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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“Then His disciples said to Him, 'Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude' Jesus said to them, 'How many loaves do you have?' And they said, 'Seven, and a few little fish.' So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 15.33-38). As we consider this biblical 4X4 will look at: 1) The Feet of Jesus, 2) The Compassion of Jesus, 3) The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and 4) The Blindness of Little Faith.
The Feet of Jesus
Every story has a context; the one quoted above is no exception. Context, as we will see in a later lesson, is the one of the keys to understanding. However, for today, the events that immediately preceded the feeding of the four thousand are crucial to a full appreciation of the miraculous feeding. These events help to complete the picture at The Feet of Jesus.
Before Jesus fed the multitudes, Matthew notes these events: “Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.” (Matthew 15.30-31; emphasis mine, jb). The King James and American Standard versions capture the essence of this story more graphically as they say that that the multitudes brought the infirmed and “cast them down” at the feet of Jesus; they didn't just lay them there; they cast them down at His feet.
Sometimes that is all we can do; when the burdens are too great and there is nowhere else to turn, we have no other alternative but to cast them at Jesus' feet. Jairus knew this feeling all too well! His twelve year old daughter was dead or dying; what did he have to lose? This being the case, he threw himself down at the feet of Jesus and begged for His help. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, knew this feeling after her brother's illness ended in death; she fell down at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11.32). Formality, etiquette, and social appearances go out the window at times like there! It isn't important who is looking, or what others might think! All that is important is that we get the relief of which were are in desperate need. It is here, at the feet of Jesus, that we can find help. Might we hasten to add, that it is ONLY here that we can find help!
Are we ashamed to fall at the feet of Jesus? Are we too proud to cast ourselves at His feet and admit that there is no one else who can help? Are we afraid that we will look too small there crumpled and crushed by life's circumstances? What ever our reticence, there is never a time or place when we stand so tall as when we fall at the feet of Jesus! It is here that life begins! When we stand on our own, we fall. When we fall at His feet, we stand!
Of course, Jesus is not with us today in the flesh; it is impossible to literally throw ourselves at His feet. However, it is entirely possible to throw ourselves at His spiritual feet and receive the spiritual healing that every human being needs! Peter showed the way to that place when he instructed the believing Jews to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins...” (Acts 2.38). It is here that the marvelous blessings at the feet of Jesus begin!
Questions:
1. What is symbolized by casting something down at the feet of Jesus?
2. When we fall there, what assurance is there that He will lift us up?
3. Until we fall there, what probability is there that we will be able to stand?
4. Not being able to fall at His literal feet, how can we figuratively fall there and be assured that He will hear? If we do what Peter instructed thousands of other to do, can we go wrong?
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