Don’t Lose Your Footing

Luke 24:36-49

3rd Sunday of Easter

Today we explore the text out of Luke where Jesus appears to His disciples and grounds them in the reality of His resurrection. The text today began with this sentence, “While they were still talking about this…” What were they talking about? The context just before this phrase is the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus came to them as they traveled but they did not know it was Him until they broke bread together and He disappeared from them. In their excitement they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples and this is where our text begins.

In our text we see Jesus appearing suddenly and frightening the disciples. Jesus quiets their fears and brings joy to their hearts by grounding them in the reality of His resurrection. He does this by pointing to His physical body. "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”" (Luke 24:39, ESV) [1] Touch Jesus hands and feet? The disciples could see touching Jesus’ hands but his feet. In the Jewish mindset touching feet would make you unclean. But Jesus wants to ground His disciples in the reality of His resurrection and that even His feet are “clean” because of the sacrifice He paid for us. And that Jesus wasn’t a phantom but a flesh and blood reality in front of them now.

Feet – footing – foundation. This text not only helps us be grounded in the reality of Jesus resurrection but it also helps us get a “footing” on the foundation we are to be standing on – the foundation of Jesus Christ. So, how can this idea of “feet” help us today? There are two ideas I would like to meditate on today.

First, we are to sit at Jesus feet. When we sit at Jesus feet we are establishing a proper relationship with Him. To sit at someone’s feet means to become subject to them or submit to their will and authority. But sitting at Jesus feet we put God first as Lord in our life and ourselves as servants to Him. Ephesians chapter 1 tells us that the power and glory of God was given to Jesus because of His death and resurrection for the world, "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church," (Ephesians 1:22, ESV) [2] Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and we are to sit as His feet as His servants.

While we come to Jesus as servants God doesn’t leave us in a “slave” role but by the blood of Jesus we are also made heirs and friends of God’s kingdom. We come to God in submission but He then lifts us up by His power and strength. Sitting at Jesus feet helps us bring our lives into God’s will and helps us keep our lives in perspective.

It is God who is truly in control of our lives. To often we think we have to be the masters of our own lives, our own destiny. And you can – if you can follow God’s Law perfectly. You want to control your life and be master of everything you do? Then be perfect! But the Bible is clear on this subject – all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

How do you think a sky scrapper should be built? When I think of a tall building I think that you need to build it as strong as you can to stand up to anything. You use the strongest cement and steal and other materials – right? Actually, if you build a sky scrapper to strong or too “ridged” it

will actually fail when it faces high winds, earthquakes or other calamities. You actually have to build in flexibility, which would appear to be weak, but makes the building stronger in that it can withstand more. How does this have to do with our faith life? If you want to control your own life then you have to be perfect – you have to be as “ridged” as you can be so that you will not make a mistake. But watch out for the storms of life. When they come your “ridged ness” will cause you to crumble and fall. You have to have “flexibility” in your life. That flexibility comes from turning you life over to God, trusting in Him. You may not know what the immediate future holds for you but if you trust in God, and give Him the control, you will have the “flexibility” to weather the storms of life, safe on the foundation of Christ. We need to sit at Jesus feet.

Sitting at Jesus feet also puts us into the role of follower or learner. It is like a student sitting at his/her teacher’s feet to learn all they can. That is what scripture teaches. Jesus said to His disciples when he appeared to them that all of what had happened was spoken of in the “Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled”[3] The longest Psalm and chapter in the Bible tells us about this constant learner mentality. Listen to a few verses from Psalm 119 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:9-12, ESV) “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” (Psalm 119:15, ESV) "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119:18, ESV) “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.” (Psalm 119:33-35, ESV) “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments” (Psalm 119:66, ESV) And the most famous verse from Psalm 119 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105, ESV) [4] Each of these verses speaks to our attitude to God and His Word – we are learners sitting at Jesus feet.

Jesus didn’t just end the discussion with His disciples telling them the knowledge of what He has done through the cross. He tells them that they are now to go out into the world and be witnesses to what Christ has done for all humanity. At first we may think that we now become the teachers and the world our students. We may think that the world should come and sit at our feet since we have the truth. Right? No. In God’s kingdom the first will be last and the last will be first. We are to sit at the world’s feet. Yes, we are to become servants to the world so that Christ love can shine through us. It seems backwards to the world – we have the truth we should “rule” – but God has called us to be servants so that the world can see more clearly Jesus Christ.

That is what Jesus did. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, the night He instituted the Lord’s Supper, that very same night He got down on His knees and washed His disciples feet. Peter balked and said that this task was reserves for servants. But Jesus was teaching his disciples that to truly show God’s love and truth they had to become servants to the world. That is the same message for us too. To make an impact for Christ in the world we have to become their servants. We have to sit at the world’s feet and in that reversal of power the world will see the true strength of our God in Christ Jesus. Paul said that he must decrease so that Christ could increase.

May we this day learn to sit at Jesus feet and know that He is our Lord and Savior. May we constantly be learners of His Word and meditate on it day and night. May we give control of our lives over to Jesus. And May be become servants to the world so that they can see the love of Christ through us. Our prayer is, “Lord, make me a servant of Your Word and World.”

Amen.

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[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

[2] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

[3]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.) (Lk 24:44). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

[4] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.