American Marthas

Good morning.

Turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

We're going to be looking at verses 38 through 42.

Thankful to be with you this morning.

And we have a good word from God in His word to us this morning.

And what we have in this text this morning is an awkward situation.

We've all been in social situations that turned awkward.

Maybe we're sitting around a dinner table and somebody brings up a politically charged topic

and there's a variety of opinions about it and they start speaking very opinionated ways about it.

And everybody is kind of like, I don't know, should we engage?

You know, should we change the subject?

Or maybe a party and, you know, people are hanging out, maybe playing games or something.

And then one of the couples there gets annoyed with each other, starts arguing,

kind of passive-aggressively sniping at each other.

And everyone else is like, you know, how about the Bears, right?

Or the Brewers or the Packers.

Or anything.

Because it got awkward.

Or maybe you are speaking to someone, you know that they were dating this other person.

And so you're like, hey, did you do anything fun with Rachel for the 4th of July?

And they're like, we broke up two weeks ago.

Where do we go from there?

We've all been in these social situations that have turned awkward.

And in our text this morning, we see a social situation, a high-pressure social situation.

We see two priorities exemplified there.

Two different people focusing on two different things.

And then things turn awkward.

There's an exchange.

There's a conversation where things turn awkward.

And in the midst of that awkwardness, Jesus speaks some good news for us.

So let's look at this situation here.

Let's look at the setup.

What's going on?

We see a situation here where there's two people with two different priorities.

Let's look at verses 38 through the first part of 40.

It says,

Now as they, that's Jesus' disciples, 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.

Now as Jesus and his disciples traveled around the country during Jesus' ministry,

they were itinerant.

They were moving around from place to place, city to city, town to town.

And so they relied on friends and family and generous strangers in various places to host them,

to give them a place to sleep, some food to eat.

And this was not unique to Jesus.

It was how many traveling teachers at the time functioned.

They would travel around in exchange for the teaching they provided.

They would have a place to stay.

And in the ancient Near Eastern society, the Middle East, where this takes place,

this society was significantly oriented around the idea of hospitality.

Hospitality not meaning just having your friends over for dinner,

but hospitality meaning welcoming strangers and outsiders and caring for them.

It was about doing whatever was necessary to provide shelter, food, and rest to whoever may come through your doors.

And a large part of your standing in society at that time,

a large part of your honor among your town and your relatives and the people who knew you,

was based on how well you could show hospitality.

Basically, whether you were considered a good person, a respectable person,

wasn't as much based on what did you do or how much money did you make or what was your house like.

It was how well can you show hospitality.

What lengths are you willing to go to to care for people who come through?

So here we have a woman, Martha, and she welcomes Jesus and she shows hospitality to him and to his disciples.

And it was a big task.

We don't know exactly how many people were there,

but Jesus traveled around with a minimum, usually, of 12 men,

and there are usually a lot of other people with him as well.

And so we see how the situation is set up.

Martha is working like crazy to host this crowd

and this famous teacher and miracle worker who has come to her house,

and there is a lot at stake for her.

Because in this situation with this particular guest

and in the society and the way they viewed hospitality,

Martha's reputation is on the line like it probably never has been before in her life.

So whatever stress you may feel when someone comes over to your house

and you're trying to clean up and get ready and make dinner,

multiply that by about 10 to account for the centrality of hospitality in this culture,

which we don't share in our culture.

But then also imagine that the person that you're hosting is nationally significant and famous.

And so as we see Martha here,

with all of this pressure, all of this expectation,

ask yourself, what pressures and obligations and ministries

do you feel like you need to carry out in your life?

What do you feel like is required of you

in order to be a good person or a good Christian?

Or a good parent?

What do you feel like you have to keep doing in order to please God?

So Martha is running around trying to be everything that she thinks that she needs to be,

and she is totally distracted.

It says Martha was distracted with much serving,

and distracted from what?

Because she's actually laser focused on exactly what everyone expects her to be doing.

She's, if anyone looked into this house and saw what was going on,

they would say, yep, looks right.

She's focused on hospitality.

So what is she distracted from?

Well, she's distracted from Jesus.

And meanwhile, Martha has a sister.

And in the midst of this rush of serving Mary, what is she doing?

She's not helping.

She's sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to his teaching.

In other words, based on the perspectives of the day and of that culture,

Mary has completely abandoned her position as host.

She's totally neglecting the principle of hospitality.

She's being rude.

And she's actually taking up the position of a disciple,

sitting at his feet, listening to his word.

And it's a pretty gutsy move on Mary's part to say,

well, no, I'm not going to serve you like everyone expects.

I'm going to take up my post here as if I was one of your 12 disciples.

So in this situation here, anyone looking at this scene would have said that

Martha was an honorable, righteous person,

doing exactly what was expected of her,

being a good person, caring for this guest.

And Mary was a presumptuous person who was insulting both herself

by not fulfilling her obligations and her guests.

But then, Jesus and Martha have an awkward exchange.

And Jesus gives his perspective on this situation.

So we've got the social setup here,

and then we have this situation that turns awkward with this conversation.

Look at verse 40.

It says,

She was distracted with much serving.

And she went up to him and she said,

Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me

to serve alone?

Tell her then to help me.

Imagine that.

Imagine the situation.

There's a crowded house.

Jesus is there teaching an attentive group.

There's probably little clusters of people in the corners

and just outside having quiet conversations.

People are eating.

And Martha marches up to Jesus and says this.

We don't know whether she said it loudly or whispered in his ear,

but in whatever case,

Jesus has stopped his teaching to listen to her.

And now everyone is looking at these three,

wondering what's going on and what's Jesus going to say.

And even if they did not hear Martha's words,

they could probably tell by her body language

and just by knowing what was going on

that she's probably upset with Mary.

Do you hear the frustration in Martha's question?

My sister has left me alone to serve.

Mary should know better.

I know I would be frustrated in a similar situation.

Why am I doing everything by myself here?

Do you hear the accusation of Jesus in her question?

Do you not care that this is going on?

Not only should Mary know better,

Jesus should know better.

Jesus, Martha is saying,

is actually in the wrong here

for allowing Mary to sit at his feet

instead of helping her sister.

As a teacher of righteousness,

Jesus should have reminded Mary,

hey, you need to get up and go help your sister.

It's unfair for you to leave all that work to her.

She's doing what a good person should do

and you need to help her.

And if Martha was anything like us,

there's probably in her questions here

also the accusation of Jesus

that he cares about Mary more than her.

That Jesus is playing favorites

and Martha's not important to him.

Do you not care that my sister

has left me to serve alone?

But she doesn't just make a frustrated accusation,

she also gives Jesus a demand.

Have you noticed how assertive Martha is?

We see that also in another place in the gospel

when Jesus comes to visit her and Mary

after their brother has died.

And Jesus never minds it, by the way.

It doesn't bother him.

The way Martha confronts him in both situations.

But with all of her frustration overflowing,

Martha demands that Jesus order Mary to help her.

She's so sure that she's in the right

and Mary and even Jesus are in the wrong

that she decides she's going to tell

her famous, miracle-working,

scripture-teaching, prophetic guest

what to do.

And now in the awkward silence

as everyone waits for Jesus' response,

everything is on the table.

Martha's choice and Mary's choice

of what to focus on,

what to prioritize,

are shoved in Jesus' face

in front of everyone

for him to evaluate,

for him to respond to.

And here's his response,

starting in verse 41.

For 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.

the message of this text

from God's Word

from Jesus

for us today.

Choose closeness to Jesus

over every good thing.

Choose closeness to Jesus

over every good thing.

not instead of every good thing,

but choose closeness to Jesus

over every good thing.

Jesus responds to Martha's

confrontation with great

gentleness and affection.

He says her name twice

because he really loves her

and he wants her to hear

what he has to say.

He knows the anxiety

and the stress

and the frustration that she has

and he wants her to be free of it.

Martha,

Martha.

He contrasts the many things

that are troubling Martha.

The practical logistics

of hosting a crowd.

Societal expectations

for perfect hospitality.

A desire to be that person

who always does their duty.

hope for favor and respect

from a person,

a guest of high status

like Jesus.

And a desire,

we can assume

a genuinely good desire

to serve God

by welcoming one of His prophets.

All of these things

that are troubling her,

he contrasts all of those

with the one thing

that Mary has prioritized,

which is to be close to Jesus.

And he says that Mary

has chosen the one thing

that is better

than everything else.

Choose closeness to Jesus

over every good thing.

Because it's one thing

to choose Jesus over sin, right?

Over things that we know are wrong

and that we need to leave behind.

It may be hard to do that,

but it's clear,

it's obvious.

It's much harder to recognize

when we are choosing

genuinely good things

over closeness to Jesus.

It's harder to see that,

parse it out.

And even when we do recognize it,

it can be very difficult

to reprioritize

because reprioritizing

means deprioritizing

something else

and doing that feels wrong.

It's not just that,

oh, yeah,

we should say no to sin.

It's like, no,

if I lower this,

I'm failing something

or I'm failing someone,

maybe even I'm failing God,

if I deprioritize

this other thing.

He wants me to do this.

So here's an example.

If it doesn't apply to you,

that's okay.

Just an example.

It's a very good thing

to be a parent,

to be a devoted,

attentive parent

who is passionate

about the growth

and health

and maturity

of your children.

what if in the midst

of all that,

some of those commitments

of time

and schedule

and energy

and focus

are keeping you

from having any closeness

to Jesus?

What if there's no space left

as you run

from place to place,

thing to thing?

Now, for those

who might be

over-invested

or over-committed

in these ways,

doing less

for your child

is probably

going to feel

like a little bit

of failure

or a little bit

of neglect.

So you have to ask

the question,

does my current schedule

allow me

to be close to Jesus?

In the end,

that's what your kids

need more

than anything else anyway.

Choose closeness

to Jesus

over every

good thing.

Now,

what does closeness

to Jesus look like?

What does that mean?

Well, at minimum,

looking at Mary's example

in the text here,

we can say

closeness to Jesus

is going to include

giving Him

the best part

of your focus,

relating to Him

in humility

and eagerness

like she was

sitting at His feet

and being attentive

to His word,

hearing what He has

to say.

Knowing what's

important to Him.

Knowing Him.

Closeness to Jesus

means knowing Him.

Because it's one thing

to say you believe

in Jesus.

It's one thing to say

you've trusted in Him

for your salvation.

But do you know Him?

Are you close to Him?

Jesus calls Martha

and He calls us

to prioritize

closeness to Him

over any of the

many good things

that fight for our attention.

and He gives us

three reasons

why we should do this.

Why should we

choose closeness to Jesus

over all these

other good things?

Three reasons.

First one,

closeness to Jesus

is necessary.

You see that right

in His words,

verse 42?

One thing

is necessary.

Out of all the good things

that you might give

your time,

energy,

and focus to,

closeness to Jesus

is the one thing

that is necessary.

It's the one thing

that you really need

more than any

of those other things.

The word necessary

here is the same word

that's used elsewhere

in the New Testament

to describe how sick people

need healing

or hungry people

need food.

It's essential.

For someone with

a debilitating illness,

the need for relief

and healing

is paramount.

There's almost nothing

that they would not do

or nothing that they

would not give up

to be rid of this

debilitating illness.

For someone who is

genuinely going hungry,

the need for food

is paramount.

Everything else

gets deprioritized.

Gotta eat.

And for followers

of Jesus,

closeness to Him

is the paramount

need of our lives.

Author Rosaria Butterfield

often says

that modern American

Christians live

in what she calls

a starvation diet

of community.

She means that we lack

relationships

and connections

in our churches.

She calls it

a starvation diet

of community.

Now when you hear

the word starvation diet,

what do you think of?

I think of World War II

soldiers in Japanese

prison camps.

You've seen the pictures,

right?

Men who were given

so little to eat

that they ended up

looking more like

walking skeletons

than living humans.

And you wonder

as you read the stories

and see the pictures

how it's possible

that they were even

able to stand up

and walk around.

A starvation diet.

And when Jesus says

that closeness to Him

is the one thing

that is necessary,

I can't help but think

that many American

Christians are living

on a starvation diet

of Jesus.

if you looked

at many churches

and you had the lenses

to see,

you might see

a bunch of walking

emaciated people.

How can you tell

am I on a starvation diet

of Jesus?

Here's one

diagnostic question.

What do you love

about Jesus?

The question is not

do you love Jesus?

It's what do you love

about Jesus?

And if nothing

or very little

comes to mind

in answer to that question,

you're probably living

on a starvation diet

of Jesus.

You're not close to Him.

And Jesus tells us

that closeness to Him

is the one thing

that is necessary

in our chaotic lives.

Three reasons

why we should choose

closeness to Jesus

over every other thing.

First of all,

closeness to Jesus

is necessary.

Second,

closeness to Jesus

is better.

Jesus says,

one thing is necessary.

Mary has chosen

the good portion.

Jesus tells us

that Mary

just straight up

made a better choice.

that term

good portion

evokes

a variety of ideas.

It's like

there are some

really good cuts

of meat

and there are

some very tough

cuts of meat

that only really work

in the slow cooker

or something like that.

One

is better

than the other.

Or in these terms,

one is a good portion,

one is not.

Or think of like

an estate

inheritance situation.

One family member

gets the car,

one family member

gets the toaster oven.

Right?

One is better

than the other.

It's a good portion.

Martha's choice

of prioritizing

all these other things

means that she's

losing out.

The better portion

is what you would choose

if you could really

see all the factors

and all the outcomes.

We've all made choices

where we've chosen

something that didn't

turn out quite like

we wanted

or something we

didn't know about

at the time

and that it wasn't

what we were hoping for.

When Jesus says

that closeness to Him

is the good portion

it means that

it's what you're

looking for

and you won't

be disappointed.

If you choose

closeness to Jesus

you'll never wish

that you could get

a redo

and make a different

choice.

Closeness to Jesus

is necessary.

It's better.

The third reason

Jesus gives us

why we should

choose closeness

to Him

over every good

thing

is that

closeness to Jesus

is secure.

He says

one thing is

necessary

Mary has chosen

the good portion

which will not

be taken away

from her.

Very, very few

things in life

are secure.

Health can be

lost in one

accident

or one

unexpected

diagnosis

from the doctor.

Finances

can be

trashed

in one

bad economic

year

or one

job loss

or one

major home

repair.

Family members

can be lost

to death

or family

conflict.

Reputation

can be lost

in one day

whether because

of the truth

or a lie.

our lives

are very

insecure.

There's almost

nothing in our

lives that's

truly secure.

But Jesus

says that if you

choose to be

close to Him

that's something

that you will

never lose.

It's secure

and He guarantees

it Himself.

Your close

relationship with

Jesus cannot be

taken away

by others

or lost to

some disaster

and Jesus

is personally

invested

in making

sure

that it

remains

yours.

You see

what happens

here

with Mary

and Jesus

as Martha

confronts them?

Have you ever

felt like you

put yourself

out there

for someone?

Made yourself

a little vulnerable?

Invested

in somebody?

Took a relational

risk?

And in the

moment of

testing

that friend

leaves you

out to dry?

When the

social pressure

is on

they take

a few steps

back?

Jesus

doesn't do

that.

Mary took

a risk

to be

close to

Jesus.

She left

her socially

expected

duties

of hospitality

and she

was bold

enough

to place

herself

among

Jesus'

disciples

sitting

at his

feet

and when

she

faces

the

prospect

of

public

humiliation

and rebuke

in front

of all

these

people

Jesus

says no

Mary's

not going to be

shamed here

no one's

sending her

back to the

kitchen

I've got

her back

Jesus

is a

really

good

friend

to have

Mary

chose

close

close

close

close

close

to

Jesus

and

Jesus

says

that

cannot

be

taken

away

from

her

I

don't

care

what

the

people

here

think

so

choose

closeness

to

Jesus

because

it's

secure

today

and this

week

I want you

to think

about this

whatever

we give

to

Jesus

and

whatever

we

receive

from

him

is

ours

forever

and

he

guarantees

it

himself

whatever

we

give

to

Jesus

and

whatever

we

receive

from

him

is

ours

forever

he

guarantees

it

so

I

say

whatever

we

give

to

Jesus

I

mean

whatever

time

and

whatever

priority

and

whatever

attention

we

give

to

Jesus

is

never

lost

we

all

know

that

there

are

plenty

of

things

that

we

can

invest

time

and

energy

and

focus

into

and

at

the

end

of

the

day

or

the

end

of

the

year

or

the

end

of

our

lives

it's

all

washed

out

didn't

come

to

anything

and

they

may

be

good

things

that

we

need

to

attend

to

but

there's

whatever

we

give

to

Jesus

whatever

time

we

invest

in

being

close

to

him

is

never

lost

it's

not

even

lost

at

the

end

of

our

lives

like

so

many

things

are

it's

ours

forever

and

whatever

we

receive

from

Jesus

is

ours

forever

so

whenever

he

draws

near

to

us

and

gives

us

comfort

and

gives

us

his

friendship

and

gives

us

hope

and

gives

us

courage

insight

into

who

he

is

that

we

didn't

have

before

when

he

helps

us

through

a

situation

that

we

can

only

endure

with

him

with

his

strength

whatever

Jesus

gives

to

us

is

ours

forever

and

he

guarantees

it

himself

whatever

we

give

to

Jesus

and

whatever

we

receive

from

him

is

ours

forever

so

choose

closeness

to

Jesus

over

every

good

thing

because

it's

necessary

because

it's

better

than

anything

else

because

it's

secure

there's

so

many

good

things

in

life

family

and

friends

meaningful

work

ministry

service

to

others

rest

food

hobbies

art

fitness

health

so

many

good

things

in

life

and

part

of

the

message

of

the

Bible

is

that

God

loves

for

us

to

engage

with

all

of

these

things

and

enjoy

them

and

find

fulfillment

in

them

he

created

them

for

us

and

the

point

of

what

Jesus

is

saying

here

in

this

text

is

definitely

not

that

we

should

avoid

doing

all

sorts

of

good

things

in

fact

look

at

the

passage

that

where

Jesus

makes

it

clear

that

he

expects

his

disciples

to be

neighbors

to

everyone

to

act

in

concrete

ways

of

care

and

service

for

them

so

the

point

is

not

that

we

avoid

doing

good

things

in

our

lives

the

point

is

not

that

we

cease

all

service

and

all

activity

but

in

light

of

God's

word

for

us

today

you

take

a

minute

to

reflect

on

your

daily

and

weekly

life

so far

this

year

we're

halfway

through

the

year

reflect

on

your

daily

and

weekly

life

so

far

this

year

and

with

a lot

of

honesty

ask

yourself

is

there

space

in

my

life

for

developing

closeness

to

Jesus

and

if

there's

not

what

do

you

need

to

deprioritize

so

that

you

can

choose

closeness

to

Jesus

over

every

other

good

thing

it's

necessary

it's

better

and

it's

going to

be yours

forever

let's

pray

father

thank

you

that

you

are

good

enough

and

big

enough

that

we

can

give

you

the

best

hope

news