Washing the Disciples Feet -II
The Story - An Interwoven Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsChrist's example explained for our application
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Ewe, what is that smell?
Ewe, what is that smell?
So here we have the disciples who are with the Lord for the last supper (Jn13:1) and they had found things just as Jesus said (Mt26:18-19). But there is a smell, an odor, a stinch, what is it? It is dirty feet. We started to look at this last week and just as a reminder we need to look at the passage (Jn13:2-11)
2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Jn13:4-5
6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”
Jn13:
8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
What had Jesus done?
When did He do it?
It think it is worth noting a couple of things real quick.
Serving is not always going to be convenient (During supper, really?)
Serving is not always going to be pleasant either (washing dirty feet)
Normally this task is reserved for the lowliest of servants but here the master, the teacher, humbles Himself to do it.
Jesus was about teaching, but more so He was about reaching, reaching the lost and the disciples were going to be His way to reach the lost. He humbled Himself to reach them first so they may understand what they were to do.
Open your Bibles to Jn13:12-20
What do you see?
What do you notice?
What sticks out to you?
I. Do you understand?
I. Do you understand?
(insert movie line from Rush Hour) “do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?”
Do we always understand when someone says something to us or when they do something for us or to us?
What is Jesus asking (v.12)? What do you think the meaning behind it is?
What
Jesus had given them a living example of what they should do in humble service. An example of what they should follow. In this world that thinks happiness is found in being served, Jesus points out that happiness, real joy, comes from serving others for Jesus Christ.
We know in our declaration of independence it says “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
Humility is not anything new with Jesus and He teaching about humility.
Being like a child (Mt18:1-6)
Or even the rebuke to be humble (Mt20:20-28)
In the Mt18 passage about being converted and become like a child or you will not enter into the kingdom. Humility is a requirement. To the one who is humble, he is the greatest in the kingdom.
In the Mt20 passage the John and his brother, along with mom’s help, want preference in the kingdom and then exampled by saying His purpose
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
It is only in understanding that they would be able to do the same for others. We can’t just go through the motions, it needs to be done with the right heart and understanding for it to be effective for the kingdom of God
II. Let Me tell you
II. Let Me tell you
Never wanting there to be any misunderstanding, Jesus explains out why He did what He did.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
What does Jesus say about them and to them (vv.13-14)?
What are the instructions (v.15)?
What is the reason (v.16)?
Something to think about: If the master becomes a slave, where does that put the slave?
That puts the master and the slave on the same ground, the same level. The master humbles himself and the slave is exalted or lifted up. He was not trying to push the apostles down, He was trying to lift them up, and in example lift us up too.
Roman culture had no use for humility, so this would really stick out as out of the ordinary
Greek culture had no use for manual labor, they used slaves to do it all.
Jesus humbled himself and manually served man.
Where man may ask “how many men work for you” God asks “how many men do you serve?”
G.K. Chesterton said “A really great man is one who makes others feel great”
That is exactly what Jesus did in washing dirty feet.
Why did Jesus do this, so they would have the example of what they should do. Serve one another in humility.
James tells us it not enough to know the truth, you need to apply it (or practice it) in Jam1:22-27 but let me give just one verse of that passage now
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
Jam1:2
I love this quote from Wiersbe
“John’s Gospel can stir us emotionally or enlighten us intellectually; but it cannot bless us spiritually until we do what Jesus told us to do.”
Do you want true joy? spiritual joy? then keep this formula in mind.
humbleness - be humble in service
holiness - know who you are serving and serve from your heart
happiness - you will be truly blessed by doing it.
Now let me go back and expound on some of this.
Why should we humble ourselves and wash peoples feet? Because after humiliation comes exaltation. (Php2:8-9)
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Bear the fruit of humility, bear fruit in humble service to our Lord and Master.
III. Now do it!
III. Now do it!
“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.
How are you blessed (v.17)?
True happiness, the blessings come not from agreeing to what Jesus tells us, not in our taking notes in a class about what He said, but in applying, doing, what He said.
Ever get down, depressed, despondent,discouraged or dismayed? We all can at times, and in those times be blessed by doing what Jesus says to do.
What does Jesus elude to (v.18)?
Why is this going to happen (v.19)?
In looking at (vv.18-19) we see there is a betrayer in the midst, one who sits at the table, one that breaks bread with them, one who shared with the Lord. This is not the first time either in the scripture in seeing this.
Ahithophel to David (Psm41:9) - Jesus references this here
He like Judas ends his life by hanging (2Sam17:23)
Peter to Jesus (Jn18:25-27) - denied Christ 3 times
Like us when we do not do as He commands
Now Peter did not end his life like Judus or Ahithophel, he looked to the cross and the one who hung there! We too can do the same when we betray or feel we have we can look to Jesus the One who took on our guilt, our shame, took it upon Himself so we could live. .
We know even as Christians we fall short of the glory of God, but what we do with that is important. and that brings us to the results.
IV. The Results
IV. The Results
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
Jesus is getting ready to send them out after a period of grief, wonder, amazement, prayer and waiting and He has given them the instructions (Jn13:17; Mt28:19; Act1:8, 2:2-4)
“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
and the results will be
THey were told what they were to do
“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
They were told when to do it
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
They were given the power to do it (Act2:1-4)
We are too, are we willing to do it? Are we doing it? Are we humbling ourselves to do it?