Luke chapter 10, verses 25 to 42.
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying,
Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said to him, What is written in the law?
How do you read it?
And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind
and your neighbor as yourself.
And he said to him, You have answered correctly.
Do this and you will live.
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,
And who is my neighbor?
Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed,
leaving him half dead.
Now by chance, a priest was going down that road,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was,
and when he saw him, he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
And the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper,
saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend,
I will repay you when I come back.
Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor
to the man who fell among the robbers?
He said, The one who showed him mercy.
And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise.
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,
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.
This is God's infallible and authoritative word.
The elusive pursuit of immortality
has been at the heart of humanity's spiritual aspirations throughout history.
And that's because God created us for eternal life.
But as Genesis chapter 3, verses 22 to 24 teach us,
he mercifully cut us off from that possibility of eternal life
because of our sin,
because we rebelled against him,
lest we live forever in our state of rebellion and separation from God.
God cut us off from that possibility.
And ever since then,
so many people have sought immortality apart from God,
even though it is only to be found in him.
And the Jews, likewise, are preoccupied with this question.
And verse 25 says that,
Behold, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test.
The lawyer in view here is not an attorney that we think of
when we think of here the word lawyer,
but a teacher of the Jewish law.
It's a religious scholar and an expert of the Jewish Torah,
the first five books of the Bible.
And he stands up from the midst of the crowd and questions Jesus.
Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
So as a Jew who believed in the promise of the resurrection life
spoken of in Daniel, the book of Daniel,
the scribe wants to make sure that he doesn't miss out in the end.
How can I make sure that I will be raised
to inherit that eternal resurrection life in the end?
And Jesus answers his question with a counter question in verse 26,
as he often does.
He asks him,
What is written in the law?
How do you read it?
This is a significant question because as Jesus says this,
he reveals his belief that the answer,
the correct answer to describe this lawyer's question
is provided in the revealed will of God
in the Old Testament scriptures.
He points the Bible scholar back to the Bible.
And the lawyer actually gives the correct answer.
Jesus points that out in verse 28.
And the answer is what we now know as the greatest commandment.
In verse 27,
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength
and with all your mind
and your neighbor as yourself.
Or the command which we had as part of our call to worship earlier today
from Deuteronomy 6 verse 5,
The love of the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind.
That comes from Deuteronomy.
And the command to love your neighbor as yourself
comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18.
So in sum, in the entire Old Testament,
there were 613 commandments.
And all of those were summarized in what we know as the Ten Commandments.
And the Ten Commandments are really distilled in this greatest commandment.
The first four of the Ten Commandments,
which deal with our relationship to God,
how we have to relate to Him,
are summarized in the command to love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
And the command, the last six of the Ten Commandments,
which deal with our relation to one another,
is summarized in the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
And that's why this is called the greatest commandment.
It's the greatest commandment, not in the sense that it's one of many.
It's like the best among all the other commandments.
It's the one command, rather, that encompasses all of the other commands.
And that's why in Matthew 22, 40,
Jesus writes that all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
And that's why Paul writes repeatedly that the whole law is fulfilled
in these double love commands.
So then what then do these all-important love commands mean?
When it comes to loving God,
what's emphasized is the totality of devotion.
We have to be totally devoted to Him.
Notice the four times the word all is repeated.
We have to love God with all our heart,
and with all our soul,
and with all our strength,
and with all our mind.
The word heart refers to the inner person.
It's the seed of our thoughts and our beliefs,
as the Bible uses the word.
That's why in Luke 1, 51, and Luke 2, 35,
it speaks of the thoughts of people's hearts.
It's the inner person.
The word soul refers to the spirit or life of a person.
Strength refers to our might or energy.
And mind refers to our cognitive faculty.
And in English,
we use these terms in vaguely interchangeable ways, don't we?
We say things like,
put your heart into it.
Put your soul into it.
Bear your heart to that person.
Bear your soul to that person.
What's on your mind?
What's on your heart?
Do it with all your strength.
Do it with all your heart.
So we use it interchangeably,
and it's actually very similar in the Bible.
These terms are used interchangeably in a lot of places.
So it's kind of hard to pin them down
and define it clearly and say,
this means that, and that means that.
And they overlap.
And so what's being emphasized here
is not that we are to use these four different faculties
to worship God and to love Him,
but rather that we are to use the totality
of all of our abilities,
all of our faculties,
all that we are to love Him and follow Him.
It calls for a reorientation of our whole selves
to God's purposes and priorities.
As I like to say,
I frequently,
that loving God,
following Him,
being His disciple,
is not a part-time preoccupation.
It's an all-consuming affair
that requires total allegiance.
When it comes to loving our neighbors,
what's emphasized
is not the totality of devotion,
but selfless service.
We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Some people over-psychologize this verse,
and they say that this means
we must first love ourselves,
because how can you love someone else
unless you love someone as yourself
unless you love yourself?
And they use this verse
to teach the importance of self-love
or self-esteem,
when that's precisely the opposite
of what this verse is commanding.
The verse does not command self-love.
It assumes self-love
and teaches us to subordinate
our self-love to neighbor love.
We naturally have our own interests in mind
as human beings.
We're naturally selfish.
But Scripture commands us to look out
not only for our own interests,
but also for our neighbor's interests.
Instead of being selfish
with our time,
with our relationships,
with our money,
we should be selfless
toward our neighbor.
It requires us to sacrifice.
So to put it another way,
to summarize the greatest commandment,
it means to love God
with our whole selves
and to love our neighbor
as ourselves.
That's really the main point,
main point of this passage.
But that's still pretty abstract,
isn't it?
What does that look like?
And so Luke actually
helpfully illustrates
the greatest commandment
in very concrete terms
in the following two stories.
first is the parable
of the Good Samaritan
in verses 29 to 37,
which show us
what it looks like
to love our neighbor
as ourselves.
And then,
in the following story
of Martha and Mary
in verses 38 to 42,
Luke teaches us
how we ought to love God
with our whole selves.
So let's first look at
what it means
to love our neighbor
as ourselves
in verses 29 to 37.
He says in verse 29
that the lawyer,
desiring to justify himself,
said to Jesus,
who is my neighbor?
The lawyer wanted
to prove himself right.
He wanted to show himself
to be righteous.
So he asked a follow-up question,
who is my neighbor?
Expecting Jesus
to kind of narrow down
the definition a bit,
narrow the scope
of the commands
to make it a little more feasible,
accessible.
He's my neighbor,
my own family.
Or maybe the people
that live in the immediate vicinity.
The ones in my condo.
Or maybe only my fellow Jews,
which is how most rabbis
during this time
interpreted that command.
This lawyer wants
and expects Jesus
to restrict the definition
of neighbor
in a way that allows him
to demonstrate
that he has kept
the greatest commandment.
Oh yeah,
I love my fellow Jews.
I love my fellow people.
We're also tempted
at times like this,
aren't we,
to adopt
the minimum requirement mentality
in order to justify ourselves.
Hebrews 10, 24 to 25
commands us,
let us consider
how to stir up one another
to love and good works
and neglecting
to meet together,
not neglecting
to meet together
as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another.
Scripture commands us
not to neglect
meeting together,
but what exactly
does it mean
to neglect
the meeting together?
We try to define it.
Surely,
attending worship service
once a month
can't be considered
neglect, right?
If I always attend
Easter and Christmas services,
that's infrequent,
sure,
but that's not neglect,
right?
Well,
I'm not part
of a local church,
but hey,
I watch live stream services
online and listen
to sermon podcasts.
Surely,
that meets the requirement,
doesn't it?
We try to find
the minimum requirement
because we want
to fulfill it
and say
and justify ourselves.
2 Corinthians 9,
6 to 7
says,
the point is this,
whoever sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly
and whoever sows bountifully
will also reap bountifully.
Each one must give
as he has decided
in his heart,
not reluctantly
or under compulsion
for God loves
a cheerful giver.
Okay,
so God commands us
to give to the church,
but how much
should we give?
What's the minimum requirement?
If I give a couple bucks
every week cheerfully,
that's enough,
right?
Tell me,
how much do I need to give?
I hear this question a lot.
How much do I need to give?
10%?
Just tell me,
I'll do it.
Tithing means
maybe I'm slowing
bountifully,
right?
Is it okay
to give 10%
after taxes?
Okay,
fine.
I'll give 10%
before taxes.
Well,
then I've done it,
right?
That means I've
sold bountifully.
I've met the requirement.
Instead of wanting
to obey God
to the fullest,
instead of wanting
to remain
in the center
of his will,
we look to fulfill
the minimum requirement
so we could
get a passing grade.
We're like a person
who's trying to find
all the loopholes
in the tax code
so we can pay
as little tax
as possible.
That's not how
Christian obedience
is supposed to be
and that's exactly
what this lawyer
is trying to do.
So who exactly
is my neighbor?
Tell me exactly.
Restrict it.
Define it.
Narrow it down
for me so that
I can fulfill it
and feel good
about myself
and justify myself
before the eyes of men.
And Jesus replies
in verses 30 to 35
with the famous parable
of the Good Samaritan.
Begins this way.
A man was going down
from Jerusalem
to Jericho
and he fell
among robbers
who stripped him
and beat him
and departed
leaving him half dead.
This is a very
realistic parable.
The journey
from Jerusalem
to Jericho
includes what is called
the passage of blood.
It's called that
because there were
so many robberies
and murders
that took place
on that road.
The winding desert road
going down
from Jerusalem
to Jericho
was surrounded
by caves
which made
ideal hideouts
for robbers,
highway robbers.
And this man
in the parable
runs into such robbers
and they steal
his stuff
and leave him
half dead
and this man
is now fighting
for his life.
If no one
comes to his rescue
he will die.
But what good luck
it says in verse 31
not by chance
a priest
was going down
that road.
A priest
a minister
at the temple
of God.
Surely this man
of God
will come to the aid
of this dying man
but in a surprising
turn of events
it says that the priest
when he saw him
he passed by
on the other side.
He intentionally
avoids the man.
Various reasons
are possible
but we're not told
exactly what it is
so we can't know
for sure.
Perhaps he's fearful
that there are more robbers
just like the ones
that attack this man
and they don't want to
he doesn't want to risk
going anywhere near there.
Perhaps he thinks
the man might be dead
because he's half dead
he looks dead
and he doesn't want to
risk ritual impurity
by coming into contact
with the corpse
since he's a priest.
Whatever the reason
the priest doesn't want
anything to do
with this dying man.
And verse 32 continues
so likewise a Levite
when he came to the place
and saw him
passed by
on the other side.
Moses' brother Aaron
his family
and their descendants
had the exclusive right
to be priests
in the temple of God.
But the rest
of the members
of the tribe of Levi
to which Aaron belonged
took on lesser responsibilities
around the temple
and functioned
as basically
assistance to the priests.
So they were also privileged
they were a privileged class
of religious elites.
But the result
is likewise disappointing.
The Levite did get
a little closer
than the priest.
It says that he came
to the place
and saw him
but just like the priest
he passed by
on the other side.
And at verse 32
comes the twist
of the story.
After the Jewish priest
then a Jewish Levite
you would expect
simply a Jew
a Jewish lay person.
You'd expect
kind of an anti-clergy story
where a priest
and a Levite
had failed
but this common
faithful Jewish man
comes by
and does the right thing.
You see
it's not about
your titles.
It's about
being faithful.
That's the story
you would expect.
But instead
it says
a Samaritan.
In the Greek
the word Samaritan
is awkwardly placed
as the very first word
of the sentence
unlike the words
priest and Levite
earlier
in the earlier
preceding verses.
It's fronted there
for emphasis
for shock value.
This wasn't the case
earlier
but now
after the priest
goes by
on the other side
the Levite
goes by on the other side
they both
it says
they saw the man
and then they
walked by
on the other side
but a Samaritan
what is a Samaritan
doing in this
Jewish parable?
I mentioned
last week
briefly
that we know
from the gospel
of John
that there was
really bad blood
in history
between Jews
and the Samaritans.
The Samaritans
were a mixed race
of Jews
and Gentiles
they were half
half breeds
as Jews would call them.
Instead of worshipping
at Mount Zion
in Jerusalem
they argued
that true worship
should be held
at Mount Gerizim
in Shechem.
For these reasons
Jews not only
viewed
these Samaritans
as ethnic
half breeds
they also saw them
as religious
heretics
their deviants.
So this is the point
where you would expect
the hero of the story
to come
and resolve
the tension
that's been building up
but out comes
a Samaritan
and the Samaritan
goes the full lengths
to care for this dying man.
It was said
of both the priest
and Levi
that they had seen him
but they passed by
but the Samaritan
when he sees the man
it says he had compassion.
He went to him
and bound up his wounds
pouring on oil
and wine.
Then he set him
on his own animal
and brought him
to an inn
and took care of him.
So it's unclear
what kind of cloth
he would have had
available to bandage
this man's wound.
He had to use
some from his own cloak
or maybe the turban
or a piece of
the linen undergarment
to bind up the wounds.
He does that
but as he does that
he also treats the wound.
He uses his own supplies.
He uses the oil
to soothe the wound.
He uses the alcohol
the wine
to disinfect it.
And the oil and wine
would have been
his own provisions
for travel
but yet he gives it up
in order to serve this man.
And then
since the man
is in no shape to walk
he comes down
his own animal
probably a mule
which means
he would have to walk
the rest of the way
and then he brings
this wounded man
to an inn
and continues
to take care of him.
As if that weren't enough
most people would have
could have left
the man there
and left
and gone his way
and never come back
and people would have
still praised him
for being a good Samaritan.
But he doesn't
stop there.
He says in verse 35
the next day
he stays overnight
the next day
he took out
two denarii
and gave them
to the innkeeper
saying
take care of him
and whatever more
you spend
I will repay you
when I come back.
Since the wounded man
had just been robbed
he has no money
to pay his way.
And so the Samaritan
seeing that
the innkeeper
would be reluctant
to care for a man
who can't pay
for his stay
he pays
two denarii
up front
that's the equivalent
of two days worth
of wages
full days worth
of wages
which would have
been enough
to pay for about
24 days
at this kind of inn
in this day and age.
But even that's not
the limit of this
Samaritan's generosity
and hospitality
he assures
the innkeeper
in verse 35
take care of him
and whatever more
you spend
I will repay you
when I come back.
Please don't
discontinue your care
for this man
and if I don't return
before the money
I paid you
runs out
be assured
that I will return
don't expect
anything from him
I will guarantee
your compensation
personally
take nothing
from him
take everything
from me.
And after that
shocking twist
to the story
Jesus asks
a very pointed
question
verse 36
which of these
three
do you think
proved to be
a neighbor
to the man
who fell
among the robbers
and the proud
Jewish lawyer
can't bring himself
to say the word
Samaritan.
He replies
in a roundabout way
verse 37
that the one
who showed him
mercy
and Jesus said
to him
you
go
and do
likewise.
verse 37
can be translated
more literally
this way
the one
who did
mercy
it's the same
word
the word
do
the one
who did
mercy
and Jesus
said to him
you go
and do
likewise
there's an
emphasis
the repetition
of the idea
of doing
and Jesus
is driving
home a point
and notice
how masterfully
Jesus turns
the lawyer's
question around
because what
was the lawyer's
initial question
it was
who is my
neighbor
he wanted
to define
the terms
and delimit
the concept
of neighbor
so that he
can justify
himself
and say
that he
performed
his minimal
duty
but Jesus
shifts the
focus
from defining
who it is
to doing
the word
do has come
up twice
already
in verse
25
the lawyer
asked
what shall
I do
to inherit
eternal
life
and Jesus
said in
verse 28
you have
answered
correctly
do this
and you
will live
and here
in verse
37
he says
follow the
one
example
of the
one
who did
mercy
you go
and do
likewise
instead of
trying to
qualify
bible's
demands
on your
life
instead of
trying to
limit it
confine it
make it
manageable
focus on
obeying it
the real
question is
not
who is
my
neighbor
it's
am I
a neighbor
don't
ask who
your
neighbor
is
be a
neighbor
love
and
serve
whomever
you
come
across
that has
a need
that you
can
meet
your
neighbor
is not
just
your
fellow
countrymen
your
neighbor
is not
just
your
blood
relatives
your
neighbor
is not
just
those
who
share
your
ethnicity
or race
your
neighbor
is not
just
someone
who
shares
your
theological
views
or your
political
opinions
your
neighbor
is not
just
the people
who
look
like
you
and
speak
like
you
your
neighbor
is not
the people
you like
the people
you love
to serve
it's
anyone
who has
a need
that you
can meet
that you
come across
and there's
a wider
lesson here
for Jesus
his disciples
as well
because
Jesus
has
repeatedly
up to
this
point
in chapter
9 and
10
told his
disciples
that
to be a
follower of
Jesus
is to
represent
Jesus
and since
Jesus
represents
God
the
father
they
too
as
disciples
of
Jesus
represent
God
himself
and
that's
why
he
said
in
Luke
9
48
and
here
and
also
in
Luke
10
16
the
one
who
hears
you
hears
me
and
the
one
who
rejects
you
rejects
me
and
the
child
of
God
the
disciple
of
Christ
by
virtue
of
his
or
her
identification
with
Jesus
by
virtue
of
their
union
with
Jesus
through
faith
carries
with
him
or
herself
the
dignity
and
authority
of
God
himself
and
that
means
by
implication
what
we
do
for
any
of
the
followers
of
Jesus
we
do
for
Jesus
himself
in
addition
to
that
wonderful
truth
Jesus
repeatedly
pronounced
fearful
judgment
on
those
who
reject
him
and
his
followers
he
taught
his
disciples
to
wipe
the
dust
off
their
feet
as
they
leave
towns
that
reject
them
and
their
message
as
a
sign
against
them
as
a
testimony
against
them
that
they
will
be
rejected
and
condemned
by
God
on
judgment
day
should
they
persist
in
their
stubborn
rejection
of
Christ
so
in
light
of
all
this
you
can
kind
of
see
why
the
disciples
might
have
a
misunderstanding
and
we
saw
their
misunderstanding
earlier
in chapter
9
verses
51
to
55
when
they
came
to
a
Samaritan
village
they're at
a Samaritan
village
and they
reject
them
and the
disciples
are
understandably
upset
and they
asked
and they
but
Jesus
rebuked
them
and
this
parable
of the
good
Samaritan
serves
as a
corrective
to
them
yes
those
who
reject
Christ
and
his
disciples
will
face
judgment
but
that
will
be
at
Jesus
second
coming
and
not
his
first
coming
and
Jesus
comes
first
in
grace
to
save
and
then
he
will
come
again
a
second
time
in
glory
to
judge
but
for
those
who
live
between
those
two
comings
we
are
to
be
messengers
not
of
bad
news
but
of
the
good
news
of
Jesus
Christ
the
message
of
salvation
so
yes
we
are
to
love
and
serve
our
brothers
and
sisters
in
Christ
as
if
we're
serving
Christ
himself
and
we
would
but
because
they
represent
Jesus
but
this
does
not
mean
that
we
are
not
to
make
this
point
Jesus
intentionally
uses
a
priest
and
a
Levite
as
negative
examples
in
this
parable
because
if
anyone
in
this
culture
in
this
time
would
have
been
considered
lovers
of
God
it
would
have
been
the
priest
it
would
have
been
the
Levite
but
they
failed
to
observe
the
greatest
commandment
why
because
they
did
not
love
their
neighbor
as
themselves
Jesus
is
here
explicitly
rejecting
the
kind
of
mystical
spirituality
that
is
divorced
from
service
to
mankind
this
lawyer
had
devoted
his
life
to
studying
God's
word
his
laws
and
that's
excellent
and
we
should
all
strive
to
do
that
and
maybe
many
of
you
have
read
the
Bible
through
many
times
from
cover
to
cover
but
if
you
profess
to
love
God
but
your
love
for
God
is
not
evidenced
by
your
love
of
neighbor
then
your
love
of
God
and
love
of
neighbor
go
together
loving
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
is
a
necessary
expression
of
our
love
for
God
then
in
verses
38
to
42
Luke
gives
us
a
picture
of
the
opposite
imbalance
and
teaches
us
what
loving
God
with
our
whole
selves
looks
like
he
says
in
verses
38
to
39
read
with
me
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
earlier
in
Luke
8
we
saw
that
women
were
among
Jesus
wider
group
of
followers
which
would
have
been
shocking
in
this
day
and
age
and
here
we
see
an
even
more
explicit
statement
of
that
truth
Mary
sat
at
the
Lord's
feet
and
listened
to
this
teaching
this
is
the
language
of
discipleship
that
occurs
again
and
again
throughout
the
gospels
she
is
one
of
the
disciples
sitting
at
Jesus
feet
and
learning
from
him
his
followers
taught
men
and
women
are
heirs
of
the
heavenly
inheritance
in
Christ
Jesus
the
equality
of
men
and
women
that
our
culture
assumes
owes
its
existence
to
Christ
teaching
there
would
have
been
many
in
this
context
who
would
have
been
scandalized
by
Mary's
boldness
and
even
more
by
Jesus
acceptance
of
her
but
among
her
fiercest
critics
we
find
her
very
own
sister
Martha
it
says
in
verse
40
that
unlike
Mary
who
sat
at
the
Lord's
feet
and
listened
to
his
teaching
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
hosting
a
large
group
in
your
house
is
not
a
small
feat
many
of
you
guys
have
done
it
some
of
you
guys
do
it
probably
a little
too
frequently
we
don't
know how
large a crowd
is here
but at
the very
least
we could
assume
that
Jesus
and his
inner
circle
the 12
apostles
were present
so that's
at least
13
guests
and
some
of you
have cooked
for a
group
that
size
before
and it's
a
difficult
work
a
former
seminary
professor
of mine
marveled
at this
kind
of
hospitality
he
said
he called
it a
minor
miracle
he said
a good
cook can
take
cold
food
and get
it into
the
refrigerator
at one
time
the hot
food
in the
stove
at another
time
and it
all comes
out at
the same
time
and everybody
has a
good
time
isn't that
amazing
but it
doesn't
always go
that
smoothly
some
of you
have
also
experienced
how
hard
it is
to
juggle
several
things
at once
in the
kitchen
by
yourself
oh no
the dough
is rising
a little
too much
that
that meat
is burning
in the
fire
that soup
is boiling
over
and you're
scurrying over
in a hurry
and trying to
take a plate
and then you
drop it of
course
because you're
in a hurry
and it
shatters
on the
ground
and you're
starting to
feel a little
bit
overwhelmed
Martha was
having one
of those
days
she's
overwhelmed
she's
distracted
and she
remembers
wait I
have a
sister
Mary
doesn't
respond
so she
sneaks over
to the
living room
takes a
peek
and behold
you should
be here
this is
your place
where she's
sitting
at the
feet
of the
Lord
Jesus
listening
to him
Martha
is slaving
away in
the kitchen
and here's
Mary just
sitting
doing
nothing
to make
this party
happen
and so
Mary is
indignant
she loses
it when
she sees
Mary
notice she
doesn't even
go to
Mary
discreetly
and be
like hey
Mary can
you come
over here
and she
goes straight
to Jesus
right up
to him
and she
says this
to Jesus
Lord
do you
not care
that my
sister has
left me
to serve
alone
tell her
then to
help
me
do you
feel
Martha's
frustration
here
because I
do
I have
a lot
of sympathy
for Martha
I think
many of
you do
too
I think
Cambridge
is a
city
full of
Martha's
I'm
one of
them
there's
no doubt
that Martha
felt that
Jesus
would be
sympathetic
to her
concern
don't you
care
Jesus
she knew
Jesus
cared for
her
so she
asked
Jesus
to send
Mary
back to
the
kitchen
to help
her
fully
expecting
that
Mary
would
listen
to
Jesus
but
Jesus
answer
is as
firm
as it
is
gracious
he
says
in
verses
41
to
42
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
the
double
evocative
Martha
it
indicates
earnestness
and it
communicates
emotion
Jesus
is not
just
coldly
rebuking
and rejecting
her
this is
a protection
of Mary
yes
but it's
also an
invitation
to
Martha
and
Jesus
contrasts
the
many
things
that
Martha
is
anxious
and
troubled
about
with
the
one
thing
that
is
necessary
what
is
this
one
thing
that
is
necessary
Jesus
explains
further
Mary
has
chosen
the
good
portion
which
will
not
be
taken
away
from
her
Mary
had
chosen
to
be
with
Jesus
Mary
had
chosen
to
listen
to
Jesus
and
that
was
the
one
thing
that
was
necessary
Martha
I
did
not
come
to
your
house
so
I
could
eat
your
food
I
came
to
your
house
to
be
with
you
that
you
might
listen
to
me
that
you
might
follow
me
that
you
might
learn
from
me
this
is
the
good
portion
in
the
context
of
a
meal
the
word
portion
refers
to
a
serving
it's
a
serving
of
food
so
it's
kind
of
a
figurative
use
of
the
word
it
recalls
Deuteronomy
8
verse
3
and
he
humbled
you
and
let
your
hunger
let
you
hunger
and
fed
you
with
manna
which
you
did
not
know
nor
did
your
fathers
know
that
he
might
make
you
know
that
man
does
not
live
by
bread
alone
but
man
lives
by
every
word
that
comes
from
the
mouth
of
the
Lord
early
in
verse
39
he
said
that
Mary
sat
at
the
Lord's
feet
listened
to
his
teaching
the
word
teaching
there
literally
is
word
she
listened
to
Jesus
word
Mary
was
listening
to
Jesus
word
eating
the
word
that
comes
from
the
mouth
of
the
Lord
and
she
had
chosen
the
better
dish
that
was
the
better
portion
the
bread
of
God
rather
than
the
bread
of
man
and
she
says
he
says
that
will
not
be
taken
away
from
her
you
might
recall
from
the
story
of
the
transfiguration
in
Luke
9
35
when
God
the
father
spoke
and
affirmed
and
approved
and
endorsed
Jesus
he
said
this
is
my
son
my
chosen
one
listen
to
him
and
immediately
before
today's
passage
in
Luke
10
22
Jesus
said
all
things
have
been
handed
over
to
me
by
my
father
and
no
one
knows
who
the
son
is
except
the
father
or
who
the
father
is
except
the
son
and
anyone
to
whom
the
son
chooses
to
reveal
him
Jesus
is
the
son
of
God
and
it's
his
exclusive
prerogative
to
reveal
God
the
father
to
us
and
therefore
we
are
to
sit
at
his
feet
and
listen
to
him
Jesus
said
to
the
lawyer
that
if
we
love
God
with
our
whole
selves
and
love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
that
we
would
inherit
eternal
life
this
is
not
a
form
of
works
righteousness
that
if
we
will
be
saved
by
the
good
works
that
we
do
we're
saved
by
the
grace
of
God
and
here's
how
those
two
work
together
because
loving
God
with
our
whole
selves
is
an
expression
of
and
it's
an
entailment
of
listening
to
Jesus
and
following
him
that's
why
1st
John
4
15
16
compares
them
this
way
whoever
confesses
that
Jesus
is
the
son
of
God
abides
in
him
and
he
in
God
so
we
have
come
to
know
and
to
believe
the
love
that
God
has
for
us
God
is
love
and
whoever
abides
in
love
abides
in
God
abides
in
him
if
we
confess
Jesus
then
God
abides
in
us
if
we
love
God
then
God
abides
in
us
and
these
are
parallel
statements
because
Jesus
is
God's
chosen
representative
and
to
believe
in
him
and
to
follow
him
is
to
love
God
and
we
have
all
failed
in
this
regard
to
love
God
with
our
whole
selves
and
to
love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
and
we
were
therefore
cut off
forever
from
the
prospect
of
inheriting
eternal
life
but
that's
why
God
the
father
sent
his
only
son
Jesus
to
die
for
us
to
save
us
so
that
he
might
represent
us
so
that
we
don't
stand
for
ourselves
in
the
court
of
God's
judgment
but
that
Jesus
might
stand
for
us
because
Jesus
in
his
life
he
said
he
obeyed
his
father
and
loved
his
father
perfectly
that's
what
we
should
have
done
but
we
did
not
love
him
perfectly
but
Jesus
did
but
even
though
he
obeyed
perfectly
he
loved
God
perfectly
he
died
he
didn't
need
to
die
he
was
the
one
human
being
that
didn't
need
to
die
but
he
died
so
that
he
might
take
our
place
because
that's
what
we
deserved
and
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
to
make
us
alive
in
him
again
and
he
fills
us
with
the
very
living
spirit
of
God
so
that
we
might
inherit
eternal
life
and
so
that
in
this
life
even
though
imperfectly
we
might
truly
love
him
with
our
whole
selves
and
love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
that's
the
good
news
of
Jesus
Christ
that's
the
word
of
Christ
that
we
have
to
listen
to
the
parable
of
the
good
Samaritan
rejected
the
idea
that
we
could
love
God
without
loving
our
neighbors
the
story
of
Martha
and
Mary
teaches
us
not
to
neglect
the
love
of
God
for
the
love
and
service
of
our
neighbors
and
there's
an
order
and
a
priority
to
that
hospitality
is
not a
light
thing
in
the
ancient
world
it
was
prized
very
highly
in
fact
being
hospitable
is
a
consistent
biblical
requirement
for
an
elder
a
pastor
of
a
church
but
even
serving
others
must
not
displace
the
priority
of
listening
to
God
and
his
word
verse
40
says
that
Martha
was
distracted
with
much
serving
the
word
serve
is
the
same
Greek
word
that
also
means
to
minister
it's
the
word
that
sometimes
gets
translated
as
deacon
ministry
is
a
good
thing
serving
is
a
good
thing
but
if
it
leads
us
to
be
distracted
with
much
serving
if
it
makes
us
anxious
and
troubled
about
many
things
these
are
warning
signs
that
we
are
losing
sight
of
what
is
most
important
and
I
say
this
we
have
a
church
full
of
very
hard
working
servants
with
amazing
deacons
in our
church
but
I
don't
want
the
busyness
of
our
service
to
distract
us
from
listening
to
Jesus
it's
easy
for
us
as
a
church
to
give
in
to
the
idolatry
of
more
let's
do
more
let's
have
more
programs
more
ministries
more
people
but
sometimes
less
is
more
and
if
there
are
ways
to
simplify
our
gatherings
so
that
more
people
can
be
attentive
to
God's
word
I
think
we
should
strive
for
that
so
many
of
us
work
ourselves
down
to
the
bone
work
serve
and
serve
and
serve
as
if
our
validation
before
the
eyes
of
God
depend
on
that
performance
that
success
as if
we're
really
convinced
that
God
needs
us
God
does
not
need
us
he
can
raise
up
rocks
to
sing
his
praises
if
he
wanted
to
it
says
in
Luke
19
40
he
can
accomplish
his
sovereign
purposes
without
us
but
he
chose
to
save
us
because
he
loved
us
we
are
not
his
hired
hands
we
are
his
children
Jesus
said
I
do
not
call
you
my
servants
I
call
you
my
friends
so
are
you
spending
time
at
his
feet
are
you
spending
time
in
his
presence
do
you
listen
to
him
through
the
reading
of
his
word
do
you
talk
to
him
through
prayer
do
you
love
him
with
your
heart
soul
mind
and
strength
and
I
don't
mean
that
just
we
automatically
because
we
live
in
the
United
States
of
America
we
automatically
understand
that
to
mean
individually
personal
devotion
time
personal
prayer
time
in
fact
most
of
the
time
those
kinds
of
commands
are
given
in
scripture
it's
corporate
even
here
Mary
is
sitting
in
the
group
of
disciples
among
the
disciples
at
the
feet
of
Jesus
do
you
prioritize
that
time
because
unless
our
hearts
are
pulsating
with
the
love
of
God
you
cannot
love
your
neighbor
as
yourself
because
unless
you
have
listened
to
the
word
of
God
you
cannot
rightly
do
the
works
of
God
because
unless
you
have
been
ministered
to
by
God
you
cannot
minister
for
God
we
have
to
love
God
with
our
whole
selves
love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
brothers
and
sisters
I
want
you
to
feel
freedom
and
release
from
this
liberating
truth
because
you
don't
need
to
be
busy
in
yourself
trying
to
prove
yourself
to
the
Lord
you
don't
need
to
be
anxious
and
troubled
for
many
things
you
don't
need
to
be
distracted
with
much
serving
because
the
hard
work
of
being
accepted
by
God
the
hard
work
of
being
able
to
be
admitted
to
his
presence
that
hard
work
has
been
done
by
Jesus
on
the
cross
and
because
he
said
it
is
finished
we
can
now
sit
at
his
feet
we
can
listen
to
him
here
to
on
his
them