singing bunch tonight. Bless your heart. Maybe
you left it in the truck. John chapter 13. John
chapter 13. I expect you guys probably could
know that. There's a couple things you can probably
count on. And that is, the Wednesday before Christmas,
we're probably going to do Linus and Charlie
Brown. And the Wednesday before Easter, we're
probably going to do Jesus Washes the Disciples'
Feet. This event would have actually happened
on a Thursday, is when Jesus washed the disciples'
feet. And I guess really... This message will
be quite similar to the one we had last Wednesday
night. Just coincidentally, last Wednesday night
we were in Psalm 100 and we really focused on
the idea of serving the Lord. We talked about
the verse that said, serve the Lord with gladness.
We even sung the hymn that we are familiar with,
serve the Lord with gladness. And that's really
the point of this passage tonight is following
Jesus' example of service. really say much. There's
not much I don't think I can add to this passage.
It's pretty self -explanatory and it's quite
beautiful and a beautiful example for us to reflect
on even if we look at it every year and usually
multiple times a year because I think this is
just a powerful passage. So we'll pray and then
we'll jump in. God, we come to you. We thank
you for a good day. We thank you for this beautiful
weather you've given us, and we thank you for
the freedom we have to be able to come and to
look at these words. And I pray, dear Lord, that
your Holy Spirit would help us to be focused
on you in these few minutes, that we've got distractions
and worries and just things of the world, dear
Lord, that compete for our minds and our hearts.
But I pray that in these few minutes, dear Lord,
that our heart would tune in to your word, that
our hearts would be hearts that are willing and
ready to serve, dear Lord. Not just at Easter,
but every day of our life that we seek and we
see opportunities and we take part in those opportunities
you give us to be able to serve. So help us to
see the heart of Jesus in this scripture. And
God, I pray that we would learn from this. And
follow his example. In Jesus' name I pray it.
Amen. John chapter 13, verse 1. Before the Passover
festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to
depart from this world to the Father. He loved
his own who were in the world. He loved them
to the end. Now Jesus knew exactly what was about
to take place. He knew that his hour had come.
that there was coming a point in his life that
he would depart from this world. Jesus knew what
his mission was, and each of us, while we may
not know our mission maybe in the same way that
Jesus did, nonetheless, God puts us here, and
he desires for us to serve him and be obedient
to him, and there's coming an hour when we will
depart from this world. And sometimes we don't
know, but... But many times, I believe people
know. They have a pretty good idea, especially
as people begin to get sick. You kind of can
sense, I think. I don't know. I've never been
there before. But in visiting a lot of people
at the end of their life, I think there's a sense
and a feeling when you know that that time is
drawing near. And Jesus... knew his time was
drawing near, and he was getting ready to depart
from this world, but he had done everything he
had come to do from beginning to end. He had
loved those that God had put in his care. He
loved the people that he had come to minister
to. He loved the people that he had come to save,
and Jesus carried out his mission to the end.
He did not give up. He continued to love those
that God had put into his path. And that's a
good thing for us to think about today. There's
coming a day when we will depart from this world.
We don't know when it's going to be. For some,
maybe it's tomorrow. Maybe it's next week. Maybe
it's next year. Maybe it's 50 years. We don't
know when our time will come. But when our time
comes that we realize that we are drawing near
to the end and our time to depart is close, Can
it be said of us that we have loved to the end,
that we have done God's will to the end, that
those that we have encountered, that those that
God has put into our path, that our children
that God has given us to raise and our grandchildren
and our parents and all of those around us, can
we be able to say at the end of our life that
my time to depart is drawing near, but I have
loved and served God and those around me. Till
the very end. That's a good goal for us to shoot
for. Verse 2. Now by the time of supper, the
devil had already put it into the heart of Judas,
Simon Iscariot's son, to betray him. Jesus knew
that the Father had given everything into his
hands, that he had come from God, and that he
was going back to God. Now this is important.
Jesus knew that his time was drawing close. Jesus
also knew that the devil was doing a work here
in Judas. But Jesus was not going to let the
work of the devil stop him. Why? He says because
he had come from God and he knew he was going
back to God. Jesus was not concerned about the
attacks of the devil because he knew... God,
the Father that he had come to serve, was stronger
than the devil. And that's important for us to
remember, too, because the devil is at work.
He is at work with our temptations. He may be
at work in the lives of those around us to just
give us a hard time, to get us off track, but
we have to realize that even when the tactics
of the devil are working against us, that we
are of God, and when this old world is over,
we will return to God. So whatever we go through,
we can rejoice and we can stand firm knowing
the end. And the end is possible through what
Jesus is about to do. And the end for us who
have trusted in Jesus Christ is we, when we leave
this world, when we go away, when we depart,
we will go to the presence of God. Verse 4. So
he got up from supper, laid aside his robe, took
a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he
poured water into a basin and began to wash his
disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel
tied around him. Jesus, knowing that his time
was short, Jesus, knowing that the devil was
at work, Jesus, knowing that he would soon go
back to be with the Father, Jesus says, my time
is short, so I must make the most of these last
few hours I have, and here is what I'm going
to do. And Jesus proceeded to do something that
even now, as many times as I've read it or preached
this passage, it is just phenomenal to me. that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, got a bowl with
some water, got a towel, and Jesus began to wash
the nasty, dirty feet. Of his followers. Of all
the things that Jesus could do. He imparted all
kind of wisdom. They had seen miracles. And this
last lesson right here at the end that he really
wanted them to grasp was so powerful. He said,
I know my time is short. What is there left for
me to pour into my disciples? What can I do in
these last few hours? What can I impart on them?
And Jesus chooses something that we probably
would never even imagine or think about. But
that's the beauty of Jesus. Jesus gets the towel
and he gets the water and he begins to do the
job of a servant. He begins to do a job that
is a nasty and a dirty job. People's feet today
are relatively clean, maybe a little stinky,
but relatively clean. We wear socks and we wear
shoes. Our feet are pretty clean compared to
those days. Now, you know what it's like even
now when you wear flip -flops and sandals. Your
feet are pretty dirty at the end of those days.
Or you walk around barefoot. And these people
that were walking around in those days, they
were walking around through all kind of junk.
And here Jesus, at the end of the day, when everybody's
feet was absolutely nasty, Jesus himself does
the job of a lowly... servant. Continuing on
in verse 6, he came to Simon Peter who asked
him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus
answered him, what I'm doing you don't understand
now, but afterward you will know. You will never
wash my feet ever, Peter said. Jesus replied,
if I don't wash you, you have no part with me.
Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not only my feet,
but also my hands and my head. One who is bathed,
Jesus told him, doesn't need to wash anything
except his feet. But he is completely clean.
You are clean, but not all of you. For he knew
who would betray him. That is why he said, you
are not. all clean. Now, Peter speaks up here
pretty boldly as he usually does. And obviously
he takes some issue to this, recognizing who
Jesus is and knowing that this is not the job
for the Messiah, for the son of God. Peter says,
no, you're not going to wash my feet. But Jesus
was using this illustration, not just from a
physical standpoint of, oh, you need to be clean.
Your feet stink, Peter. Come on, you got to let
me do it. But Jesus is making a bigger point.
He's saying, look, you have to be washed. Now,
throughout these few verses I've read, You see
the word wash a lot, and some of your translation
uses wash all the way through, but my translation
in verse 10 says, one who has bathed. Now, it's
important to notice that there's a distinction
there, that not all of the washing that's taking
place is the same. If you look in the Greek,
there's different words there from where it says
wash earlier in those verses and where it says
bathed in my translation, and yours may still
stay wash there, but it's a different word. When
it's talking about wash, Washing is talking about
a basic wash, like you wash your hands, okay?
So we get ready to eat. When we go home to eat
tonight, we're going to wash our hands. That's
the kind of washing that's implied with the first
Greek word when we talk about washing. But Jesus
changes to a different Greek word here in verse
10. One who has washed, that is to say, one who
has bathed is fully clean. Now, you know as well
as I do, there's a difference between washing
our hands or washing our face and bathing. When
we bathe, we are completely clean. Now, once
we are completely clean, at night, maybe you
get out of the shower, you walk back in the kitchen,
you get your little ice cream before bed, you're
barefoot, and your feet may get dirty, and you
may even wipe your feet off where you get in
the bed because they're dirty again. But your
whole self is not dirty. Just a part of you is
dirty. And Jesus is making an illustration here.
He's saying, look. Peter, you're clean, but maybe
there's a little part of you that's dirty. Even
when we are clean through Jesus Christ, that's
not to say that there is not some sin there that
does not need to be cleaned up or washed from
time to time. But once our sins are forgiven
in Jesus Christ, we are bathed, so to speak.
Sometimes we need those little spot washes here
and there. There's a little spot here and there
of sin, and we need those continual cleanings.
But what Jesus says here is he says, Jesus told
him, one who has bathed doesn't need to wash
anything except his feet, but he is completely
clean. You are clean, but not all of you. So
there was one there that had not bathed, so to
speak. There was one there that had not been
washed. Judas' feet were soon to be cleaned by
Jesus, but it was not going to be sufficient.
It doesn't have the same meaning as what it does
for the rest of the apostles, because the rest
of the apostles have been bathed. That is, they
have trusted Jesus Christ, and Jesus is saying,
you guys have nothing to worry about. Because
you have put your faith and your trust in me.
And you don't understand these things. You don't
understand necessarily everything I've said and
done. But soon you're going to know what's going
on. And you're going to be okay because you've
been bathed. And for those of you who have been
bathed, this act of washing your feet is going
to prove to be a great example for you moving
forward. But, Jesus says, I'm washing all of
your feet, but not all of you are clean. Not
all of you have been bathed. There is one who
is not, and that one was Judas, who the devil
had already began to work in his heart. I said
I wasn't going to talk long tonight. I apologize.
I lied. We're going all in tonight. I thought
this was going to be brief, but it's okay. We
don't have nothing but time. When Jesus had washed
their feet and put on his robe, he reclined again
and said to them, Do you know what I have done
for you? You call me teacher and Lord, this is
well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and teacher,
have washed your feet, you also ought to wash
one another's feet. For I have given you an example
that you also should do this just as I have done
for you. I assure you, a slave is not greater
than his master, and a messenger is not greater
than the one who sent him. If you know these
things, you are blessed. If you do them. So when
Jesus completes this beautiful act, Jesus says,
and here is why I have done this. I have done
this to be an example for you. You guys have.
been chosen by me to follow me. And all of you
but one have followed me and have been obedient
to me and have listened to me and are prepared
to do the work for me. But here is this one thing
that as my life will soon draw to a close and
I will soon depart from this world and go to
the Father, I leave you with this one important
thing, and that is humility. That you always
remember that you come to serve the Lord. That
you remember the humility that I, the Son of
God, have shown you by washing your feet. And
know that you are not better than anyone else.
You are not too good to do the work of the Lord.
You are never too good even to do the most dirty
jobs. That when God has called you to follow
me and when you have chosen to serve me, you
must serve me in humility. I have shown you through
this example and soon will show through this
example on the cross what it means to be a servant
of God and what it means to be humble. Therefore,
what you have seen me do, go and do it yourself.
Now that is a powerful command to the apostles
and to you and I because that is the same heart
of service that God desires for us to have today.
That we never consider ourselves Higher than
we are. Jesus Christ is the highest that has
ever walked this earth, and yet he was not too
high to do the lowliest job. Jesus was the highest
to ever walk on this earth, and he was not too
high as to not give his life for those whom he
loved. And Jesus says, here is the example of
what it means to serve. And so what is our excuse?
Surely we probably have made some excuses. Maybe
not. Maybe we've all been perfectly obedient.
And every opportunity that God has given us to
serve, we have said, yes, Lord, send me. Or maybe
we have not. Maybe we have come up with some
excuses as to why things are too dangerous or
too painful or too scary or too dirty as to why
we are not to do that, as to why that job needs
to fall to somebody else when Jesus says those
jobs fall to you. Who? Those who follow Jesus
Christ. What a beautiful command and what a difficult
command. But Jesus never just tells us what to
do. That's the sign of a good leader, by the
way. They don't just tell you what to do. They
show you what to do. They don't tell you what
to do. They do what they're calling you to do.
And that is who Jesus is. That is who Jesus was.
Jesus did the work. Jesus showed us humility.
And service. And Jesus says not just to these
11. But to every one of us that are sitting here.
Or listening online tonight. Who have put our
faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And claim to
be his follower. Jesus says this is your command.
To do as I have done. And he closes in verse
12. Or excuse me 17 that we looked at tonight.
He says. If you know these things, you are blessed
if you do them. Now, perhaps we are guilty sometimes
of knowing the things of God's Word, of knowing
the commands of God, but it's not just enough
to know them. There is not blessing in knowing
them. I guess on some level there is. But ultimately,
true blessing comes not just from knowing what
God calls us to, but doing what God calls us
to. There's no blessing in knowing that we should
serve others. There's no blessing in knowing
that God has given us an opportunity or put somebody
or something in our path, a way for us to serve,
and we say no. There's no blessing in that. We
may know it's what God calls us to, but Jesus
says you are blessed if you do these things.
If you do these things. So the question that
we must answer today, maybe every day, is are
we serving the Lord? We know that Jesus calls
us to serve. Are we seeking opportunities to
serve? Sometimes those opportunities are right
in front of us. And sometimes we know they're
right in front of us, and sometimes we just say
no. We know the things, but we don't do the things.
And we don't receive the blessings of God that
He may want to pour out on us because we know
and don't do. So what Jesus says is you must
know and you must do and you'll experience the
blessing of God. So maybe there are things that
we know, and maybe today it's time for us to
do. And maybe there are opportunities and maybe
we don't see them. Sometimes we just kind of
miss them. We're just, you know, we got our mind
on things of the world and other stuff. And it's
not that we're intentionally saying no to God.
We just maybe don't realize an opportunity to
serve. And maybe our prayer today needs to be,
Lord Jesus, would you help me to see opportunities
to serve like you? Would you open my eyes and
my ears and my heart? To people that are around
me. Would you help me to see opportunities to
serve? Maybe that's a good prayer for us every
morning. God, give me an opportunity to serve
you today. God, put somebody in my path that
I can serve you today. And God will do that.
I believe he hears those prayers. And I believe
there's probably more opportunities to serve
than we see. And when we pray, if we pray, and
ask God for opportunities to serve, then we need
to be ready. Because God's going to open our
eyes and He's going to give us opportunities
to serve and then we have a choice to make. Are
we going to be those who just know the Word of
God? That's a good place to start, knowing the
Word of God. But Jesus calls us to take it one
step further. To not just know the Word of God,
but to do the Word of God. And in that, there
is great blessing. What a beautiful, beautiful
passage. What a beautiful example we have in
Jesus Christ tonight. Let's pray. God, we thank
you for these good words. God, perhaps for some,
this is the first time they've ever heard this
passage. Maybe for others, we have heard it and
read it and even preached it, dear Lord, more
times than we could possibly count. But God,
it is just as beautiful today as it was the day
that it was penned. It was the moment that Jesus
carried out this act of service. So God, I pray
that we would follow this example, that we would
find encouragement, dear Lord, that we would
be those that would live our life like Jesus
did, so that when our time to depart comes, we'll
know that we have loved to the end like Jesus
did. God, that whatever tactics of the devil
may come our way, that we would not be... Dismay,
dear Lord, but that we would trust in you, knowing
that the devil's tactics will never stand. God,
let us never think too highly of ourselves, dear
Lord. Let us never seek to be those who are served,
but those who seek to serve. And the most basic
things to even the dirtiest things, dear Lord,
Jesus has showed us what it means to serve. So
God, I pray that we follow this example of humility
tonight. I pray, God, that we would be those
who are bathed, that we would not be like Judas,
but that we would be those who, through Jesus
Christ, God, our sins have been forgiven and
we have been cleaned. God, maybe there's a little
sin in our life today that doesn't need to be
there. I pray that you wash us of that, that
we would repent, that we would seek you, that
we would ask forgiveness tonight. And I pray,
dear Lord, that we would hear your word, that
we would know your word, and more than anything,
God, I pray that we would do your word. I pray
that we would experience your blessing, dear
Lord. I pray that you give us opportunities to
serve. I pray that you help us to see those opportunities.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.