Temple Baptist Church - 1-25-2026
Luke 10:38-42
Introduction:
A. I have been preaching for a couple of weeks on the subject of “Thriving In 2026” by “Abiding In Christ.” Too many of God’s children choose to survive when God wants them to thrive! How does the child of God thrive? By abiding in Christ Jesus! In John chapter 15, verses 1-10, the word “abide” is mentioned eight times.
B. Being saved and abiding in Christ are two separate things.
1. Salvation is in an unconditional covenant where a person comes to Christ in repentance and faith, and then is the recipient of Eternal Life! Nothing in this world can change that relationship.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. Abiding in Christ is a conditional covenant whereby a saved man or woman remains constant in Christ. One of the greatest examples is the Apostle Paul.
Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
2 Timothy 4:6-7 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. (7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Though our Lord Jesus Christ is always present with us. Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
We are not always present with Him. What a contrast we find in Demas. 2 Timothy 4:10a For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world …
C. In our text, we find the Lord comfortably sitting in the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. This home and family were very special to our Lord. Not that the Lord loves some more than others, but some just love the Lord more than others. Our Lord frequented this home.
D. What a testimony the Lord’s friend, Lazarus, had. Many Jews came to see the one whom Jesus raised from the dead in John, chapter 12. The religious crowd conspired to put Lazarus to death because many believed in Christ because of him.
E. In our text, Lazarus is not mentioned, though I am sure that he was at home. Only Martha and Mary are mentioned.
1. TWO VERY IMPORTANT things are mentioned here: One Serving and one Sitting, One Cumbered and one present: Communing, Continuing, and Contented. These three conditions are equally important and should go hand in hand!
2. Martha is cumbered in her serving while Mary is content in her sitting! Thus, we find the children of God in our day.
3. The message is more about Martha than Mary, though Mary was the epitome of what the message is about.
F. Are we cumbered in our serving or content in our sitting? I want to look at these two wonderful women and contrast them.
G. In verse 38, Martha “received him into her house.”
1. Let us look at Martha first.
a. Martha was a Good woman! Martha was a Godly woman! Martha Loved the Lord!
b. As with Peter, we often look at Martha the wrong way or in a bad light. She made sure that the Lord had every comfort when He came into her home. She made sure that His every need was met when He came for a visit.
c. But Martha was “cumbered ABOUT much serving.” Notice with me the wording: “Cumbered ABOUT much serving,” not “Cumbered WITH much serving!” Martha was complaining about Mary’s lack of service!
1) The same thing is expressed in John 21 as the Lord is restoring Peter to a place of service, and Peter questioned John’s relationship with the Lord.
John 21:21-22 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? (22) Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
2) Martha’s serving was no doubt based on love. She made sure that the Lord had everything that He needed and provided it with joy. But Martha had stopped serving and started observing. She was worried about what the Lord needed, but not necessarily what He longed for.
3) I thank God for those who serve. I preached a few weeks ago on a servant’s heart. God knows we need those who are willing to serve rather than be served. Martha was a worker!
4) But Martha allowed her service to separate her from her presence with Christ.
5) I imagine that Martha was tired and more than a little more than just frustrated. Here, she was HAVING TO DO all the work while Mary sat in the living room and enjoyed listening to the Lord talk.
1a) Ladies, does that remind you of how it is when company comes, you are left alone in the kitchen to both cook and clean while the other ladies sit and talk?
2a) Cumbered – a so-called archaic (old, outdated) word for burdened, hindered, troubled. I hate it when people say the Word of God is outdated! “Cumbered with heavy clothing” means that too much clothing hinders the task ahead. So many are trying to serve Christ but find service a burden instead of a blessing.
3a) Too many children of God are spending their time in service FOR Christ without spending time WITH Christ!
d. Verse 41, we find a loving rebuke as the Lord describes Martha as careful and troubled about many things. Three things in verse 41 divide her from the “best” that Mary had:
1) The double address “Martha, Martha” expresses affection, not irritation. Martha’s priorities were misplaced. Often, our priorities are out of order, and such was Martha’s.
2) The text uses the word “careful” – full of care; anxiousness that brings about distraction. A verse we use on our prayer list includes the word “careful.”
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
3) Troubled – disturbed or agitation; the only mention in the Bible. Her worry agitated Martha to the point of rebuking Mary.
4) Many things – Martha’s problem was not immoral; it was the crowdedness of her soul. “Too many minds” is an expression I have heard that means distraction from a point that needs to be addressed. It contrasts “one thing is needful.”
5) Again, I am not dissing service or duties, but Martha allowed her duties to eclipse her devotion to Christ Himself.
6) We find Martha’s occupation for Christ, while contrasted with Mary’s occupation with Christ.
2. Mary had the same spiritual attributes that Martha had: Mary was a Good woman! Mary was a Godly woman! Mary Loved the Lord! But the similarities stop there. While Martha was cumbered, Mary was contented. Mary was content to sit at the Lord’s feet.
a. We See That Mary Longed To Be Present With Christ.
b. Mary was Continuing, Communing, and Contented – vs. 39 While Martha wanted Christ in her home, Mary wanted to be with Christ!
Luke 8:35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
c. Mary was Worshipping – vs. 39 “sat at Jesus’ feet” Here, we find that place of obeisance and humility. Servants sat at the feet of their masters, showing both obedience and affection. Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus' feet.
Luke 7:44-45 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. (Tell me that you love me, Peter! Tell me that you love me more than anything else in the world, Peter!!)
d. We See That Mary Hearing Christ – vs. 39
1) Martha was burdened in verse 41: “careful and troubled about many things.” Serving our Lord had lost its blessing and became a burden to Martha. She was not serving because she wanted to serve. She was serving because, as the woman of the house, she had to serve. How many times has the work of the Lord become a burden to God’s people? We do what we are expected to do just because we are expected to do so! The service of the “bond slave” becomes a thing of the past as we labor, seemingly unrewarded, in these last days.
2) But Mary was Blessed – vs. 42 “good part, which shall not be taken away” I also have no doubt that Mary spent many hours laboring beside Martha. Her sitting at the feet of our Lord had nothing to do with laziness. It had to do with her fervent desire to both be with Him and hear His gracious words.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
e. We See That Mary Lingered With Christ – vs. 40 Mary was abiding – vs. 40 “my sister hath left me” Mary sought that “good part, which shall not be taken away from her!” Time spent with Christ is not time wasted for Christ! Yes, we could be doing a multitude of other things that are both needed and profitable, but that time spent with Him is sublime!
Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psalms 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Psalms 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Conclusion: There is a song I love to hear, especially the chorus, which fits this message perfectly. It is titled “When I’m With Him,” and the chorus goes like this:
When I’m with Him;
When I’m with Him;
The fairest pleasures of the world grow dim;
And in him heart, I feel the thrill of glory;
When I’m with Him, when I’m with Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment