At The Feet Of Jesus

AT THE FEET OF JESUS

There are some interesting things that happened at the feet of Jesus. And each event carried a specific significance to it. Today we'll focus on three of them.

1) At his feet in humility.

Chris Tomlin, "We Fall Down": "We fall down, We lay our crowns, At the feet of Jesus, The greatness of, Mercy and love, At the feet of Jesus, We cry holy, holy, holy, Is the lamb." In these lyrics we see the focus on humility, reverence, mercy and love. You can find this focus in

Matt. 15:29-30, "Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them."

The act of laying the people at the feet of Jesus indicated they were humbly pleading for mercy. They knew Jesus could heal their loved ones but their approach wasn't prideful or demanding; it was humble and pleading. You see this same demeanor throughout the gospels.

In Mark 5 you have a synagogue ruler named Jairus, coming and falling at Jesus' feet, pleading for him to heal his ailing daughter. As a ruler, it's doubtful that Jairus would fall at anyone's feet but in the presence of Jesus it was different; Jairus' high position didn't matter. I don't care how powerful you are, how rich you are, what status you have; in the presence of Jesus we are inferior. Every knee will bow to Jesus-the one who has all power.

As Jesus was going with Jairus to heal his daughter, he has the encounter with the woman who had the bleeding issue. She believed if she just touched his cloak she would be healed. When she did that, Jesus knew power had gone out of him and he stopped and asked who touched him.

Knowing Jesus was looking for her, she nervously came forward. Vs. 33 says she came and fell at his feet, and trembling in fear, told him everything. She was afraid because she was an unclean woman who just touched a Rabbi; technically making him unclean. But Jesus didn't scold her, he acknowledged her faith and freed her from her suffering.

Sometimes we might be afraid to approach Jesus; especially when we sin. We're ashamed to come and ask forgiveness for the sin we've committed for the thousandth time. But if we come to Jesus in humility and repentance we find forgiveness and mercy. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

How do we approach Jesus? Do we have a demanding spirit? Do we think he should do whatever we ask because we serve him; like he owes us something? Are we impatient with him? "I want you to do this right now!" Whether we desire healing, provision, protection, whatever it is, we need to humbly lay our requests at the feet of Jesus and ask that he be merciful and hear our prayers.

2) At his feet in worship.

After Jesus rose from the grave, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses went to the tomb. Not knowing that he had already resurrected, they were surprised to see an angel instead. He told them to go and tell the disciples. As they hurried off in joy and wonder, Jesus met them.

Matt. 28:9-10, "Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."

Can you imagine their awe and amazement when Jesus greeted them? Think about the reaction people have when they're surprised by a visit from a loved one they hadn't seen in a while. They smile, shout, cry, run over to them and throw their arms around them. There would be no greater joy than seeing your Lord and Savior who was put to death a few days ago, standing before you alive and well.

But they didn't run up and throw their arms around him in excitement. They knew their place and whose presence they were in. So out of humility and respect, they clasped his feet in reverent worship and honored him in his holiness. True worship of Jesus involves us knowing our place, like John the Baptist, who said he wasn't worthy to untie Jesus' sandals. Do we see ourselves as unworthy servants? Do we give Jesus the honor that is due him in reverent worship? Are we in awe of Jesus? Does he amaze us?

In Luke 5 the disciples had been fishing all night but had come up empty. Jesus told Peter to throw the net off the right side of the boat. Peter reluctantly obeyed and Jesus performed a miracle and provided so many fish the nets began to break. This affected Peter on a deeply spiritual level.