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At Jesus Feet
Text: Luke 10:39, John 11:32, 12:3;
Introduction:
There are many occasions throughout the New Testament that we
find someone at the feet of Jesus. We see the lame, blind, dumb, and maimed cast
at Jesus feet (Mat. 15:30); a woman weeping at His feet (Luke 7:38), a man
sitting at His feet (Luke 8:35), a ruler falling at His feet (Mark 5:22 &
Mat. 9:18), a leper praising at His feet (Luke 17:15-16), and Mary listening at
His feet (Luke 10:39).
Each of these scenes of someone at the feet of Jesus is worth
one’s attention and consideration. The reason why we find each of these
individuals at the feet of Jesus is both enlightening and encouraging. Yet of
all the individuals we find at the feet of Jesus, none speak to the heart
anymore than Mary. Mary was the sister of Martha and Lazarus. The most
interesting feature of Mary’s life is that each time you find her mentioned in
the Bible she is always at the feet of Jesus. In Luke 10:39, she is found
sitting at His feet. In John 11:32, she is found falling at His feet. In John
12:3, she is found bowing at His feet. Her favorite place was at the feet of
Jesus. At His feet was a common occurrence in Mary’s life. Each time we find
Mary at the feet of Jesus there is a blessed and precious quality about her
heart that is revealed. I want us to consider these three occasions Mary is
found at the feet of Jesus. Mary wanted to be near and close to her Lord. Her
deepest desire was to be at His feet. She wanted to live close to Him and learn
more about Him. She wanted to be in His presence. She fell at the feet of her
Savior, she bowed at the feet of her Sovereign Lord, she sat at the feet of her
Counselor. "More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus; More of His
saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me."
Is there a deep burning, passionate desire to be near Christ,
to be close to Him, and to know Him better? Is there a longing to be in His
presence? Is that your prayer? Is that your desire? Does your heart cry out,
"Lord, I want to be near you? I want to live in your presence! I want to
sit at your feet! I want to hear your word! I bow before your sovereign
authority?
The depth and length of her desire is highlighted by the
actions of her sister Martha. The two words in verse 40, "But Martha,"
place Martha as a contrast to Mary. It is the contrasts between we want to look
at.
I. Being At His Feet Governed Her Desires:
The desire that Mary had to be near Jesus and learn of Jesus
exceeded all other desires. Her chief desire was to be close to her Lord. In the
scene before us we see the difference between good desires and greater desires.
The contrast we see in these two sisters is the difference between
"His" and "Him."
A. Martha Opened Her Home To Jesus:
1. We read in LUK 10:38 "Now it came to pass, as
they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named
Martha received him into her house."
2. How thrilled Martha must have been to have Jesus in
her home. How excited she must have been to have Him visit. The word
"received" means to "admit under one’s roof for the purpose
of entertaining."
3. I can imagine Martha saying, "Lord, it so good to
have you with us. You will stay for dinner? You go in the living room and
make yourself at home while I put something on stove." Martha opened
her home to the Lord. In Martha we see a welcomed Lord. The Lord ought to be
a welcomed guest in any life or home. But in contrast look at Mary.
B. Mary Opened Her Heart To The Lord:
1. In Martha we see a welcomed Lord, but in Mary we see a
wanted Lord.
2. LUK 10:39 "And she had a sister called Mary,
which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word."
3. Martha desired to have Him present, but Mary desired
to be in His presence. Martha was thrilled to have Jesus in the house, but
Mary wanted to sit at His feet.
4. She wanted to be near Him and hear Him. Martha’s
desire to have Him in her home was good, but Mary’s desire to be close to
Him and learn of Him was greater. Mary’s desire to be near Jesus exceeded
all other desires. Martha was in the kitchen, but Mary was at His feet. The
only thing she wanted was to sit at His feet and hear His word.
5. What is your chief desire in life? What is it that you
want more than anything else? What is the great passion of your life? The
desire that should exceed all other desires is to be close to the Lord and
live at His feet. More than to serve Him? Yes, to be near Him.
6. Jesus often spoke of food, fashion, and finances. All
these things are often the great concerns and desires of our life. We all
desire to eat well, dress well, and do well. But Jesus said in MAT 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you."
II. Being At His Feet Guided Her Priorities:
A. The contrast:
1. One is coming apart while the other one has come
apart.
2. One is distracted and the other is delighted.
3. In one we see that the priority was "His"
and in the other the priority was "Him."
B. Martha Cumbered With Many Things:
1. Notice Luke 10:40, "But Martha was cumbered about
much serving." The word "cumbered" means to be
"distracted, torn apart, pulled in different directions, too
busy."
2. I can imagine her running around the kitchen trying to
do several things at the same time. I can hear her saying, asking Mary to
come cut the bread, or check on the vegetables, set out the glasses, get the
plates down, or wipe off the counter.
3. She is doing this and doing that. She is running here
and running there. She’s got this to do and that to do.
C. Mary Content With One Thing:
1. There were many things Mary could have been doing. But
she laid all of them aside for a while to sit at the feet of Jesus. There
were many important things to do and things that were a priority. But the
first priority in her life was to spend time with Jesus. Martha was
concerned about "His dinner," but Martha was interested in just
"Him."
2. There are many that need to make a list of priorities.
There needs to be settled in every life and in every day what is the most
important. No.1 on that list should be spending time with the Lord. Someone
might be saying, "I don’t have time."
3. Our dilemma goes deeper than a shortage of time. It is
basically the problem of priorities."
4. Notice Luke 10:40, "But Martha was cumbered about
much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my
sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help
me." Notice carefully Martha’s statement, "my sister hath left
me to serve alone." Her statement suggests that Mary had been helping
her, but had left her to sit at Jesus feet. To Mary sitting at His feet was
more important than cooking His food.
III. Being At His Feet Grounded Her Practice:
A. Worship is a prescribed practice:
1. What our Lord said to Martha and said about Mary is one
of the greatest lessons that any Christian and worker for God can ever learn.
We see Martha serving and Mary sitting. Martha in this story could be
described as the worker and Mary as the worshipper. Martha’s work was
important. But Mary’s worship was indispensable.
2. Worship Is A Prescribed Practice. In verse 42 Jesus said
to Martha, "But one thing is needful." The word "needful"
speaks of a "requirement, demand, an employment." What Mary was
doing was something the Lord required, prescribed and demanded. It was part of
her spiritual employment. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, as we have noticed,
must be a priority of our life.
3. Let me also say there are many that have invited Jesus
into their hearts and home, but they are not doing anything for Him.
4. If you read the story carefully you will notice that the
Lord did not rebuke Martha for what she was doing but for what she was
not doing. The Lord said to Martha in effect, "Martha, Martha. You
are so upset about all the things you have to do. Martha, I appreciate all you
are doing for Me, but there is something you are not doing. You are not
spending time with Me!"
5. The Lord is not condoning laziness. He is rebuking
busyness. I remind you that just as the Lord requires us to work, He also
requires us to worship. There must not only be time spent for God, but time
spent with God. It is required.
B. Worship Is A Profitable Practice:
1. Notice what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10:42,
"But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her." Jesus said Mary had chosen the
"good part." The word "good" speaks of that which is
beneficial and profitable. Jesus was saying, "Martha, what Mary is doing
is for her spiritual benefit and profit."
2. How does worship benefit us? In the first place we see
that it is of internal profit. What a contrast we see in Martha and
Mary in how they were feeling. Notice how Jesus described Martha. He described
her as anxious. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful." The
word "careful" means, "anxious, pulled in different
directions." She was filled with anxiety.
a) Jesus also described her as agitated. He spoke of her
being "troubled." The word means "to be thrown in an
uproar." She was so stressed out that finally she blew her top. She
came running out of the kitchen and said to Jesus, "Lord, doest Thou
not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that
she help me" (Vs.40).
b) Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha. You are so
anxious and agitated. What you need is to spend time with Me." If we
are filled with fear, fretfulness, frustration, you can mark it down; we
haven’t been spending time with Jesus. Someone has written:
3. In the second place we find that worship is of eternal
profit. Notice again Luke 10:42, "But one thing is needful: and Mary
hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
4. What she was doing was of eternal quality and value. If
our work for God is to be a work of God we must sit at the feet of Jesus. If
there is to be an eternal quality about our life and service, we must sit at
the feet of Jesus.
5. There are many who are serving God with a dull ax.
Worship is the key to effective service. I often hear people say, "I know
I need to spend time in prayer, studying God’s Word, spending time in His
presence, but I am so busy." We often measure ourselves spiritually by
how much we are doing. But if we don’t worship, our work will be
ineffective.
AT THE FEET OF JESUS! Being at His feet should be foremost in
our passions, first in our priorities, for it is foundational in our practice.
HAVE YOU BEEN SPENDING TIME AT JESUS FEET?
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