[0:00] Well, if you would, please take your Bibles and open them up to John chapter 13. John chapter 13. If you did not bring your own Bible with you, that's okay.
[0:11] There's no excuse. We got one in the seat back in front of you. So if you would take that Bible from the seat in front of you, I think you can find this passage around page 843 or 844. In that range, if you go to the 840s, you'll find John chapter 13.
[0:25] Our text this morning is John 13, 1 through 17. So when you've found it in your Bible, let's stand up together if you're physically able in honor of the reading of the Word of God.
[0:47] Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
[1:01] During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper.
[1:18] He laid aside His outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around Him.
[1:33] He came to Simon Peter who said to Him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.
[1:45] Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
[2:01] Jesus said to Him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for His feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.
[2:12] For He knew who was to betray Him. That was why He said, Not all of you are clean. When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you?
[2:26] You call Me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
[2:38] For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
[2:52] If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. This is God's holy word. Please be seated. Lord, we pray once more that as we look to Christ who served us, we pray that You would stir our hearts with love for Him and that You would push us out of this place to serve one another.
[3:18] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, this passage presents us with an unthinkable reversal. The master, Jesus, becomes the servant.
[3:31] And the one who is worthy stoops down to serve those who are unworthy. You may be familiar with the TV show, Undercover Boss. Has any of you seen that TV show?
[3:44] The top-level boss of the company goes undercover, hence the name, and he goes to work amongst the common people. The boss cleans toilets, drives buses, these high-level executives.
[3:56] They enter into the world of blue-collar service and they get their hands dirty. Every episode is pretty much the same thing over and over and over again. You'd think that people would be tired of that same story over and over by now, but they've had 11 seasons of this, Undercover Boss.
[4:13] Apparently, the first episode aired right after the Super Bowl in 2010. They had 38.6 million viewers stick around after the Super Bowl to watch Undercover Boss.
[4:26] There's something about this strange reversal of roles that piques our interest. It is fascinating to us to see the owner become the servant.
[4:39] Well, here in John chapter 13, we see Jesus, the King of kings, the boss of bosses, stooped down as a servant.
[4:51] This passage, it teaches us the incredible truth that the sovereign King of all the universe has stooped down to serve sinners. The one who is worthy of all praise and honor has humbled himself to honor those who are unworthy.
[5:09] And what we learn here in John 13 is that if he has served you, if you have received what he has done, if you have been washed clean by this suffering servant, then guess what?
[5:22] Now you are called to go and do just as he has done. The king has stooped to serve.
[5:36] And the question that I want us to ask this morning from John chapter 13 is this, how should we respond to the service of King Jesus? How should we respond to the service of King Jesus?
[5:50] And I want us to see two ways we respond to his service. Number one, let him serve you. And number two, let him show you how to serve one another.
[6:03] First, how do we respond to King Jesus? First, let him serve you. Verse one, it tells us that this meal happened before the feast of the Passover.
[6:14] This was the last Passover of Jesus' life. Don't miss the connotations here. The Passover meal, you remember, it celebrated, it remembered, it looked back to when God's wrath passed over the houses whose door was covered by the blood of the Lamb.
[6:32] Those who were covered by the blood of the Lamb were spared the wrath of God. Those doors who were not covered by the blood of the Lamb, not washed by the blood, so to speak, were judged.
[6:44] And here, John tells us that Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, this Lamb who is preparing to go to the slaughter to cover the sins of His people, He's spending some of His last moments, His final hours, eating with His disciples.
[7:02] Picture the scene with me. They would have been lying down, reclining at table is the term that's often used. They didn't sit in high chairs at a raised table as we do.
[7:14] We're about to have Thanksgiving meal here in a couple of days. I can't imagine sometimes I have a hard time getting out of my seat after I eat a big meal. Imagine lying down on the ground and having to get up after you finish your dinner.
[7:24] They reclined. They laid down in mats on the ground and their feet were laid out behind them away from the table. And John tells us that Jesus, knowing that His time had come, knowing that His hour was finally here, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, knowing that He had come from the Father and was going back to the Father, knowing even, in verse 11, it tells us, knowing even those who were preparing to betray Him, did something completely unexpected.
[8:01] Verse 4, it tells us, Jesus rose from supper, laid aside His outer garments, took a towel, tied it around His waist. You can imagine the disciples' confusion.
[8:13] Jesus had done some strange things up to this point, but what in the world is He doing here? He is putting on the apparel of a servant. He took the form of a servant, and then He did the work of a servant.
[8:31] John tells us He poured water out into a basin, and He began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around Him.
[8:43] This was servants' work. Washing someone's feet in this culture, we have to understand, in this culture, washing someone's feet was some of the lowest, dirtiest work imaginable.
[8:57] It was reserved for the lowest of the lowest of the lowest of servants. In fact, many of the Jews in this day, they said Jewish servants weren't even allowed to wash Jewish people's feet.
[9:09] That was reserved for the Gentile servants, if that. And again, you might think back to John the Baptist in John chapter 1. Do you remember what he said? He said he wasn't even worthy to untie Jesus' sandals.
[9:23] He's not even worthy to be the lowest of the lowest of Jesus' servants. That's how wonderful, how worthy he viewed Jesus. But here, everything is reversed.
[9:34] It's not the disciples washing Jesus' feet. It's Jesus who gets out the bucket. It's Jesus who wraps a towel around His waist, and it's Jesus who stoops down to serve.
[9:48] This is a spectacular display of the heart of Jesus. I want you to think with me here for a moment about what this shows us, what this teaches us about who Jesus is and what He's come to do.
[10:02] And this is, of course, it's a spectacular display of humility. It's a spectacular display of humility. Mark 10, verse 45, tells us, The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
[10:24] That's a verse worthy of our meditation, isn't it? Think about that. The Son of Man, the one who is worthy of all worship, worthy of all praise, worthy of all adoration, worthy of all service, came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
[10:42] See, humility is at the very core of the person and the mission of Jesus. The incarnation itself, God becoming man, is a spectacular display of divine humility.
[10:56] I heard Christmas music on the radio this week, so I think I'm safe to make this illustration, this reference. One of my favorites, one of my absolute favorite Christmas hymns, is Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor.
[11:10] Do you know that one? Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becameest poor. Thrones for a manger did surrender, sapphire courts for stable floor.
[11:25] Thou who art God beyond all praising, all for love's sake becameest man. Stooping so low, but sinners raising, heavenwards, by thine eternal plan.
[11:38] This is a radical, spectacular humility. And you ask, well, what could motivate such humble service? Well, this service, John tells us, is motivated by love.
[11:53] All for love's sake becameest man, the hymn says. All for love's sake becameest poor. This is a spectacular display of love. Look again to verse 1.
[12:04] John told us, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
[12:16] John is remembering the spectacular love of Jesus, not only in this moment, but throughout His entire life, but exemplified here in this moment. This is a display of selfless, humble love.
[12:30] And not for those who have earned it. Pay attention to this here. This is not love for those who are worthy of it. Far from it. This is love for those not who have it all together.
[12:43] This is love for sinners. You remember what Jesus knows about His disciples here. What does He know about His disciples? Those whose feet He's washing. He knows everything about them.
[12:56] He has perfect knowledge of what Judas is about to do. Sell them off for 30 pieces of silver. We'll deal with him next week. He had perfect knowledge of what Peter was about to do.
[13:07] Deny Him three times. I don't know Him. I don't know Him. I don't know Him. He knows their sin backwards and forwards, inside and out, and yet here He is with a towel around His waist, stooping down to serve those who are unworthy of His love.
[13:26] This is good news for sinners like us, isn't it church? And what does this tell us? It tells us His love is not based on our worthiness.
[13:40] He doesn't love us because we are good. He loves us because He is good and gracious towards sinners like us and merciful towards sinners like us.
[13:54] Jesus knows all about your sin. He doesn't love you because you're clean. His love makes us clean. This is what we learn from His interaction with Peter, isn't it?
[14:06] Look there with me. Peter, as he usually does, he has something to say about this. There in verse 6, He said, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I am doing now you do not understand, but afterward you will understand.
[14:20] But Peter wouldn't have it, would he? He said, you shall never wash my feet. And look at what He said here in verse 8. And Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, Peter, you have no share with me.
[14:37] So what did Peter do? He did a full 180, didn't he? Lord, don't only wash my feet, wash my hands, wash my head, wash me completely, Lord, whatever it's going to take. Which, of course, this points us towards what we already know, which is that this act of washing feet is actually a spectacular display of a greater, more humble, loving service to come.
[15:04] This act of washing feet is a small picture of the love of Christ who came to live and to die and to rise for sinners like us.
[15:15] John's telling us, if it's shocking to you that Jesus would stoop down and wash your feet, just you wait. The King has come to die for His people. And where do we see the love and the humility and the service of Jesus more clearly than on the cross?
[15:33] Where are sinners like us cleansed completely of our sin? Totally cleansed, but at the cross. Romans 5.8 God shows His love for us in this.
[15:46] That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Why? For what purpose? Paul tells us in Ephesians 5.
[15:56] Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Why? That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her with the washing of water with the Word so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.
[16:20] This passage isn't about our feet. Jesus here in washing His disciples' feet, He was pointing them forward towards a greater cleansing to come not just of our stinky feet, church, but of our sin-stained soul.
[16:39] And when we realize this, don't we want to cry out like Peter, Lord, wash me. Lord, wash me clean. Whatever it takes, Lord, wash me. And Jesus said to Him in verse 10, The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet but is completely clean.
[16:59] At our house, we got three boys, right? The effects of a good bath do not last long. And it has happened often. They will get cleaned up, they'll get themselves a bath, we think all is good, next thing you know, you look out the window and they're running in the yard barefoot.
[17:17] Their body may be clean but as soon as those feet hit the bare ground, guess what happens? They're dirty. And of course, the same is true in this culture, probably even more so.
[17:28] You can get a bath, you can get yourself cleaned up but once your feet hit that dirty, dusty ground with bare feet or open sandals at best, well now, guess what?
[17:39] Your feet are dirty. So let me ask you this question, I want to see what you think. If you have bathed yourself totally clean and yet you have dirty feet, are you completely, absolutely, totally clean or are you dirty?
[18:00] It depends on if you ask mom or dad, doesn't it? Dad might be inclined to say it's clean enough, come on in, you're fine, come on in the house. Mom doesn't say that, does she?
[18:11] Mom says, no, you're filthy, get inside, you need to wash up, come on, you're dirty, go wash up. Church, unfortunately for us, I'm afraid God takes mom's side on this one because even the tiniest speck of sin, even the tiniest stain of sin makes you totally, completely unclean, which is a problem for us because you must be totally clean, totally pure, or you must be totally innocent to be in right relationship with a totally holy God.
[18:57] God is holy, holy, holy. He does not tolerate clean enough. You must be perfect to enter into the kingdom of heaven. This is a problem for us.
[19:10] Who can enter into his presence? Who can be accepted in the sight of God? Who among us can be accepted? Who among us is qualified? Jesus tells us here in this passage, only he who has been washed clean by the Lord Jesus Christ.
[19:30] If you would have a share in me, Peter, you must let me wash you. It's the bad news. All of us are unclean.
[19:41] But the good news of the gospel, Jesus says, I will wash you clean. I will serve you. I will love you.
[19:53] I will bring you to God. I will wash you. If I don't, you have no part in me. But if I do, you are totally clean now and forever. Isn't this wonderful news for sinners like us?
[20:09] It's wonderful news. And it is so upside down from the way we think, isn't it? You see, the way into the kingdom of God is not by serving God.
[20:22] It's by being served. The way we get a share of the king is not by doing, it's not by giving, it's not by earning, it's by receiving.
[20:33] We don't clean ourselves up and then come to God. God comes down to us to wash us clean. Every other religion in the world, is asking the question, what must I do to earn my place?
[20:52] What must I do to earn a good standing with God, to get right with God, to earn my way to God? You know, Christianity, the gospel, is the only message in the world that says you don't have to do anything to be made right with God.
[21:08] If you would be made right with God, there is one way and one way only. You receive the finished work of Christ by faith alone.
[21:21] Did you pay attention to the words we just sang? A rock of ages cleft for me. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.
[21:32] Naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace, foul eye to the fountain fly, wash me savior, or I die.
[21:44] Church, the first way we respond to the work of King Jesus is to receive what he has done. Let this humble God serve you and wash you completely clean from all your sins.
[22:00] Trust his word that he alone can make you clean. Let him serve you. Then, then, let him show you how to serve one another.
[22:17] Look there to verse 12 with me. Jesus makes a transition here in verse 12 from serving to sending. Those who have been served now are sent to go out and to serve one another.
[22:32] Look at what he says in verse 12. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, do you understand what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord and you are right for so I am.
[22:46] If I then, your teacher and Lord 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 just as I have done to you.
[23:03] Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
[23:17] The point is, I hope you see, it's not, well, you've seen me wash feet, now you go wash feet. The point, I believe, is that we who have been the recipients of the humble, loving service of Christ ought to be marked by humble, loving service to one another.
[23:41] We're called believers as we have opportunity to do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. And so here in the second point, I want to focus on five ways to do this.
[23:56] Five ways to go and do for one another just as Jesus has done for us. I want to be very practical here. And let me say again, just by way of preface, do not jump straight to doing before receiving.
[24:10] That's our natural bent. We want to do, we want to do, we want to do. That will never work. We can only serve one another out of receiving Christ's service to us.
[24:21] We can only love one another out of receiving Christ's love for us. Don't pass go, don't skip to step number two, before you have received the work of Christ.
[24:32] Now, five ways. Five ways. Number one, pray for a humble heart. Pray for a humble heart.
[24:45] God, make me humble. Be warned, that is a dangerous prayer. Pride is not easily killed, it is often painfully removed from a sinner's heart, but the fact is, you will not genuinely truly serve others if you think you're better than them.
[25:06] If you place your needs above theirs, you will never truly serve others. Pray God would reverse your idea of greatness so that it looks less and less like the world's view of greatness and more and more like his true definition of greatness in the kingdom of God.
[25:24] God, what is it? Those who are first will be last. Those who are last will be first. The way up is down. The greatest among you are those who are humble and lowly and gentle.
[25:38] If you have anything to boast of from a worldly perspective, riches, status, influence, position, authority, count it as loss. Lay it aside, humble yourself and become a servant.
[25:55] I will never forget I was a part of a church in Charlotte. I served there as a pastoral assistant and then senior pastoral assistant which was basically a learning, a training role.
[26:10] I got to have a front row seat to the ins and outs of church life. I sat in on membership interviews and counseling sessions and elders meetings and I was like a sponge just soaking it all up.
[26:22] But I will never forget one of the elders who was by all worldly standards very extremely successful. He had a successful career as a lawyer there in uptown Charlotte.
[26:35] I came back after a service back into the building to find him all alone sweeping up the floors. He never saw me, didn't know I saw him but there he was bending over cleaning the floors on his hands and feet.
[26:55] And of all the things I learned that was a lesson that stuck. Now that might seem out of place to the world but that's meant to be ordinary behavior for Christians.
[27:08] And Paul calls us in Philippians chapter 2 in humility count others more significant than yourselves. How do we do that? have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.
[27:42] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
[28:02] Church pray for humility like Jesus. Number two pray for a heart of love pray for a heart of love love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul all your mind all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself if we could just get those two right we'd be doing okay pray for a heart that genuinely loves one another not just that feels love but that moves in love not just that expresses love verbally but lives that exemplify love for one another love that says and love that shows you know John you might remember called himself the disciple whom Jesus what you remember the disciple whom Jesus loved and most of his writings there's no mistake most of his writings are categorized by love in fact one of the early
[29:09] Latin church fathers named Jerome he said that John in his old age he lived in Ephesus until he was extremely old his disciples could barely carry him into church and he couldn't muster up the strength to say much but he was still asked to speak and to deliver sermons and so during individual gatherings he usually said nothing but little children love one another and the church became annoyed because they always heard the same sermon over and over and over and over again so finally they said teacher why do you always say this and he said because it is the Lord's commandment and if it alone is kept it is sufficient little children love one another why do you think he made such a big deal out of that command it's because he heard it expressed as a command by Jesus and he experienced it exemplified in the life of
[30:14] Jesus he was loved and so he loved have you been loved by Christ have you been loved by Christ so love one another members of Seaweed Bay we affirm a church covenant it details out the commitments that we make to one another as members of one body and in it there's a section that says this it says we will walk together in Christian love now that's easy to say and then it spells out what that might look like for us we will walk together in Christian love as we care for and watch over one another seeking one another spiritual good at all times we will pray for encourage warn rebuke and admonish one another as occasion may require we will be slow to take offense and will eagerly seek reconciliation without delay forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven us would you would you pray that
[31:19] God would give us a heart that loves one another like that pray for a heart that loves like Jesus and if you aren't sure where to start number three number three look around at those who you think are doing this well and join them number three look at those who are doing this well and join them have you ever heard of Pareto's law Pareto's law says 80% of the results are caused by 20% of the causes you apply that to the church people apply it to the church and say well 80% of the work is done by 20% of the members that may be true in some places I want to encourage you actually because I don't think that that's true here this is a church that serves and so hear this as an encouragement to you do so more and more and if you look around and you see others serving faithfully and you're not sure where to serve you see others in certain service positions and spots please don't interpret that to mean well that spot is taken you ask anyone who serves regularly and faithfully and I promise you they are willing to share with you jump in ask them how you might join them have them teach you how to serve go learn how to run sound so Randy can see what these chairs feel like out here and try and wrestle the hospitality tent the cookies the juice away from
[32:52] Craig and Patty if you can learn how to make a pot of coffee wrestle that away from Miss Ann if you can do it ask Pete men women even ask Pete if he'd teach you how to work the lawn mower out there he's been trying to teach me since I got here I've kept him at bay find others who are serving faithfully and join them in what they're doing but know this that serving one another it does not have to be part of a formal ministry in fact often times the way love happens it's not structured it's not organized but it is intentional and we often want to have the church maybe program just give me an hour a week where we come together and do life and serve one another and that's when we love one another and then we go home and go our separate ways and that's it that's not how this works life is messy but we want to be in each other's mess as often as love demands it find a place to serve another way to say this number four if you have gifts church use them if you have gifts use them now I love how Paul phrases this in Romans chapter 12 he says for as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function so we though many are one body in
[34:19] Christ and individually are members of one another having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us let us use them did you hear that let us use them if you are a Christian and you are doing as Christians do and have joined yourself to a body as a member you know this is where we get church membership language by the way this isn't membership like like you're a member of a gym or you're a member of Costco or Sam's Club no we are members of a body and we have been gifted individually differently uniquely in ways that are meant to be used for the building up and the health of the body to use the gifts God has given you is an act of love for the body to withhold the gifts that God has given you is to withhold love from the body use your gifts and last one here last one if you have needs share them if you have needs share them now out of all of these
[35:37] I think this might be the most challenging because we're proud God it's so much easier to say let me help you than it is to say please come help me please come help me that should not be so in the church church Jesus knew exactly perfectly exactly what his disciples needed Jesus knew the best way to serve them at the exact right time in the exact right way I am not Jesus and neither are you share share your needs so that we can bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ do not keep your needs to yourself I can't promise that we can meet every need but I can promise you we can't meet any need that isn't known share your needs so we can love one another as Christ has loved us amen church this week as you go your various ways for thanksgiving would you just set some time aside this week to remember and to give thanks for all that Christ has done for us to remember how the
[36:52] Lord has served you would you just by way of application take one or two of these ways of service to heart this week just take one or two and commit commit yourselves to them this week this month in response to what Christ has done for you go and do likewise and let Jesus' question to his disciples fall on our ears this morning do you understand what I have done for you if you do do just as I have done for you and blessed are you if you do them let's pray Lord Jesus nothing could repay the ways that you have served us we thank you that you gave your life for us those who are not worthy of it not those who have earned it not because of our goodness but out of a heart of love for sinners we pray father that if there are any here who have not received that gift received that sacrifice by faith alone would you give them a heart that trusts the provision of
[38:04] Christ and Lord for us who know you who have been served by our Savior Lord we pray God make us humble make us loving make us servants like Jesus we pray in Jesus name Amen