Tuesday Morning, May 29
"Thou hatest wickedness."
Psalm 45:7
"Be ye angry, and sin not." There can hardly be goodness in a man if he be not angry at sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Thrice it assailed him in different forms, but ever he met it with, "Get thee behind me, Satan." He hated it in others; none the less fervently because he showed his hate oftener in tears of pity than in words of rebuke; yet what language could be more stern, more Elijah-like, than the words, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer." He hated wickedness, so much that he bled to wound it to the heart; he died that it might die; he was buried that he might bury it in his tomb; and he rose that he might forever trample it beneath his feet. Christ is in the Gospel, and that Gospel is opposed to wickedness in every shape. Wickedness arrays itself in fair garments, and imitates the language of holiness; but the precepts of Jesus, like his famous scourge of small cords, chase it out of the temple, and will not tolerate it in the Church. So, too, in the heart where Jesus reigns, what war there is between Christ and Belial! And when our Redeemer shall come to be our Judge, those thundering words, "Depart, ye cursed" which are, indeed, but a prolongation of his life-teaching concerning sin, shall manifest his abhorrence of iniquity. As warm as is his love to sinners, so hot is his hatred of sin; as perfect as is his righteousness, so complete shall be the destruction of every form of wickedness. O thou glorious champion of right, and destroyer of wrong, for this cause hath God, even thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
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Evening, May 29
"Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho."
Joshua 6:26
Since he was cursed who rebuilt Jericho, much more the man who labours to restore Popery among us. In our fathers' days the gigantic walls of Popery fell by the power of their faith, the perseverance of their efforts, and the blast of their gospel trumpets; and now there are some who would rebuild that accursed system upon its old foundation. O Lord, be pleased to thwart their unrighteous endeavours, and pull down every stone which they build. It should be a serious business with us to be thoroughly purged of every error which may have a tendency to foster the spirit of Popery, and when we have made a clean sweep at home we should seek in every way to oppose its all too rapid spread abroad in the church and in the world. This last can be done in secret by fervent prayer, and in public by decided testimony. We must warn with judicious boldness those who are inclined towards the errors of Rome; we must instruct the young in gospel truth, and tell them of the black doings of Popery in the olden times. We must aid in spreading the light more thoroughly through the land, for priests, like owls, hate daylight. Are we doing all we can for Jesus and the gospel? If not, our negligence plays into the hands of the priestcraft. What are we doing to spread the Bible, which is the Pope's bane and poison? Are we casting abroad good, sound gospel writings? Luther once said, "The devil hates goose quills" and, doubtless, he has good reason, for ready writers, by the Holy Spirit's blessing, have done his kingdom much damage. If the thousands who will read this short word this night will do all they can to hinder the rebuilding of this accursed Jericho, the Lord's glory shall speed among the sons of men. Reader, what can you do? What will you do?
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When Martha welcomed Jesus and his contingent into her home in Bethany (Luke 10:38–42) there could have been a hundred or more people. The seventy-two had just rejoined Jesus after their itinerant ministry tours. And considering his fame at this point, no doubt his visit attracted a number of locals.
And when the group had packed inside, Jesus taught them. But Martha wasn't one of "them" because she was too busy to listen. Luke describes her as "distracted with much serving" (Luke 10:40).
Now, removed from the situation it's tempting to be condescending. Oh for goodness' sake, Martha! Jesus is in your house and you're too busy to listen to him?
What About You?
But put yourself in Martha's place for a moment. How distracted would you be if a hundred people crowded into your home? Add to this your high cultural value of Near-Eastern hospitality with its keen fear of dishonoring guests, especially important ones. Then remember that it's Jesus in your home. He's the Messiah, the most important person in your nation's history, and, in fact, human history.
Would you be distracted by how your place looked or how you would feed this crowd or how many trips must be made to the well (no pre-packaged food or running water to help)?
It seems to me that Martha isn't the strange person in this story. Mary is. What's remarkable is that Mary wasn't distracted. She ignored the insistent to-do lists so she could listen to Jesus.
And this irritated Martha. She was working like crazy while Mary just sat there. Martha considered this either laziness or negligence. Exasperated, she finally appealed to Jesus: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me" (Luke 10:40).
How Jesus Called It
Now, Jesus loves to commend diligent servants:
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. (Matthew 24:45–46)
But in this case Jesus didn't commend Martha. He reproved her:
Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:41–42)
To just about everyone else present, Martha's serving probably appeared to flow from a gracious servant heart. But Jesus discerned differently. He saw that Martha was serving out of anxiety, not grace.
Subtle and Deceptive
What was making Martha anxious? We know she was anxious about "many things." But we need only examine our own similar anxieties to guess the likely root. I think Martha was anxious over how she pleased or impressed Jesus and her guests. She was troubled at the thought that her home and serving might reflect poorly on her and her family. And this anxiety blinded her to the "one thing necessary" — listening to Jesus — and made many unnecessary tasks feel compulsively urgent.
This kind of anxiety is very subtle. It has a selfish root but its fruit looks deceptively like unselfishness. It's the desire for approval dressed up to look like the desire to serve. It's my caring what you think of me dressed up to look like my caring for you. It can be so subtle that we don't see it clearly. It looks so much like the right thing that we believe it is the right thing. That's why Martha was confident that Jesus would agree with her about Mary.
But Mary had chosen the "one thing necessary," the "good portion." At that moment, Mary was more enthralled with Jesus than with Mary. She cared more about what Jesus said than what others thought of her or her home. And because of this Jesus commended her choice not to serve.
Stop, Rest, Listen
Jesus' gentle rebuke of Martha was an act of love — to her and to us. We are all Marthas at times. And through this correction Jesus is asking us: whom are we serving in our serving? No one's motives are ever completely pure. But when we feel compelled to "serve" out of a self-conscious anxiety over what others think, it's likely we are serving our own glory and not Jesus' glory.
And Jesus seeks to free us from this slavery by inviting us to stop working, rest at his feet, and listen to him.
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/whom-are-you-really-serving
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