Jesus Is Worthy (At The Feet Of Jesus)

Mark 5:21–24

[21] And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. [22] Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet [23] and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” [24] And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.

Luke 17:11–19

[11] On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance [13] and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” [14] When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. [15] Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; [16] and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. [17] Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? [18] Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” [19] And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

John 12:1–3

[1] Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [2] So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. [3] Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

What’s The Point?

When someone bows at the feet of Jesus, they are saying something about Jesus and something about themselves. Today’s study will look at what it says about Jesus. This is the first of three studies in At The Feet Of Jesus, the 2026 Fall Retreats Bible study.

Throughout history, being at someone’s feet was a recognition of authority. This happened voluntarily when pupils of philosophers or rabbis would sit at the feet of their instructors listening for wisdom and instruction. Being at someone’s feet also happened involuntarily like in Joshua 10:24 where the chiefs of Israel put their feet on the necks of the kings they had defeated. In both these situations being at the feet of another confesses the authority of the person who is standing over the other person.

Throughout the Gospels we see many different people at Jesus’ feet for a number of different reasons. Jairus begs for his daughter to be healed (Mark 5:22); a healed leper returns to thank Jesus (Luke 17:16); Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with oil and wipes his feet with her hair (John 12:3). These are different people with different experiences, but they are all confessing the same thing—Jesus has authority and deserves our submission.

Jairus knew that Jesus had authority over sickness and could heal his daughter. Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet “and begged him earnestly, ‘My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live’” (Mark 5:23). In Luke 17:11-19 Jesus healed ten lepers; only one of them returned after being healed to give glory to God and thank Jesus. He alone realized that the Healer was of more value than the healing; he alone gave Jesus the adoration he deserved. Mary anointed Jesus with perfume that was worth the same amount as a person’s yearly income (to put that into a modern perspective, the average annual salary in the U.S. in 2025 was $62,000). She did this because she knows that Jesus is of infinite value.
There are many more instances of people bowing at Jesus feet, but they are all confessing the same thing. Jesus is worthy of our submission. We must confess this same truth with our mouths and with our lives. How do we do this? We must know Jesus!

Before we bow at Jesus’ feet we have to know him. Every person we see bow at Jesus’ feet in Scripture has a knowledge of him. Some of them, like Mary, have known and followed him for a while. Others, like Jairus, may have only heard about Jesus from others. Either way, we must know Jesus before we can submit to him.
Many of you reading this already know Jesus. This means three things: 1. You should already be submitting your life to Jesus. 2. You should be asking what areas of your life are not submitted to Jesus and work on those. 3. Your knowledge of Jesus should be steadily increasing. Although the events of people bowing at Jesus’ feet in the Scriptures are specific, believers should be characterized by constantly living at the feet of Jesus.

Someone shouldn’t pray the sinner’s prayer, claim they “got saved”, and go on living for themselves. Likewise, we cannot have an experience of submitting to Jesus, bowing at his feet, and then continue living submitted to our fleshly desires. Christians should be people that metaphorically live at the feet of Jesus. Just like Jairus, we cannot fix our own problems; just like the leper, we cannot heal ourselves; just like Mary, we should constantly adore Jesus.

To know Jesus, we must seek him in his Word where he has revealed himself. We must know that he is the Creator and Sustainer, the Lamb that was slain and the Lion of Judah, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Beginning and the End. When we see Jesus for who he is it becomes very easy to fall at his feet and worship him. When we see his great power and overwhelming grace and kindness it becomes easy to submit to him. We should be people that live at the feet of Jesus.

Scripture Memorization

Philippians 2:9–11

[9] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Prayer

Jesus, I want to live my life in submission to you. I desire to worship you and bring you glory with my thoughts and my actions. Help me to daily seek you in the Scriptures that I might see you more clearly because I know the more I behold you, the easier that submission and worship will be. Remind me, because I am so forgetful, that you have healed me, that you have authority over my life, and that I can place all my hopes on you. I come to you now and humbly bow at your feet. I confess that you are my Lord and my Savior, and I worship you.

Reflection

• Each of these people bow at Jesus feet for different reasons. How should we example each of these in our own lives?
• What are some areas of your life that you are not submitting to Jesus? How does that need to change?

Discussion

1. Which of these three stories do you most identify with? Which one is the hardest for you to identify with?
2. Submitting to Jesus is easy to say and harder to do. Discuss areas you need to submit to Jesus and hold one another accountable.