Sermon Tone Analysis

Sunday, April 6, 2008 – Communion Sunday

*Trusting Christ on a whole new level - Part 2*

John 11:17-44

/37 //But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”             /John 11:37 NIV

*-----------*

*Have you noticed in our study of the Gospel of John* how John seems to *highlight a character* who is *representative* of many others?

In chapter 18, *John portrayed Judas Iscariot as an evil man *plotting the demise of *the most righteous person* to ever live, showing us *how evil can take hold of a person* and wreak havoc *all around him*.

Also in chapter 18, we see *outspoken Peter who can’t live up to his own promises *and *is heart broken to discover* how weak he really was.

In chapter 20, we are *introduced to Mary Magdalene* as a *thoughtful* and *meditative woman* who is *overcome with sorrow* at the death of Jesus, but is *driven by her love for Him* to do Him right by a proper burial.

Somehow God chose to *honor this woman* as being the *first person* to see the resurrected Jesus.

It’s like she was *representing all persons*, lowly of heart, *who seek to be near our Lord*, and how He *rewards those who diligently seek Him* by coming to them, meeting them in their *humble state*.

So, it *shouldn’t surprise us* when we study *the Lazarus story* and *meet the primary characters* in John 11 that we find ourselves *relating to one or the other*, identifying with them *in their circumstances and feelings*.

John does a *good job* of giving us *character sketches of people* involved in Christ’s life.

*We see ourselves in them* and recognize that *“it could have been us” *if we had lived there back then.

For many of us *our first introduction* to the sisters *Martha and Mary* came when we *read Luke’s account of them* hosting Jesus for a visit.

*A quick reading of the story* could lead one to suppose that *if you’re an energetic servant*, *worker-bee*, like Martha, then you are *a second class Christian* -- that *the real Christian* is to *be like Mary* who did nothing but *sit at Jesus’ feet* and *listen* to Him.

But I suggest *we miss the point of the story in Luke* if we *downplay the Martha types* in the body of Christ.

Here’s the *slice of the Mary~/Martha story* that is recorded in Luke:* Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)*

/38 //As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. 39 //She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.

40 //But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?

Tell her to help me!” /

/41 //“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 //but only one thing is needed.

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” /

The point of the Luke 10 story of Martha and Mary is to *recognize our priorities* and how easily we can be *distracted from what is most important*.

Do you really think *Martha* wasn’t *just as eager to sit at Jesus’ feet* as Mary was? *Certainly*.

But she was *tied up in knots* over *making up the guest room* for Jesus and probably *fixing Him a nice dinner*.

If *Mary* had *helped her*, maybe she *wouldn’t have been in the predicament* she made for herself.

But, to *dismiss hospitality and service as unimportant* just because they are *not our first priority*, is to *do injury* to the *very example of our Lord Himself *who *showed His love often* in very *humble, servant ways*.

*To misconstrue this story* would be to *imply* that since it is *more important that we worship the Lord* than that we have *chairs to sit on,* that *no one should make it their business* to put the *chairs out* each Sunday.

We must always be in the business *of waging war against those things that supplant what’s most important*.

That’s why *we have been issued a call to come early* to our worship services and *pray*.

*By it we are saying by our actions* that our relationship with Jesus Christ is *our most important relationship*. . . .

that we are *willing to bypass a conversation with a brother or sister in Christ* so we can *first* have a conversation *with our Lord*.

*That doesn’t mean* we won’t have a conversation with *our brother or sister in Christ.*

It just means *it won’t be the first order of business*.

The purpose for *setting an agenda for ourselves* is that gives *the most important item *the best place in our schedule.

*Martha* had her *priorities mixed up here* even though she was doing a very good thing in *showing hospitality to her Lord*.

But, *she needed to take a step back* and see what was happening.

*Dinner* could wait.

*Clean sheets* could wait.

Some *special touches* could be done without.

*She needed to get some face to face time *with the One she was trying to serve.

*The most important thing* that we want to see happen *in this place each Sunday *is that we all *get face to face time with Jesus*.

That we *sit at His feet* and *hear from Him*.

That we *bow at His feet* and *worship Him* and *delight* in His awesome *glory*.

May it be that we *take our worship to a new level *by making certain that *we do what we have come to do* each Sunday.

Now, *the question I start with as we return to chapter 11* of the Gospel of John is, *did Martha learn anything from this correction she received from Jesus in Luke 10?*

The *story of Jesus visiting **Bethany* begins with a *message* being *sent from Mary and Martha* to Jesus while He is *on the east side of the **Jordan** *engaged in *evangelistic meetings*.

*The message* *was* that their brother *Lazarus is sick*.

Implied is that *He is sufficiently sick* to warrant *an emergency plea* for Jesus to come to Bethany.

But, *surprising to His disciples* and probably the messenger, *Jesus deliberately delays two days* in going to Bethany.

Then, *after those two days*, He tells His disciples that He is *going to **Judea*, which would *mean **Bethany* since it was on the road to Jerusalem.

*John 11:17-44 (NIV)*

/17 //On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

18 //Bethany// was less than two miles from //Jerusalem//, 19 //and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

20 //When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.

/

In the interest of *increasing our knowledge* of these *two sisters*, notice *the initiative of Martha* to go meet Jesus.

It’s *strikingly similar* to the previous time Jesus came into Bethany and *Martha took the initiative* to invite Jesus into her home.

*Luke **10:38**  */38 //As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him./

Now, it’s *hard not to want to know *why Mary *didn’t join Martha *in going out to meet Jesus.

Maybe *Mary was accustomed to Martha making all the arrangements for social gatherings* and then Mary simply *focused on enjoying the people who came*.

And, if we *apply the same scrutiny of Mary* that we saw *applied to Martha* in the Luke text, *could we not say* that *this time Mary had her priorities mixed up* when *she chose not to go be with Jesus* after she had *jointly sent for Him*?

Alright, maybe *I’m getting a bit protective of Martha* – since I see *a lot of Martha in me*.

There’s probably a *good explanation why Mary stayed* at home and we can *just leave it there*.

But, if you *ever thought of Martha as shallow in her faith*, take *particular note* of her conversation with Jesus.

/21 //“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 //But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask.” /

/23 //Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

/

/24 //Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

/

/25 //Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; 26 //and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.

Do you believe this?” /

/27 //“Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

/

There are *some realities* that when stated *will be received as a criticism* no matter what *tone of voice* you use.

*How can we not say that Martha was disappointed* that Jesus wasn’t in Bethany *when her brother was still alive*?

Maybe she had *no intention of rebuking Jesus* or *complaining*, but clearly, *the absence of Jesus during a huge crises* was a big letdown for *both* *Martha and Mary*.

But, *we must see in this statement*, “if You had been here,” (Martha) *a high level of faith in Jesus*.

*Who else is there in all the world *to whom she could say the same thing?

Could she *say it to you*? “*Craig, if you had been here*, my brother would *not have died*.”

The *statement just doesn’t work* for anyone else.

Even if we conclude *it is laded with disappointment*, we must also *agree it is grounded in strong faith.*

*Martha believed Jesus was capable of keeping her brother from dying*.

And now *we know even more*.

Martha believed that *her brother would rise again* from the dead in the resurrection *at the last day*.

Interestingly, *Jesus doesn’t try to get her to go beyond that belief* at this time.

Rather, he *focuses her attention on the most important thing* for all of us *in* *facing any circumstance*.

*Our eyes need to be fixed at all times on Jesus*.

In matters of *life and death*, Jesus is *the resurrection and the life*.

Jesus didn’t press Martha to *expand her faith* to include *bringing back to life bodies that are four days dead*.

Rather, *He draws her to focus on Him*.

And *she reaffirms her faith in Him.*

There is *no further complaint about Jesus* having come *too late*.

Rather, she *went as a messenger to her sister* to tell her that *Jesus was asking for her*.

Again, *consider* the contrast and *what a contrast it is*.

*Martha initiates* contact with Jesus.

*Mary waits* for an *invitation from Jesus *before going to Him.

But also, *keep these things in mind* about *Martha’s conversation* with Jesus.

There was *no evidence of tears*.

*No* indication of *bending her knees*.

Yet, there was *a strong indication of faith.