Sunday, May 09, 2010

[Matt's Messages] "More Blesssed Than Jesus' Mom"

“More Blessed Than Jesus’ Mom”
Certain of Jesus:  The Gospel of Luke
May 9, 2010
Luke 11:27-28

I noticed last week, as we were stopping with Jesus’ call for us to choose Him [because He is stronger than Satan!] in verse 26 that the very next verse was about mothers!  And, how appropriate, I thought, for our next passage to be about mothers for Mother’s Day.

It’s just 2 verses.  In verse 27, a woman yells out a blessing on Jesus and His mother.  In verse 28, Jesus responds to this woman with what could be a surprising statement.

And it’s that statement that I want to apply especially to the moms here this morning.

Let’s read it and then think about what it means for us today.

Luke 11:27 and 28.

“As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, ‘Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.’  He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”

Remember that things are heating up in Jesus’ world.

Jesus is in conflict with many of the people around Him.

In the coming weeks, we’ll see him against what He calls, “This Generation” which is wicked and opposed to Him, and we’ll see Him against the Pharisees. 

He’s going to pronounce “Woe!” on them because of how they are mistreating God’s people and not loving God–even while pretending to very much.

Last week, we saw that some in the crowd had claimed that Jesus was in league with Satan!

That’s how intense things are getting for Jesus right now.

And in the middle that, in the middle of Jesus’ response to that, this woman calls out of the crowd this blessing on Jesus and His mom.  V.27

‘Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.’”

Literally, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you.”

The woman who did that is blessed!

This woman had caught a glimpse of how amazing Jesus really is.

And she thought that the woman who had been Jesus’ mother must be really blessed.

Was she?

Yes, she was.  The Gospel of Luke has already told us that.  Mary was blessed to carry Jesus.  She says in her song, “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is His name” (Luke 1:48b-49).

Mary was blessed to carry Jesus.

But that’s not what Jesus responds to this woman.

That’s now where Jesus goes.

Jesus has something else to say.  Something even better than being His mom.

Here’s our title for today:

“More Blessed Than Jesus’ Mom”

You’d think that being Jesus’ Mom would be the height of blessing.

It doesn’t get much better than that!

But that’s not what Jesus says.  V.28 of Luke chapter 11.

“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”

Now, hear this: Jesus is NOT disagreeing with this woman.

The Greek word translated “rather” in the NIV of verse 28 can mean, “No, you’ve got it wrong.  Mary was not blessed.  Instead, this is where blessings is...”

But that’s not what it means here.  Here, it means, “Yes, that’s blessing, but how much more is this blessing....”

Or, “Indeed, but that’s nothing compared (rather) than this...”

King James nails it here.  It says, “Yea rather...”  “Yes rather.”

Jesus is not discounting the blessing God gave to His earthly mom.

But He is saying that there is something greater.

A greater blessing.

More blessed than Jesus’ mom are (v.28) “those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Wow.

You might have thought that having the Son of God roll around in your tummy was about as good as it gets.

And it’s pretty cool!

But there is something more cool.  And that’s hearing and obeying the word of God.

Isn’t Jesus surprising?

I find Jesus’ relationship with His mom in the gospels to be really fascinating.

He honors her, He takes care of her, He loves her.

But He doesn’t make the mistake that many people do today of putting Mary up on a pedestal somewhere, even worshiping her, or opening the door to worshiping her.

Instead, at all of the points where you might think that Jesus would get to Mary-praising (like some religious traditions do), Jesus deliberately changes the focus of the conversation back to Himself and back to God Himself.

Like he does here.

Without “dissing” his Mom in the slightest, Jesus says it’s more blessed to hear the word of God and obey it than to be His Mom.

That’s amazing!

So, here’s the Word of God to use today.

Do you want to be blessed?

More blessed than Mary was as the mother of Jesus?

Then #1.  Hear the Word of God.
And #2.  Obey the Word of God.

Does that sound familiar?

Back in chapter 8, Jesus had been told that His mother and brothers had been stuck outside unable to get backstage passes to see Him.

And Jesus had said, “My mother and brother [my real family] are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

That’s where the blessing is.

Now, that’s true for all of us.  Everyone here.

And we should all take this to heart.

But because it’s Mother’s Day, I want to specifically apply this to the moms among us.

Everybody else can make the jumps to their own lives, but I want to speak directly to our moms here today.

I want you to have this blessing and I want you to feel this blessing as you’ve already lived it out.

So, two points this morning.

#1. BLESSED IS THE MOM WHO HEARS THE WORD OF GOD.

Every year at Mother’s Day, I ask my wife what the moms need to hear.

“Sweetheart, what do the moms need to hear this year?”

And when I told her about this text being our text for today, she said, “Moms need to hear that they need to get into the Word of God.  They need to read their Bibles.  They need to sit at Jesus’ feet like Mary two chapters ago.  Moms need the Bible no matter what stage they are in in life.  That’s what they need to hear!  Read your Bibles!”

So, that’s what I’m saying to you this morning!

“Hear the Word of God.”

You need to put yourself in the way of the Word.

And that’s no matter how old your kids are.

You have an infant and you don’t sleep very much?

You need to hear the Word.

You have a toddler, and he doesn’t give you much breathing space?

You need to hear the Word.

You have a teenager, and your life is in the mini-van?  

You need to hear the Word.

If you want blessing, more blessed than being Jesus’ mom!  You’ve got to hear the Word.

One of the mothers in our church wrote me about that this week.  She said, “Oh, by the way, your sermon a few weeks ago really hit home with me.  It was about spending time with Jesus.  Your sermon reminded me to spend more time with Someone I love–Jesus.  You may think we sleep with our eyes open, but some times we actually listen to your sermons.”

That’s a mom.

It’s hard for moms to find the time to hear the Word.  But it’s vital!

Do you know the name Jill Briscoe?

She was a popular Bible teacher for women in the last generation.

Heather heard Jill Briscoe teach once about being a mommy with small kids, and how you have to do what you have to do to get into the Word for yourself even with small kids.

What Jill would do was to crawl into the kids’ cribs with her Bible and hide from the kids while they ran around the room, and she met with Jesus.

Blessed Is the Mom Who Hears the Word of God.

More Blessed Than Jesus’ Mom!

What are you doing to get in the “way of the Word?”

What changes do you need to make to get there?

I’m sure that the moms who have grown children right now will tell you that it’s not much easier now that they are out of the house to do it.

But that it’s worth it.

Blessed Is the Mom Who Hears the Word of God.

You moms that have been there and done that—thank you!  Thank you for being godly moms that devour the Word of God!

Thank you for being those kind of moms. Those are best kinds of moms!

Moms who love God’s Word.

You are experiencing and will experience the blessing of God!

Blessed Is the Mom Who Hears the Word of God.

Of course, it’s not enough to just hear it.  Right?

The book of James says that we can’t just listen to the word and forget what it says.

We have to be like Nike, right and “Just Do It.”

#2.  BLESSED THE MOM WHO OBEYS GOD’S WORD.

This is the Mom who doesn’t just look into the mirror and forget what she sees.

Moms, you didn’t do that this morning, did you?

You didn’t get up, look in the mirror...“Oh, bed-head.  Oh, well!”  And then ignore what you saw, did you?

It doesn’t look like it from up here.

I don’t see any maternal bedheads up here.

No, you said, “Oh, I have to do something about that.” And you did.

And you all look very nice.

The blessing from God comes not just when we hear God’s Word, but when we put it into practice.  When we obey.

Blessed Is the Mom Who Obeys God’s Word.

More blessed than Mary for just being Jesus’ mom.

What does God’s word say to Moms.  Many things.

Let me remind you of three.

#1.  Turn to Jesus.

God’s Word says that to all of us, doesn’t it?

Jesus died on the Cross to save sinners.  Sinners like you and me who turn from our sins and turn to trust in Jesus.

It all starts there.

It starts with turning to Jesus.

Have you done that?

Moms, have you done that?

Your kids need you to, if you haven’t.

And your kids are blessed, too, if you have.

God’s Word says to turn and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Obey God’s Word and be blessed.

#2.  Train Up Your Kids.

A blessed Mom raises their kids in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

She disciplines them.
She shows them the path that God has for us, and exhorts them to stick to it.

A godly Mom sees her home as a school.   Whether she “homeschools” or not, she knows that her kids are learning in her home.

That’s why Proverbs 6 says, “My son keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.  When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.  For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life..”

That’s your mother’s teaching.

She hears the Word of God and then she teaches it to you.

Train up your kids.

Mothers who have done this, THANK YOU!

Thank you for teaching your kids about Jesus.
Thank you for bringing them to church.
Thank you for praying with them by their bedsides.
Thank you for doing devotions with them.
Thank you for explaining the gospel to them.

When I was a kid, I was mom’s shadow.

You know that song, “Me and My Shadow?”

That was me and Mom when I was little kid.

I followed her around the house while she worked, and I talked to her.

Talked her ear off!

And Mom would use those times as teachable moments to just nudge me in God’s direction.

And she would sing as she worked.  She sang all of the Gaither songs about Jesus and bunch of other songs like the ones we’ve sung.

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  There’s just something about that name.”

I didn’t learn that in church so much as just following Mom around the house.

You think it’s a small thing.  But that’s the kind of thing that makes disciples.

Train up your kids to love and follow Jesus.

Obey God’s Word and be blessed.

More Blessed than Mary for being Jesus’ Mom.

And #3. Trust God With Your Kids.

God’s Word tells us to trust God with our children.

We can’t control them.
We can’t make all of their choices for them.

Eventually, they are completely on their own, and what happens to them is between them and God.

So we have to trust them to God.

And trust that He knows best what to do with them.

I think of Hannah in the Old Testament with having to let little Samuel go.

I’m glad that we don’t have to do that today.

But she trusted God with Samuel.

And we need to continually offer up our children to Lord as well.

He knows best.

Moms, trust God with your kids.

I know that’s easier said than done!

Especially when they grow old.

But it’s the godly mom’s only godly option!

Blessed is the Mom who Obeys God and Trusts God with her kids.

You know who did that really well?

Mary.

Mary the Mother of Jesus.

Yes, she was not more blessed than you and me just because she carried Jesus to term.

But Mary was blessed because she heard God’s Word and Obeyed It.

Mary said, “May it be to me as [God has] said.”

Mary accepted God’s special role for her in faith and obedience.

And she was blessed for it.

Do you want to be blessed?

I want so much blessing for the women of our church.

For all of us.

But especially, today, for the moms.

And blessing comes with hearing God’s word and obeying it.

Turning to Jesus.
Training up our kids.
And trusting God with them.

Because God says so.

That’s where blessing comes from.

More blessing than even being Jesus’ own mom.

_________________________
Messages So Far In this Series:

Certain of Jesus
The Back-Story of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Jesus - A Very Special Child
Preparing the Way for Jesus
Jesus Is the Son of God
Jesus in Galilee
Jesus and the Sinners
Jesus Brings Real Joy and Rest
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part One
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Two
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Three
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Four
Amazing Jesus
Disappointed with Jesus
Loving Jesus Much
Jesus' Real Family
Jesus Is Lord
Who Is Jesus?
Following Jesus
Sent By Jesus
Q&A With Jesus
Sitting at Jesus' Feet
Jesus Teaches Us to Pray 
Jesus Is Stronger Than Satan

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