Scripture: Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-5 and Psalms 52
Theme: Mary of Bethany - Hero of the Faith
Proposition: Luke shares with us a story of Mary.
1. M - Mary ( A woman)
2. A - Attitude (Servant)
3. R - Right Priorities (Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven)
4. Y - Yielded Heart and Life (At the feet of Jesus)
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
What is your favorite Bible story or Bible passage? Most of us have one or two favorite Bible stories and/or passages that we enjoy reading and that speak to our hearts. Some of us like reading and meditating on the great adventure stories that we find in the Old Testament while others enjoy reading the letters that we find in the New Testament. Some enjoy sitting down and reading Jesus' Parables while others like reading about Jesus' miracles.
Today's passage in Luke 10 is one that I believe that most of us enjoy reading. It's a story that involves a young woman who through her actions reveals to us the true meaning of Christian discipleship. In this story Mary shows us what it means to love Jesus with all our heart, soul and strength. Mary's story is a simple story but it is one that full of deep truths.
The story takes place in Martha's home in Bethany. Jesus and his disciples have been traveling all over the territory sharing the Good News of Salvation. Verse 38 tells us that they have arrived in the village of Bethany (John 12) where Jesus decide to spend some time with Martha and her two siblings, Lazarus and Mary. This is the same Mary, Martha and Lazarus that St. John writes about in his gospel. You may remember how in chapter 11 John shares with us the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. And then in chapter 12, St. John shares with us that beautiful story of Mary anointing Jesus with ointment of alabaster.
In this whole story we notice that Mary doesn't utter a word or at least Luke does not record any of her conversations. Logically, we know that Mary talked that day but Luke purposely doesn't want us to focus on her words. Instead, he wants us to focus on her actions and allow them to do all her speaking. Luke wants us to focus on Mary's actions. And it is from her actions that we are able to discern and understand some very valuable truths. Truths that can help us experience a deeper walk with Jesus.
So, what are some of the things that we can learn from M A R Y
I. The first thing we see in this Story about Mary is "M" Is MARY HERSELF
IS MARY HERSELF
Now, to many of us here today the scene of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus creates a very beautiful picture. It is serene. It is calming and it is inspiring. In Mary's day, however, it was scandalous. It was radical. Mary, an unmarried young woman sitting at the feet of Jesus broke every rule of Jewish society at that time.
Earlier, in verse 38, Luke tells us that Jesus had already broken one social custom by accepting an invitation into a woman's home in the first place. In Jesus' day that was something men would not normally do; especially a rabbi. No orthodox Jewish man would have humbled himself to spend time in a "woman's" house. It was just not acceptable behavior for an orthodox Jew, especially a teacher of the Law and the Prophets.
And then we see in verse 39 that Jesus goes one step further. He permits Mary, an unmarried woman to join in with the rest of his disciples as he teaches them. He allows Mary to sit down with the rest of his male disciples. While today we would not see anything inappropriate with that in Jesus' time that was unthinkable. Women simply did not sit down with men to learn anything.
It was believed at that time if a man, any man talked too much to a woman/women it would only bring disaster. Listen to the words of Rabbi Johanan of Jerusalem around that time - "He that talks much with womankind brings evil upon himself and neglects the study of the Law and at the last will inherit Gehenna (M. Aboth, 1.5, Danby 446)1
Did you get that last part? He that talks to much to women not only neglects the study of the Law but in the end instead of heaven they will inherit Gehenna. Now, those are some very strong words. Words that may shock us today but in that day they were seen as wise and sound advice. Men were caution about how much time they spent talking to women.
Rabbi Eliazer writing around this same time period had this to say concerning women and the Torah - "Better to burn the Torah than to teach it to women". (Enswiller, 1977:22)
Anyone reading Luke's gospel in the Early Church would have stopped reading right here and spent some time thinking about what was going on. First, Jesus went into Martha's home and now her sister, Mary is sitting at his feet. Anyone reading this story would have immediately known that this man named Jesus was very different than any other rabbi or teacher at that time. The reader would have either been confused, gotten angry or been encouraged to read on to discover more about this rather unusual rabbi. The reader would also have been either confused, angry or impressed with both Mary and Martha; two women who dared to be different. One for inviting Jesus into her home in the first place and the second one for having the nerve and the chutzpah to sit at Jesus' feet.
One of the major lessons in this story is that Jesus wants to make it clear that unlike others that lived during his time; Jesus' call to discipleship included both male and female. Jesus believed that both men and women should be able to sit together as equals at His feet and learn how to be his disciples. Jesus did not place one above the other.
II. Secondly, we see that Mary possessed this amazing - "A" ATTITUDE
Mary had this amazing ATTITUDE when it came to Jesus
One of the greatest motivational writers and leaders today is a man by the name of Dr. John Maxwell. If you have had to read or have been encouraged to read any books on leadership you have probably come across his name or one of his books. Dr. Maxwell has authored over 70 books dealing with numerous subjects. He is not only a renowned author and motivation speaker but is also a great spiritual leader. For years, John was one of the top spiritual leaders in the Wesleyan Church here in the United States.
If you have read any of his books or have listened to him teach, John over and over talks about the importance of our attitude. His most famous quote concerning attitude is this one:
"Your attitude determines your altitude" John C. Maxwell
It is similar to the one written earlier by another famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar. Zig Ziglar said it this way:
" Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."
Both men wanted their readers and their students to understand the life principle that our attitude can and will determines a great deal how high we will soar in this life.
I believe we all know the vital importance of having a great attitude. It could be said that in this life, attitude is just about everything. Think about it. Look around you. Check the attitude gauge of the people you live with, work with and are around. For the most part we will find that those attitudes will be either be positive or negative. And if they are negative then we need to make certain adjustments to change them. If they are positive then we praise the LORD and rejoice.
Why? Because successful people, people who want to do great things in their lives are people who have learned the skill of possessing a positive attitude. A positive attitude can make all the difference between a person's success and/or failure. A positive attitude can be a person’s greatest asset. In fact, an positive attitude can take people to places that their own innate ability could never carry them. A positive attitude will enable you to make a difference in the world around you because when you are able to see things in a positive light, you are able to help influence and shape other people's attitude as well.
Recently, I came across this wonderful story concerning the importance of attitude:
"There were two students who wanted to play on a college basketball team and neither of the students were given a scholarship because they didn’t meet college requirements. They both went on different occasions to the coach to see it they could walk on as a player. The coach told both players that he never heard of them and didn’t know if they could make an impact to their team. Student A asked if he could come to the training and give it a try. Student B also asked the same but neither of the players did what the coach was looking for. Both students walked away that day feeling as if they had failed a second time. Days later student B returned and told the coach that he has been working out twice daily because he wanted to play the game so badly. Student A gave up and was forced to visit student conduct on several occasions for disciplinary actions. Both students started off with the right attitude, but a good attitude should not only be for a certain amount of time. You have to keep the right attitude going because you don’t know when you will strike victory. Student B eventually got a spot on the team and because of his positive attitude on life he didn’t only make the team, he became the top scorer and a motivator for other teammates."2
Attitude may not mean everything but it does mean a great deal. Attitude may not be able to take you the whole way but you will never be totally happy or successful if you have a negative or rotten attitude.
Without saying a word, Mary shows us that she possessed a great attitude. It is the attitude of servanthood and disciples. It's the attitude of giving her all to Jesus. She wanted to be more in life than anyone thought she could ever be. As we have examined, women of her day were looked down upon and pigeon holed. Women were viewed as limited and unable to be able to handle deep theological truths. They were not included in deep discussions and they were never viewed as true disciples. More often than not they were seen as mere tagalongs. At that time in Jewish society a woman's education was limited to learn the domestic arts of needle work, weaving, cooking and looking after their smaller brothers and sisters. Never was it seen as proper to sit at the feet of a rabbi.
Mary could have resigned herself to that type of existence but there was something about Mary that was willing to attempt the impossible. She had already seen how Jesus had already crossed a line by coming into her sister's home in the first place. Now, she was seeing if Jesus would cross another line by allowing her to sit at his feet. She wanted to be a complete servant of Jesus. She wanted to be one of his disciples.
That would not have happened if she had possessed a poor or negative attitude. Mary believed in herself and she believed in Jesus. She believed that if she displayed a servant's heart, she could be one of Jesus' greatest disciples. She knew that Jesus was different than any other person she had ever meet. She also believed that Jesus would accept her and we see that he did with open arms.
I like Mary's attitude here - it's full of positivity and it's focused on a heart of servanthood.
III. Thirdly, we see Mary chose to have the - "R" RIGHT PRIORITIES IN HER LIFE
Mary chose to have the Right Priorities in Life - Seek First the Kingdom of God
In verse 40 Martha springs into action. She goes to the LORD, interrupts his teaching and complains about Mary. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me."
Today, we know that many cultures provide wonderful ways for a person to say one thing and mean quite another. For example, here in the South when people say "Bless your heart" they could really be saying - "Bless their heart, they are as dumb as a sack of rocks". Or "Bless their heart, there as dumb as a doornail, but at least they are pretty." Saying bless your heart is not always a term of endearment. It sounds like one thing but it can mean something very different.
We have the same type of thing happening here in verse 40. On the surface, it looks like Martha has more to do than she can handle and simply wants Mary to come and help her. She is overwhelmed and frustrated and needs Mary's help. But in Middle Eastern Culture Bible scholars tell us that what Martha was really saying was the following:
"The other rabbis don't have women disciples! What's happening under my nose is outrageous and unprecedented! What will the neighbors think and what will the local rabbis say? Imagine - my sister - a disciple of a rabbi! If she continues she will be involved in daily interaction with young unmarried men! Who will marry her the poor girl after this? Her reputation will be ruined! She'll listen to you Jesus! You must tell her that her place is here in the kitchen with me!"3
The question therefore really wasn't about needing help serving the meal. The basis of the question centered around the fact that Martha was worried that Mary was doing permanent damage to her reputation and her future. Word would spread like wild fire that Jesus allowed Mary, an unmarried woman to be around a bunch of unmarried men. And everyone knew that only a certain kind of woman did that and it wasn't the kind anyone wanted to one day marry. Martha thought Mary was endangering her whole future.
However, instead of agreeing with Martha, Jesus once again surprises everyone with his answer in verse 41 - "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not be taken away from her."
Jesus' reply here is both pointed and pastoral. He acknowledges Martha's concerns but he doesn't give in to them. He knew what Mary was doing and he knew what it meant for her to be in that room. He also knew that Mary would forever be a spiritual trail blazer. He knew that Mary would be the first of millions of women who would have the courage to follow Jesus and be one of his disciples. He knew that Mary would be the first of many leaders in the church that would be female.
Jesus is also wanting Martha to understand that there were two meals being served - one almost ready by Martha and one already being served by Him. If Mary leaves to help Martha, she will be able to eat some food, but it will be mere physical food made by Martha. It will be food that is able to go into the body, nourish it for a moment or two and then be discharged at a later time. It will be food that is here today and gone tomorrow.
However, Mary has chosen the right priorities and the right meal. Mary is relishing in the spiritual meal that Jesus is serving. Martha's meal will have to wait. There will be time to sit down and eat physical food. But right now, Jesus is also serving a complete spiritual banquet. A banquet loaded with everlasting food. And Mary is more concerned about eating Jesus food than fixing biscuits.
In essence, Jesus tells Martha that he would rather see someone being a good disciple than providing a good meal. Service is vital and important but when there is truth to be received and gained it is far better for the biscuits and gravy to either be late or a little cold.
I'll never forget a Revival Service we had in my home church as a young boy. We had one of the greatest speakers in our denomination at the time. Each and every night he passionately shared God's Holy Word. Everyone in the church was growing closer and closer to the Lord. The anointing of the LORD was upon each and every service.
Back in that day, it was not unusual for a Revival to start on Monday or even Sunday and go all the way to the next Sunday. Everyone knew that the last Sunday morning service the speaker would be the greatest message of all. Sunday night would always be about the Second Coming, but Sunday Morning would be the best of the best. It was just a given and everyone looked forward to the Sunday Morning message.
However, for some reason a number of our ladies decided that instead of attending the service they would stay home and spend some extra time on their cooking. They wanted to make sure that they could bring the best food dish they could for our after church meal that Sunday. They wanted our special speaker to be impressed by their cooking. The whole thing turned out to be a disaster. All of our major prayer warriors were busy baking and most of the people sitting in the pews were already thinking about the meal after the service. Both the service and the fellowship afterwards flopped. Sadly, it seemed that more people were more worried about the physical food than the spiritual food.
Later on our pastor shared what our special speaker wanted us to understand when it came to physical food verses spiritual food. He wanted us to understand that the LORD had given him a great spiritual banquet to share with all of us, but we were more worried about a physical banquet than a Jesus banquet. He was afraid that we had our priorities all messed up. Instead of seeking the Kingdom of Heaven we were wanting fish and chips.
It's the same message that Jesus was sharing with Martha that day. Martha was all up in arms about having one more plate of food on the table when Jesus had already had the spiritual table of food all lined up. There was more than enough spiritual food at Jesus' table. He had already broken the barrier down so that both her and Mary could sit at his feet and learn alongside the other disciples.
Jesus was telling Martha that she should be with them instead of being in the kitchen. She should adopt the right priorities of her sister Mary who was not going to allow anyone to take away her ability to eat at the table of Jesus. Jesus had a meal all prepared for Martha and he wanted her by his side instead of in the kitchen. There would be plenty of time to eat biscuits later. Right now, it was Jesus food time.
IV. Finally, we see that Mary has one more lesson to teach us and that is "Y"
Mary possessed a YIELDING and SURRENDERED HEART AND LIFE
Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus has been an inspirational picture for hundreds of years. Her body language displayed her heart language. She is at one with Jesus. She is with him heart, body and soul.
If our Bible scholars are correct, Mary did surrender everything to sit at the feet of Jesus. She sacrificed her reputation. She sacrificed her future. Some feel that one of the reasons why she used the alabaster jar of perfume on Jesus in John chapter 12 was that no one wanted to marry her after they knew she had sat at the feet of Jesus with a bunch of unmarried men. By simply doing what she did - sitting at the feet of Jesus; she may have done exactly what Martha was afraid - she may have removed her opportunity to be a married woman.
Society can cruel to those who decide to go against the norm. Not only in the distant past but in our present times as well. Think for example of what happened to Rosa Parks for sitting on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama back on December 1, 1955. She was eventually arrested, taken to jail and as a result lost her job. Why? What was so wrong that they had to do all those things to her? It was all because she sat in the "white section" of a bus and would not get up to give her seat to a white person. She broke the laws of southern society. Laws that were made by a society that willingly mistreated certain segments of that society. However, what happened that day to Rosa Parks proved to be one of sparks that led to the Civil Rights Movement across our country and that would transform our nation. Thankfully, today most of those laws have been abolished.
Think about that for a moment or two this morning. Rosa Parks was arrested and then lost her job. All because she disobeyed the rules of society when those rules were unfair. Society can be cruel to those who go against the norm not only back then but today as well.
Perhaps the story we read in John chapter 12 is telling us that a very similar thing had happened to Mary. Perhaps in her village of Bethany, she was already seen as an outcast because she had sat at the feet of Jesus and his disciples. She, an unmarried woman had sat at the feet of a rabbi along with unmarried men. By doing that many would have thought she had already lost her innocence. She was no longer marriageable material. By sitting at the feet of Jesus, Bible scholars tell us that Mary could have sealed her fate with all the other men and their families in Bethany.
It may be hard for us to understand all of this today. But the truth is this - No matter what it was going to cost Mary she was going to be near Jesus. No matter what the future cost were going to be she was going to be found at the feet of Jesus. Mary possessed a yielded and surrendered heart and life. There was nothing she wouldn't do for Jesus.
And Mary will forever stand as a symbol of what a person looks like that possesses a yielded and surrendered heart. Today, if people ever wonder if God will enable women to do the same things as men do in the church and in the Kingdom of God they don't have to look any further than Mary.
Mary shows us that the LORD makes a way not just for men but for women today. We all can sit at the feet of Jesus.
Mary shows us that we all need to have the right attitude towards Jesus - that of giving Jesus our whole heart, soul and spirit.
Mary shows us that we all must make the right priorities . That we are to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and all these things will be added unto you
Mary shows us that we are to have a yielded and surrendered heart no matter what the cost is today, tomorrow or forever.
This morning, as we close let us take a few moments and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Let's allow Him to ask us these questions:
+Have we surrendered our heart and life to Jesus?
+Do we love the LORD JESUS with all our hearts, souls and strength?
+Are we today sitting at the feet of Jesus?
+Do we have the right attitude and right priorities - Seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven?
+Finally, which motivates us more - spiritual food or physical food?
Let us close in prayer and by singing:
"I GIVE YOU MY HEART" by Morgan or
SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS (http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/i/t/sittingf.htm
1 From an article written by Kenneth E. Bailey - "Mary, Martha and Jesus: A Continuing Reformation"
2 Our Attitude Equals Our Altitude by Muhammad Zahir - https://idare13.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/our-attitude-equals-our-altitude/
3 From an article written by Kenneth E. Bailey - "Mary, Martha and Jesus: A Continuing Reformation"
