Study 3 "The First Essential Requirement"
We spent time looking at the story of Jesus, Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 and noted the following:
Martha's fault was not in that she was serving per se: she probably wanted to do her best for Jesus when He came to visit. She scolds Jesus for not seeing how she was unable to cope with her service ("Lord, don't you care...?", v/40). Jesus tenderly ("Martha, Martha...") reproves her not for her work, but for her attitude. She was "worried and upset about many things" (v.41). Edmund Chan has this insight into the story - if Mary had a similar worried and upset attitude, she would have told Jesus to ask Martha to quit all her unspiritual serving and to join her at Jesus' feet as a disciple before her Teacher (c.f. Acts 22:3).
So the issue is not what we are doing - it has to do with the inner state of restedness before Christ. We are asked to have a spiritual focus on Him regardless of our outward activity, whether in Christian service or in a setting of Christian worship and learning.
Jesus tells Martha that "one thing is necessary". In other passages that speak of "one thing" (Ps 27:4, Mk 10:21, Phil 3:13) "one thing" is equated with devotion to God. We can safely say that "one thing" has to do with the "good portion" (c.f. Ps 16:5, Ps 73:28), God Himself. Others may feel that they have gotten the best of life, but as long as we have Christ, in truth we will have received the best that life can offer.
The second passage in John 7:37-38 Jesus equates "coming" and "drinking" with "believing". Water in Scripture most often is a symbol of spiritual life. We are to receive from Christ the life-giving Spirit, and with Him flowing out of us in power, we are then enabled to give life to others. There is no life without the Spirit, hence the need for the disciples to wait for His fullness before going to witness to the world (Acts 1).
We looked at the centrality of Jesus in the diagram of the 4 calls. Jesus is the Source, Sustainer and Goal of the discipleship process (c.f. Ro 11:38). Jesus distinguishes the Christian discipleship process from every other discipleship because Christian discipleship involves relationship with a Person, not an understanding of a philosophy or system.
Jesus asked His first disciples (and He asks us as well) to be with Him (Mk 3:14) before He sends us out to serve, because we are asked to know and imitate His character, as well as to learn His teaching. Our witness must therefore come both with Christlikeness and truthfulness, or it loses credibility.
Martha's fault was not in that she was serving per se: she probably wanted to do her best for Jesus when He came to visit. She scolds Jesus for not seeing how she was unable to cope with her service ("Lord, don't you care...?", v/40). Jesus tenderly ("Martha, Martha...") reproves her not for her work, but for her attitude. She was "worried and upset about many things" (v.41). Edmund Chan has this insight into the story - if Mary had a similar worried and upset attitude, she would have told Jesus to ask Martha to quit all her unspiritual serving and to join her at Jesus' feet as a disciple before her Teacher (c.f. Acts 22:3).
So the issue is not what we are doing - it has to do with the inner state of restedness before Christ. We are asked to have a spiritual focus on Him regardless of our outward activity, whether in Christian service or in a setting of Christian worship and learning.
Jesus tells Martha that "one thing is necessary". In other passages that speak of "one thing" (Ps 27:4, Mk 10:21, Phil 3:13) "one thing" is equated with devotion to God. We can safely say that "one thing" has to do with the "good portion" (c.f. Ps 16:5, Ps 73:28), God Himself. Others may feel that they have gotten the best of life, but as long as we have Christ, in truth we will have received the best that life can offer.
The second passage in John 7:37-38 Jesus equates "coming" and "drinking" with "believing". Water in Scripture most often is a symbol of spiritual life. We are to receive from Christ the life-giving Spirit, and with Him flowing out of us in power, we are then enabled to give life to others. There is no life without the Spirit, hence the need for the disciples to wait for His fullness before going to witness to the world (Acts 1).
We looked at the centrality of Jesus in the diagram of the 4 calls. Jesus is the Source, Sustainer and Goal of the discipleship process (c.f. Ro 11:38). Jesus distinguishes the Christian discipleship process from every other discipleship because Christian discipleship involves relationship with a Person, not an understanding of a philosophy or system.
Jesus asked His first disciples (and He asks us as well) to be with Him (Mk 3:14) before He sends us out to serve, because we are asked to know and imitate His character, as well as to learn His teaching. Our witness must therefore come both with Christlikeness and truthfulness, or it loses credibility.
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