WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.240 All right, let's read Scripture together from Luke chapter 10, verses 38 to 42. 00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:11.060 ! And this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:16.240 Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.600 And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:26.219 And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. 00:00:27.080 --> 00:00:29.460 But Martha was distracted with much serving. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.340 And she went up to Him and said, Lord, do you not care? 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.140 My sister has left me to serve alone. 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:37.700 Tell her then to help me. 00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:44.960 But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. 00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:47.159 But one thing is necessary. 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:52.140 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:53.920 This is God's holy word. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:01:02.960 As Corey intimated, we're focusing on the theme of discipleship in our services, in our church life. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:11.719 And I think this is our fifth sermon in Luke's gospel, in Luke chapter 9 through 12, 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:14.680 under the heading, The Call to Discipleship. 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:20.220 And we're looking at this famous story of Martha and Mary this evening. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:30.940 I want to begin by talking about a German artist called Adolf Menzel. 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:35.540 And he was an artist, second half of the 19th century. 00:01:35.820 --> 00:01:38.920 He was very famous in Germany, probably not so famous here. 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:48.299 But he was famous for historical illustrations of the life of the 18th century Prussian monarch, 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:51.240 Frederick the Great and his court. 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:57.060 And he was an artist who was deeply concerned with detail, accuracy. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:01.920 And he was known for researching everything down to the very minutiae, 00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:06.799 right down to buttons on a uniform, handle on a sword. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.419 He was very, very detailed. 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:14.060 And in, I think, in a Berlin art gallery, there was a painting by Menzel. 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.000 It's only partially finished. 00:02:16.859 --> 00:02:21.079 And it was intended to show Frederick the Great speaking with some of his generals. 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:27.180 And he's painted the generals in the background in the most incredible detail. 00:02:27.859 --> 00:02:31.539 Hats, uniforms, badges, buttons. 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:34.620 But the strange thing is this. 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:38.879 The image of the king is missing altogether. 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:44.719 There's this outline of Frederick the Great, but that's all. 00:02:44.799 --> 00:02:46.399 And everything else in the background. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:48.840 It's a very unusual painting. 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:52.659 The most important person is missing. 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.280 Everything depicted in great detail. 00:02:56.419 --> 00:02:58.780 But the king, nowhere to be seen. 00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:04.219 And I think that's a kind of metaphor for the lives of so many people. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.740 Everything in vivid, technicolor and detail. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.400 Every aspect of life apparently considered. 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:16.400 Money, family, friends, status, career. 00:03:16.939 --> 00:03:20.400 All highlighted in meticulous detail. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:26.560 And yet, the most important person is missing altogether. 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:30.680 The king is nowhere to be seen. 00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:44.379 And Luke writes his gospel because he wants us to be sure that we do not miss the king of whom he is speaking. 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:49.340 He doesn't want us to miss Jesus Christ. 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:53.460 He wants us to see Jesus' identity. 00:03:53.819 --> 00:04:00.680 And he wants us to have Jesus Christ center stage in our lives. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:10.060 And this particular section of the gospel is all about what it means to have Christ at the center of our lives. 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:14.140 It's about what it really means to follow Jesus. 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:16.379 It's about discipleship. 00:04:17.539 --> 00:04:26.800 In the New Testament, Christian disciples are those who trust Jesus and who seek to follow Him and learn from Him. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:34.379 And Christian disciples in whatever age are always looking to and learning from Jesus Christ. 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:47.659 When people are learning to drive, I have a brother who's a driving instructor, often tells me many interesting stories. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:57.939 They must display L plates to warn other road users that they haven't yet passed their proficiency test. 00:04:57.939 --> 00:05:03.959 Once the test is passed, the L plates can be discarded. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:11.199 But for the Christian disciple, our L plates are never discarded. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:16.180 We are never anything more than learners. 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:25.160 And a teachable spirit is a vital aspect of living out the Christian life. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:34.720 One of the things that the church often looks for in those training for ministry is this very thing. 00:05:34.780 --> 00:05:38.399 It's this desire to learn, to develop, to grow, to mature. 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:39.840 It's absolutely vital. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:43.220 Beware those who think they know it all. 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:53.860 I have a vivid recollection of being told by an elder in my first pastoral charge that there was nothing I could teach him that he hadn't heard before. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:59.440 His was an attitude that simply refused to learn. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:04.300 He thought he knew it all, and so you could teach him nothing. 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.960 In truth, he had a proud and impoverished soul. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:17.120 And in our service tonight, we're looking at this passage that's all about listening and learning from Jesus. 00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:20.459 It's a passage unique to Luke's gospel. 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:24.319 It centers on a situation of really of domestic conflict. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.659 The story of Martha and Mary. 00:06:28.479 --> 00:06:33.299 And I want to look at it briefly this evening under three headings. 00:06:33.539 --> 00:06:35.079 Three things that we see here. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:36.740 And the first is this. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:44.539 I want you to see the situation that Jesus faces here in verses 38, 39, and 40. 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:48.939 As they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:53.199 A woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:58.000 She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to his teaching. 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.819 Martha was distracted with much serving. 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:06.480 She went up to him and said, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.060 Tell her then to help me. 00:07:10.219 --> 00:07:14.839 So, the setting is in the house of a woman called Martha, along with her sister Mary. 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:17.560 She welcomes Jesus into her home. 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:22.360 We know from elsewhere in the New Testament that these women, along with their brother Lazarus, 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:24.180 were very good friends of Jesus. 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:28.560 And that he clearly spent time with them as a family. 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.319 They lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem. 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:36.759 That's led scholars to think that this event may not be strictly chronological. 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:43.860 In other words, Luke's placed the story here to make this particular point about being a disciple of Jesus. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:51.100 And one of the striking features of the passage is the way that it's focused on the behavior and conduct of these two women. 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:56.180 Jesus clearly called and welcomed women as his disciples. 00:07:56.180 --> 00:08:04.079 And from elsewhere in the Gospels, we know that these two women were amongst his most dedicated and devoted followers. 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:12.560 So, on this occasion, Jesus is welcomed into the house, along with his disciples, to receive food and hospitality. 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:18.199 And while he's there, he continues to teach and preach to his disciples and those assembled. 00:08:19.340 --> 00:08:22.460 Of course, this is a key element of Jesus' ministry. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:23.199 He taught others. 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:24.280 He explained the Scriptures. 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:27.979 He spoke as a man with authority from God. 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:36.819 And it's this teaching ministry of Jesus that occasions, I suppose, a certain degree of domestic tension within this household. 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:44.819 With Jesus and his disciples arriving, it seems that Martha has got to work in preparing for them a meal. 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:48.879 She's very anxious to do her best for Jesus and his followers. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.039 She doesn't want just to kind of throw something in the microwave. 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.919 You know, she's not interested in putting together some beans on toast. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:59.620 She wants to set him, you know, before him a meal for the disciples. 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:02.259 It's a noble aspiration. 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:05.839 And we can get a sense of the scene. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:14.959 Martha clattering around in the kitchen, bustling about doing this and that, get everything ready, get everything prepared for everyone else to eat. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:16.980 So much to be done. 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:25.620 And as she works away busily, she can't help but notice her sister Mary is nowhere to be seen. 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:29.080 She should have been helping her. 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.379 She should have been giving her a hand. 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:36.759 She should have been serving Jesus and his disciples too. 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:45.080 But no, Mary is sitting, enjoying herself, taking it easy, listening to Jesus teaching with the men. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:47.879 Actually, quite scandalous behavior. 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:55.360 She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:59.060 I mean, what on earth is she playing at? 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:01.560 Doesn't she know her place? 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.000 Doesn't she know what's expected of her? 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:10.300 Doesn't she know what an embarrassment she is? 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.899 Doesn't she know that she's making a fool of herself, sitting there with all the men? 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:25.459 And we need to remember that learning like this was effectively the sole preserve of men, not women in Jesus' day. 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:27.539 The rabbis only taught men. 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.480 I don't think it's that women were forbidden from learning. 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:32.860 It's just that it wasn't the done thing. 00:10:33.860 --> 00:10:40.419 The prevailing consensus among rabbis of the time that it was a waste of time, effort to teach women. 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:50.500 But here Jesus welcomes Mary, a woman, to that place of learning and discipleship. 00:10:50.620 --> 00:11:00.819 I don't think we can underestimate the revolutionary impact of Jesus' teaching and practice in this regard. 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:06.019 As a result, Martha is working her fingers to the bone. 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:08.439 She's running around like a headless chicken. 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:10.420 She's trying to get everything ready. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:14.960 And Mary, her sister, is absolutely oblivious. 00:11:15.540 --> 00:11:20.940 She doesn't seem to be the slightest bit aware of what is happening in the kitchen. 00:11:22.280 --> 00:11:26.740 She's behaving like a man, not a woman. 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:30.420 And it all seems so unfair to Martha. 00:11:31.140 --> 00:11:34.300 And I think we can empathize. 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:39.939 There's nothing shorter, is there, than to get one's blood boiling and be left to do all the work. 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:42.299 And others are, you know, absolutely unconcerned. 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.059 Often this is what happens in churches. 00:11:48.439 --> 00:11:49.719 Work is left to the few. 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:56.419 The majority can sometimes appear quite disinterested in getting involved, getting their hands dirty. 00:11:56.419 --> 00:12:03.459 And sometimes those who are committed, the most dedicated, eventually get a bit cheesed off. 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:09.179 They'll look around and they say, well, why are these people not doing anything? 00:12:09.579 --> 00:12:10.439 Why are they not helping? 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:12.179 Why are they not volunteering? 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:13.579 Why are they not praying? 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:14.559 Why are they not serving? 00:12:14.719 --> 00:12:15.439 Why, why, why? 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:25.380 And it's very easy for seeds of resentment and bitterness, self-pity, to flourish in the human heart. 00:12:26.900 --> 00:12:29.040 A kind of martyr complex. 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:31.660 Look at all that I'm doing for you. 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:33.980 Why aren't others more like me? 00:12:34.640 --> 00:12:38.140 Lord, you need to give that lot a good kick in the pants. 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:44.580 And eventually all that boiling resentment spills over. 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:49.340 Pride and self-regard manifest themselves in the judging of others. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.759 Feelings of moral superiority are inflated. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.720 The stature of others diminished. 00:12:58.139 --> 00:12:59.679 This is kind of what happens here. 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:01.799 Martha can't take it any longer. 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:04.039 She just has to say something. 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:06.080 She has to get it off her chest. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.920 She has to let Jesus know what is actually going on here. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:11.720 Doesn't he see? 00:13:12.680 --> 00:13:14.440 He needs to set Mary straight. 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:15.660 Tell her to get the finger out. 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:16.460 Lend a hand. 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:24.300 Martha was distracted with much serving. 00:13:25.780 --> 00:13:27.500 And she went up to him and said, 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:33.920 Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.959 Tell her then to help me. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:42.659 She was consumed by her work. 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:49.379 But that work, good work, becomes an occasion for jealousy and bitterness. 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:52.059 For self-pity and sin. 00:13:53.479 --> 00:13:56.059 Fuels her sense of self-righteousness. 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:59.759 So that as she serves, she is distracted. 00:14:01.479 --> 00:14:04.459 And good works and service can do that. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:10.839 I think it was all in Redpath, a minister of a bygone age, who said, 00:14:10.979 --> 00:14:14.099 Beware the barrenness of a busy life. 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:19.480 And this word used in the passage, distracted, means to be drawn away. 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:23.980 She's drawn away from Jesus by all her activity. 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:26.620 Her eyes are not really on him. 00:14:27.420 --> 00:14:28.379 They're on her sister. 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:31.399 They're on the work that she thinks needs to be done. 00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:38.200 And she fails to see that it's not Mary's priorities that are wrong, but hers. 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:43.580 And that's the situation that Jesus faces. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:46.920 That brings me to the second thing here. 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:52.720 Let's look at the priority Jesus highlights in verse 41. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:59.340 Because what happens is Jesus doesn't respond as perhaps we might think. 00:14:59.420 --> 00:15:01.560 Certainly not as Martha was thinking and hoping. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.800 You know, most of us might tend to side with Martha. 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.659 Expect Jesus to sort out her lazy, indolent sister. 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:13.079 And certainly Martha was convinced she was in the right. 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:16.079 She held the moral high ground. 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:19.539 Her sister needed really to be rebuked, put her a place. 00:15:20.719 --> 00:15:27.500 But surprisingly, it's not Mary's attitude and behavior that are challenged here by Jesus. 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:29.240 It's Martha's. 00:15:30.199 --> 00:15:31.959 The Lord answered her, verse 41, 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:39.639 Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:43.280 Now, let's be clear. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:48.000 Jesus does not here tear a strip off Martha for her request. 00:15:49.060 --> 00:15:50.840 He speaks to her tenderly. 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:53.759 He repeats her name, Martha, Martha. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:16:03.200 I think over the years, Martha has received a bit of bad press, somewhat unwarranted reputation as being a poor disciple of Jesus. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.759 Don't think that to be the case. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:10.720 Jesus speaks to her affectionately, tenderly, lovingly. 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:16.000 He wants her to understand what is going on here and what's really important. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.519 He sees that she's anxious. 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.700 He's troubled by all that's going on, all that has to be done. 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:29.879 And this word troubled means literally to be thrown into a kind of uproar, almost like a storm. 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:32.559 It suggests a kind of an emotional storm. 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.899 And so, Jesus seeks to calm that storm. 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:55.759 Jesus sees that Martha has been investing all her effort and energy into something that wasn't really of first importance. 00:16:56.939 --> 00:16:59.139 She'd forgotten the most important thing. 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:06.460 Her actions and attitudes had obscured the most important thing. 00:17:06.900 --> 00:17:11.280 And revealed a misunderstanding about discipleship. 00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:13.060 What it meant really to follow Jesus. 00:17:13.820 --> 00:17:15.600 She thought it was all about her service. 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:16.660 Her activity. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:19.019 All about what she could do for the Lord. 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:20.640 All about her. 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:30.280 And she failed to grasp that fundamentally, being a disciple is first of all about what we receive from Jesus. 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:37.920 In other words, first and foremost, Christian discipleship is not about what we can do for Jesus, 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:41.960 but rather what Jesus does for us. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:49.099 In all her activity, Martha was blind to her need of Jesus and His teaching. 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:52.119 She didn't see herself as one who was in need. 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:58.019 The only real necessity here was that she let Jesus serve her. 00:17:59.639 --> 00:18:05.919 Jesus wanted her attention and her company and her fellowship before He wanted her food. 00:18:06.879 --> 00:18:13.099 And the difference between the sisters was that while Martha saw Jesus in need of help, 00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:16.919 Mary saw her need of Jesus' help. 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:23.160 Martha was not doing the important thing because she wasn't listening to His Word. 00:18:23.500 --> 00:18:26.840 Her eyes and ears, her mind and heart were elsewhere. 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.039 And friends, this is a key principle of Christian discipleship. 00:18:32.320 --> 00:18:37.700 We are not converted by presenting Jesus with our good deeds and our good life. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:43.620 We don't earn our way into God's good books by our hard work and service. 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:53.899 We are converted only when we receive from Him His forgiveness, His salvation, His gospel, His Word as a gift. 00:18:57.099 --> 00:19:05.759 I think it's Dale Raal Davis who tells the story of the Baturo people of western Uganda 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:16.759 who had a custom in the tribe whereby accepting a gift required the recipient to use both hands. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:22.480 To take a gift with just one hand was a sign of disrespect and ingratitude. 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:30.299 And so, when missionaries had gone to that tribe, they used this custom to try and explain the nature of the gospel. 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:35.619 They asked someone to pick up some books labeled good works and religious duties. 00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:40.000 And once they did that, they offered them a new book as a gift. 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:43.480 And this gift was entitled Eternal Life. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.579 And the person was immediately placed in a quandary. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.299 By holding on to the other books, they couldn't receive the other gift properly or acceptably. 00:19:52.299 --> 00:20:01.339 They had to put the other books down to one side before they could receive the gift of eternal life. 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:10.559 And friends, to become a Christian, we all have to lay down our good works, our religious duties, whatever they might be. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:14.139 And we have to receive Jesus with both hands. 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:17.700 It's not always well understood. 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:21.539 Christianity doesn't begin with us. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:22.860 It begins with Him. 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:26.100 It doesn't begin with us giving to Him. 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:28.380 It begins with Him giving to us. 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:30.660 Because our God is a giving God. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.319 He's a God of grace and mercy and love. 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:36.140 And we must never lose sight of that. 00:20:37.080 --> 00:20:41.299 Remember Paul speaking to the Athenians, Acts 17, 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:44.700 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, 00:20:45.080 --> 00:20:47.620 does not live in temples made by man. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:52.340 Nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything. 00:20:53.580 --> 00:20:55.059 God doesn't need us. 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:55.980 We need Him. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.380 And how easy it is to forget that. 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:04.700 Jesus tells Martha that only one thing is necessary here. 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:09.420 And the one thing that Jesus refers to is not about physical food, 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:11.420 but rather about spiritual food. 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:15.200 It's about giving time and attention to the Word of Christ. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:20.880 And it's in making sure that we are receiving from Him. 00:21:21.080 --> 00:21:22.480 This is the good portion. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.799 The good meal that Mary has chosen. 00:21:26.120 --> 00:21:30.420 Her focus has been upon Jesus and feeding on His Word. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.299 And this is what Jesus commends her for. 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:40.460 This passage is not about the superiority of the contemplative life 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.339 over against some life of active Christian service. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:47.339 Jesus is not here encouraging us all to become monastics. 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:49.819 You know, shut ourselves away from the world 00:21:49.819 --> 00:21:52.259 and spend our lives in prayer, study, and meditation. 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:57.180 Jesus is not saying that we should abandon good works or Christian service. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:00.779 This is a passage about relative priorities. 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:03.660 And there's this one priority that stands out. 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:06.819 And that is the priority of listening to Jesus, 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:08.799 receiving from Jesus. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:11.299 And this is what Mary's commended for. 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:16.680 She sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching, verse 39. 00:22:17.919 --> 00:22:21.539 Her posture illustrative of submission to Jesus. 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:27.599 She lays hold of that great privilege of listening to the teaching of Jesus. 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:29.639 She treasured His words. 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:39.980 So, what does it mean for us today to embrace that great kingdom priority of listening to Jesus? 00:22:41.140 --> 00:22:44.460 How do we make sure that we too are listening to Him? 00:22:45.040 --> 00:22:50.120 What is the contemporary equivalent of sitting at the Lord's feet and listening to His teaching? 00:22:50.540 --> 00:22:53.800 Now, of course, Jesus is no longer physically present with us, 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.580 as He was with Martha and Mary. 00:22:55.580 --> 00:22:58.740 We can't listen to Him as they once did. 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:06.420 But nonetheless, the risen and ascended Christ is present with us here in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:11.280 He commissioned His apostles as heralds of good news. 00:23:11.860 --> 00:23:16.380 Remember how He commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations, 00:23:16.860 --> 00:23:20.140 baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 00:23:20.580 --> 00:23:24.500 teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:28.920 The apostles were entrusted with the teaching of Jesus. 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:32.500 They were witnesses of His life, His death, His resurrection. 00:23:32.820 --> 00:23:37.100 They were commanded to pass that teaching on with the help of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:37.860 --> 00:23:39.400 And that's why we have the Gospels. 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:42.279 That's why we have the other writings of the New Testament. 00:23:42.580 --> 00:23:46.340 The church of Jesus Christ is built, Paul says in Ephesians 2, 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:52.360 on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus, the cornerstone. 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:58.339 That's why we read the early church, very first Christian community. 00:23:58.699 --> 00:23:59.419 What did they do? 00:23:59.479 --> 00:24:00.240 Acts 2.42. 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:05.459 They devoted themselves to prayer and the apostles' teaching. 00:24:05.879 --> 00:24:07.899 Paul writing to the church in Colossae, 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:10.979 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:14.000 teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:22.240 And that means that the teaching and preaching of the Scriptures is vital to the health and well-being of the church, 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:25.880 because this is where we hear the voice of Christ Himself. 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:34.180 Sometimes theologians talk about the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:39.279 And it's this office of prophet that is mainly in view here. 00:24:40.420 --> 00:24:44.700 And this office of prophet is one that continues to this day. 00:24:45.620 --> 00:24:51.299 Christ's prophetic ministry is continued in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. 00:24:52.600 --> 00:24:54.200 First of all by the apostles, 00:24:55.360 --> 00:25:01.180 and then by all those who have been subsequently called and set apart as Gospel preachers, 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:05.400 and given as gifts of the ascended Christ to His church. 00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:08.560 Calvin says this of Jesus, 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:11.960 He received anointing not only for Himself, 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:15.360 that He might carry out the office of teaching, 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:18.400 but for His whole body, 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:25.640 that the power of the Spirit might be present in the continuing preaching of the Gospel. 00:25:26.840 --> 00:25:30.560 Just as Mary submitted herself to the teaching of Jesus, 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.159 listen to it with attention and devotion, 00:25:33.159 --> 00:25:37.779 so we must attend to the Scriptures and the preaching of the Gospel. 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:40.419 We need to be listening to His Word. 00:25:40.700 --> 00:25:44.559 We need to be making room in our lives for Jesus' teaching. 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:48.099 I wonder, is this a priority? 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:52.039 If you're a Christian tonight, is this a priority in your life? 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:56.419 Are the worship services where we listen for Christ's voice 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:58.539 and the preaching of the Word a priority? 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:06.120 Or is this something in our busy, distracted lives that we can just take or leave? 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:09.120 Are we spending time in the Word of the Gospel? 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:12.720 Not, of course, to earn kind of brownie points, 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:16.240 but because we love to be where Jesus is. 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:18.080 Love to hear His voice. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:20.939 We love Him and delight in Him. 00:26:21.659 --> 00:26:25.519 And like Mary, we enjoy receiving from Him. 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:29.099 We want Him to be center stage. 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:35.480 And it's love for Jesus that must fuel our service in His name. 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:40.140 Because if it doesn't, all we're really doing is serving ourselves. 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:45.960 All we're doing is allowing the roots of pride and self-righteousness to flourish. 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:48.519 And that's a strong temptation, 00:26:49.120 --> 00:26:52.579 to think that we're better than others, morally superior, 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:56.480 to spend our time comparing ourselves with others. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:01.599 Busyness and lots of activity may indeed inflate our egos, 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:04.360 but it can also empty our souls. 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:08.399 We need to join Mary at the feet of Jesus 00:27:08.399 --> 00:27:11.740 if we're going to be equipped for service in His name. 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:15.839 Not saved and accepted by Jesus because we're deserving, 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:19.199 or gifted, or attractive, or because we're good people, 00:27:19.399 --> 00:27:20.399 because we're religious. 00:27:21.859 --> 00:27:24.539 We are saved by grace alone through Christ alone. 00:27:25.679 --> 00:27:27.519 And yes, of course, we need to be put… 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:29.019 We were thinking about this this morning. 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:31.559 We need to be putting the teaching of Jesus into practice. 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:35.220 Yes, we need to build our lives on a solid foundation, 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:39.639 and we should all be serving and loving and giving far more than we are at present. 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:45.359 But that activity always needs to be fueled and empowered by Jesus Himself. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:51.019 We must attend and listen to the great prophet of God, Jesus Christ. 00:27:51.139 --> 00:27:56.859 We must make that a priority in our own lives and in the life of our congregation, 00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:02.759 because it's our relationship with Jesus that will continue 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:06.740 after everything else has faded and crumbled away. 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:11.400 Situation Jesus faces. 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:13.759 The priority Jesus highlights. 00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:17.960 Thirdly here, and finally and quickly, the assurance that Jesus gives. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:18.779 Verse 42, 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:25.859 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:32.819 Jesus says that this privilege of learning and being fed by Him will not be taken from her. 00:28:32.819 --> 00:28:38.480 What she receives from Jesus will continue to nourish her and sustain her. 00:28:39.879 --> 00:28:43.220 Establishing this priority means she's never going to lose out. 00:28:45.919 --> 00:28:51.220 Jesus' word has a lasting and enduring quality to it. 00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:55.539 Here is the bread that does not and cannot perish. 00:28:56.639 --> 00:29:00.899 Here is bread that will not go… will not rot or go moldy. 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:04.500 Here is a bread, the bread of life that lasts. 00:29:06.360 --> 00:29:09.820 The Word of Christ is the good portion that will nourish us. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.660 It's substantial. 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:12.640 It's real. 00:29:12.820 --> 00:29:13.620 It's lasting. 00:29:14.100 --> 00:29:16.720 It's good in sickness and in health. 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:20.180 Good in adversity and good in prosperity. 00:29:20.840 --> 00:29:23.980 Good in life, good in death, good in time, good in eternity. 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:29.060 There's no circumstance in which this portion is not good for your soul. 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:33.940 And it's good for us because it comes from Christ Himself. 00:29:34.339 --> 00:29:36.960 Because it blesses and enriches us. 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:41.919 It conveys the very grace and mercy of God to our souls. 00:29:42.659 --> 00:29:44.139 It's the Word of life. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:47.740 J.C. Ryle writes this, 00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:52.019 The true Christian's possession shall never be taken from Him. 00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:55.859 He alone of all mankind shall never be stripped of its inheritance. 00:29:56.740 --> 00:29:58.740 Kings must one day leave their palaces. 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:02.240 Rich men must one day leave their money and lands. 00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:04.620 They only hold them until they die. 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:10.359 But the poorest saint on earth has a treasure of which he will never be deprived. 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:17.119 The grace of God and the favor of Christ are riches which no man can take from Him. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:21.259 They will go with Him to the grave when He dies. 00:30:21.919 --> 00:30:28.059 They will rise with Him in the resurrection morning and be His to all eternity. 00:30:29.959 --> 00:30:32.779 Friends, we stand in need of Jesus Christ. 00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:36.619 We cannot do without Him. 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.259 It doesn't matter how strong and well-resourced we think we are, 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:42.700 we are nothing without Jesus. 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:44.940 That's true as individuals. 00:30:45.099 --> 00:30:45.960 It's true as a church. 00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:50.480 We always have to be looking and leaning upon Him. 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:55.799 Never forget that the Christian life begins with need. 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:58.019 Our need of Christ, our need of His love, 00:30:58.119 --> 00:30:59.000 our need of His Word, 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:01.200 of His forgiveness, of His cross. 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:05.440 And here is the good Word of Christ, 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:07.940 the Word of the Gospel, 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:10.180 the Word of His love 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:14.599 that will keep you and sustain you to the very end of your life. 00:31:16.279 --> 00:31:19.960 Jesus' Word sustains His people with grace upon grace. 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:22.799 What assurance He brings us. 00:31:24.019 --> 00:31:26.559 All the Father gives to me will come to me, 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:30.200 and whoever comes to me I will never cast out, He says. 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:33.420 Whatever we are facing in this life, 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:37.980 we can rest our heads in peace upon this pillow. 00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:42.880 On the great canvas of your life, 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:45.180 let me ask you, where is the King? 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:46.840 Where is Jesus? 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:48.840 Is He at the center? 00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:51.860 Has He been pushed out to the background? 00:31:51.859 --> 00:31:54.139 Is He missing altogether? 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:00.199 We live in a deeply narcissistic age. 00:32:01.479 --> 00:32:05.699 Constantly, we are tempted to focus in upon our own hearts. 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:10.439 Our culture extols the virtue of considering ourselves 00:32:10.439 --> 00:32:13.240 to be the kings and rulers of our own lives. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:14.240 Look within. 00:32:14.619 --> 00:32:16.679 You are all that you need. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.319 You're all that really matters. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:20.299 Self-fulfillment is everything. 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:25.919 Yet the weight and the burden that the human self now has to carry 00:32:25.919 --> 00:32:27.619 is absolutely intolerable. 00:32:28.659 --> 00:32:31.759 People worn down by its crushing load, 00:32:31.859 --> 00:32:33.659 the weight of expectation, too much, 00:32:33.879 --> 00:32:36.059 guilt, fear, loneliness, anxiety, 00:32:36.419 --> 00:32:38.159 paralyze the lives of so many. 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:41.939 Because we're not made for ourselves. 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:45.480 We're made for a relationship with God. 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:52.720 We're made so that Christ is our King. 00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:59.580 It's therefore a huge mistake to be always looking within. 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:03.960 As I say, in the long term, it's an unbearable reality. 00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.539 We need to look out and away from ourselves. 00:33:08.140 --> 00:33:09.480 We need to look to Jesus. 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:15.240 He is the King that we need to rule over us in mercy and grace. 00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:17.640 We need His peace, and we need His presence. 00:33:19.860 --> 00:33:24.099 Robert Murray McShane was a Scottish minister back in the 19th century. 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.500 His short life, he died at the age of just 29. 00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:34.079 His short life and his preaching ministry were marked by a profound Christ-centeredness. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:39.000 He once commented with these words, 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.660 Learn much of the Lord Jesus. 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:44.240 Wherever you look at yourself, 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:46.619 take ten looks at Christ. 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:48.500 He is altogether lovely. 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:53.140 Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:56.240 and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. 00:33:56.839 --> 00:33:59.619 Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart, 00:33:59.619 --> 00:34:05.819 and so there will be no room for folly or the world or Satan or flesh. 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:09.179 And friends, that's still our great need, 00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:14.859 to have our minds and hearts filled with a sense of the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ. 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:17.319 McShane's advice still holds good. 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:22.420 And I think this is what this passage of Scripture presses upon us tonight. 00:34:23.200 --> 00:34:24.019 Look to Jesus. 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:25.660 Listen to Jesus. 00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:27.180 Learn from Jesus. 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:28.840 Live for Jesus. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:35.019 For He is our great prophet, priest, and king. 00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:36.180 Let's pray. 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:40.300 Lord, as we seek to live for You, 00:34:41.220 --> 00:34:43.860 as we seek to trust You, 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:48.019 as we seek to have the Lord Jesus at the very center of our lives, 00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:51.780 Lord, we pray that You would help us in every way by Your Holy Spirit. 00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:56.960 Lord, help us to be those who listen to Jesus, 00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.940 who learn from Jesus, 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:01.360 and who live for Jesus. 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:04.000 And may it all be for Your glory 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.340 and for the honor of Your great name, 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:07.920 as we ask this, 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:10.340 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:11.160 Amen.