4th Sunday in Lent “His Faithful Feet” cpr series: “Our Savior’s Wounded Body”
March 30, 2025 Matthew 28:9 (cpr2010)
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Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
The Son of God took on a human body to be the preeminent servant for sinful mankind = to accomplish the salvation of the world, & to display to all that God is gracious. And since we have been so loved, & served, & saved, so now the life we live in the body is redeemed to respond to our Lord, & to serve others. Jesus served us with His ‘holy hands;’ his hands healed & blessed, and were pierced as he was nailed to the cross. Last Sunday we focused on his ‘battered back.’ As Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged, a whipping torture for criminals, so we are reminded that the Father put on Jesus’ back the burden of every sin, of every soul, so that the gospel message thru Isaiah could be proclaimed to all: ‘by his stripes we are healed.’
This morning we consider Jesus’ ‘faithful feet.’ Those feet are pictured in Matt.28, where we hear this: ‘the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen… so they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy… and behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’
And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.’
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In pondering feet, I also want to read this related passage from John 13: 1-17 (NIV)
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It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered , “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
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Here’s a real life event to serve as an illustration for us. In 1979, Mark Inglis began his professional career as a search & rescue mountaineer in a national park of New Zealand. One day, he & his climbing-partner Philip were doing some intensive training on a mountain when a sudden & intense blizzard trapped them inside an ice cave. A full day passed, & they started to get cold; they had not planned on being away for more than the day, so they had minimal equipment & supplies. But then two more days passed, & they could not control their shivering. They tried to encourage each other to keep a positive outlook without giving-in to the doubts that they began to feel. Their legs & arms were numb. Finally after 13 days, the would-be search & rescuers were rescued.
Because of frostbite, Mark’s legs below the knee had to be amputated. Twenty years later, on carbon fiber shins & feet, Mark returned to that same mountain & climbed to the top. 7 yrs later, in 2006, Mark decided to climb Mount Everest. Things were going well for him & his group, until one of his carbon fiber legs broke. They had to wait in their camp for someone to bring one up from the base camp. And finally, with adopted legs & feet, Mark stood on the top of Mount Everest. He had overcome every obstacle put in his way, and step after step he did what most thought would be impossible.
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I’m just guessing, but I doubt that any of you have had a newspaper article written about your legs or feet; me neither. So, you might be tempted to conclude that all the steps you’ve taken in life have not been very important = but don’t be too quick to conclude that. For those with similar troubles or related challenges, Mark Inglis gave people hope & courage to overcome obstacles in their way.
And I can see faces here of those who have given others hope & courage to work thru their challenges & troubles. I believe that’s one good reason why God allows each of us to face the troubles we have: as a faithful witness & example to others. (it’s an application of 2 Cor.1:4: ‘He comforts us in our troubles so tht we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.’)
Now, that example to others doesn’t need to be from trouble; it can simply be from normal living activities. It may seem unremarkable, but it is important: when people get out of bed & get their feet moving with normal living, the world moves forward. Consider your own daily work, or the work you did for years. If we didn’t get out of bed & go to work, the customers wouldn’t be served with food, or clothing, or shelter; the patients wouldn’t be taken care of in their health needs; people’s taxes or banking would not have been done; their broken cars, or household appliances, or utilities would not have been fixed. Children would not be cared for, or taught to read, or learn skills, & learn how to relate to others.
Because you get your feet moving, important things get done, others are served, your faith bears fruit, & your Lord is pleased. Your feet have not been featured in some exciting event to warrant a book or movie; but still, the steps your feet have taken have been pretty important to many others == and -therefore- to your Creator & Lord.
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In relation to your Lord, we should ponder other point about your feet & this life.
The point is 2-sided: where do your feet take you, and, where do your feet not take you?
You actually have the power to decide between those two things. We can go & do many great things for many needy people; such as moving snow, helping with housework, or running errands. Or, we can find a comfortable chair & ‘put our feet up’ and accomplish nothing in particular. We all need to put our feet up at times, such as after a long shift at work or after a day of chasing after the kids. But for how much time should our feet be up? We should ask our Lord about that. He saved us to follow in his steps; he will guide our feet to places to do good things; and He will guard our steps from either – going to wrong places, or when we are avoiding those places where we can serve others with various needs. I thank Him, & commend you this morning, that your feet found their way here once again.
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Hebrews 4 says that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, but did not sin. Then I suppose there were times he was tempted to stop being so busy & put his feet up, & do nothing.
But even at the Passover meal, when reclining at table on rugs & cushions, he didn’t recline for very long, says John 13. Instead, he got up & washed the feet of his disciples. This was totally unexpected, culturally improper, and left quite an impression with them.
Jesus explained that this was ‘an example’ for them. It was not a command for them to run around with buckets of water & towels to wash as many feet as possible. But rather, an example of a serving attitude toward others. Which would translate into the many & various ways there are to serve others needs; even in the most humble & lowly & simple daily ways, just as foot-washing was in that day.
We remember that it was at that same table-time that Jesus instituted the new & fulfilled Passover Meal; the Lord’s Supper is ‘passover 2.0’. He took bread & wine and served them a meal of remembrance & forgiveness, giving them his own body & blood. His promise to them was both physical & spiritual in its blessing, since this life of faith we live in him is both physical & spiritual.
Then, even after the foot-washing and the new Lord’s Meal, it was not time to relax & do nothing. His feet then led the disciples’ feet out to the Mount of Olives, to prepare his soul by prayer to face mankind’s greatest enemy: the divine condemnation of death. It would begin with Judas’ betrayal. When the guards came, Jesus’ feet did not run away; he willingly went with them, to stand trial before the Jewish council & the Roman governor in Jerusalem. With those faithful feet, Jesus carried your cross to calvary to atone for your sins; and not only yours, says 1John 2; but also for the sins of the whole world. And after that was finished, his cold, lifeless feet were carried by others, wrapped in linen, & placed in a borrowed tomb.
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But even then, his feet were not finished moving. On the third-day-after, those women who believed in Jesus, by their feet, were walking to the tomb to do a good work. The large stone they worried about was rolled away because Jesus had risen & walked out of it. They say that Mt.Everest is a tough climb; over 300 people have died trying; over 7,000 have succeeded. But, no one has gone into death and climbed out again except One.
The Son of God has defeated the death of sin. He walked into death for you, and he walked back into this world for you.
On that Easter Sunday morning, those faithful women were exactly right to bow down before him, take hold of his feet, and worship him. At his resurrection, Jesus proved as true what the prophet foretold: ‘the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds, we are healed.’ Jesus’ feet took every step needed to save us from every time our feet wander.
In Luther’s Small Catechism, we learn of those Bible verses that teach us about our sins of Commission & sins of Omission = the sins we do, & the good things we fail to do. So this morning we’ll say it this way: Jesus came to walk for us = for every time we allow our feet to take us to places we shouldn’t go so that we do things we shouldn’t do; and for every time we put our feet up & avoid doing something for someone in need. Jesus’ faithful feet walked to the cross to forgive us. And with that forgiveness, you & your feet have been given a new life; and he has promised that, one day, you will walk into eternal life, and walk the streets of heaven.
Before we get there, he has put us on the path that follows him & his example of serving others in many humble & daily things. Many of those things we accomplish simply by getting our feet out of bed, and going about our daily work == whatever that is. In this gospel faith, we have been given the satisfaction that it is not difficult to be bearing the fruit of the Spirit in our life. The Lord makes opportunities pop up in every place our feet take us.
Amen