Sermon Tone Analysis

Prelude

Welcome/Reason for Gathering

We gather together on this night to remember and celebrate the Thursday of Holy Week—the day on which Jesus shared a meal with His disciples, washed their feet, and gave them a command.

As we gather here, separated by time and location from the events of that night, our purpose is clear: to focus on the Lord, to partake of the meal He instituted for us to commemorate, and commit to serve one another and to love one another as He has loved us.

Confession:

All: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pastor: Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

All: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pastor: We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength.

We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We have not always had in us the mind of Christ.You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways, by forgetting your love.

All: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pastor: We, with unclean hearts, need your cleansing power, your forgiveness, your grace, your mercy.

Wash us, Father, in the crimson blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Wash us and make us whiter than snow.

All: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pastor: Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father, and free us from our sin.

Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son, our Savior, Amen.

Hymn #256: My Savior’s Love/I Stand Amazed

Scripture Reading:

Sermon

It was the Passover celebration.

Everyone in town to commemorate God’s most incredible rescue of His people—God’s most incredible rescue of His people so far.

It was just before the Passover Festival John writes for us.

Jesus knew the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Jesus knew this hour was coming.

This was what He was born to do.

Jesus was born to die, born to live among us for a time, and then to die in our place.

The perfect, spotless lamb of God, the One of whom John exclaimed: “Behold!

The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” has come to do just that.

But before He goes to the cross, He shares a meal with His disciples, His friends; He shares a meal with His betrayer, His denier, His deserters.

And if that isn’t enough, Jesus, the Sovereign of the Universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is going to wash their feet.

In an act of humility and service and love which is meant to spur us on to a mirrored humility and service and love, Jesus gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel around His waist, pours water into a basin, and washes His disciples dirty, dusty, smelly man feet.

For Judas who betrayed Him, for Peter who denied Him, for the disciples who deserted Him—Jesus washes their feet.

And as Jesus’ disciples today, we are commanded to do as Jesus has done for us.

There are a few ways to take this:

To actually, literally wash one another’s feet.

This is one way to model the service, the humility, the posture of our Lord Jesus.

It’s a humbling act to sit before another and wash their feet.

And it’s a humbling moment for the one who’s feet are being washed.

To have your feet washed, or to do the washing, is to turn your mind to Jesus, He who came to us humbly, who lived among us humbly, and who left us a most humble example.

After Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He spoke of His betrayal by Judas.

And then, after Judas left the Upper Room and ran into the night, Jesus spoke to the 11.

He spoke to them about love.

He gave them a command to love.

A new command Jesus gave.

A new command?

It sure sounds a lot like the Mosaic Law:

A new command.

Jesus’ command certainly takes its cue from the OT law, but Jesus’ own love and teaching deepen and transform these commands.

The command to love one’s neighbor is not new.

The newness of the command was found in loving one another as Jesus loves.

We are to love as Jesus loved.

It’s not a suggestion, it’s a command; it’s a mandate.

This is where the phrase “Maundy Thursday” comes from.

The word ‘Maundy’ is derived from the Latin: mandatum, which means mandate.

What Jesus has done here is to issue a command, a mandate; this—Love one another—is a direct order from our Lord and Savior, our King and Redeemer.

We must love one another.

We must love one another just as Jesus loved us.

And this love will take on new meaning for the disciples as they watch Jesus lay down His life for them.

A new command Jesus gives us: Love one another.

>All of this is situated, of course, in the context of the Passover meal, the Last Supper.

The Israelites in Egypt, in order to be saved, had to hide under the mercy of the Lord.

They had to smear blood on their doorframes and trust that the angel of death would pass over.

For you and me to be saved, we need perfection.

We need a perfect sacrifice.

This is our only hope.

To be saved by God, I need perfection to cover me.

You need a perfect sacrifice to cover you and your sins.

Jesus expresses to us (in the institution of the Lord’s Supper) that He is, for us, our once and perfect sacrifice.

His body and His blood usher in a new covenant.

His blood is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The Passover served as a reminder of what God had done for the people.

It was a reminder that only one thing saved them—it was God Himself who acted to save them.

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, when we come to the communion table, it, too, should serve as a reminder for us.

A reminder that only one thing saves us—God Himself who acted to save us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

Our good works won’t save us.

Our family name won’t save us.

Our ethnicity won’t save us.

Being part of a church won’t save us.

Only Jesus’ body broken and blood poured out can save us.

And praise God it does!

The Lord’s Supper ought to be, for us

A reminder.

A reminder of what God has done for us.

When you take the cracker and the juice, let it serve as a reminder that God sent His Only Son to the cross so that you might have life everlasting.

A mirror.

A mirror that reflects for us our sinfulness, our wretched condition, our own betrayal of Jesus.

Communion is a mirror for us to see our deep need and so lead us to repentance and brokenness at the foot of the cross.

A proclamation.

The very act of partaking of communion is a proclamation of the Lord’s death.

When people see us take the cracker and eat, take the cup and drink, we are, in a very real and tangible way, preaching and proclaiming that Jesus died in our place.

A promise.

The Lord’s Supper/Communion is a promise.

God has acted.

He has saved.

He has perfectly atoned for our sins.

And Jesus is coming again.

He will return.

It’s a promise.