THE FEET OF JESUS

1. If we want to show respect to someone, how do we do it?

2. Our culture uses a variety of techniques.

3. We might let someone go ahead of us.

4. Respect can be indicated by seating placement (certain social situations have a “head table”).

5. Respect can come in the form of words like “Mister, Mrs.”

6. We have titles such as “Doctor, President, Senator.”

7. There are cultures where people bow.

8. We might inform someone of a decision we are about to make.

9. Even silence can indicate respect.

10. In the Bible we find examples of respect being indicated by getting down on the ground.

11. At times people literally “fell at the feet” of others.

MOST IN THIS ROOM HAVE PROBABLY USED MOST OF THE FORMS OF RESPECT MENTIONED MOMENTS AGO:

a) We have let someone go ahead of us, perhaps because they were more important.

b) We sat at a table that was not the head table.

c) We have addressed people by using some type of title or used silence.

d) Maybe we have even bowed.

2) How many of us have ever gotten down on the ground and put ourselves at the feet of another person?

3) Not many in this room and elsewhere have done that.

4) Yet, this is the very thing we find in the life of Jesus.

5) This lesson is entitled, “falling at the feet of Jesus.”

6) All the verses used in this lesson come from the gospels.

7) Our study starts with the last chapter of Matthew.

a) Since this is the last chapter in Matthew, we know that Jesus’ death has passed.

b) Not only has Jesus died, He has also returned from the tomb.

c) Women came to see the grave (Mt. 28:1).

d) An angel (verse 5) told the women Jesus was no longer in the grave; He was risen.

e) These women were told to go tell the disciples the good news.

f) These ladies were obedient to their heavenly message.

g) As they were going someone met them – verse 9 of Mt. 28 – READ.

8) Women fell down at the feet of the Lord.
Not only did they fall down on the ground before His feet, they “grabbed on to Him.”

9) We grab things (people) for various reasons.

a) In the case of people, grabbing is typically done for three reasons.

b) Someone may be very angry and the anger causes them to grab another in a fit of rage.

c) Grabbing is related to danger – we may be trying to rescue someone from danger.

d) A third reason (and this the purpose in Mt. 28) combines love and gratitude.

10) We have all seen some type of situation where a loved one was rescued from danger.

11) After the rescue the one who was saved is grabbed (tightly held) by friends and family.

12) These women were so thrilled with joy they fell at the Lord’s feet and held on to Him.

13) There was also some fear in their hearts (verse 10), but we also infer there was great joy.

14) These women went to the tomb to find about the Lord and the received the best possible news.

WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE OVERWHELMING JOY IN MATTHEW 28 AND UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD HAVE MOVED THESE WOMEN TO DO WHAT THEY DID. WHAT ABOUT EARLIER TIMES FROM THE LORD’S LIFE? DID CONTACT WITH JESUS MOVE OTHERS TO THS SAME TYPE OF ACTION?

a) Let’s pick up with the next gospel, Mk. 5:22.

b) In Mk. 5 we read about a man named Jairus.

c) Jairus lived in an area where a lot of people had not been too enthused about Jesus.

d) In fact, the Lord had previously been asked to depart from this area.

e) Jairus was a synagogue ruler and synagogue people were often not friendly to the Christ.

2) This religious official had a need – he had a 12 year old daughter who was at the point of death.

3) He came to the Lord and asked for his child to be healed.

4) Before Jesus got to this man’s house, He used up some time with a woman who had been sick for 12 years.

5) We might say Jesus had a distraction because of a woman who was sick.

6) Sometimes we can get distracted and are not able to get back to what we were doing.

7) In this case, Jesus was distracted from a child who was at the very end of her life.

8) The child expired before Jesus was able to get to the dad’s house.

9) This synagogue ruler went from knowing his child was nearly gone to actually losing her.

10) When this man initially came to see the Lord this is what he did – Mk. 5:22 – READ.

a) ** has given me a new perspective on this story.

b) At the plant I work on church items until one of three A. P suppliers has a problem.

c) When one of these suppliers has a problem, they face a possible fine—a very expensive fine.

d) Fines can cost thousands and thousands of dollars.

e) When a fine is threatened, I negotiate, plead and will even do some begging to stop it.

f) About 6 other people do the same thing for other companies.

g) Not one time have I ever gotten on my hands and knees and begged.

h) Never have I fallen down at the feet of any engineer and said, “Please don’t issue a fine.”

i) None of the other people who do this job have gotten down on their faces either.

11) Who here has ever gotten down on the ground before another person?

12) Some of us have negotiated.

13) Parents have sometimes begged and pleaded with their children—“Don’t marry him/her.”

14) Adults do not lie down at the feet of another unless they collapse.

15) Children may lay down for a tantrum, but they do not fall down at a parent’s feet and beg.

16) Jesus had people fall down at His feet and that implies something about Him was unique.

17) In Mt. 28, a text already read, Jesus’ uniqueness is partly associated with the resurrection.

18) In Mk. 5, it is joined with His being able to cure diseases no one else could cure.

19) If we just had these two accounts we might not think too much about it; there is more.

20) Two chapters later in Mark we again have someone at the Lord’s feet.

21) It is a woman who had a child (a daughter). Mark describes this child as “little.”

22) We see small children who have terrible problems – cancer, AIDS, heart problems, blindness.

23) Here was a child possessed by a demon. Satan is so cruel he afflicted children.

24) This woman was not a Jew; she was really outside the scope of the Lord’s ministry.

25) Yet, the problem was so severe and she was so desperate she came and she begged.

26) Mk. 7:25 – READ.

27) By combining the three passages introduced so far we see being at the feet of Jesus is joined with desperation and gratitude.

28) Desperation and gratitude are basically a summary of Christianity and the gospel.

29) Man is desperate because of sin. We cannot solve the problem of sin on our own.

30) Professional help will not take care of sin; we need divine help.

31) Jesus came to provide that divine help and our response to His salvation is to be great gratitude.

32) There is an interesting story in Lk. 7.

33) Part of what makes this account so fascinating is a perfect tense verb.

a) The perfect tense means something happened in the past but the results are on-going.

b) Suppose someone says, “I signed up to get a social security check.”

c) That action was done at a specific time, but the person does not expect a single check.

d) Sign up was on a certain date, but the effects of that sign-up continue (a check month after month).

34) Jesus said this woman had been “forgiven” (Lk. 7:47, perfect tense).

35) This seems to tell us the woman had been forgiven at a previous time.

36) This conclusion helps explain why the woman did what she did.

a) Lk. 7:37 says this woman was known as a “sinner.”

b) Luke does not state why she was regarded as such, but there have been some suggestions.

c) When this lady is close to the Lord, she begins to do some things – verse 38 – READ.

37) It is pretty hard to “kiss feet” unless the body is on the floor or close to the floor.

38) Because this woman had been forgiven of her sins (and they were many), she was grateful (verse 47).

39) She showed her gratitude by being at the feet of Jesus, kissing His feet, and even crying.

40) Here is a passage that demonstrates the right kind of gratitude we should have towards the desperation created by sin.

41) In America I’m not sure how much desperation the average person feels about sin.

42) It’s also not clear that our culture still has a lot of gratitude about salvation.

43) In many respects the United States is a “give me culture.”

a) Being an American leaves some with the impression that we are guaranteed to all the good stuff.

b) Whatever is pleasant to the eye and good for life, it is our American right to have it.

c) Maybe our culture has come to see salvation as a matter of citizenship.

d) For many, heaven and eternal life are just one more benefit from being a U.S. citizen.

44) Citizenship in heaven is not linked with any earthly nation.

45) It comes from knowing what sin is, accepting the cure for it from God, and then being grateful.

46) If we are a Christian, how grateful are we to God from saving us from sin and darkness?

47) Are we more grateful than the women in Lk. 7, less grateful, or about the same?

48) As we think about that question, let’s also consider verse 45 – READ.

49) Jesus recognized the fact that not everyone who knows about Him is grateful.

50) There are those who are not willing to prostrate themselves before Him.

51) We cannot be literally at the Lord’s feet because He is no longer upon the earth.

52) Figuratively speaking we can be at His feet. We can, as it were, lay our life down on the altar.

53) Jesus said to take up His cross and follow Him. We do that when we lay down at His feet.

54) How many of us have said, “God my life is yours?”

55) There are those who look at Christ and say, “You are a good choice. I want to be associated with You.”

56) “Lord, you stay over there and I’ll be right over in the next county.

57) That is too far away.

58) If we realize who Jesus was (God in the flesh, Jn. 1:14), and who He is now (has all authority, Mt. 28), we must be at His feet.

59) This means a life surrendered to and dedicated to doing the will of God.

60) Part of being at the Lord’s feet is described in Lk. 10:39.

a) Once again we have two women.

b) One was in the kitchen and one was at the Lord’s feet.

c) Here is how the verse reads – 10:39 - READ.

d) When we are studying the Word of God, we are also “at the Lord’s feet.”

61) We sing songs about the Lord’s feet. People have written poems about the Lord’s feet.

62) Here is part of one poem:

63) At the feet of Jesus, Listening to His word; Learning wisdom’s lesson From her loving Lord;

64) Mary, seeking heaven’s grace, Chose the meek disciple’s place. At the feet of Jesus Is the place for me, There a humble learner Would I choose to be.

65) At the feet of Jesus, Pouring perfume rare, Mary did her Savior For the grave prepare;

66) And, from love the “good work” done, She her Lord’s approval won. At the feet of Jesus

67) Is the place for me, There, in sweetest service, Would I ever be.

68) We sing songs with a similar theme.

69) How many of us remember these words:

70) Lord, we come before Thee now, At Thy feet we humbly bow.

71) I like that song and those words, but I wonder a bit about the word “bow.”

72) Jesus is worth a lot more than a bow.

73) One song that really captures the spirit of things is “all hail the power of Jesus name.”

74) In this song are these words: “let angels prostrate fall.”

75) Angels know who is in charge. They show respect and honor for God.

76) What about us? Have we surrendered our lives to God?

77) We have one more chance to do that and do that today.

78) If we have not made that decision and stayed with that decision, it is time to change and change now.