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BIOGRAPHIES OF BIBLE SAINTS III. Mary and Martha: Overcoming Sinful Weaknesses Through Christ A. The Focus For Overcoming Our Sinful Weaknesses (Luke 10:38-42)

Introduction

USA TODAY

Christian

particular

Christians

So, to prepare for the message, we ask, "How may I avoid falling for the lure to react uncivilly to being goaded?"

Need: "How may I avoid being goaded to react in an uncivil way?"

When Jesus visited Mary and Martha's home, Mary sat at Jesus' feet to hear Him teach while Martha served the meal, Lk. 10:38-40.
In time, Martha got angry, for Mary was not helping her and Jesus had not told Mary to help her, so she sinfully accused Christ of not caring for her and charged Him to tell Mary to help, Luke 10:40b!
Martha's outburst at first view looks like a childish tantrum, but the context shows she had left herself subject to being GOADED:

Jesus' visit to Martha's home came at the Feast of Tabernacles, Alfred Edersheim, The Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah (1972), ii, p. 144.
The stipulations of the Law and the extensive customs of that era made this a very busy time for a woman to serve a meal in her home:

Leviticus 23:42 directed the people of Israel to live outdoors in makeshift booths during the seven days of this national feast.
In Martha's case, two booths were built in the courtyard, one to serve as "the sitting apartment" for hosts and guests to use by day (Ibid., p. 145) and another for Jesus as a visiting rabbi to use for sleeping while the sisters stayed at night in the house, Ibid., p. 146.
Deuteronomy 16:13-14 told the people to rejoice in this feast with family, servants, widows, orphans, Levites and foreigners (Zond. Pict. Ency. of the Bible, vol. Two, p. 523), so it was possible that people from each of these groups were there to be fed at the meal!

The Luke 10:38-40 setting then shows Martha had left herself open to be goaded to get incensed as she felt she had to race between house and courtyard to serve besides maybe adjusting both makeshift booths from movements by the breezes or the children who were present!

Luke 10:40-41 with Matthew 13:22 and 1 John 2:15-16 show Martha's GOADING arose from SHIFTING her ATTENTION from APPLYING SCRIPTURE to WORLDLY LUSTS and CARES:

Martha became "cumbered" (Luke 10:40a KJV) with much serving, the Greek word, perispao there being better translated as "distracted," Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Grk. N. T., 1972, p. 508.
Having let her attention shift from applying Jesus' words at His feet to serving to look good to others as a hostess so that Martha's worldly pride was at stake (Matthew 13:22; 1 John 2:15-16), she had left herself open to be goaded to become incensed when her work became overly taxed until she sinfully rebuked the Lord, Luke 10:40!

In reply, Jesus graciously SHIFTED Martha's ATTENTION to the VALUABLE ROLE of APPLYING His WORD, adding He would not take Mary from this at the cost of her edification, Lk. 10:41-42!
Indeed, the GEOGRAPHICAL and PROPHETIC Scripture contexts show the IMMENSE VALUE of MARY'S ROLE at JESUS' FEET:

Mary sat at the feet of the One Who, not far from that spot of her Bethany home on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, would mount a donkey and ride into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9; cf. John 12:1, 12-19; Ibid., Zon. Pic. Ency. Bib., vol. One, p. 527.
Jesus would thus present Himself as a peaceful King on a donkey in grace in contrast to Alexander the Great who had arrived as a warrior on a horse (Zechariah 9:8; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1562-1563).
Mary sat at the feet of One Who, not far from that spot of her Bethany home, would ascend to heaven (Lk. 24:50-51) to sit at the Father's right hand over the universe (Eph. 1:20) until God made His enemies a footstool for the feet near where Mary sat, Psalm 110:1.
Mary also sat at the feet that would then return to the Mount of Olives near that spot where she sat in her Bethany home, and, when those feet touch that mount (Zech. 14:3-4), it will split east-to-west, with half moving north and the half on which her Bethany home sat moving south to form a valley for Tribulation era Jews to flee from the antichrist, Zech. 14:4-5. Then, the One at Whose feet Mary sat in Bethany will cast the antichrist into the lake of fire not far from her home (Rev. 19:20), and set up His Kingdom nearby, Rev. 20:4!
In that Kingdom, many nations will come to Jerusalem just northwest of Mary's home to be taught Jesus' ways, so many nations will hear the teaching Mary had heard nearby at His feet, Micah 4:2!
These nations will learn to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, leading to world peace, a peace Mary had personally known when she sat nearby at Jesus' feet , Micah 4:3-4!

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

A great need exists for us to overcome the lure to react with incivility when goaded by bad circumstances or difficult people:

(1) In view of this coming Tuesday's elections, this need exists on the nation's political level: Tom Krattenmaker, a writer specializing in religion in public life, wrote, "In God-fearing USA, where is the decency?" in the October 25, 2010 USA TODAY, p. 11A. He stated concern over our "pitched battles over elections, policy and power" that "are not summoning our better angels," and added: "Truthtelling? Be serious. Humility? Hah! Civility? Don't be a fool."

Krattenmaker lamented the fact that "the vitriol and meanness are making it virtually impossible for those we elect to do their job and govern." He urged Christian voters in particular to be more civil, citing the Bible at James 1:19 ("Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry"), Ephesians 4:31 ("Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice") and Ephesians 4:25 ("Put off falsehood and speak truthfully") to admonish: "Shouldn't a public square teeming with so many religious people and religiously derived principles display a little more decency?"

The author did not mention what radio talk show hosts often claim, that the "real" culprits in the fray are alleged amoral officials who intentionally rub against the public's sense of morality to goad them to react with incivility only then to take political advantage of the public's bad reaction! Yet, if Christians react uncivilly regardless if the goading is itself evil, they can only hurt their own testimonies!

(2) Incivility problems among Christians occur not only on the national political stage, but locally as well: our Prayer Meeting Prayer Request Board has for years listed ongoing prayer requests regarding incivility in various anonymous local Christian institutions.

(3) Galatians 5:16-23 of the New Testament teaches that if the believer relies on the indwelling Holy Spirit for behavior control, he will live a godly, civil life. However, we Christians do well to discern a way to avoid falling prey to the lure to react in an uncivil manner even if we are goaded, and Luke 10:38-42 exposes this truth for us.

So, to prepare for the message, we ask, "How may I avoid falling for the lure to react uncivilly to being goaded?"

Need: "How may I avoid being goaded to react in an uncivil way?"

Application: (1) May we like Mary and Martha trust in Jesus to be saved, John 3:16. (2) May we then like Mary focus our attention on applying Scripture to avoid unedifying distractions to worldly cares and lusts that can only eventually lead us to be goaded to sin!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

This coming Tuesday, our nation will be going to the polls in what many call "the most important election in our generation"! This event has surely sparked the "pitched battles" that "are not summoning our better angels" as a nation of voters to cite Krattenmacker's article noted in our introduction (Ibid.), for there exists a big and often venomous divide between political "conservatives" and "progressives".

We do not intend to play politics here, but to make this point: as Christians, the solution to this national division for US will not be found in which side "wins" the election, for with either side "winning" or even of coming to a "draw" with the other, the "vitriol" and political and economic fallout will doubtless be around for a long time!

Rather, the solution for us will be to learn from Martha's sister Mary to keep focusing on and applying God's Word as a priority. Then we can live unaffected by the "goading" lures in the godless world around us regardless what happens in the Tuesday elections.

As evidence, we cite the last part of the Krattenmaker article that represents a secularist's view. He concluded: "The wise course is . . . to find and hold . . . a place from which faith can exert principled influence and inspire the body politic's best instincts and intentions. Especially these days, politics as usual seems to drag all who play right into the gutter. That's no place for religion." (Ibid.)

Though Biblical Christianity is not a man-made "religion" as Mr. Krattenmaker would call it, this segment of his article is of value! It shows how even the secular world displays a need for us Biblical Christians of all people to "sit at the feet of Jesus" like Mary, to rise above the goadings of bad politics and offer a calm, godly way of life as we heed His Word and proclaim the Gospel of salvation by faith in Christ so troubled folk can enter His righteous Kingdom of true peace!

Thus, to AVOID being GOADED to SIN, may we as believers in Christ like Mary of Bethany make applying God's Word our PRIORITY, and find real peace, and be a blessing to all!