Hesed, Not Sacrifice: Sitting at Jesus’s Feet

Join the conversation as I talk about God’s lovingkindness (hesed), and what sitting at Jesus’s feet really looks like.

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Podcast Transcript:

Intro 

Hi friend, I’m Brigette Henry. And you’re listening to the one Spiritual Journey podcast where I share stories from my spiritual journey and teach you how to walk closer with God on your spiritual journey. I’m so glad you’re here because that means you want a deeper relationship with God. In Colossians 1:28, Paul says, 

“We proclaim Him warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” 

And that’s my goal for this ministry: to help present you mature in Christ. So, grab your coffee, or your tea if you’re a tea addict like me, and let’s dive into today’s topic. 

Pruning Season 

Right now, I’m in a bit of a pruning season. It’s like I’m a tree and God is removing the branches that bear little or no fruit. About a month ago, I was ready to jump back into the podcast and God said, “stop, sit at my feet a while.” 

He led me to Colossians, which led me to build my brand on the book of Colossians. And then He gave me prayers for my ministry and myself and the women that I impact. And then He burdened me to start a prayer team, to gather a small group of women that could be praying for me consistently and praying for my ministry and the women that I reach. 

Then He changed my schedule. He encouraged me to have quiet time with Him in the morning and in the evening so that I can engage with Him more to prepare for my ministry. And then He challenged me to hard obedience and He asked me to rest.  

Resting in Him 

I really struggle with resting in Him; I will do everything “for Him”, but it’s really for myself. I constantly am trying to earn my own salvation, and it reminds me of the Pharisees in Matthew 9. In Matthew 9:13, Jesus told the Pharisees,  

“Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Now this was super offensive to the Pharisees, because they would have been familiar with this verse. It comes from Hosea 6:6, which says,  

“For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice; the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” 

Now you might be wondering, why did Jesus say “mercy” and not “faithful love”? Those verses are different.  

Well, that’s because the Hebrew and the Greek differ. In Greek, the word is translated as “mercy”, but in Hebrew we translate it as “faithful love”. But the original Hebrew word is the word hesed. 

It means kindness, loving kindness, goodness, steadfast love, faithful love. God used it to describe Himself in Exodus 34:6. So, when Jesus says “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, He’s saying he wants an intimate relationship with us, not a transactional relationship. 

In the Faith Life Study Bible, the commentary on Matthew 9:13 says this: 

“Yahweh desires and values internal commitment and character transformation over external ritual observances.” 

The Pharisees of the New Testament and religious leaders of the Old Testament were focused on obeying all the rules but didn’t have a personal relationship with God. And sometimes, I get so busy sacrificing to and serving God that I don’t really pursue relationship with Him.  

But as we’ll see today, that is the only thing that is necessary.  

Mary and Martha

We’re going to dive into the story of Mary and Martha. Now, there’s actually a couple stories with Mary and Martha, but we’re going to look at the story in Luke 10, where Mary sits at Jesus’s feet and Martha serves Jesus food. We’re going to start by reading Luke 10:38-42 through and then I’m going to share three things that I want you to get from this passage today. 

Luke 10:38-42 says,  

“While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.’

The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.’” 

Three things I want you to get out of this passage today. 

1. Jesus did not condemn work

Number one, Jesus did not condemn work. He put it in its proper place.  

So, I shared Matthew 9:13 at the beginning of this podcast episode. And in the verses right after it, verses 14-15, it says, 

“Then John’s disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ 

Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’”  

Jesus wasn’t telling them they shouldn’t fast. He was just telling them it wasn’t the right time. Sometimes, it’s not the right time to serve. Sometimes we just need to sit at Jesus’s feet. 

Eternal vs. Temporal Value

I also want to point out the difference between eternal value and temporal value. Eternal things have more value. That’s why Jesus said, “Mary has made the right choice and it will not be taken away from her.” You see, when we see the temporal we serve in the temporal, but when we see the eternal, we serve in the eternal.  

And this is why we need to reconnect with God, because we get so busy in all of our things in the temporal that we forget about the eternal. When we reconnect with God, He fixes our focus back on the eternal. Jesus used this phrase, “one thing is necessary”, and I love that phrase. 

It reminds me of Psalm 27:4, which is a song of David where David said, 

“I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple.” 

So many things try to get our attention, but what is actually necessary? Just one thing: to sit at Jesus’s feet. 

A Word to Doers

Now, a word to doers. I read this blog post by Jordan Rayner called “Why God Doesn’t Need You to Finish Your To-Do List”. And this is a quote from that blog post: 

“God doesn’t need you or me to finish our to-do list. If the things on our to-do list are on God’s to-do list, He will complete them with or without us.” 

We tend to think we have to do it or it won’t get done, especially if we’re women. We’re surrounded by tasks that will not get done unless we do them. But if it is God’s will that it will be done, it will be done. God isn’t putting the entire burden of His will on your shoulders. There is a time to work and there is a time to rest. 

So, Jesus didn’t condemn work. He put it in its proper place. Make sure that you put work in its proper place so that you take time to rest at Jesus’s feet. 

2. God is Asking for Submission and Obedience

The second thing I want you to get from this passage is that God is asking us for submission and obedience.  

Submission

Now let’s start with submission. Submission can be a difficult word. But we’re talking about submission to Christ here, so take a deep breath, breathe it out, and just understand that submission to Christ is incredible. Romans 8:28 says, 

“all things work together for the good of those who love God.” 

Submitting to Christ, then, is the safest and quite frankly the most satisfying thing.  

David Guzik in his Enduring Word Commentary of Luke 10:38-42 says, 

“to sit at the feet of Jesus implies submission to Jesus. Rebellion is done with.” 

When Mary sat at Jesus’s feet, she was submitting to Him. She was accepting His teaching and intentionally spending time with Him. This is how God asks us to submit. This is how Christ asks us to sit at His feet. To simply sit at His feet, accept His teaching, and intentionally spend time with Him.  

Obedience

The concept of obedience is similar to submission. When we submit to God, we obey Him. When God directs us, we obey. In first Samuel 15:22, Samuel says to King Saul, 

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.” 

Sometimes, we get so busy doing things for Christ, for God, that we don’t actually obey Him, which is exactly what happened with King Saul. He claimed he was doing things for God, but really, he was just serving himself. When we obey God, it is a sign of our trust in Him. It is a sign of an intimate relationship with Him.  

One of my pastors in the past used to say,  

“obedience begets obedience, and disobedience begets disobedience.” 

The more we obey, the easier it is to obey. The more we disobey, the easier it is to disobey. 

And the more we obey, it becomes easier to obey Him. We begin to hear Him clearer. Our relationship with Him deepens. He trusts us with bigger things. And we experience bigger blessings. Obedience is essential to a mature relationship with Christ.  

God is asking us for submission to His will and obedience. 

3. Sitting at His Feet is Counter-cultural.

The third thing I want you to get out of this passage is that this concept is counter-cultural. It’s counter to our culture and theirs.

Their Culture

Let’s talk about their culture first. Martha had guests in her home. As the woman of the house, she would be expected to serve. And Mary, being her younger sister, would be expected to help her serve.  

Not only that, but Mary was a woman, and sitting at the teachers feet was not for women. It was only for men. Some scholars have indicated that Martha may have been upset by this. She may have said something to Jesus because she was concerned because Mary was sitting at His feet and that was considered improper.  

Jesus said Martha was worried about many things, but then He redirected her to the one thing. We get so caught up in political correctness and people pleasing and making sure we’re doing everything the right way. Jesus is saying, “don’t worry about all of those things. Just focus on the one thing.” 

 Only one thing is necessary and that is to sit at His feet. Whether it is counter-cultural or not.  

Our Culture

Now, in our culture. It’s counter-cultural to leave our to-do list unfinished, or to invest time in a relationship with God. It’s counter-cultural to consider the eternal over temporal. To submit or to obey an authority. To stop building a legacy for ourselves and build His Kingdom. 

Jesus calls us to be counter-cultural. And that’s OK.  When we choose to submit and obey Him and sit at His feet, we will automatically be acting in a counter-cultural way. And that’s OK. 

We need to learn to accept that it’s not about the way that people view us. It’s about the way that we view God and how we trust Him and choose to sit at His feet. 

Hesed 

I haven’t talked much about the word hesed today, but it really is a phenomenal word. It is incredible. There is no other version of that word in any other language, only in Hebrew, and this word is used about 250 times in the Old Testament. Most of those to describe God.  

So, when Hosea 6:6 says, “God desires hesed, not sacrifice”, that is such a rich statement.  

Christ is calling us to a loving relationship with Him and His Father. We do not have to earn His approval through service. We serve out of love and obedience. And we are intentional about sitting at His feet. 

Next Steps 

If you want a deeper relationship with God, might I suggest slowing down, giving space for Him to move in your life for Him to direct you and guide you and show you His will. To sit at His feet means we recognize it’s not about what we do, it’s about who He is. It’s about hesed, not sacrifice.  

If you’re interested at all in this concept of hesed, which I’ve started to dive into quite deeply recently. I picked up this book by Michael Card that I’m only about 1/3 of the way through, but it’s called “Inexpressible: Hesed and the mystery of God’s Lovingkindness”, and it is an incredible look at this attribute of God that we truly cannot and may never grasp. 

I highly recommend it if you want to learn more about God’s faithful covenant love for you. 

Outro 

Thanks for joining me today! If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, follow, and comment so I can reach more women with the good news of Christ. A few things before I go:  

First, I would love if you prayed for me, my ministry and the women I impact whenever you get a chance. And if you need some help, I have prayers on my website you can pray over each of those things.  

You can find links to the resources I mentioned today in the show notes. If anything is missing, or if you have any questions, please email me at brigette@brigettehenry.com. My name is spelled differently, so you can also find that email link in the show notes.  

If we haven’t connected yet, let’s connect! You can follow me on Instagram for encouragement and to see the behind-the-scenes of my spiritual journey. Or you can connect with other Christian women in the Journey Together Facebook Group. I also have a weekly email newsletter if you would like to get updates on new podcast episodes, access to my freebie library, and more! You can find links to all those things in the show notes.  

Lastly, if you are located near Northeast Ohio, I’m working to establish myself as a speaker. If your church has any upcoming women’s events, I would love to be your speaker! You can contact me through the link in the show notes.   

Thanks for listening to One Spiritual Journey. I hope to hear from you soon! Bye! 

Links: 

Things I Mentioned Today: 

The Faithlife Study Bible on the Logos App: https://www.logos.com/ 

Jordan Raynor Blog Post: https://www.jordanraynor.com/blog/why-god-doesn-t-need-you-to-finish-your-to-do-list 

David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary: https://enduringword.com/#commentary 

Michael Card’s “Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness”: https://shorturl.at/9hPBM 

Prayers for Me, my Ministry, and the Women I Reach: https://brigettehenry.com/about/#myprayers 

Connect With Me: 

Contact me: ⁠brigette@brigettehenry.com 

Join the Journey Together Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/journeytogetherchristianwomen 

Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onespiritualjourney 

Join my mailing list: ⁠https://brigettehenry.com/subscribe⁠ 

Other Fun Links: 

Visit my website: ⁠https://brigettehenry.com⁠ 

Notes: 

Music by AudioCoffee via Pixabay 

All scripture is CSB (Christian Standard Bible) 

All Greek word definitions come from Strong’s Definitions. You can get access to this resource and more at blueletterbible.org.