastor—am preaching that Sunday, usually praying it over my family, our church, and myself.

Then I read one verse from the New Testament in Greek, using the Daily Dose of Greek YouTube channel as my guide.

Then I work on a memory verse.

Lastly, I either pray out loud—often using the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments as a guide—or I write prayers in my journal.

In between chapters or portions of my devotions, I’ll do a set of weightlifting to maintain my health and train my body to remain under control.

From waking up to finishing, this takes about 60–75 minutes, though I can do a shorter version if needed.

I try to do it six days a week.

Exceptions, variations, and missed days happen.

Some of these examples may help you, and some may not. The point is this:

To choose the good portion—friendship with Jesus—refuse to let your season of life distract you from sitting at Jesus’ feet. Determine a quiet time and a quiet place to read God’s Word, pour out your heart to Him in prayer, and ask Him for the enabling grace to follow through.

To choose the good portion, sit at Jesus’ feet alone.

Sit at Jesus’ feet continually

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Bible says, “pray without ceasing.” The final way to choose the good portion and enjoy a life of close friendship and fellowship with Jesus is to sit at his feet continually. Pray without ceasing throughout the day, walking in close fellowship with Jesus all day long. By praying without ceasing you can bring a Mary heart into all of your Martha moments, constantly choosing the good portion.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, when it comes to steak, the good portion is the ribeye. But I am absolutely certain that the good portion in life and eternity is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you choose Him as the good portion, He will save you by grace and He will never be taken away from you. So, choose the good portion by serving Him zealously without ever making serving Him more important than Him. And choose the good portion by sitting at His feet and learning from Him alone, together, and continually.