Luke 10:38-42 - Choosing the Best Portion

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace.

Join us.

If you have Bible with you in one form or the other, open them to Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

This morning in our continuing study of Luke, we're going to look at the last few verses of chapter 10, beginning of verse 38.

So follow with me as I read from God's inspired word of truth.

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.

Let's bow together and pray to the Spirit who gives his word that he would also give us insight into it.

Heavenly Father, we do pray that he would send your Spirit to do his work in our hearts as we study your word.

Father, I come here very painfully aware of the inadequacy of my words.

But we don't trust words of men.

We trust you.

And you give us your word because it draws us to you.

So, Father, send your Spirit to speak to our hearts.

Give us understanding.

Give us also hearts that are fertile ground for the planting of your word.

That it might grow and bear much fruit.

So, come we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, there are many texts in scriptures that lead us to some very sad misunderstandings.

Some things that we may see on the surface look clear, but yet if we read these things that seem to be so simple,

and they can lead us into some very wrong-headed thinking.

And unfortunately, I think this text is one of those.

You can read this text on the surface and simply say,

Well, what Jesus is calling me to do is to stop doing all my work,

just spend all of my days having quiet time,

reading my Bible, and praying,

and that's it.

Well, I hope that's not what he's saying.

And I really don't think it is.

And especially, we'll see that it isn't if you go back and look

all through this chapter 10,

how Luke has been pointing us to something.

And this last account is just one more thing

of describing to us what true discipleship is.

He starts up here at the beginning of chapter 10

with sending out his disciples on mission.

And that's what a life of a disciple is.

We are on mission.

To go before and to prepare for the coming of the king.

To proclaim the presence of the kingdom.

That is what disciples do.

And as his disciples are given this mission,

they're also told, he says,

You'll recognize kingdom people

when you go into these towns

because they'll show you the hospitality of the kingdom.

They'll receive you, welcome you.

Into their homes, but also into their lives.

And that's one of those hallmarks

of a person of the kingdom

is hospitality.

How the kingdom is welcomed.

Well, then we get to the next story.

And that is, as Will went over last week,

it's the story of this lawyer

who professes the kingdom,

who knows the law back and forth.

And he does the worship thing and so forth,

but he's missing something.

And again, it's hospitality.

And so he is wanting to justify himself

through all of his religious works,

but Jesus says,

No.

The way we show the reality of the kingdom

in our life is how we are a good neighbor.

How we show mercy.

How we follow Jesus

in being merciful and gracious

and lay our lives down for others.

That's characteristic of a disciple.

And now we get to this story.

This story, this brief account

of dealing with these two sisters

gives us another angle to this whole theme.

And I think this is one

that we all struggle with greatly.

It's a case of a busy hostess

who's got a major job on her hands

trying to feed a bunch of people

and she's got a sister

sitting on her behind.

And she ain't helping.

And so how does she respond to this?

It'd be good to know

because you may have somebody

like that in your house.

But what do we learn

about true discipleship here?

And how does, again, this theme,

this thread of hospitality

weave into that?

Well, we first, we see Martha's struggle here.

Mary and Martha, you know,

they are sisters living in this village

and they either have come to know Jesus

in some way

and developed a special friendship here

because we're going to see

a little bit later even

in the life of Jesus,

he's going to come back through Bethany.

And they have a brother as well

whose name is Lazarus.

And we're going to see

in the Gospel of John,

we see the account

of how Jesus raises Lazarus

from the dead.

But they have this relationship,

so Jesus comes,

enters the village

and comes to Martha's house.

It said it's not Mary's,

but Martha is kind of the matron

of this house.

And we also know

that Jesus is not traveling alone.

He's got his posse with him.

And so they all come

and that just dumps a huge responsibility

onto Martha

because hospitality in this culture

is huge.

It is, you have to be gracious.

You have to serve

and take care of the needs

of the people that come into your house.

And so,

so she,

Martha,

is trying to be

very responsible.

That's just the job

that's laid on her.

And so,

as she's being hospitable,

and notice Luke says

that she welcomes them

into her home.

But we also begin to see

that the hospitality

is only to a degree.

Because she's invited them in,

which is meant feeding them

and so forth.

You know,

but all the while,

she's doing all of her job

and she's fulfilling her responsibility.

Mary is not in the kitchen

helping her.

Mary's not helping set the table.

She's not doing anything

except

sitting at the feet

of the guest

and listening to him talk.

You know,

maybe Martha wishes

she was in there.

I'm not sure.

But it seems like

Martha

has something else

very, very much

on her mind.

and that is

doing her job.

Now,

at this point,

you're kind of thinking,

so?

Of course she's

going to do her job.

And we're kind of

sensing this

empathy

with Martha.

I mean,

what else is she going to do?

Is she going to let them

go hungry?

They got to eat?

They have to be fed?

Somebody's got to do it.

And so it's like

our sympathies,

our hearts

are kind of

bending toward

Martha here.

Because again,

if you look at these two sisters,

one of them

is being responsible.

But we also begin to see

as Luke relates

this story,

there is something

terribly

amiss

about Martha.

She is,

you know,

she has this

major job to do.

She's trying to feed.

She's working hard.

But as she's working,

there is no joy.

And we begin to see

some things

now coming out

as she goes to Jesus

and complains

about her work.

And so in response

to Martha's

pleas for help,

which again,

we can all

understand,

Jesus

scolds

Martha.

So what's the problem here?

Martha was doing her duty.

She was not being immoral.

She was being responsible.

The problem

is not

with what

she was doing.

The problem

is why.

The problem

is not

in her busyness.

It is not

in her

trying to be

responsible.

The problem

comes in

because obviously

here,

as Luke

is trying

to draw out

for us,

she's trying

to get

something

out of that

for her

fulfilling

that responsibility

that Mary

was actually

getting from Jesus.

to be

so

what do we

see here?

Well,

first,

what Luke

says

there,

you know,

in verse 40,

he says,

but Martha

was distracted.

It's interesting,

she was

distracted

by what?

it was

her serving.

It was

her being

responsible.

It was

getting the

job done.

She wasn't

being distracted

from it,

she was

being distracted

by it.

And by Luke

saying that,

he's telling

us that she

should have

been focused

on something

else.

But her

work was

taking her

away

from what

should have

been her

central focus

to something

else.

You know,

maybe she,

what was she

trying to get

out of it?

I don't know.

But she was

going to her

work for

something,

again,

that she

should not

have been

trying to

get from

it.

You know,

the second

thing we see

is there's a

sense of

resentment

that is

building here

too.

And we

could also

add to that

resentment

a bunch of

self-pity.

And those

two things

very,

very often

go together.

I mean,

look what she

says.

He says,

Lord,

do you not

care

that my

sister has

left me

to serve

alone?

You can see

the self-pity.

He says,

I'm all by

myself.

I've got

all this

work.

Nobody

cares for

me.

But you

can hear

also in

that not

just the

self-pity,

but again,

she's getting

angry.

She's getting

angry at

her sister

because she

feels abandoned

with this

work.

And what

Martha is

trying to,

the goal that

Martha is

trying to

achieve,

Mary should

have been

helping her

achieve it,

but now

she's actually

become an

obstacle to

her achieving

it.

And whatever

Martha was

hungry for,

Mary is

now seen

as,

again,

that obstacle.

hell.

And then

finally,

the resentment,

the self-pity,

the distraction

leads her to

blaming.

Look what she

says in that

same phrase.

She says,

Lord,

do you not

care that

my sister has

left me to

serve alone?

She's blaming

two people.

First,

she is

blaming Mary.

Basically said,

I wouldn't be in

this fix if my

sister was not

out there helping.

But did you

see who she's

also blaming?

She's now

blaming Jesus.

Because she's

saying,

if you would

have cared,

if you

loved me,

you would

be getting

her to

do her job.

And so

Martha

is accusing

not only

Mary

of

irresponsibility,

she is

accusing

Jesus

of

not

caring

for her

at all.

And then

it's funny.

Well,

at least,

she said,

she goes to

Jesus.

she's

in distress,

she is

upset,

and as

Jesus says

a little while

she's troubled

and anxious,

but she

goes to

Jesus.

But what

does she

want from

Jesus?

Both

sisters

have now

come to

Jesus,

but for

two very

different

things.

Mary

has come

to listen

to his

teaching.

it's

not

why

Martha

came.

Martha

comes

to

Jesus

to

get

him

to

fix

her

life

so

that

what

she's

trying

to

achieve

can

be

achieved.

She's

not

coming

to

Jesus

because

of

Jesus,

she's

coming

to

Jesus

so

that

he'll

fix

her

life

and

make

it

okay.

She's

pursuing

something

in her

work.

She is

hungry

for

something

that

her

fulfilling

that

responsibility

she thinks

will satisfy

and all

she wants

from

Jesus

is for

him

to

satisfy

the

hunger

she

thinks

she

has

and

Jesus

doesn't

do

it.

he

just

doesn't

do

it.

So

basically

in a

sense

we

could

even

say

this

is

Martha's

prayer

and I

want

you

to

take

note

of

this

because

this

is

often

our

prayer.

Jesus

my

idols

are

hungry

come

and

satisfy

them.

And

Jesus

said

no

way.

Why

would

I

do

that?

So

when we

look at

these

women

which

one's

more

like

you?

Well

how

would

you

know?

When

the

pressure's

on to

get a

job

done

is

there

a lot

of

joy

in

your

life?

Is

there

a lot

of

joy?

Are

people

happy

to be

around

you?

or

do

you

tend

to

leave

casualties

all

over

the

place?

You

know

in

our

younger

days

when

I

could

get

down

on

a

concrete

floor

and

then

actually

get

back

up

I

used

to

work

on

my

cars

and

I

would

be

out

there

either

changing

the

oil

or

changing

the

brakes

or

something

like

that

and

you

know

the

kids

would

want

to

come

out

and

be

with

me

but

after

a

while

Gail

learned

it

was

dangerous

not

because

they

were

going

to

get

hurt

from

the

car

but

it

was

there

were

other

dangers

lurking

because

I

would

get

so

intent

and

focused

on

fixing

my

car

and

getting

it

fixed

right

because

I

wanted

to

drive

the

car

again

and

you

think

it's

okay

fine

you

need

to

focus

you

need

to

concentrate

on

getting

that

car

fixed

but

I

realized

that

there

was

something

more

I

was

getting

out

of

fixing

that

car

if

I

didn't

fix

it

right

I

had

to

go

tell

somebody

and

I

could

just

dream

of

them

saying

oh

who

did

that

and

so

there

was

a

sense

of

value

in

getting

it

done

right

and

there

was

a

huge

sense

of

shame

if

I

didn't

and

so

fixing

that

car

properly

became

my

quest

for

identity

and

if

anything

or

anyone

got

in

the

way

it

was

not

safe

so

what

where

is

your

what

is

it

with

you

it

may

not

be

fixing

the

car

it

may

be

being

a

hostess

having

a

dinner

party

where

the

object

becomes

much

more

oh

these

people

are

going

to

see

how

wonderful

a

host

I

am

not

oh

look

how

loved

how

much

enjoyment

there

is

to

be

with

do

we

get

angry

at

people

when

they

frustrate

us

when

the

pressure

is

on

you

know

do

we

lose

perspective

do

we

lose

control

and

it

just

becomes

a lot

more

fun

for

everybody

just

to

vacate

you

know

when

I

have

a

major

to

do

list

does

that

keep

me

from

sitting

at

the

feet

of

Jesus

what

gives

me

more

of a

sense

of

identity

what

gives

me

that

sense

of

joy

what

is

it

that

gives

me

that

sense

of

security

is

it

fulfilling

the

tasks

or

is

it

simply

learning

from

him

when

our

identity

gets

too

wrapped

up

in

how

we

perform

or

when

our

hospitality

ministry

to

others

becomes

more

of a

demonstration

of

our

decorating

and

social

skills

or

when

our

reputation

is

now

put

on

the

line

when

we

serve

someone

or

that

we're

we get

bent

failure

then

maybe

we need

to be

careful

because

at that

point

the

more

we

have

riding

on

what

we

produce

the

more

likely

it

is

that

we

have

traded

our

doing

and

performing

for

Jesus

himself

and

our

doing

and

performing

has

become

our

savior

and

not

Jesus

and

so

what

Jesus

is

doing

here

with

Martha

is

incredibly

important

because

on one

hand

she

wasn't

so

far

off

like

an

adulteress

but

on

another

hand

she

was

just

like

the

lawyer

had

failed

to

welcome

Jesus

so

had

Martha

she

welcomed

him

into

her

home

but

that's

about

as

far

as

he

got

so

the

problem

then

for

Martha

was

not

that

she

was

working

hard

she

just

needed

to

welcome

Jesus

and

unfortunately

this

is a

scary

kind

of a

scary

picture

of what

Luke

had

written

what

Jesus

had

said

right

at

the

end

of

chapter

nine

where

he

said

no

one

who

puts

his

hand

to

the

plow

and

looks

back

is

fit

for

the

kingdom

of

God

because

in

a lot

of

ways

Martha

had

put

her

hand

to

the

plow

but

she

was

not

looking

down

the

row

so

what's

the

difference

in

Mary's

approach

well

Mary

welcomed

Jesus

we

would

say

well

it

really

does

seem

like

Mary

was

being

irresponsible

here

but

what

Jesus

is

commending

is

that

she

has

chosen

not

something

that

would

only

satisfy

possibly

maybe

for

a

brief

moment

but

she

actually

chose

to

go

to

the

one

who

could

satisfy

her

heart

deeply

Mary

had

the

posture

of

a

disciple

and

that

is

sitting

at

Jesus

feet

learning

from

Jesus

being

with

Jesus

and

there

is

nothing

more

important

there

is

nothing

of

more

value

there

is

nothing

that

will

give

us

more

satisfaction

than

that

you

know

there's

a

Mary's

priority

we can

see

those

three

things

one

it

was

to

learn

from

Jesus

she

was

sitting

there

listening

to

his

teaching

and

there

was

his

words

were

satisfying

to

her

soul

she

just

sat

at

his

feet

and

soaked

it

in

you

know

in

many

ways

I

think

Mary

is

is

such

an

anomaly

especially

when we

look at

our

modern

culture

Martha

fits

in

with

our

modern

culture

not

Mary

and

from

the

context

of

our

modern

culture

we

look

at

Mary

and

what

she's

doing

and

we

think

that's

impossible

because

the

high

value

for

our

culture

is

to

be

busy

is

to

work

I

think

for

us

the

worst

thing

the

worst

insult

you

could

say

to

somebody

is

that

they're

lazy

they're

not

doing

enough

they're

just

sitting

on

their

cans

because

if

people

you'll

greet

people

they say

how

you

doing

it

says

oh

life

is

really

really

busy

it's

like

it's

a badge

of

honor

you

you

you

know

our

kids

are

involved

in

everything

under

the

sun

our

work

occupies

all

our

attention

our

extended

families

are

all

demanding

our

time

our

recreational

pursuits

our

sports

commitments

on

and on

and on

the list

goes

and one

thing we

don't

do

we

don't

sit at

the feet

of

Jesus

because

we

think

our

souls

are

going

to be

satisfied

through

doing

all

these

other

things

we're

going

to find

our

identity

in

these

other

things

there

just

isn't

time

we

are

this

distracted

culture

and

society

you

know

I

have

a

terrible

time

being

quiet

I

think

you

know

we're

going

to

talk

about

prayer

in

these

next

few

weeks

in

chapter

11

and I

haven't

been

looking

forward

to

it

because

it

convicts

the

stew

out

of

me

because

every

time

I

go

sit

down

and

pray

as

soon

as

I

pray

I

start

thinking

I

have

a

to

do

list

and

I

don't

do

to

do

lists

I

don't

get

them

until

I

start

to

pray

and

then

when

I

start

to

pray

everything

else

in

the

world

pops

up

that

I

ought

to

be

doing

that

I

got

to

remember

that

I

got

to

do

this

and

when

I

am

able

to

pray

it's

most

likely

Jesus

fixed

my

life

so

my

idols

I

am

so

much

like

Martha

so

how

do

we

cultivate

our

souls

you

know

this

is a

challenge

you

know

this

is

not

just

we

live

a

life

of

contemplation

of

isolating

ourselves

from

all

the

distractions

putting

away

our

phones

and

tablets

heaven

forbid

how

do

we

you

know

to

be

honest

I'm

not

sure

but

I

know

this

I

don't

need

to

finish

my

to

do

list

like

I

need

Jesus

I

need

if

I'm

going

to

remember

in

this

life

when

I

face

my

failures

if

I'm

going

to

remember

the

forgiveness

that was

given

to me

by a

savior

who

died

if

I'm

going

to

remember

the

promises

that are

made

to me

by my

heavenly

father

that will

not

fail

if

I'm

going

to

remember

and

have

the

right

perspective

on

this

world

that

everything

I see

is

temporary

but

a new

kingdom

is

on

the

way

if

I'm

going

to

remember

that

the

power

that

is

at

work

in

me

is

far

greater

than

any

power

out

here

if

I'm

going

to

remember

how

much

I

am

loved

I

have

to

go

to

the

source

and

there

feed

my

soul

the

news

won't

do

it

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

won't

do

it

reading

other

just good

books

won't