John 11 At the Home of Martha and Mary

38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But 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!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. [6] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."


John 12 Jesus Anointed at Bethany

1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint [1] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

Which woman are you? Mary and Martha were sisters. Both were very different from one another even though I’m sure they resembled one another greatly as most sisters do. They were the sisters of Lazarus who was one of Jesus’ best friends and was raised from the dead. Martha was probably the oldest. She was the gracious hostess and was always busy with the presentation of the food and the cleaning of the house. When her brother died she ran out to meet Jesus and admonished him for not being there in time to save her brother.

John 11
19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Mary on the other hand was quite different. Probably the youngest, she was less concerned with the usual order of things and had a little wild streak in her. For instance, look at verse 3:
3Then Mary took about a pint [1] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair.
A) She used expensive perfume to anoint Jesus whole body.
B) She took down her hair in public probably while everyone was seated at the table.
C) While her sister was bustling around serving and preparing the feast, Mary was seated at Jesus’ feet listening to him raptly.
This just wasn’t the behavior of a woman in those days. The men sat at the table and dined while the women served quietly and ate their own food in a small corner of the room or in an entirely different room all together. I’m sure that Martha was shocked at her sister’s behavior and lack of decorum. But what does Jesus think about Mary’s behavior? He says,
“7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
And
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. [6] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Does this mean that Jesus loved Mary more than Martha? No. He loved them both they just had different gifts to give. Martha was more of a servant heart and Mary was more of a student heart. Both are equally important in the kingdom of God. In verse 42, Jesus is not scolding Martha, but He is showing her that in the days to come after his death, the attention to what He has spoken will be loved and adored with passion forever. Mary chose to not miss a single word that came from the Lord’s mouth. Her attention to His word was the example that we should look to today in seeking after Jesus. Let there be no distractions when He is speaking to your heart. Turn off the TV, turn down the stereo, hide from the kids and just listen to the Lord.