AT HIS FEET (Sharing Her Woes)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 3/25/2012
Ladies, when was the last time your husband gave you a really good foot massage? If it’s been a while, I’m going to help you a little, okay. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve learned more about feet than I ever wanted to know. For instance, did you know that women are 4 times more likely to have problems with their feet than men are? That could be related to the fact that 9 out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small for them. If you’re one of those women, then you might be shopping at the wrong time of the day. Apparently the best time to by shoes is in the afternoon, because that’s when your feet are the most swollen from walking around all day. But even if you do wear the right size shoes, your feet are still likely to be sore by the end of the day because women are typically on the go more than men. The average woman will walk three miles more per day than the average man. So there you go. You just remind your husband of those little facts tonight and I practically handed you a foot massage!
If any woman in the New Testament knew about sore feet, it had to be Martha. Martha was always on the go. Last week we met Mary and Martha who had opened their home to Jesus and his twelve traveling companions. While Martha had been on her feet all day, worried and upset over all the preparations that had to be made, Mary found herself kneeling at the feet of Jesus, savoring His Word. At His feet, Mary had discovered the one thing that mattered most in life—knowing and fostering intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ.
This morning we’re going to follow Mary to the feet of Jesus once again. Only this time she isn’t there savoring His Word; rather, she’s at His feet sharing her woes.
Jesus was across the Jordan River where John had been baptizing in the early days, when he receives word that his friend Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother, was very ill. The Bible says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea’” (John 11:6-7 NIV).
So after two days and twenty miles up-hill, on foot, over rocky terrain in sweltering heat, Jesus and his followers arrive outside of Bethany. Before they even reach the city, they can hear flutes and the sounds of psalms pouring out from the broken-hearts of the grieving. Jesus was too late. Lazarus was already dead. The mourners wail with strained voices and tear-stained faces, everyone dotted with ash and dust from head to toe. It’s sobering to say the least. Bereaved and ash covered, beating their chests, ripping their clothes, wailing in gut-wrenching sorrow, broken in grief.
Martha was the first one to greet Jesus. She heard that he was coming and went out to meet him—ever the hostesses. Martha’s the strong one. She’s handled all the funeral arrangements, selected the flowers, picked the plot, and contacted the local rabbi. She’s hardly had time to grieve. It doesn’t quite seem over to her—and she’s right.
Then, out comes Mary. The Bible says, “When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32 NLT).
Our hearts go out to Mary, don’t they? Mary knew right where she wanted to be during her time of tragedy, and it’s the same place God wants you to be during your own personal times of sorrow and grief—at the feet of Jesus. And, as we learned last week, amazing things happen at his feet! But before Mary could discover the power and compassion of Christ, she first had to discover the pain of calamity.
• THE PAIN OF CALAMITY
Her brother was dead. Her brother who she loved. Never again would she see his crooked smile. Never again would she hear his laughter which use to echo through the cobbled hallways of their stone-walled home. Never again would she tell him to get his dirty feet off of Martha’s coffee table before she catches him. Mary was in pain.
That’s an understatement. She was in agony. She was falling apart. And what was it she said when she fell at Christ’s feet? “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32 NLT). Oddly, as different as these two sisters were, the exact same words slipped from Martha’s mouth only moments earlier, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21 NLT). And then there were the muttered comments and hushed whispers of the family and friends: “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” (John 11:37 NLT).
I really wonder how these words affected Jesus. Did they cut like a knife, piecing his soul? I mean, he chose not to be there. He received word about Lazarus and then intentionally waited two days before leaving for Bethany. Now to be fair, Jesus waited two days and then had a two day trip, but when he arrived Lazarus had been dead for four days, which means that Lazarus was already dead by the time Jesus got word he was sick. But still—Jesus knows the beginning from the ending. He could have been there. He chose not to be. He arrived too late. And everybody is asking, “Where were you? Why weren’t here? Why didn’t you do anything? How could you have let this happen?”
Have you ever looked heavenward and asked a similar question? There is so much calamity, catastrophe and chaos in this world. Bad things happen to good people all the time. Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you?
Maybe you’re dealing with the death of someone you love or some other tragedy that’s taken you by surprise. You may have lost a job over something that wasn’t your fault at all, but now you’re suffering for it. Maybe you’ve been praying and praying and praying for God to work a miracle in your marriage, but it just never seems to get any better. Maybe you struggle with an addiction to drugs or alcohol or pornography, and you keep asking for God to set you free, but your prayers don’t seem to get past the ceiling. You’re doing your best to make yourself believe that God has some purpose in all of this, but in your heart you’re wondering, “Where is God when I need him? Why hasn’t He shown up yet? Doesn’t He care what I’m going through?”
God’s apparent absence is always amplified by the pain of calamity. But let me assure you, God has not forgotten you! He does love you! And he does have a purpose in all of this! It may seem like God didn’t show up on time. You may be thinking, like Mary, “Lord, if you had only been here…” But God will always work things out in his own time. Not my time, or your time, but His time. He’s never late. He’s never running behind. He always shows up at exactly the right time. That’s essentially what Jesus told his disciples. Before leaving for Bethany, Jesus told them, “Lazarus has died, but I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith” (John 11:14-15 GWT).
God hasn’t forgotten you. Even through the pain of calamity, Jesus is working to develop your faith and hoping that you, like Mary will also discover the place of comfort.
• THE PLACE OF COMFORT
Curled up at the feet of Christ, fresh tears falling on his sandals, Mary had discovered the place of comfort.
It’s interesting that when practical-minded Martha went out to meet Jesus, nobody budged. All the friends and family just stayed behind in the house. But when sorrowing, sobbing Mary scrambled to her feet and ran out the door, everybody followed. The Bible says, “When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there” (John 11:31 NIV). Mary was a mess. For four days, she had probably gone back and forth between the house and the tomb dozens of times, always seeking comfort but never finding it. This time, however, she wasn’t going to the tomb. She was going to Jesus.
Mary knew that at His feet, she would find comfort and compassion. She was right. The Bible says, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit… Jesus wept” (John 11:33, 35 NIV). Jesus felt her pain and He wept with her. There is comfort at the feet of Jesus.
The most powerful comfort you can give someone wrestling with the agony of death, divorce, disease, or any other kind of distress is compassion.
Have you heard the story about the little girl who came home late from school? She was fifteen minutes late getting home and her mother was worried sick. When her mom asked her why she was late, she explained that it was show-and-tell at school that day and her best friend, Jamie, had brought a very special china doll that her grandma had given her. When the two girls were walking home a couple of boys started teasing them and being mean. One of them made Jamie drop her china doll and it broke on the sidewalk. “And,” said the little girl, “I stayed to help her.”
“Well, that’s sweet that you stayed to help Jamie fix her doll.” said the mom.
But the little girl interrupted, “No mommy. I just sat down and helped her cry.”
That’s what Jesus did for Mary.
We live in a world of hurting people. Americans buy over 3,000,000,000 Tylenol® each year. Jesus knows every headache. There were 844,000 divorces in the United States last year. Jesus knows every heartache. He knows and he cares. The Bible says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4 NIV).
Whatever trouble, trials or turmoil you’re facing—there is comfort at His feet. Go to the feet of Jesus. Fall at His feet in prayer and lay your burdens down. While you’re there, keep in mind that amazing things happen at His feet. At His feet, Mary experienced the pain of calamity and discovered a place of comfort. But most importantly, she witnessed the power of Christ.
• THE POWER OF CHRIST
After taking time to weep with Mary, the Bible says that Jesus came to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance, just like the tomb Jesus himself would soon occupy. Standing before the tomb, an air of authority swirled around him as Jesus commanded: “Roll the stone aside” (John 11:39 NLT).
But Martha protested: “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible” (John 11:39 NLT). She had no idea what Jesus was about to do. She should have. Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23 NIV). Martha thought Jesus was talking about the resurrection at his Second Coming, but Jesus had something much more immediate in mind.
The Bible says, “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face” (John 11:43-44 NIV).
Do you know why Jesus specifically named Lazarus when he called out in loud voice? Because if he has just said, “Come out,” every tomb in that graveyard would be empty. That’s the power of Christ—it’s the power of resurrection, the power of life!
A few years ago, there was an item printed in Newsweek magazine. It was a letter from the Greenville County, South Carolina, Department of Social Services. The letter said: “To whom it may concern: Your food stamp benefits will be stopped effective immediately, because we have received notice that you passed away. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." Well, except for Lazarus, there haven’t been too many who have seen a change in those circumstances! But there will be—that’s the power and the promise of Christ.
If there was ever any doubt about Martha’s relationship with Jesus, this little exchange ought to clear it up:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:25-27 NIV)
Jesus has the power of resurrection and life. He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus has the power to resurrect your marriage. He has the power to call your career out of the tomb. He has the power to breathe new life into your finances, your family, or your faith. But most importantly, Jesus has the power to resurrect you! That’s why Jesus arrived late to Lazarus’ funeral—to prove that he really does have the power to raise us up from the dead and give us everlasting life!
The question is—do you believe this? Can you confess like Martha, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”?
Conclusion:
At the feet of Jesus both Mary and Martha discovered the pain of calamity, the place of comfort and the power of Christ. Amazing things happen at his feet. Maybe you’re wrestling with your own personal pain and calamity today. I want to invite you to come to feet of Jesus—fall at his feet in prayer and discover a place of comfort. Share your woes with Jesus and let him weep with you.
Next week, we’re going to return, once again, to the feet of Jesus where we’ll find Mary showing His worth. In the meantime, if you’ve never made the confession that Martha made, but you’re ready to believe in Jesus and receive the gift of everlasting life, then come forward now and make that confession today.
