In John 20:31 we are given a clear purpose statement for everything the Apostle John writes about Jesus Christ. He writes so that we who read might believe in the name of Jesus. This is a bold statement and begs a question I hope we can answer today.

The question isn’t just “what’s in a name?” but “Who’s in that name of Jesus?”

“WHO is in that name of Jesus?”

If I say, “I am David,” does that name David describe who I am at heart? It might, if you get to know me and then can begin to associate my name with what makes me tick — with what is quite naturally me — who I truly am at heart.

The key principle here is that unless you come to know personally the person identified by that name, the name is simply an identifier of a space and time-occupier, an identifier of how that person is related positionally to others. And so, if believing in the name of Jesus Christ means believing in the true, living, actual, real person of Jesus Christ, then it demands that we get to know him personally and discover what’s in his heart — who he is most naturally and always toward us.

Did you catch my use of the word “heart”?

We could be confused about the word’s meaning because there are 3 dozen common English idioms using the word heart. The most common describe our emotions… (like someone saying, “You are breaking my heart,” or “Don’t lose heart.”) But, the heart in biblical terms refers not just to part of who we are, but more appropriately all of who we are. Your heart is not just your emotions, or your mindset about something, or what you like or want. The heart in the Scriptures is the deepest, most fundamental truth about who we are as individuals.

Your heart is who you are most naturally – who you are at reflex level (e.g., the “default” setting of who we are as a person). It defines you as a person and ultimately controls your decisions. Your heart gives rise to your deepest desires, and sets the direction of your life. In the end, you cannot go against your heart.

This is why each of us need TOTAL transformation — total transformation of heart! This is why we can speak of the salvation we have in Christ as John did — as being born again or raised from the dead; as being transferred from death to life or redeemed from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light. It’s not just your emotions that are raised from the dead. It’s not just your thinking that is transferred from death to life. ALL of you has been redeemed – every part and all of YOU. That is, your HEART has been redeemed.

Your name identifies you as a separate individual, but it does not define you. It is your heart which defines you. And without knowing your heart, I can never really know who the person is identified by your name.

The same things can be said of the person of Jesus Christ who took up our human nature and seeks to know us heart to heart. God’s heart is who He fully is. It is what His name stands for. It is who He is personally. He cannot go against His heart because He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

How does Jesus describe his heart?

The only place Jesus’ answers that question is in Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me… Learn of me for I am gentle (the soft touch, the tender heart, the pure kindness of God taking up human nature) and humble (lowly) in heart… Take my yoke (i.e., my life) upon you…”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

We must come to the Christ!

• to come and keep coming to Jesus, to discover who he is in his heart toward us
• to never stop looking and learning from him
• to keep leaning in to hear his voice.

Mary of Bethany sitting at the feet of Jesus is an example of how intentional, how committed we must be to coming and learning from Jesus what’s in His heart.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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! “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 NIV

Note v. 39

Mary was “seated at the Lord’s feet…listening to His word.”

Mary’s posture and focus on Christ revealed a beautiful, receptive mind and devoted spirit in her. The Gk. Word for “listening” is akouen (ἤκουεν | ēkouen) which indicates more than the sensory process of listening. It includes an evident willingness to respond to what is being heard, to act appropriately in response to whatever is being said. It is translated as listening but could be “kept listening for what was for her personally.” We might say, Mary was actively and intentionally subduing her mind to the mind of Jesus, her life to His wishes, her time to His pleasure, her heart to His love.

Note vv. 40-41

BUT Martha was “distracted” with all her preparations and in the words of Jesus, “worried and bothered about so many things.” And then, she questioned Jesus’ love for her, “Do you not care?” and demanded that Jesus should make Mary help her.

In the busyness and responsibilities of our lives, are we also “distracted, worried and bothered”? Jesus would have us return to the ONE thing that’s most important…

Note v. 41b

“Martha, Martha…” I believe Jesus (who heart is gentle and lowly) spoke Martha’s name with great affection and tenderness. Her name thus spoken was an invitation to take a seat with Mary and hear his gentle rebuke (contrary to most pictures that depict Martha standing over Jesus and Mary, and Jesus angrily rebuking her).

Matthew 11:28-30 became a “life verse” for me when I understood the importance of Jesus’ heart in his invitation to come and learn from him. He was off in the distance or on some unsurmountable height, but right next to me, with his arm around me saying, “David, David, come sit with me, follow me, learn from me.”

The question raised by this story is not whether disciples sit or serve. The point is we do both – but only and always seeking to do so IN CHRIST – abiding in His word already spoken, seeking to hear His voice in the heart, adoring Him personally as Lord and the only Savior. AFTER priorities were settled, it’s more than likely that Jesus sent Mary to help Martha finish preparing the meal.

Note v.42

“Only one thing is necessary…” Mary has chosen (decided, committed to) “the good part” (NIV, “what is better”). The text is silent about Mary’s reaction to Martha’s attempt to get Jesus to rebuke Mary. It’s as though Mary didn’t even hear Martha’s complaints to Jesus. She chose to be fixed on Jesus, not herself.

This morning, what distracts and worries us so that we cannot be still and know God’s heart as we must?

Martha’s distraction may be ours. If these things distract and worry us also, how can we possibly sit quiet and still “at Jesus feet? — attentive to Jesus, glorying in His presence?”

• Questioning God’s care, “Do you not care…?
• Prideful self-concern: “My sister has left me to serve alone.
• Dismissiveness of others: Martha identified Mary as “my sister,” as though Mary is not even there.
• Demanding attitude toward God: “Tell her to help me.” Martha attempts to control the situation—and manipulate the Son of God with her comments.

GOOD NEWS!!!

We can return to knowing Christ intimately and personally! But, our perception of who Jesus is and our self-perception must change.

Martha forgot for a moment that the breath of the Almighty was speaking life into her home. She saw herself as the host and the one responsible for making the visit of Jesus a meaningful one. She put her hope in the works of her hands, not the presence and words of Christ. Martha forgot how greatly Jesus loved her beyond her work.

But Mary…

Mary remembered how greatly Jesus loved her for herself. Jesus, the Lord, had sought them out to spend time with them instead of the multitudes demanding his attention. This time was his time. Her home and her heart belonged to him. Mary would wait to do what he wanted done. She was ready to receive his word as if spoken only for her. Mary remembered that in Jesus, the Lord, choosing her, speaking to her, and investing his own precious life in her there was absolutely nothing more important than listening to him, responding to his seeking, loving heart with her own. Mary saw Jesus for who he is, the Living Word of God — the Fountain of Life. She saw herself as his child-student and desperate for whatever he wanted to give her family in that moment.

“We have nothing to say to God but thank you. No place to give him but a home in our heart. No gift to offer but unguarded receptivity. Mary received Him … into life’s only two treasures: her heart and her time. This was her house. She gave Him the space to be Himself, to define — reveal — His Own Splendid Being. No others did that, not even the disciples who wanted Him for the superhero of their imagination.”

Martha Kilpatrick (Adoration, pp 27-28)

Today, brothers and sisters, we too have a choice between being distracted by our own anxieties and responsibilities, or quietly trusting and yielding to the only One who can take us through this moment to life eternal.

We must CHOOSE as Mary chose…bowing to God’s heart of love for us.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near [Here! In this house!]. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

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Additional Resources

Audio of this sermon based on these notes delivered on July 2, 2023 at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Castleton, NY.

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Linda Baker, with Amy Hirschoff at the piano, shared this beautiful freestyle, spoken poetry after the sermon presented on July 2: Greatly Loved by Hosanna Wong

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