Seeing Jesus - Feet

	Jesus has the hands of a carpenter, a fisherman, a physician, a farmer, a teacher and a parent.  They reach down in love, out in support and up in praise.  His eyes look backward for lessons from the past.  They look forward with determination. They always look with love.  Certain things never come from His mouth.  However, He always speaks up when the situation calls for it.  At all times, His words are those of God.
	"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;" Zacharias says of his son John in Luke 1:76-79, "for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give to His people {the} knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
	John's task is to prepare the pathway for the feet of Jesus so that the Christ, in turn, can guide our feet into the way of peace.
	What do we notice as we take a closer look at the Lord's feet?  First of all, we find feet which are tired.  As Jesus travels throughout Palestine, He does not go by car, bus, train or airplane.  He journeys on foot.  He has an urgent mission to fulfill in a short time.  He must hurry from town to town with His saving message.
	"And when He got into the boat," we read in Matthew 8:23-24, "His disciples followed Him.  And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep."
	Jesus is in a boat which is being violently tossed by an angry storm.  The apostles fear that the ship will sink.  And Jesus is asleep.  How tired He must be to sleep in the midst of such a tempest.  Jesus has tired feet.  But He does not allow this to stop Him from continuing with His mission.
	We are sometimes tempted to give up following the example of Jesus.  It seems as though no one cares.  It appears that we are wasting our time.  But we must remember the feet of Jesus.  They never give up.
	"And let us not lose heart in doing good," Paul urges in Galatians 6:9-10, "for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.  So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."
	We must not allow tired feet to stop us from doing what we should.
	A second characteristic of Jesus' feet is that they are ready to step forward and stand firm when necessary.  This is not always pleasant, but He does it, anyway. We see this clearly when the soldiers arrive to arrest Him in the garden.
	"Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him," John 18:4-8 records, "went forth, and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?'  They answered Him, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said to them, 'I am {He.}' And Judas also who was betraying Him, was standing with them.  When therefore He said to them, 'I am {He},' they drew back, and fell to the ground.  Again therefore He asked them, 'Whom do you seek?' And they said, 'Jesus the Nazarene.'  Jesus answered, 'I told you that I am {He}; if therefore you seek Me, let these go their way,'"
	We, too, should be ready to step forward and stand firm.
	"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you," Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, "which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."
	"Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings," Paul writes in Colossians 4:12, "always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God."
	We must not allow tired feet to keep us from serving God.  And we must be ready to step forward and stand firm in God's Word.

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	The Bible reveals that the feet of Jesus are very powerful.
	"For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet" 1 Corinthians 15:25-27 notes.  "The last enemy that will be abolished is death.  For He has put all things in subjection under His feet."
	Everything is placed in subjection under the feet of Christ.  We, too, can have powerful feet if we follow in the steps of Jesus.
	"Therefore, take up the full armor of God," Paul advises in Ephesians 6:13-17, "that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil {one.}  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
	The feet of Jesus do not give up when they are tired.  They step forward and stand firm.  They are powerful.  And, at the same time, they are beautiful.  Where do people go when they approach Jesus?
	"And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them," we read in Matthew 28:9. "And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him."
	"But after hearing of Him," Mark 7:25 records, "a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, immediately came and fell at His feet."
	The feet of Jesus are beautiful not because they are physically attractive, but rather because they support the source of our healing and salvation.  Likewise, we can have beautiful feet.
	"How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?" Paul wonders in Romans 10:14-15.  "And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!'" 
	Jesus has feet which are beautiful and powerful.  They step forward and stand firm.  They never give up.
	"And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a sinner;" Luke 7:37-38 says, "and when she learned that He was reclining {at the table} in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind {Him} at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume."
	"And turning toward the woman," the passage continues in verses 44-45, "He said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.'"
	Why are we not able to recognize the glories of the Master's feet?  Perhaps it is due to the fact that, unlike this woman, we don't understand our position in life.  We feel that we need to be near the head of things.  We would never place ourselves at the bottom.  Actually, we should work hard to reach the feet of Jesus.  As we noted earlier, it is at the Lord's feet that we find the things which really matter.
	"And great multitudes came to Him," we learn from Matthew 15:30, "bringing with them {those who were} lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them."
	How wonderful are the feet of Jesus!  How wonderful our feet can be if we only follow Him!
	"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;" Hebrews 12:11-13 teaches, "yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.  Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that {the limb} which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed." 
	How can our feet be healed?  How can we have beautiful, powerful feet which step forward and stand firm even when they are tired?
	All we have to do is walk in the truth and be set free.  

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."