Sunday
Morning Bible Study
January
31, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a traveling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus, Luke made use of other older documents
like the Gospel of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way, and the people have been amazed not just
at the things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
This morning we’re going to spend some time getting to know two
sisters: Martha and Mary.
10:38-42 Martha and Mary
:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a
certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
village – kome – the common
sleeping place to which laborers in the field return, a village
welcomed – hupodechomai – to
receive as a guest.
Martha – Martha
– probably of Chaldean origin (meaning mistress); = “she was rebellious”
:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard
His word.
Mary – Maria or Mariam = “their rebellion”
:38 a certain woman named Martha
We believe that Martha is the older sister.
She is acting as the host for Jesus and His disciples.
:38 He entered a certain village
Martha and Mary were from the village of Bethany, about 1 ½ miles east of
Jerusalem.
If Jesus is visiting the sisters at
their house in Bethany, then we might have a hint that Luke may not be putting
all his stories in chronological order.
Jesus has been travelling on His
way to Jerusalem, but after this story He will pass through Samaria, and
through Jericho, a bit out of the way.
:39 Mary … sat at Jesus’ feet
sat – parakathizo – to make to sit down besides; to set
beside, place near; sit down beside
Aorist active participle
at – para
– from, of at, by, besides, near
Lesson
Surrendered
This is what disciples will do, sitting at the feet of their masters.
You see this even back in the time of Moses, when Moses speaks of God’s
relationship with His people.
(Deuteronomy
33:3 NKJV) Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit
down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words.
It is interesting how the various translations handle this
verse. Many will say “Your saints are in
Your hand”, but have a footnote saying it’s actually “His saints”.
It’s almost as if Moses is saying that all of the Father’s
saints are in the hands of Jesus, sitting at Jesus’ feet, receiving Jesus’
words.
Just like Mary.
Sitting at someone’s feet implies submission.
When Joshua conquered the land, he ordered his captains to put their feet
on the necks of the kings they had conquered (Josh. 10:24)
(Joshua 10:24 NKJV) So
it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all
the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with
him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near
and put their feet on their necks.
Having their feet
on their enemies’ necks meant the enemies had surrendered.
The “footstool” was where your enemies were to be placed, where you showed
your dominance. David wrote,
(Psalm
110:1 NKJV) The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Till I make
Your enemies Your footstool.”
It was also where
an important man might place a poor person in their presence.
(James 2:3 NKJV) and you
pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here
in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at
my footstool,”
Mary is giving us a picture of humility
Humility is where you are going to receive more from God.
Peter wrote,
(1
Peter 5:5b NKJV) …for “God resists
the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
St. Augustine wrote,
“For the waters pour down to the lowest part of the
valley, but flow away from the rising of the hill.”
Do you as a disciple want to hear from your Master today?
It starts by sitting at His feet.
:39 heard His word
heard – akouo – to hear; consider what is or has been
said; perceive the sense of what is said
It’s not just hearing noise, but understanding.
Imperfect tense – continuous action
in the past.
This wasn’t just a one-time
occurrence. Mary was someone who
regularly took time to “hear” Jesus speak.
word – logos – a word,
what is declared, a thought, a weighty saying; doctrine, teaching
This is the same Greek word that’s used to describe the content of both Jesus
and His disciples’ preaching:
(Mark 2:2 NKJV) Immediately many
gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not
even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
(Acts 8:4 NKJV) Therefore
those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.
The “word” might be the Scriptures we are teaching, or it might be the “gospel”
or the “good news”.
The Bible says that we are all sinners and that our sin separates
us from God.
That’s bad news.
The Bible says that God loved us so much that He sent His
Son to pay for our sins.
The Bible says that if we would believe in Jesus, that our
sins would be forgiven and we would have eternal life.
That’s good news.
That could all be considered the “word”
Same with the apostles.
(Acts 13:5 NKJV) And when they arrived
in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They
also had John as their assistant.
(2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV) Preach the
word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort,
with all longsuffering and teaching.
Lesson
Learning
Several times in the gospels Jesus said,
(Matthew 11:15
NKJV) He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Seven times in the book of Revelation, Jesus says,
(Revelation 2:7
NKJV) “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
If we’re not careful, all we hear sometimes are just sounds.
Can you help Charlie Brown out in his spelling bee?
Video: Charlie Brown Spelling Bee
I hope when I’m teaching you don’t think I sound like that! Wah-wah-wah-wah!
God doesn’t want you just hearing sounds, He wants you to understand.
He wants you to learn how to live your life, how to follow Him.
He wants us to obey, to be doers of the word.
(James 1:22 NKJV) But be doers
of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but when I stick a small phrase
in a red block on the screen, it’s the “Lesson”. It’s one of the things I think we could
learn. One of the things we could apply
to our life and “do”.
:40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and
said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
distracted – perispao (“around” + “to draw”) – to draw
around, to draw away, distract; metaph. to be driven about mentally, to be
distracted; to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing.
The verb is passive, the idea is
that all the things that Martha has to do are pulling her around the room, she
was drawn around the room with all the things she needed to do.
The verb is an imperfect tense –
continuous action in the past.
Lesson
Distractions
What distracts you from the Lord?
Martha was distracted by something
that’s pretty good – “much serving”
She’s a woman who saw the needs
around her, she kept being drawn away with the needs.
The “good” is the enemy of the
“best”.
You can fill your life with so many
“good” things, that they keep you from accomplishing what is “best”.
rocks in jar illustration?
Do you even know what the “best”
thing is for you?
with – peri – about,
concerning, on account of, because of
Martha is a person who is being
driven to action by all the needs around her.
That’s not a bad thing
sometimes. Sometimes I wish more people
were motivated by the needs around them.
But she is a person who is being
distracted by all the needs to neglect the thing she needs the most.
much – polus – many,
much, large
serving – diakonia –
service, ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others
:40 she approached Him
approached – ephistemi (“over” + “to stand”) – place upon,
place over; to stand over one, place one’s self above.
What a contrast between Mary and Martha.
Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet while He’s most likely reclining at the
table.
Martha comes up and stands over Him.
I love the picture! She’s going
to start ordering Jesus around!
care – melo – to care
about
alone – monos – alone (without a companion),
forsaken, destitute of help, alone
left – kataleipo – to leave behind; to depart from,
leave; to forsake, leave to one’s self a person or thing by ceasing to care for
it, to abandon, leave in the lurch
to serve – diakoneo – to be a
servant, attendant, domestic, to serve, wait upon
tell her – epo – to speak,
say
Aorist active imperative
to
help – sunantilambanomai –
to lay hold along with, to strive to obtain with others, help in obtaining; to
take hold with another
“take hold and do her part along
with me”
:40 do You not care … tell her to help me
Martha apparently is aware that Mary won’t listen to her if she asks her
directly. She goes straight to Jesus
figuring that Mary will only listen to Him.
Martha is feeling the burden of pulling off a supper for Jesus, and she
takes all this pressure and blows up at Jesus, accusing Him of not caring for
her.
The verb “tell her” is a command.
She is issuing a command to Jesus her “Lord”.
Lesson
Resentment
Be careful when you get to the place where you start to resent those who
aren’t helping you do what you think needs to be done.
You begin saying to yourself, “What could be more important than serving
Jesus?” Could there actually be anything
more important than serving Jesus?
We get all self-righteous in our indignation that people aren’t showing up
to help us like they should. And
sometimes we react badly.
It could be that you are correct in your concern. You might indeed be doing something that the
other person needs to be doing.
But you also might be wrong too. What
if they’re already doing what God wants them to do?
Be careful about thinking you know God’s plan for everyone around you.
It’s okay to ask for help, but it’s not okay to be obnoxious.
Illustration
There was a Peanuts cartoon with Lucy saying to Charlie
Brown, “I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”
Charlie says, “But I thought you had inner peace.”
Lucy replies, “I do have inner peace. But I still have
outer obnoxiousness”
On top of this, can you hear the
manipulation in Martha’s voice?
She’s claiming that Jesus must not
“care” for her.
She’s saying, “If you love me,
you’ll tell Mary to get her butt off the floor and start helping!”
:41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried
and troubled about many things.
are
worried – merimnao (“divided”,
“distracted”) – to be anxious; to be troubled with cares; to care for
Present tense, continuous action.
troubled – turbazo – disturb, trouble; to be troubled in
mind, disquieted; bothered.
Present tense, continuous action.
about – peri – about,
concerning, on account of, because of, around, near
Same word used to decribe her activity
many things – polus – many,
much, large
:42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will
not be taken away from her.”
one
thing – heis – one
needful – chreia – necessity, need; duty, business
good – agathos – of good
constitution or nature; good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; excellent,
distinguished; upright, honourable
part – meris – a part as
distinct from the whole; an assigned part, a portion, share
chosen – eklegomai – to
pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self
taken
away – aphaireo – to take
from, take away, remove, carry off; to cut off
:41 worried and troubled about many things
Lesson
Too busy
When you do not have time to spend with Jesus every day, you are too busy.
When you start feeling sorry for yourself because you are doing so many
things for God, you are too busy.
Jesus doesn’t rebuke her for being a person who takes on a lot of
responsibility.
It’s not wrong to serve and to meet needs.
I’ve said many times that I believe that the mark of maturity in the
believer is that of serving.
(Mark
10:44–45 NKJV) —44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
The problem with Martha is she’s
taking her serving too far.
She is doing too much.
Illustration
Some time ago, a newspaper in Tacoma, Washington, carried
the story of Tattoo, the basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an
evening run, but when his owner shut his leash in the car door and took off
with Tattoo still outside the vehicle, he had no choice.
A motorcycle officer named Terry Filbert noticed a passing
vehicle with something that appeared to be dragging behind it. As he passed the
vehicle, he saw the object was a basset hound on a leash.
“He was picking them up and putting them down as fast as
he could,” said Filbert. He chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued,
but not before the dog reached a speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour,
and rolled over several times.
(Tattoo was fine but asked not to go out for an evening
walk for a long time.)
-- John Ortberg. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4.
Does that sound like you sometimes? Do you feel like you’re “picking them up and
putting them down as fast as you can”?
Sometimes we can start to feel like the whole world will fall apart if we
ever stopped to catch our breath.
Illustration
When God gave the Israelites that special food in the wilderness, the
“manna”, he gave some unique rules for them to follow concerning the manna.
Last week we mentioned that they were only supposed to gather enough for
each day, and when some tried to store up extra, it went bad and bred worms.
The other rule was that they were not supposed to go out and look for manna
on the seventh day.
God wanted His people to rest on the seventh day, to
observe the “Sabbath”.
God promised to provide twice what they would need on the
sixth day, and that would cover them for the seventh.
Of course some people didn’t pay attention to the rule.
(Exodus
16:27 NKJV) Now it happened that some of the people went out on the
seventh day to gather, but they found none.
Here’s the point – when you are working when you should be
resting, you’re going to get “nothing” out of all that extra work.
It’s not going to be worth it.
Lesson
Maturity learns limits
I think one of the marks of maturity is when we learn to know clearly where
our priorities are, and we know how to politely say “no” to the things that
want to take us away from what we need to be doing.
We need to be careful that the serving we do is being led by the Lord and
not by people. We need to be careful
that the serving we do is supported and empowered by the Lord.
(1 Peter 4:11b NLT)
…Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength
and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God
through Jesus Christ.
The problem comes when we start operating outside of the
energy that God supplies.
That’s when we get cranky.
Illustration
Thomas Kelly writes,
“We feel honestly
the pull of many obligations and try to fulfill them all. And we are unhappy, uneasy, strained,
oppressed, and fearful we shall be shallow....
We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than
all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and
power. If only we could slip over into
that Center!... We have seen and known some people who have found this deep
Center of living, where the fretful calls of life are integrated, where No as
well as Yes can be said with confidence.”
Illustration
Bill Hybels (“The Character Crisis,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 57.)
writes,
I’ll never forget the letter I got from a fallen leader. He wrote: “Let me
state my position on the matter of your needing to slow down.” (He was talking
to me.) And he said, “I think I have a better-than-average perspective based on
my past experience of ten years as a pastor, five years as a conference
speaker. For most of those years I preached or taught over three hundred times
a year. I know the incessant demand to deliver material that first would be
true, and then be moving and witty and sometimes eloquent. I know that every
waking moment for me was spent, one way or another, engaged in amassing
material for sermons. Add to this counseling, personal witnessing,
administrative responsibilities of running a church, and you have an overly
full schedule.
“With all of this, I found myself missing (or conveniently overlooking or
justifying) growing signs of problems in my home. Cries for help from my family
were drowned out by the roar of the demands of fulfilling my holy calling. When
the cries ceased, I assumed the problem had been solved, but it was only that a
death had occurred in my relationship with my wife. She now preferred a fantasy
relationship with an imaginary lover over the real one she had with me. When I
found out there was another man in her life, I was crushed. When the divorce
came, I was shattered.
“For seven long years I never preached or taught. The voice that had
ministered to thousands was silenced. The ministry that had won hundreds to
Christ, by his grace, was terminated. In those days, Bill, I know of no flaw in
my devotion to Jesus. There was no extent to which my zeal for him was not
willing to go. I was determined that the gifts God gave me would be used full
bore. However, Bill, here’s my point: Satan shrewdly turned my strengths into
my weaknesses.
“In my zeal to serve the Lord and effectively use the gifts that he gave
me, everything else was viewed as competition and at cross-purposes with the
goal I was consumed by. Please, I plead with you, don’t let this happen to you.
Spend time away from the demands of leadership. When someone points the finger
of stinging criticism at you for being away from leadership, think of me.
Determine you will not let your ministry and your dreams come crashing down
around you like mine did around me.”
:42 Mary has chosen that good part
Lesson
Time with Jesus
Only one thing was necessary.
It’s as if Jesus is looking at all the food that Martha is putting out on
the table, and as if He might say something like this:
“Martha, it’s nice that you’ve baked some fresh bread. It’s nice that you’ve made hummus for us. I’m
glad you roasted a chicken and picked some fruit. It’s nice that you’ve brought out your best
wine … but right now at this moment, there is only one thing that merits your
efforts, and Mary is doing it. Sitting
and listening”
This is not an issue of believing in Jesus and having salvation. There is not a question about Martha being
saved or not.
The issue is about spending time with Jesus. If you follow Him, spend time with Him.
I know there are some theological problems with this poem, but I like the
idea:
Illustration
A Cowboy's Prayer
Jake the rancher went one day to fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty and the clouds rolled gray and dense
As he pounded the last staples in and gathered tools to go,
The temperature had fallen and the snow began to blow.
When he finally reached his pickup, he felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition, he knew it wouldn't start.
So Jake did what most of us would do if we'd have been there
He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer.
As he turned the key for the last time, he softly cursed his luck.
They found him three days later, frozen stiff in that old truck.
Now Jake had been around in life and done his share of roamin’
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked—it look
just like Wyomin’.
Oh, there were some differences of course, but just some minor things,
One place had simply disappeared—the town they called Rock Springs.
The BLM had been shut down; there were no grazin'
fees
And the wind in Rawlins and Cheyenne was now a gentle breeze.
The Park and Forest Service folks—they didn’t fare so well,
They'd all been sent to fight some fire in a wilderness called Hell.
Though Heaven was a real nice place, Jake had a wondering mind
So he saddled up and lit a shuck, not know'n what
he'd find.
Then one day up in Cody, on a cold fall afternoon,
He saw St. Peter coming, and he knew he'd be there soon.
Of all the saints in Heaven, his favorite was St. Peter,
Now, this line, it ain’t needed but it helps with
rhyme and meter.
So they set and talked a minute or two, or maybe it was three
Nobody was keepin’ score—in Heaven time is free.
“I’ve always heard,” Jake said to Pete, “that God will answer prayers.
“But the one time that I asked for help, He just plain wasn’t there.
“Does God answer prayers of some, and ignore the prayers of others?
“That don’t seem exactly square—I know all men are brothers.
“Or does He randomly reply, without good rhyme or reason?
“Maybe it’s the time of day, the weather or the season.
“Now I ain’t trying to act smart, it’s just the
way I feel,
And I was wonderin’, could you tell—what the heck’s
the deal?”
Peter listened very patiently and when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition, and he said, “So, you’re the one!”
“That day your truck, it wouldn’t start, and you sent your prayer a flying,
“You gave us all a real bad time, with hundreds of
us a trying.
“A thousand angels rushed to check the status of your file,
“But you know, Jake, we hadn’t heard from you in quite a while
“And though all prayers are answered, and God ain’t
got no quota,
“He didn’t recognize your voice, and started a truck in North Dakota.”
Now that’s not really how God answers prayers, but let me
ask the question - Does God know what your voice sounds like?
We sometimes think that we get too busy to spend time with the Lord (just
like Martha).
Martin Luther said, “The busier I am, the more time I need to spend in
prayer.”
Illustration
Warren Wiersbe
writes,
The most important part of
the Christian life is the part that
only God sees.
Unless we meet
Christ personally and privately each day, we will soon end up like Martha: busy
but not blessed.
:38-39 Martha … Mary
We will see two other incidents involving these two sisters.
These are the two sisters of Lazarus.
Jesus will raise their brother from the dead (John 11)
(John 11:25–27 NKJV) —25 Jesus said
to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he
may die, he shall live. 26 And
whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are
the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After Lazarus was raised from the dead, we will see them again at a dinner
held for Jesus in Bethany six days before the Passover. (John 12)
It doesn’t appear to be at Martha
and Mary’s house since both Mark and Matthew say it was at the house of Simon
the Leper (Mat. 26:6; Mark 14:3). But
the gals are both there along with their brother Lazarus.
Some have suggested that Simon was
their father, but perhaps he just had a bigger house that was more suitable for
the people that wanted to celebrate Lazarus’ resurrection.
(John 12:2–3 NKJV)
—2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was
one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very
costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with
her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Once again, Martha is serving.
Mary is still at Jesus’ feet, this time anointing them with expensive
perfume.
Lesson
Martha AND Mary
Sometimes we get to thinking that we’re either a “Mary” or a “Martha”. Ideally, we ought to be both.
God doesn’t want you to choose between being a Martha or a Mary.
He wants us to learn to balance both.
Charles Wesley said it in one of his hymns:
Faithful to my Lord’s commands,
I still would choose the better part;
Serve with careful Martha’s hands,
And loving Mary’s heart.
We need balance in our Christian life if we’re going to run the race well.
I often see people come into the church and get built up and fed as they
sit and listen to the Word.
You can see if they’re getting fed properly because they will eventually
want to get involved and start serving.
But a common mistake is to end up getting so involved that we no longer
have time to be fed. We no longer can
sit still and just worship and adore the Lord.
The result is that people end up running out of gas, burning out.
Serve like Martha
Sit like Mary