The Women Jesus Loved

Jesus Loves Sisters

•  Jesus versus the Distractions of Life

A. The Distractions of “Day-to-Day” Issues, (Luke 10:38-42)


INTRODUCTION: Some common myths we have come to believe…
1. Busy = Important (God will not ask you at the judgment, “How busy were you?”
2. Someone wins the “rat race”! (God is not as interested in what you do as He is in who you are!)
3. Hurrying will buy us more time (typically we just fill the extra time with more work)
4. “Down-time” is wasted time (But it was God in the Old Testament who instituted a “day of rest”).


1. ( vs. 38-39 ), “ Now as they were travelling along, Jesus entered a certain village; and a woman
name Martha welcomed Him into her home And she had a sister named Mary, who moreover
was listening to the Lord's word, seated at His feet.
a. These are two unusual women…
1) Martha: It was not typical for a woman own her own home or to invite a group of
men into it.
2) Mary: It was not typical for women to sit with men while spiritual teaching was
taking place.
3) Yes, neither of these women was what you would call, “typical.”

b. If you ascribe to “birth-order” theory (personality determined by the order of siblings birth),
we find…
1) Martha (1 st born): serious, conscientious, rule conscious, responsible, high achieving,
high self-esteem.
2) Mary: People person, tries to keep everyone happy, endearing friend, often seen as
irresponsible by their older sibling.

c. Martha would have been seen as a “Good Christian” (servant-heart!). But her serving was
not her problem…
1) Distracted: “Martha was distracted by all of her preparations.”
2) Distressed (feeling sorry for herself): “Lord, do you not care….”
3) Disapproving (critical of her sister not doing her part): “…my sister has left me to do
all the serving?”
4) Demanding (telling the Lord what He needs to do): “Tell her to help me!”

d. Martha has put Jesus into a very uncomfortable situation…
1) Would He place value upon the one working to serve others or the one who is
worshipping Him?
2) Would Jesus honor the one busy trying to bless others or the one who is being blessed
by His teaching?
3) Would Jesus support Martha & shame Mary, or would He support Mary and shame
Martha?!


2. ( vs. 41-42 ), “But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and
bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary
has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'”
a. Jesus understands that each of these women has been gifted in different ways.
1) Martha's gift is in serving others, ( Rom. 12:6-7 ), “Since we have gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly … if service in
his serving.”
2) Clearly Jesus is not faulting Martha for exercising the gift she had received from God

b. Problem = Martha's life is out of balance, ( v. 27 ), “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.””
1) Martha was doing the latter while Mary was doing the former.
2) Both were doing fine until Martha demanded of Jesus to make Mary “serve” even
while she “loved.”
3) When our life is out of balance we will generally criticize those who are on the “other
side.”
4) Later, Martha's balance is restored, ( Jn. 12:2 ), “They made Jesus a supper, and
Martha was serving….” Yet no longer is she complaining.

B. The Distractions of “Life & Death” Issues, (John 11:17-44)

1. ( vs. 17-22 ), “When Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ?? four days.  Now
??Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ??two miles off; and many of ??the Jews had come to ??Martha and
Mary, ??to console them concerning their brother”.
a. John in his gospel frequently tells of the Jews who make a “show of religion,” but not from
the heart!
1) Some of the “Jews” who came were religious mourners who came to make a “show
of grief.”
2) We see the same thing in Capernaum, ( Mk. 5:38-40 ), “They came to the house of the
synagogue official; and Jesus beheld a commotion, and people loudly weeping and
wailing. And He entered in and said, ‘Why make a commotion and weep? The child
is not dead, but is asleep.' And they began laughing at Him.”

b. ( vs. 20-21 ), “Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him,
but ??Mary ??stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, ‘Lord, ??if You had been here, my
brother would not have died. Even now I know that ??whatever You ask of God, God will give
You.'”
1) Is anyone surprised that when Martha heard Jesus had come that she immediately
runs to see Him?!
2) Martha is the “doer.” Mary is more contemplative.


2. ( vs. 23-27 ), “ Jesus ?? said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.' Martha ??said to Him, ‘??I know that
he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'  Jesus said to her, ‘??I am the resurrection
and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes
in Me ??will never die. Do you believe this?' She ??said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that
You are ????the Christ, the Son of God, even ????He who comes into the world.'”
a. Martha's faith is in a future event and is not focused on Jesus!
1) Notice; Jesus didn't say, “I will be the resurrection & the life,” but present tense, “I
am the resurrection and the life.”
2) While Martha's response to this sounds like she believes, when we get to the tomb
we will once again see her distracted.
3) Often times, in life or death situations, people will say things that they do not believe!

3. ( vs. 32-33 ), “When Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, & fell at His feet, saying to Him,
“?'Lord, ??if You had been here, my brother would not have died.' When Jesus therefore saw her
wailing, and ??the Jews who came with her also wailing, He ??was deeply moved in spirit & ????was
troubled.”
a. Again we see Mary at Jesus feet. Yet this time she and her sister are saying the same thing!
1) We also find Mary is not trusting in the Lord but rather has joined the chorus of the
religious (i.e., the wailers).
2) “…deeply moved…” = “feel strongly, scold,” used 5x in N.T., always of our Lord's
emotions.
a) ( Matt. 9:30 ), “Jesus sternly warned them, ‘See here, let no one know about
this.'”
b) ( Mk. 1:43 ), “And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away.”
3) Our Lord is deeply troubled that Mary has sought refuge in the show of religion
rather than her faith in Him!

4. ( vs. 38-44 ), “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, ?? came to the tomb. Now it was a ?? cave,
and a stone was lying against it. Jesus ??said, ‘Remove the stone.' Martha, the sister of the
deceased, ??said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time ??there will be a stench, for he has been dead ??four
days.' Jesus ??said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?'
So they removed the ??stone. Then Jesus ? cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.' The
man who had died came forth, ??bound hand and foot with wrappings, and ??his face was wrapped
around with a cloth. Jesus ??said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.'”
a. Ever practical Martha warns of the smell of decomposition (this is haw we know she wasn't
believing that Jesus was going to raise her brother from the dead on that day).
1) So while Mary is being distracted by “religion,” Martha is being distracted by her
doubts.
2) When it comes to life and death issues our faith will always be tested. During these
times people will often become distracted by doubts and religion. The question for us
is, do we then choose to trust in Jesus, or be distracted by our doubts or religion?

b. When Jesus called to Lazarus he had to be very specific, “ Lazarus , come forth.”
1) For earlier in John's gospel He had promised, ( Jn. 5:28-29 ), “An hour is coming
when all who are in the grave will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did
the good to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil to a resurrection of
judgment.” ?
2) So if Jesus had only said, “Come forth,” it would have been the resurrection day for
all mankind.

c. Notice that when someone is raised from the dead they need to be released from their grave
clothes, ( “…bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a
cloth” ).
1) This was true in that day of those who had died and been resurrected physically.
2) But it is also true for those whom Jesus raises today from the dead spiritually.
3) The “grave clothes” of someone's past (following their conversion to Christ) can bind
and hinder them. These can be former practices, associations, etc.
4) We who are spiritually alive, therefore, need to “unbind them & let them go!”
5) We need to help them as they begin their new life in Christ to be loosed from the
“grave clothes” of their past!

CONCLUSIONS: Distractions!!! They are all around us. Both the day-to-day & life & death issues can
distract us from Jesus.
a. Even those whom Jesus loves can become distracted by these things.
b. Brethren: In “Day-to-Day” issues, Jesus wants our lives to be in balance by making certain
that He comes first in our lives. ( Matthew 6:33-34 ), “Seek first God's kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take no thought for tomorrow.
Tomorrow will take care of itself; each day has enough trouble of its own.”
1) Therefore, Jesus wants us to be balanced in every area of our lives (marriage, family,
work, school, recreation, etc.).
2) This is only possible if we are willing to put Him “First”!
c. Guests: In “Life-or-Death” issues Jesus still wants to be first in our lives.
1) ( Romans 6:3-4 ), “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with
Christ through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead,
through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
2) So we see that baptism (immersion in water for the forgiveness of our sins, Acts
2:38 ), is a life-or-death issue (since we are joining with Christ in His death, burial,
and His resurrection).
3) Peter confirms this when he writes, “Baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt
from the flesh – but an appeal to God for a clear conscience through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ,” ( I Peter 3:21 ).