Time and Place + “At His Feet”
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At His Feet.
“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. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet, and heard His Word. But Martha was cumbered about with 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. And Jesus answered and said unto here, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
What an insightful scene plays out in this text. From several places in the Gospels, we know that Jesus was at least a little bit of a regular guest at the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. His visits appear to have been quite the flurry of activity for one the two sisters—cooking, cleaning, and serving. Jesus, the God of all creation robed in flesh, has just walked through the door, and Martha just keeps on hustlin’ and bustlin’. King James uses three words in this short passage to describe her: cumbered (v. 40), careful, and troubled. (v.41) The Rabbi, of whom it was said, “No man ever spake like this man,” had just stepped into her home and she was distracted with service. The word cumbered here literally means “to draw away, distract, to be driven about mentally, to be distracted.” Serving is commendable; being a servant is even the mark of greatness in the kingdom of God, but Martha didn’t know when to stop. She did not know when to serve and when to sit.
But in stark contrast, the second sister, Mary, lays aside her dishcloth and broom. Once Jesus is settled in the living room, she could be found at the feet of Jesus. Some saw this as lazy. Martha is outraged and indignant, so much so, that she went straight into the living room and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister isn’t helping me and that I’m serving alone? Tell her to get back in the kitchen, please.” But instead of sending Mary back to serve, he dignified and elevated her decision, and gently chided Martha: “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details.” He then continued on: “BUT ONE THING IS NEEDFUL.” “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (NLT) “Mary has chosen that good part.” (KJV) The customs and viewpoints of women in that day would have certainly reinforced Martha’s request for Mary to serve, but Jesus honored Mary and commended Mary’s choice to sit instead of serve. With one sentence, Jesus shot down cultural norms and Martha’s complaints and elevated Mary’s decision to “hear His Word.” He simultaneously validated women and elevated His Word over her work.
Let me just stop right here and say, it will always be easier to serve than to sit. Serving is tangible…it is obvious…it has immediate results…and it is able to be seen. “Sitting,” on the other hand, is intangible with results below the surface that won’t be readily obvious for some time to come. There is not always immediate gratification, but sitting and hearing His Words truly produces eternal results, as Jesus said of Mary, “It shall not be taken away from her.” No one can ever undo the effects of her sitting…no one can steal it…no one can have it. It is her treasure, to be carried into eternity. The investment of time at his feet is without risk and the return on that investment is priceless. The deposit of His Word while there can never be taken away! It is truly that good part.
This does not mean we don’t serve. It just means we need to know when to serve and when to sit. When Jesus walks in the room, we take off our apron and we get as close to Him as possible. The time at His feet, “hearing His Words” will fuel and fund the service required of us. We will ultimately be better at service because we first chose to sit.
This was not the only time Mary was at the feet of Jesus. In John chapter eleven, we see the very famous story of Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother, who falls ill. Mary and Martha send word for Jesus to come (John 11:3), but Jesus delays and emphatically stated that the sickness is not unto death, but for God’s glory. (John 11:4) Verses 5 and 6 state that he loved this family, but that He waited. His love did not cause Him to run to them with an immediate answer to prayer in the way they hoped. Two days after their request for him to come, Jesus finally gets up to go to Bethany (v. 7), knowing that Lazarus is already dead. (v. 11-14) Jesus arrives, and Lazarus has already been dead 4 days. (v. 17) Martha and Mary hear that Jesus is now come, and Martha goes to meet Him. A conversation ensues between the two of them, but though Martha speaks faith, she seems somewhat unmoved. Then Jesus asked for Mary. He asked for that sweet lady who had sat at his feet. “…she (Martha) went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, the Master is come, and calleth for thee.” (v. 28) “As soon as Mary heard this, she arose quickly, and came to Him.” (v. 29) “Then when Mary was come, where Jesus was, she fell down at his feet…” (v.32) Mary went as low as she could… she got to that place she loved to be. Mary said the same exact thing as Martha said, but she said it at His feet, weeping. And instead of a dissertation on the resurrection, Mary got results. Mary’s tears and her position at his feet moved the Master. “When Jesus saw her weeping,…He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.” (v. 32-- NET) And then Jesus asked a question: “Where have they laid him?” (v. 34) Martha’s’ statements had caused Jesus to call for Mary, but Mary’s same statement had caused Jesus to call for Lazarus. Mary’s tears at his feet moved Jesus into action, and they moved His heart. “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Though Jesus already knew the end of the story, Mary’s tears pricked His pain in the middle of the story. Mary’s choice to get to His feet made way for the miraculous, and Lazarus is raised from the dead. When we need a miracle, we must like Mary, get to His feet.
In the very beginning of Lazarus’s story, the Bible specifies which Mary his sister was: “It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair…” (John 11:2) You see, there is a third story in the Gospels about Mary at the feet of Jesus. In John 12, just before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is again at dinner in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Martha served (surprise! 😊), Lazarus sat with Him, but Mary? “Then Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” I’ve written about this story so many times and could go so many directions, but for now, I will just point out that she GOT TO HIS FEET. She took her most prized possession, “very costly,” as the Bible states, and she broke it for Him. She anointed the feet of Jesus. We so often ask for Him to anoint us, but she flipped the script and anointed Him. She could have served. She could’ve asked for a place at the table, but instead she went to that place she loved and worshipped. Her tears, her oil, and her hair washed His feet. It was unconventional, possibly scandalous, but Jesus does not stop her. He will never stop us from getting to His feet. Judas calls it a waste, but Jesus said to “leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.”
(*Random side note, there are 4 version of this story, and I once made a chart. I believe it’s actually two different women/two different stories, but I don’t currently know where the chart is.)
Jesus again honors Mary’s place at His feet.
Mary “heard His Word” at His feet.
Mary wept in the wake of grief and facing impossibility at His feet.
And Mary worshipped at His feet with all she had.
We will never regret time at His feet. It is, as Jesus said, “That good part, which shall not be taken away…”
Whatever the season, let me be found at His feet.