The mission of the Law Scat is Christian Church is to develop passionate followers of Jesus
Christ. That raises a question to me and perhaps to you too, and that is, what do we mean by
followers of Christ? What do we mean by followers of Christ? George Barney in his surveys has
found that four out of ten Americans identify with these two statements. Here are the statements
that four out of ten Americans identify with. Number one, I have made a personal commitment
to Jesus Christ that is still important in my life today. And after I die, I will go
to heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
Four out of ten Americans identify with those statements. And yet as we look at our nation
today and the state of our culture, as we look at the state of the church, does it really
seem possible that 40% of Americans are followers of Jesus Christ? It probably depends upon how
you interpret personal commitment to Jesus Christ, or what you mean by confess my sins
and accepted Christ. There are some people, for example, who think that they are followers
of Jesus because they wear a bracelet or some other jewelry that says WWJD on it. Others
put the cross around their neck on a necklace and say by that that they are followers of
Jesus. Then there are those who do good works in the name of Jesus, or who are involved
in doing good things in religious service for Jesus' sake. And because of that, they
consider themselves to be followers of Jesus. Others seem to think that because they have
a sentimental attachment to the name of Jesus, or because they even pray to Jesus sometimes,
they must then surely be followers of Jesus. Jesus had some very sobering words at the
end of the sermon on the mount. He says in Matthew chapter 7 of verse 21, not everyone
who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now it is true the
word Lord can be used as a polite term of addressing someone, but that's not the context
here. It was also the word that was used by the Jews in speaking of God, of Yahweh, their
God, Lord. And that's the sense of what Jesus is using it. He says, not everyone who calls
me God, in fact, who has such intense devotion to me that they say Lord, Lord, not everyone
who uses that kind of terminology Jesus says is going to go to heaven. He goes on to say,
many will say to me, many, many will say to me in that day, that is the day of judgment,
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? He emphasizes that. In Your name we prophesied.
But in Your name we drove out demons and we performed miracles in Your name. And Jesus
says, then I will tell them plainly, forthrightly, I'll just lay it on the line. I never knew
You, away from me, you evil doers. I don't mean to upset anyone's assurance of salvation
who's genuinely saved, but I think it's time for us to understand what the followers of
Jesus really are and who they are. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Well, who
better to consult about that than Jesus himself? I think he ought to know, don't you? In the
Gospel of John, Jesus said some very difficult things to His followers, people who were coming
after Him. John calls them His disciples in the broadest sense. They were so offended
by what Jesus said to them that John says many of them went away and did not follow
Him anymore. If you measure Jesus against the way that some people like to measure success
in Christianity today, you would have to say Jesus was a failure because His crowd diminished.
When He taught them the hard things, they said, we don't want to hear this. You're not
meeting our needs. We're going away. And they did. In John chapter 8 and verse 31, Jesus
said to the Jews who had believed on Him, if you hold to my teaching, then you are really
my disciples. If you hold to my teachings, then are you really my disciples. But for
the major text I want us to look at today, I'd like you to turn your Bible with me to
John chapter 13. John chapter 13, as Jesus prepares to go to the cross, Jesus describes
in this chapter who His followers are. This is an important message for all of us who
are seeking to be followers of Jesus and who are involved in a church that seeks to develop
passionate followers of Jesus Christ. Who are followers of Jesus? Let's allow Jesus
and the Word of God to tell us who the followers of Jesus really are. The chapter begins by
saying it was just before the Passover feast, and Jesus knew that the time had come for
Him to leave this world and to go to His Father. Having loved His own who were in the world,
He now showed them the full extent of His love, or He loved them to the uttermost, another
translation says. In the very first verse of the chapter, as John is writing about the
event, He gives us a hint as to who the followers of Jesus are. His followers, number one,
belong to Him. They are His own. Notice that phrase? They are uniquely His. Now Jesus,
or rather John, is referring to those who are in the room with Jesus on that occasion.
But of course it goes far beyond that by way of application to His followers, His disciples
in every generation. In the first place, those who are His followers today as then are those
who belong to Him. You see, being a follower of Jesus is not some superficial thing like
wearing jewelry or going to a seminar or doing good works. It's far more than being merely
a student of someone or a fan. Jesus' followers are not groupies. They are not simply admirers
of Him. Jesus' followers are not like the followers of R.E.M., for example, or the Beatles,
or some sports star. His followers are not devotees of an Eastern guru. His followers
are more than that. The followers of Jesus have far more than interest in Jesus, in who
He was. They have far more than just an appreciation for His ethics and His example. There are
more than students, mere students of what He said. On our recent tour to Israel, we
had a wonderful guide. His name is David Jacobs. He's done this for 30 years. And you
know, after 30 years, these guides who are well trained know what to say to please your
ear. They know that you, coming as a Christian, and not a Catholic Christian perhaps, but
an evangelical Christian, as in our case, that you want to hear and see certain things.
And so they tailor their presentations to fit their group. David did that for us. It
was very clear that he was doing that for us. But there was something different about
this guide than any other guide that I've had in Israel. David not only had an appreciation
for the Bible and for the person of Jesus, but David had a reverence for the Bible. In
many respects, he believes the Bible as much as you and I believe the Bible to be true.
And therefore it was easy for us to assume, because of the way he was talking about Jesus,
that really he must be a completed Jew, a Messianic Jew. And so we approached him about
that and in fact, David is not yet. We're praying that he will be. It was interesting
one day, in fact several days of the tour, David referenced his experience several years
ago being the guide to the corral from the Moody Bible Institute and what an impact that
it had upon his life. He still remembered it, talked about their music and the quality
of the young people he had met on that tour. I thought that was quite interesting. And
so we asked David about Jesus. What do you believe about Jesus? Do you believe that he
was God? No. Do you believe that Jesus rose again from the dead? No, I don't. You see,
one can have an appreciation for Jesus. One can believe that he was a historical figure,
that he was a very important religious leader and prophet, but come short of being a true
follower of Jesus. Because you see, true followers of Jesus have a personal relationship with
Jesus. That's what his own means. Having loved his own who were in the world. It refers
to those who have been separated to him, those who are private to him. In John chapter 6,
Jesus says, all that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I
will never cast away. There's a wonderful balance there between the sovereignty of God
in giving us to Jesus so that we belong to him. But then our responsibility also to come
to him. All that the Father gives to me will come to me, says Jesus. And the one who comes
to me, that's my responsibility, he says, I will never cast away. We belong to Jesus.
It's also illustrated in John chapter 10 when Jesus uses the language of a shepherd and sheep.
He begins the chapter by saying, I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the
sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The man
who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. Notice what he says. The watchman
opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls for the next words.
His own, his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of them,
excuse me, when he has brought out his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow
him because they know his voice. The picture Jesus is using here is of a community sheep
pen. There's been a guard overnight who has watched the flock and now a shepherd comes
in the morning to get his sheep out of this large pen. And so he begins to call his sheep
by their names and each of them knows the voice of the shepherd and they come immediately
to the gate and they leave the pen and they follow the shepherd because they are his own
sheep. They have a relationship with that shepherd and so it is with the sheep of Jesus.
There's a relationship at the end, toward the end of the chapter. Jesus says in verse
27, My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life
and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. Personal relationship.
You see, there is an invisible bond between Jesus and his followers.
Here in verse 8, Jesus uses the word part to describe that relationship. He says, If
you don't allow me to wash you, you have no part with me. The idea is you have no share
in me. And so to be a follower of Jesus means to have a share in him. It means to have a
partnership with him, a connection to Jesus. If you are a follower of Jesus today, you
are his possession. You have a real time link with Jesus. You have been purchased by Jesus
to be his own sheep. For example, we see Paul talking about this in Titus 2.14. He says,
Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness
to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good. That phrase,
His very own, can be illustrated with a point, a dot, and a circle around it. That is, a
people that are encompassed by Jesus Himself. We belong to Jesus. And as he says later in
Romans 14.8, So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Now there are those who
say, Well, how in the world is it possible to have a personal relationship with someone
who is a historical figure, with someone who is dead? How do you have a personal relationship
with Napoleon? How do you have a personal relationship with Roosevelt? Well, obviously
you can't have a personal relationship with someone who lived in history and who is dead.
That's the very point. Jesus is more than historical. He is eternal. He is alive because
He was raised from the dead. He is a living presence, a live person, although invisible
to our eyes. There are skeptics who say, Oh, that's just you Christians wishing He were
alive. You're just manipulating your mind so that you're imagining that He is alive.
Oh, no, my friend, that is not true. The reality of a personal relationship with Jesus is experienced
by faith in what God has said about Him. Who is a follower of Jesus? It is someone who
is one of His own, who has that personal relationship with Him. I ask you, is Jesus real to you?
Yes. Good, amen. Or is He, as He is too far too many, who even called themselves Christians
merely a myth, an epic figure, an impersonal somebody who lived merely in history? To some
who called themselves Christians, He's like that flannel graph Jesus that was put on the
board. You have this image of what He may have looked like or some artist's conception
of Him, but that's all He is to you. He's little more to you really than Santa Claus,
this fairy tale, this legend. But the Bible makes it clear that the real follower of Jesus
has a relationship with Jesus as one of His own sheep. It goes far beyond what is between
teacher and students, far beyond what exists between an example and His admirers, far beyond
a religious leader and His devotees. It means that we actually belong to Jesus, just as
those who have a family tie belong to each other. Now this is a wonderful idea, a wonderful
idea, especially if in your life you have experienced rejection, if you have been abandoned,
if you wonder about your own personal significance in this world. Because if you are a follower
of Jesus, all of those issues are laid aside because you belong to Him. You are His follower.
St. Patrick's Day was a couple of days ago, and I'm going to quote now an Irish pastor
who lived in the last century. His name was George Wade Robinson. He died when he was
only 39 years of age. But he left behind one of the most beloved of all devotional hymns.
Loved with everlasting love, led by grace, that love to know. Gracious spirit from above,
thou hast taught me this soul. Oh, this full and perfect peace. Oh, this transport, all
divine. In the love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine. His, forever His, only
His. Who the Lord and me shall part? Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving
heart. Heaven and earth may fade and flee, first born light in gloom decline. But while
God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine. That, my friend, is the follower of Jesus.
The one who can say from the depths of his heart, I belong to Jesus Christ.
But the answer goes on in the chapter. Who is the follower of Jesus? It's the one who
belongs to Him. But secondly, His followers receive recurring cleansing. I'm going to
pick up the reading in John 13 with verse 2 where it says, The evening meal was being
served in the devil had already prompted Judas the Scariest son of Simon to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power and that He had come from
God and that was returning to God. So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing,
and wrapped a towel around His waist. 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.
And now what happens is so Peter. I mean, this is Peter at his very best as Peter.
He came to Simon Peter who said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? You do not
realize now what I am doing? Jesus replied. But later you will understand. No, said Peter.
You shall never, ever wash my feet. Jesus answered, Unless I wash you, you have no
part with me. You do not belong to me. You are not mine. Peter is broken. He says then,
Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well. And Jesus answered a person
who has a bath. He needs only to wash his feet. His whole body is clean and you are
clean, though not every one of you, for he knew was going to betray him. And that was
why he said not every one of you was clean. Peter illustrates a point here. As a follower
of Jesus, Peter had already experienced forgiveness of his sin as a matter of his position before
God. As one who had been separated from God by sin, he had been bathed. Given a bath,
his body as it were had been cleansed from the defilement of his sin. And he had been
brought into this relationship with Jesus. The word bath in verse 10 refers to a full
body washing. It's a symbol of getting in the shower, into the bathtub and just cleansing
yourself all over. And it's a symbol here of that once for all cleansing of sin that
happens at that moment that we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But Peter, like all
true followers of Jesus, needed a subsequent forgiveness. It's the forgiveness of sins
in his daily walk so that his fellowship with the Lord would remain unaffected. The washing
of the feet here is a symbolic of the need for a recurring cleansing that the followers
of Jesus need from the defilement of our sins in our daily walk so that our fellowship with
the Lord remains. That defilement in our daily walk does not necessitate that we be saved
all over again. We don't need the bath, but we do need our feet washed. And that requires
humility. It requires a humble confession of our sins and agreement with God about our
sins so that the fellowship is not hindered. The followers of Jesus have a nature that
inclines them to confess their sins. That is not true of those who are not true followers
of Jesus. The accumulation of sins in their lives does not bother them. They go on from
day to day and event to event and become more grossly defiled all the time. And there is
no sense of guilt in their heart. They don't really care because they're not followers
of Jesus. People who call themselves Christians and who live lifestyles of sin are deceiving
themselves. When we are followers of Jesus, we sense the need for cleansing. And Peter
was basically saying to Jesus, Jesus, whatever it takes, I want to be in fellowship with
you. You can tell a follower of Jesus because he receives from the Lord this recurring cleansing.
He knows when he is sinned and he comes to the Lord in confession of it and Jesus washes
his feet. 1 John 1. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another. In the blood of Jesus, his son purifies us from all sin. But then
notice what John says. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out
to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. I want you to notice the parallelism
there. Four verses to start with if. The first verse, excuse me, verse 8 and verse 10 are
in parallel. These are the people who have no sense of their sin or who, knowing their
sin, refuse to acknowledge their sins. And Jesus is saying here through the Word of God
that we are not His followers. People who have no sense of their sinfulness are deceiving
themselves. God's Word is not in them. On the other hand, those who are following Jesus,
who are walking in the light, have fellowship with Him and He purifies us continually. He
talks more about that. He says, if we confess our sins, we, His followers, he is faithful
and just, will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. The washing of
the feet. Who are the true followers of Jesus? Those who understand their need for recurring
cleansing and claim it. And who as soon as they are aware that they have failed the Lord
are smitten with guilt and humbly say, Lord, I've blown it here. I acknowledge my sin
there. I agree with you that what I've done is wrong and their feet are washed. Jesus
said if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. You're not one of mine. Who are the
followers of Jesus? Well, in verses 12 to 17 we see another answer. It is His followers
imitate His example. When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes
and returned to His place. Do you understand what I've done for you, He asked them? You
call me teacher and Lord and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and
teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an
example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is
greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that
you know these things, you will be blessed if you what? If you do them. It's one thing
to know, it's another to do. We often think of the symbols of Christianity as the fish,
it's true, or the cross, and that's true. But let me tell you, a towel and a basin are
just as fitting a symbol of Christianity as any other symbol. Jesus sanctified these instruments
of servanthood. He girded himself with a towel, took a basin of water, and went around the
table washing the feet of his disciples. Most of you undoubtedly are familiar with the picture,
as the disciples would have reclined on couches to eat, reclining on their left side with
their feet behind them, another person would be here, another behind, and they would reach
out and take the food with their hand. The feet would be sticking out at the end of the
couch. Customarily a servant would come and wash the feet. You see a person would get
a bath before coming to a meal like this, but in walking to the place they would get
their feet dirty. And so it was appropriate for a servant to come and just to rinse off
their feet so that they would be clean as they ate their meal. In this case, Jesus takes
the place of the servant and he goes around the table washing the dirt off the feet of
the disciples. And he says, you've seen what I've done. Now I've left you an example that
you should wash one another's feet. Now there are some denominations that take this so seriously
that they incorporate this as a third ordinance of the church. Did you know that? Just as we
baptize and take communion, there are some churches such as the Grace Brethren Denomination
that includes the ordinance, as they put it, of foot washing. And they practice that in
their church. Now we don't understand John 13 that same way, but what Jesus does here
is very important because he gives us an illustration and an example that we are to serve one another
at the point of need. The disciples needed to have their feet washed. Jesus did it for
them. And what the towel in the basin say to you and to me is this, that we need to find
the place of need where someone else needs us and go to that point and serve them. Be
a servant to them. We should never think ourselves greater than our Lord, who himself washed
the feet and thus served his disciples. And what motivated him to do this? It was his
love. He loved them to the very end, to the uttermost. He showed them, says John, how
much he loved them by serving them. Toward the end of this chapter in verse 33, Jesus
says, my children, I want verse 34, rather, a new command I give you. Love one another
as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you
are my followers, my disciples, if you love one another. What does loving one another
mean in the context of John 13? It means to take the place of humble service in the life
of another person and to be a servant to them, even to wash their feet in some respect.
Who are the followers of Jesus? His followers imitate His example. That's how you know
who a follower of Jesus is. I guess we could ask the question to all of us who say we
are followers of Jesus, whose feet does Jesus ask that you wash for Him today? He can't
be there to do it, but He is sending you. Finally, and very quickly, let me say that
when we answer the question, who are the followers of Jesus, we need to look at what He does
at the end of the chapter, verses 31 to 33. His followers, says Jesus, go where He has
now gone. When Judas was gone, and the intervening verses here deal with Judas, not for a subject
for this morning. When Judas was gone, Jesus said, now is the Son of man glorified and
God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself
and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You
will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now where I am going, you cannot
come. Look at verse 36. Peter says, Lord, where are you going? Jesus replied, where
I am going, you cannot come follow, rather, now, but you will follow later. Some say,
well, He is talking to Peter here about the cross. Peter was crucified later, but I think
the context argues against that particular interpretation. He is talking here about following
him to heaven, because in chapter 14 he goes on to talk about, I am going away, but I will
come back and receive you to myself. You will come and you will follow me at that point.
Who are the followers of Jesus? Those who will go where He has gone, back to the Father.
Jesus knew that His hour had come to go back to the Father. Notice He has not panicked.
He is not confused. He doesn't have second thoughts here, rather, He is filled with confidence.
In verse 1 it tells us that He knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world
and go to the Father. Verse 3 tells us that He knew that the Father had put all things
under His power. It tells us that He had come from God. He knew that. He was returning to
God. There is no self-doubt in Jesus. There is no internal agony at this point, as He
is so often portrayed in Hollywood as wondering who He was and what He was doing. He absolutely
is in control here and He knows these things. He assures Peter and his followers, including
us today, that though we could not go with Him at that point, someday our time will come.
Today our hour will come when we too will go to the Father.
Now this morning in these minutes I have tried to answer that question, who are the followers
of Jesus? The key question though is not who is the follower of Jesus, as important as
that is, but it is for each one of us to ask ourselves what demonstrates that I am a follower
of Jesus. What demonstrates that I am a follower of Jesus? You see, being a follower of Jesus
is more than words you say. It is more than going to church once a week or going because
you have to go or being raised in a Christian family or going through some motions or being
baptized. It is more than going forward into church and it is more than saying a prayer
of repentance. Being a follower of Jesus has some evidence in the life and all of eternity
hangs in the balance when we ask this question. What demonstrates that I am a follower of
Jesus? You see, being a follower of Jesus is not a safe and acceptable role in our world.
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean that you fit in with the majority. It does not
mean that you are going to be popular and that others are going to like you. Being a
follower of Jesus is revolutionary. Being a follower of Jesus is dangerous because it
means that you lay everything on the line. One writer said, nothing is more controversial
than to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Nothing is more dangerous than to live out the will
of God in today's contemporary world. I close with a cute little story that was passed along
by Irwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles about his son Aaron. He says that one summer
his son Aaron went to a youth camp when he was just a little guy. He said, I was kind
of glad that he went to this camp because it was a church camp. He said, I figured he
wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories because ghost stories can really cause a kid
to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell
ghost stories because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon stories. And so when
Aaron got home, he was terrified. Dad, don't turn off the light, he said before going to
bed. No, daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I'm afraid. They told all these stories
about demons. He says, I wanted to say they're not real. That's not true. He goes, daddy,
daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe? Irwin said, I could feel it. I could
feel warm blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him. A life of safety, safety,
safety. And I said, Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will
make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room. And he
goes, all right, but pray I'll be really, really dangerous, daddy. And then MacManus
closes by asking, have you come to that place in your own life where you stop asking God
to give you a safe life and to make you a dangerous follower of Jesus Christ? Let's
pray. Lord Jesus, as we have entered into the upper room with you in this text today,
we've been confronted with this question about who your real followers are. And I fear for
this generation, I fear for the church of today, I fear for that 40% of Americans that
think they're followers. But in fact, there's very little to no evidence that they really
are following you. And I pray that this message today will define for us clearly who your
followers are and that we can answer that question in the affirmative, that we know
that we are your followers. And I pray there may be even those right now or in the coming
moments as we sing who will receive you as Lord and Savior and truly commit themselves
to be your followers. And we pray that you will not keep us safe, but that you will make
us dangerous and filled with the Holy Spirit to live out our lives as fully in love and
humble service in this world as you did when you met with the disciples and then went to
the cross. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. The ushers come with the elements that
symbolize Jesus' death. If you are a follower of Jesus, take the elements, remembering for
whom they stand and what they represent for us who are His followers.