Priorities - Luke 10:38-42 - July 9, 2023

 Luke 10:38-42 Priorities

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10 and verse 38, that’s on page 869 in the pew Bibles. We are going to take a look at the account of Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary.

This was the same Martha and Mary that had a brother named Lazarus that lived in Bethany just outside of Jerusalem. Lazarus wasn’t mentioned here in our text, just Martha and Mary and the contrast between these two ladies has been the subject of every sermon ever preached on this text, ever. 

Be like Mary, not like Martha, let’s close in prayer.

Well, let’s look at the text and see if there isn’t a bit more to it than that.

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Let’s pray.

There have been a lot of unfair and inaccurate contrasts between these two ladies.

Some say that Martha was worldly-minded, all about the things of the world with her hustling and bustling in the kitchen distracted by the worries of the world where Mary was heavenly minded, all about the Lord Jesus and His teaching, sitting at His feet.

Some say that Martha represents works-based religion where Mary represents living by faith alone.

Some say that Martha represents the “Type A” personality which is forceful and direct and is busy putting everything in straight lines and Mary is a “Type B” personality just kind of going with the flow and laid back in the living room chilling with Jesus and that’s way better.

Some say that Martha is representative of an active life where Mary represents a contemplative life, and Jesus affirms that it is far better to sit alone and consider life, the universe, and everything, not just work, work, work all the time, you don’t have to do anything, you just have to be and that’s far better.

Let’s not forget, first of all that both of these ladies were friends and disciples of Jesus, and both were trying to serve the Lord Jesus whole heartedly, they just each had their own idea as to how to do that best. For Martha it was giving and for Mary it was receiving.

It’s clear that Jesus affirms Mary’s actions over Martha’s but let’s take a look at Martha and her actions and see where she may have gone off course.

First of all, it was Martha that welcomed Jesus into her home. Martha may have been a widow or just the eldest of these three siblings, we don’t really know. Either way, this was her house.

Martha clearly wanted to present the best her household could afford to Jesus and the disciples and she was working hard to accomplish that.

I have to ask you, do you blame her? Can you blame her for being upset with Mary for just sitting around and not helping her get things done?

I can’t help but think of Martha Stewart when I read this account, and not just because of the name. I can picture her with all four burners of the stove with pots bubbling and a roast in the oven and the rolls, and doing the dishes, and who is going to fold the napkins into swans? Where is Mary? These napkins are not going to fold themselves! Somebody needs to set out the nice dishes!

And this is where Martha erred. Her first problem was not that she was working too hard, it’s that she had a bad attitude about it and tried to get Jesus to side with her.

40 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.”

Martha was clearly given to hospitality, her doors were wide open with welcome. But she is a great example of good things becoming bad things when they are not put in their proper place. She had become distracted and disgruntled and made more of her tasks and of herself than she ought to.

She was well-meaning in her service but her priorities were out of line and she was incorrect in her assumption about what Jesus wanted.

She assumed that Jesus would want the best that her household had to offer, and that best meant a well plated meal and an immaculate table and all the things that put your house in magazines and on HGTV.

Is that what Jesus wanted, did he want her best? Yes. Was her best her abilities? No.

Jesus Christ, Messiah, the Son of God was in her living room and she buried His instruction and teaching and presence with excessive and unnecessary preparations instead of accepting the benefit of being in His presence and hearing His Word.

But Martha is not the bad guy in this story and Mary the good guy. There is harmony to be found between the two, as Charles Wesley wrote, “Martha’s careful hands and Mary’s loving heart.”

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus answered her with love and compassion, Martha, Martha… You’ve chosen hard work, and Mary has chosen rest, you are anxious and troubled about many things but there is only one thing that is necessary to rightly receive me.

So there was Martha working away in the kitchen trying her best to serve the Lord while Mary sat at His feet and listened to His teaching and Jesus said that she had chosen the good portion and He wouldn’t take it from her.

Martha was out there giving it her all, all worked up and worried about the things that didn’t really matter and certainly wouldn’t last. She was trying to give Jesus her best and thought that Mary should too, but her best wasn’t her work, or talents, or abilities, the best she had to give was her heart.

That’s what Mary chose.

The truth is that the servant of God is hungry for the Word of God where we experience the presence of God, the servant of Christ longs to hear the voice of Christ.

To put this in practical terms, the church lawn needs mowing and Martha chose to mow the lawn during the church service, she’s downstairs making lunch during the sermon! This is useless activity because it is based on improper priorities.

Listening to the Word of God must have the utmost priority, and I’m not just talking about listening to me. In fact, if you are only listening to me or Sundays you are going to starve and your walk with the Lord is going to suffer.

We have to saturate ourselves in the Word of God. Listen to sermons, listen to the Alistair Begg’s, the John Piper’s, the RC Sproul’s, the Ray Steadman’s. If you want some recommendations for good preachers to listen to or authors to read come talk to me after, I’d love to give you some.

The simple truth is that our commitment to Christ must be a priority over our achievement for Christ. As Alistair Begg put it, “Beware the trap of performance based Christianity.”

We are often tempted to get so busy doing for Christ that we neglect being with Christ.

Jesus said in John 15:4-5, a chapter all about this subject,

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

There is certainly nothing wrong with “doing for Christ,” we are all called to serve Him and there is certainly a lot of work to do, but our service to Christ must come after our devotion to Christ, our time in His Word and in prayer, our time hearing good preaching and reading good books.

We have to fill the buckets of our hearts with the Word of God so when we are asked we have something good to pour out.

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary is not the hero of this story, Jesus is.

Choose the good portion and fill your heart with the Word of the Lord.

Amen.

The Better Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37 - July 2, 2023

 Luke 10:25-37 The Better Samaritan

Good morning! Turn with me to Luke chapter 10. We are going to look at verses 25-37, on page 869 in the pew Bibles, a passage well known as the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Often times when we look at parables and accounts in Scripture we tend to identify with one or more of the characters in the story. It’s popular in the church today to paint ourselves into the picture, and if we’re honest, we try to identify with the hero.

When we read about David and Goliath we turn the story into one about us and how we should face our giants with faith like David had.

This makes for engaging sermons to be sure, but I’m not sure how true and helpful they actually are.

This morning we are going to look at another one of those accounts and examine the layers of it, the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the most well known parables of Jesus.

Let’s read it together.

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Let’s pray.

So here we have a lawyer questioning Jesus. Now first of all we have to remember that this is not a lawyer like we have today, this was not an attorney, or a trial lawyer, or prosecutor. This was an expert in the Law of Moses, a religious leader and scholar of the Jews.

But, like any good lawyer would, when he questions Jesus to put Him to the test, he asks a question that he already knows the answer to.

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Now we can’t go another inch further without recognizing that this is one of the most fundamentally important questions anybody could ever ask, what do I have to do to get eternal life?

Maybe some here, if you thought about it for a moment, might struggle with the answer to this question. How do we get eternal life? I hope by the end of our time here this morning that there will be no doubt as to the answer to that fundamental question.

So what does Jesus say in response to this man’s question? As He often does, He answers his question with another question, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

And the man answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

He is quoting directly from Deuteronomy 6:5, also known as the “Shema,” as well as Leviticus 19:18.

This is known as the Great Commandment and Jesus affirms it as such when he tells this guy, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

Now this points directly to a question that perhaps you may have never considered, how were people in the Old Testament saved, how did they inherit eternal life? Here is the answer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength meant trusting Him and trusting His promise to send a Redeemer. Even in the Old Testament people were justified by faith in the Messiah, Messiah that was coming just as we are justified by faith in the Messiah that has come, Jesus Christ.

In Great Commandment we have the summary of the two tables of the Law, the two halves of the Ten Commandments. The first four Commandments have to do with loving the Lord our God, and the second six have to do with loving our neighbor.

So this lawyer knew the answer to the question already, he knew the Law, but what he didn’t know was himself.

The lawyer asks, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 [Jesus] said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 

How should the lawyer have responded? He should have admitted that it was impossible for him to do this, that he had never been able to do this, and never would be able to do this. He should have asked Jesus how it was possible and I’m sure that Jesus would have instructed him on the grace of God that was at work even at that moment… But that’s not what the lawyer said.

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

It’s important for us to be aware that the Jews in the First Century had very defined rules regarding who their neighbor was because of what the Law said about loving their neighbor. The trouble is that they got it wrong. Their definition of who their neighbor was was anyone who they thought was worthy of being their neighbor. This excluded Gentiles and Samaritans who they considered their enemies.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-45, 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Loving your enemies was totally contrary to what they had been taught, loving those who you considered your neighbor was fine though. 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was around 17 miles of steep rocky terrain, a true wilderness, a home to robbers and thieves looking to prey on unsuspecting travelers. The victim in Jesus’ parable was a Jewish man traveling alone through this treacherous wilderness and fell victim to robbers who robbed him, stripped him, beat him and left him for dead. In those conditions he certainly would have died unless someone came along and helped him.

The Priest and the Levite, traveling separately, most likely on their way home after their service in the Temple, came upon the man on the road. They knew this road, and they both knew that if they stopped to help they would most likely be next. What if it were a trap and this guy was the bait?

JJ van Oosterzee wrote, “Neither the voice of humanity, nor that of nationality, nor that of religion, speaks so loudly to their heart as the desire for self-preservation.”

They didn’t care who that guy was or what happened to him. Their hearts were hard and completely devoid of compassion so they left the man there to die.

 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

The lawyer whom Martin Luther calls, “a haughty hypocrite,” won’t even say the word Samaritan in his response, only, “the one who showed him mercy.”

So let’s consider the layers of the parable.

On the surface the lesson is very clear: all mankind is our neighbor regardless of race or creed or anything else, and we are commanded to love them as we love ourselves.

We turn the priest and the Levites into the bad guys and the Samaritan is clearly the good guy. And of course with every good story we want to identify with the good guy so we imagine ourselves as the Samaritan and remind ourselves to do good for people regardless of where they are from or what they are like because that is what Jesus said to do.

The end, right?

But maybe there’s more to it. And at the risk of turning this parable into an allegory, which not a lot of Biblical scholars are fans of, maybe there is more to learn from this than to just be nice to everybody.

Maybe we aren’t the hero of the story even though we might like to be.

Maybe we are the victim. Maybe we are the guy on the side of the road that has been beaten and stripped and left for dead. But instead of the robbers being random strangers, the robbers are our own sin, our own inability to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to say nothing of loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Maybe the Priest and the Levite are religion and good works, unable and unwilling to do anything to help our dire condition, passing by on the other side of the road to get away from us and our wretchedness.

Maybe Jesus is the Good Samaritan, the Better Samaritan, that forfeits His own life and safety and comfort to tend to our wounds, but instead of wine and oil He pours out His own blood that by it our wounds would be healed.

Jesus is always the hero of the story and we are the ones in need of rescuing, and so was that lawyer.

He asked the fundamental question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

In the parable, along with you and me, the lawyer is the one in the ditch dying, and the answer to the question for him and for us is the same, trust the Rescuer, the Better Samaritan, Jesus Christ, to bind your wounds and pay for you to have a place in His eternal kingdom with His own blood on the cross.

To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, that’s the only way it’s ever been possible.

Go and do likewise!

Amen.

Who Do You See in the Manger? John 1:1-18 - December 26, 2021

 John 1:1-18 Who Do You See in the Manger?

Good morning! I’m glad that you were able to wade through the mountains of ripped up wrapping paper and cardboard to find your way here this morning!

I hope that you are not so over Christmas that you can’t stand to hear anymore about it. I’m the kind of person that only has use for Christmas music on Christmas Eve and then I’m pretty much done with it, pack up those old records till next year.

Well, I hope you can stand just one more Christmas sermon. It should be easy since I only just preached on it last week!

Turn with me to John chapter one, page 886 in the pew Bibles. This week I want to focus on just one question: Who do you see in the manger? 

Let’s pray and we’ll dig into that question.

When I think of Christmas there are lots of things that go through my mind, family gatherings, well thought out gifts, twinkle lights and too much to eat… But there are also the elements of Christmas itself, ancient scenes with shepherds and angels, wise men from the east, and jolly old fat men from the north.

And of course we know at the center of it all is the baby in the manger.

Much has been made of the humble scene of Joseph and Mary relegated to the stable because there was no room in the inn, and when Jesus was born He was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in the manger, a feed trough for the animals.

And when you think about that scene and in your heart look into that manger who is it that you see? A sweet, innocent, helpless newborn, baby? 

Are your thoughts informed by the old Christmas carols? Do you really believe that the little Lord Jesus didn’t cry? Or that the night really was silent? If the Little Drummer Boy song is true, neither of those other songs can be right!

I’d like to look at the Gospel of John and look at the reality of exactly who it was laying in that manger so we won’t allow our sentimentality to define our perception of reality.

The Apostle John, little brother of James, was referred to as the Disciple whom Jesus loved. He wrote his Gospel account after the other three Gospels, often called the “Synoptic Gospels” which means, “to see together,” as their perspectives parallel each other and are very similar in a lot of ways. John’s Gospel is very different in both style and purpose.

John’s Gospel was also written after all of Paul’s letters and after all of Peter’s letters, it’s one of the last books of the New Testament to be written, and he shares a unique perspective on the ministry of Jesus Christ though he never mentions the manger scene.

Let’s read John’s prologue to his Gospel in John 1:1-18 and look for who it was lying in that manger.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

This is a wonderful, deep, and rich description of the one born of a virgin that night in Bethlehem, this is who Jesus really is.

What can we learn about Him from these verses?

In verse one we can see several things. 

Jesus was in the beginning, He is eternal. 

He was not created as some would have us believe, but rather, He is eternally existent, he has always been, and will always be. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

Jesus is the Word. 

A word, any word, is how thoughts are expressed whether spoken or written. Jesus is the Word in that He is the expression of God. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Jesus is God.

Jesus is not a god among many, He and the Father are One. 

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are what we call The Trinity, or the Godhead, distinct but three in One. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus is the creator. 

Jesus was not only present at creation but, in fact, was the agent of creation. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Genesis 1:26 says, Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

OUR image, OUR likeness… God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were active in our design and creation, Jesus is our Creator.

Jesus is the life.

It is only through Jesus that we have access to life beyond this life, everlasting life, eternal life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” In John 11:25 He called Himself the Resurrection and the Life, He said, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

Jesus is the light. 

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

Light represented wisdom and knowledge and truth. He is the sum total and source of all truth, knowledge, and wisdom. In contrast, darkness represented the realm and reign of Satan, of evil, of sin and death and hell.

He said Himself in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus was and is the only way out of that realm of darkness.

Jesus, is also the agent of our adoption.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Jesus was rejected by men, He was then and largely is now, but that has never changed His purpose in coming, to give the right to become children of God to all who believe in His Name.

It’s a popular thought that we are all children of God, that just existing makes you a child of God. This though may be popular but it is wrong. No one is born into the family of God naturally, we have to be adopted through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:15-17 says, …you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…

And though Jesus is all of these spiritual things, what we celebrate at Christmas time is His incarnation. Though Jesus is fully God, He is also fully man.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John [the Baptist] bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)

To “incarnate” means to put on flesh, the very words the Apostle uses here. At Christmastime we use the name Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.” That’s what Jesus did in the nativity story, He took on flesh and dwelt among us.

And finally, He is the key to God’s grace.

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The Law was given through Moses to show us what sin was and to show that we are sinful. Paul wrote in Romans 7:7, …if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

We’ve talked about this before that none of us can say that we have never broken the Ten Commandments that were given through Moses. Breaking the Law is what sin is and, as it says in Romans, the wages of sin is death, what we earn by sinning is death.

But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s grace expressed. Through His death, by God’s grace, life is made available to us, we simply need to trust in Him.

In summary, Jesus is eternal, the Word, God Himself, the Creator, He is life, He is light, He is the agent of our adoption, and the key to God’s grace.

When you look into the manger, is that who you see? Because that’s who was there.

Amen.