Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you, Father, that you reveal yourself to us,
you speak to us by your word,
that every word in this book, the Bible,
is the word that you ultimately wanted to have here,
and that you are the ultimate author of Scripture,
the one who ultimately speaks to us through your word.
So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit
would still and quieten our hearts
so that we might receive from you this morning.
We ask that you would speak deep
into the very command centers of who we are.
And all these things we ask in the name of Jesus,
your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
So amongst other things this morning,
I'm going to talk about the devil.
And I'm going to talk about the devil
not because I have a fixation about talking about the devil,
but because what we do is we preach through books of the Bible,
and the devil is mentioned twice in this text.
And you might say that twice isn't very much out of 38 verses,
but the two times are actually very significant,
and I wouldn't be serving you if we didn't look at it,
because it's important.
And I mention all of this because it's very interesting.
Those of you who've led Bible studies
or maybe done some preaching before,
you always have an interesting week.
I mean, the speaker always has an interesting week
when he's going to try to talk about the devil.
I don't know what it is.
It just seems as if there's more temptations that come my way,
more things that just don't work out in my schedule,
more reasons to be grumpy or angry or fill in the blank.
And I've had that type of week.
It's really as if the devil wants to knock you off your game.
He wants to knock you off
and either maybe try to dissuade you
from talking about the devil at all
or just, I don't know, just mess you up.
So that's been my week
because we're going to look at some things
that the Bible has to say about the devil.
And by the way, one of the things
that we're going to learn in this
is there's a very famous saying
from one of the English reformers
at the time of the English Reformation.
And he said that the devil never misses church.
And he's the one person who never misses the church.
The minister might not always be there,
but the devil is always there.
And some of you as well
might have had very, very odd weeks
and even now having very odd experiences
with your minds filled with all sorts of things.
And if that's what's going on,
it's just really good to remember
that even though when we gather together
in the presence of Jesus
to open his word
and to be together as Christ's people,
that it's a spiritual war
that we're involved in at the same time.
It really is.
And it's just important
to be gripped by the gospel
and to call out to the Father
to help us.
And when we come in,
especially if we're wrestling
with thoughts of despair
or depression
or worry
or sexual thoughts
or anger
or whatever it is,
to just try to remember
that the devil wants to have you
think about that the whole time.
And it's a really good opportunity
and invitation
just to call out to Jesus for help.
And he knows your frailty.
He knows your frailty.
And he loves you.
So let's look at the text.
It's John chapter 13.
We'll begin at verse 1.
And what's happened
in the way that John,
who's one of the original apostles,
the way he chose to write
this biography of Jesus
is basically from chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
This is after Jesus' public ministry.
This is now Jesus' private interactions
just with his disciples.
The public ministry has come to an end.
It's a Thursday.
Jesus, as he's saying all of these things,
knows that he's going to be dead the next day.
That's looming very present in his thought
that this is going to be a very momentous 24 hours.
And one of the interesting things as well,
because Judas is mentioned
with significance in this text,
is that Judas will also be dead.
Not at the same time as Jesus,
but within 48 hours,
Judas will be dead.
But Jesus knows that he is going to be dying.
And this is the private interactions of him
with his disciples.
And here's how it begins.
John chapter 13, verse 1.
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 are in the world,
he loved them to the end.
Now, just sort of pause.
And I know this could end up taking us
like three hours to read through
if I pause after every verse and talk for a bit.
But this is a really important part to stop at.
If you're not that familiar with the Bible,
the Passover is a hugely significant event
in the history of Israel.
It's the event where God acts with great power
to deliver the people of Israel
out of slavery and bondage in Egypt.
And it's what propels them ultimately
towards the promised land.
And it's during this,
and it's a very, very important festival.
It's during, just as this festival is beginning,
that Jesus is doing this
and he's going to die during the Passover.
It's part of the whole overarching symbolism.
But the important thing I want to draw out to you
is this, it sounds, and this is just,
you don't know this in English,
but it's there in the original language.
Look at the very last words of verse 1.
He loved them to the end.
Now that word end is a very interesting word.
Those of you who are a bit familiar with Greek,
it's, I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly,
telos, telos.
It's the idea of,
it's not just that something's finished.
Okay, well, the movie's over,
let's do something else.
Or okay, my lunch is over,
it's something else.
It's a word that talks about
everything moving towards a purpose,
towards an end,
towards something that makes,
gives meaning to everything.
And that's the word that he's using.
But that's not the word that,
I mean, that's a very significant word.
But if you turn in your Bibles,
it's not going to be on the screen.
If you turn in your Bibles
to John chapter 19, verse 30.
John chapter 19, verse 30.
And if you have a Bible like mine
that gives you little headings,
you'll see that it,
just before verse 30,
it talks about the death of Jesus.
And what's happening the next day
is that Jesus is dying on the cross.
And whether this is the very last word
that Jesus says
or the second last word,
I mean, that's because
it's in different biographies.
This is the very, very important ending
in John's gospel.
And you'll see there,
it says in verse 30,
when Jesus had received the sour wine,
he said, it is finished.
And he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.
And he dies.
And that word that says,
it is finished,
is basically the same word
as the end,
only in a different verb tense.
So what John is doing,
so when Jesus says
it's finished,
it's saying it's accomplished,
he's saying the telos,
the whole purpose,
the whole reason
of everything that I've gone through
in all of my life,
my conception in the womb
of Mary by God,
my time in the womb,
my birth,
my life,
everything that's gone through,
it's all moved to this purpose,
and I have accomplished
everything that it was
on my heart and mind
and on the heart and mind
of God the Father to do,
it has all come to its proper end
as I hang here on the cross
with blood coming out of my wrists
and out of my feet
and down my head
and my back is all scarred.
And as he dies,
he has accomplished everything
that he means to accomplish.
But if you go back
to John chapter 13 verse 1,
when Jesus says
he loved them to the end,
it's the same word,
it's the same idea.
In other words,
what Jesus,
what John is doing here,
and we're going to look at it
obviously a bit more,
is he's linking
what's now going to happen
with what's going to happen
at the end.
A way for you to think about it
is this,
that what's going to be,
you just sort of think about it
from the perspective of the disciples,
okay,
and of the high priests
and of Pilate
and the Roman soldiers
and the crowds
and Barabbas
and what's going to be happening
over,
and there's going to be
some teaching and everything.
You're going to see in a moment
that Jesus is going to be aware
of the devil being present
and he's going to be aware
of Judas' betrayal
and Judas is going to go out
into the night
and the soldiers are going to come
and Jesus is going to be captured
and he's going to be
falsely accused
and his disciples
are going to scatter
and he's going to be whipped
and he's going to be mocked
and he's going to die on the cross
and it looks like
he's completely underfailed
and on the ground,
you know,
it looks like Pilate
is doing this
because he's won
and the Jewish leaders
are doing this
and like this
because they've won
and Barabbas
is maybe just
having the biggest laugh
of his life
and getting drunk
after he's freed
and it's just going to be bloody
and it's going to be chaotic
and it's going to look like
it's a complete and utter failure
and everything is just sort of going
all this craziness
and what Jesus is going to do
in the very next story
is Jesus is telling his disciples,
I am about to go,
in a sense,
give you
from 10,000 feet up in the air,
so to speak,
I'm going to basically describe
in a simple act
and teaching
what's really going on.
I'm going to help you
to understand.
You're going to get caught up
in the betrayal
and the scattering
and the fighting
and the soldiers
and the mocking
and the blood.
You're going to get caught up
in all of these little details
down in the ground
but I am going to tell you a story
and I'm going to enact something
out in front of you
so that if you listen
and afterwards you'll understand,
it's like you're going to be
10,000 feet above the ground
and you're going to be with God
and God is giving you
a very, very,
I am God,
Jesus giving his disciples
a very, very simple image
to understand
what is really going on.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
Jesus does the same thing
but he does it
by the Lord's Supper,
the institution
of the Lord's Supper.
He gives them a way
to understand
from 10,000 feet
from God's perspective
what's really going on
on the ground,
what's really happening
not just in history
but for all eternity
because it's happening
in two levels both.
It's happening
at a spiritual level
in terms of all eternity.
It's happening in history
in real time
and John chooses
a different story
to help us to understand.
Out of the two significant things
or more that he did,
Jesus did on that night,
John says,
you know what?
I think the other guys
are going to talk about this.
I'm going to say this
because this is also
really important to understand.
So what is it?
Well, we have to get through
something else first.
Look at verse 2.
So during supper,
when the devil
had already put it
into the heart
of Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son,
to betray him.
Now just sort of pause.
What this is saying
is that,
you know,
this larger story,
this story,
this image
that Jesus is going to give
to help his disciples
understand
what's really going on,
it's going to happen.
It takes into account
the reality of the devil.
And it's going to take into account
the reality of how the devil works
with feeble and frail human beings
like you and me.
And what he,
Jesus is aware of,
John is now aware
of it afterwards,
but Jesus is aware
of it at the time,
as we'll see,
is that the devil
has been putting thoughts
into Judas' mind.
In fact,
another translation
for put is cast.
It's almost like,
you know,
like you're fishing.
You cast,
you cast the hook
with the worm
and you hope
a fish will bite.
It's almost the same
type of way to understand.
It's as if the devil's
fishing your mind
and your heart
and your will,
throwing out those hooks
with the worm,
seeing if George will bite,
because that's what he's doing.
And,
you know,
you and I can't stop
the devil
from putting thoughts
into our mind
and into our heart.
But what we do with it
is on us.
And that's one of the things
that goes on in our lives.
You know,
it's amazing how often
in my own life
and in others,
I see people snatch
unhappiness
out of the jaws
of happiness.
Like,
they could be happy.
Things are going well.
And then all of a sudden,
there's a thought
in our head
to remind us
of that mean thing
that somebody did
to us before.
Or the mean thing
our mom said to us.
Or the coach said to us
30 years ago
and all of a sudden,
on the way to happiness,
whoa,
our mind is preoccupied
with that.
Or our mind is,
all of a sudden,
we're on the way
to happiness
and then we look
at somebody
and they,
I just discovered
how expensive
purses are
because I bought
my wife a purse
at Christmas.
I did not realize
how much money
some people spend
on purses.
It was a shock
to me.
Anyway,
and listen,
if you're a woman
trying to impress me
with your purse,
it is lost on me.
I did not realize
that one person
might have a $25 purse
and a $3,000 purse,
right?
They both just look
black to me.
But those of you
who are into those things,
you know and you understand.
Okay?
So, but anyway,
so, you know,
but you're on your way
and all of a sudden
you see this $2,000 purse
and now you're filled
with envy
and then you go
from envy
to feeling lousy
about yourself
and your prospects
and then you go
from envy
to going,
well, I'm better than you
and before you know it,
happiness is gone.
The devil has cast
a little thought
into your mind
and you grab on it
and that's what,
that's what's describing here.
It's a very important
spiritual teaching,
actually,
just sort of thrown
right in here
in terms of how
the devil works.
But we have to still see
whether Judas
is going to bite on it.
I mean, we know,
many of us know the story
but that's what's going
to happen here
in the story
is that not only
we discover that Judas
has been biting
on these thoughts
that come into
the devil's mind,
the devil has him hooked
at some point in time.
So, verse 3,
so remember we said,
so this is going
to be something
that Jesus does
to help all of his disciples
understand what's
really going on
and it's a very,
very, very important image
for some of us.
I'm going to tell you
right now,
not all of us
struggle with shame
but some of us,
shame is a very,
very powerful part
of who we are
and the following image
is a very powerful image
for those of us
who deal with shame.
So, verse 3,
Jesus knowing
that the Father
had given all things
into his hands
and that he,
that is Jesus,
he'd come from God
and he was going
to go back to God
and he rose from supper,
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 the towel
that was wrapped around him.
And we'll just sort of pause.
So what Jesus does here,
it's a bit of a gross image
to us,
but he strips down
to his loincloth
and a loincloth
would have covered
his genitals,
but not all of his buttock.
And he strips down to that.
And he strips down to that
complete,
and takes,
in other words,
the complete humiliating place
of the lowest servant.
And he washes
his disciples' feet.
And that is going to be,
that with his explanation
that comes,
that is the image
that Jesus wants us
to have in our minds
to help us
to understand
the betrayal
and the running
and the scaredness
and the beatings
and the blood
and the nails
and the whipping
and the mocking
and the death.
And Jesus
wants this
to be a story
and an image
to help us
to understand
what's really going on.
Amidst all the events,
that's what we are
to understand
is happening.
That God,
the Son of God,
is setting aside
his glory and splendor
and divine prerogatives.
He's setting all of these aside.
He's taking the position
and the demeanor
of the lowest
of servants and slaves
to clean,
to make you clean.
To make you clean.
That's what's really going on.
We'll unpack that
a little bit more
in a moment.
But it's a very,
very powerful image.
And Peter doesn't like it at all.
You know,
Peter doesn't like it at all.
Look at verse 6.
He came to Simon Peter
who said to him,
Lord,
do you wash my feet?
And Jesus answered him,
what I am doing
you do not understand now.
Boy,
is that ever
an understatement.
They don't understand
it at all.
But afterward,
you will understand.
Because you see,
Jesus wants us
to understand.
And Peter said to him,
you shall never
wash my feet.
And in the original language,
this is emphatic.
You shall never
wash my feet.
It's emphatic
in the original language.
In the way
it's structured.
And,
and Jesus
answered him,
if I do not
wash you.
Now here he's going
beyond just the foot thing
and he's saying,
if I do not wash you,
if I do not make you clean,
so to speak,
you have no share
with me.
No participation
with me.
No,
you're not,
in a sense,
connected to me.
And in light of that,
verse 9,
Simon Peter,
because if there's one thing
Simon Peter wants,
he has lots of things
about him
that are weak and frail,
but he wants Jesus.
So he says,
Lord,
not my feet only then,
so to speak,
but also my hands,
my head,
like it's an image
of what I do,
how I think,
like all of me.
And then Jesus answers
in sort of a bit
of an elliptical way
and he's speaking,
of course,
in that culture
where you're walking
on dirt floors
all the time
and you're walking
on dirt
and dust
and Jesus said to him
in verse 9,
the one who was bathed,
you know,
had a bath,
does not need to wash
except for his feet.
In other words,
after they get out
of their bath,
the rest of them,
they're clean
from here up,
right?
But it's completely clean
and you are clean
because Jesus knows
what's going to happen
with them
and what's going on
in their lives
and then he says,
but not every one of you
for he knew
who was to betray him.
That was why he said
not all of you are clean.
See,
one of the things
which is so powerful
about this image,
this is an image
to help us
to understand
what's really going on
at the crucifixion
is that Jesus
also washed
Judas' feet.
In a sense,
with the devil
looking on,
while the devil
is casting hooks
with worms
into Judas' head,
seeing if he'll bite,
jiggling it,
while that's all going on,
Jesus washes
Judas' feet
as well as the disciples.
It's an act
of profound love
and an act of love
that respects our freedom.
Now,
I,
you know,
sometimes in my sermons
I talk about shame
and stuff like that
and that's because
I struggled with shame
for decades,
not just a week,
a day,
but for decades.
Even as a Christian
I struggled with shame
and it was one of those things,
I don't know how it was,
it's probably just in heaven
I'll find out,
God will just say,
George,
you are so dense,
like you listen to 15 sermons,
150 sermons
would have helped,
he never listened,
never heard,
I don't know what he's going to say,
but I just didn't ever,
it seemed like it took decades
for me to start to have a sense
about the resources
to try to handle,
I'd fight against it,
but for those of you
who struggle with shame,
you know,
it's that there's something
wrong with you.
It's not just that
people who don't struggle
with shame,
they do wrong things,
but then they move on.
But for those of us
who struggle with shame,
it's something at the very center
of our identity,
that there's just something
fundamentally broken about me.
And I don't mean here
in a scriptural sense,
I used to think that,
that somehow I'm just
experiencing Genesis 3
and on one level
I am experiencing Genesis 3,
but on another level
there's a different thing
going on within me,
a different type of,
an identity that I have,
even though I acknowledge
the gospel with my head,
but an identity that's
somehow not touched
by what Jesus has done
for me on the cross,
that even though,
yeah, yeah,
I'm going to go to heaven,
but in the meantime,
things just aren't going
to work out with me.
There's something wrong
about me.
There's something
that is just
dirty.
It's just dirty.
And some of us
in the room
have no idea
what I'm talking about,
and some of you
know very well
what I'm talking about.
And one of the wonderful
things about Jesus
and one of the wonderful
things about God
is that God knows,
Jesus knows,
that you and I
are all different.
And that's why
there's different ways
that Jesus communicates
this profound wonder
about what he accomplishes
for us on the cross.
And for some of us,
we struggle with guilt.
And so there's all these images
about how Jesus
bears our guilt.
And for some of us,
we struggle with
the fear of death.
And so there's all
these wonderful images
about how Jesus
brings life.
And for some of us,
we struggle with darkness.
And there's all these
wonderful images
about how Jesus
brings light.
And for some of us,
we struggle with
a sense that there
is something
foul about us.
There is something
broken.
There is something
unclean and dirty
about us.
And so it is
that the Bible,
Jesus presents us this image
that what Jesus is doing for us on the cross,
what he's going through
is sopping up all that
which makes us unclean and foul
to make us clean.
That when you put your faith and trust in Jesus,
he makes you clean.
He makes you clean.
And that is the image that he is communicating here.
If you think about it, isn't that so wonderful
that Jesus would provide such an image to Judas
who is eating the worms
that the devil is casting into his mind and heart?
I will make you clean.
You know, one of the things I read
and thought about different secular things,
and there's some help you can get from secular sources
about dealing with shame.
There's some help you can get in trying to understand
what it is and all of that.
But you know, at the end of the day,
the secular things to try to help you deal with shame,
and they can help you to understand
maybe a little bit about where it came from
and the shape it takes
and the different ways it forces you to act
or leads you or encourages you to act.
But at the end of the day,
all it can really do
is try to make me proud.
Because at the end of the day,
what it really tries to do
is either shift it,
don't feel ashamed,
because it's really all your mom's fault,
or it's really all your dad's fault,
or your coach's fault,
or your brother's fault,
or your boss's fault.
But you know what?
You know, in a very fallen way,
that can give you a certain type of pleasure
to know that it's somebody else's fault,
but it actually doesn't really deal with the shame.
And the other thing that secular things often do
is just try to say,
look in the mirror and say,
you're beautiful,
you're powerful,
you can do it,
you're a success,
you're wonderful.
Well, first of all,
isn't that sort of like,
yeah, really?
But at the end of the day,
it just makes you feel more proud,
doesn't it?
Like even if it works,
it turns you into a narcissist.
It turns you into a one who thinks,
I'm the guy,
I'm the gal,
look at me,
I deserve applause.
And get angry when there's no applause.
But you see,
the wonderful thing here about the gospel is
that this story,
on one hand,
it helps us to understand
those of us who struggle with shame.
You know what the Bible is saying?
Actually, George,
you know you think you're clean
and there's something foul about you.
You don't know half of it.
You're way more foul than you ever believed.
Why is it saying that?
Because my need for cleaning
must be unbelievably great
if Jesus had to go to such lengths
to make me clean.
Leaving heaven.
Suffering trial and temptation.
Dying on the cross.
On one hand,
the insight of a person struggling with shame
doesn't even begin
to get to the tip of the iceberg.
But at the same time,
Jesus,
knowing our need,
descends
into the absolute depths
to make you and me clean.
And if this was just a story,
then it's just maybe a variation
of what secular things do,
of either trying to shift the blame
or give you a type of self-talk
that gives you the power
to just sort of steamroller
over your emotions.
And this is maybe doing a different thing
by giving you an image
to think about
that might be helpful.
But it's not just an image
because you see
at the very, very center
of this biography
is that it's true.
It's a way that Jesus
is giving you and me
to understand
what really happened in history.
And in a sense,
what not just happened in history
but happened in eternity.
That God, the Son of God,
really did enter our human race.
That God, the Son of God,
really did live amongst us
suffering the trials and temptations
that we suffer only without sin.
That God, the Son of God,
knows from the inside
what it really is like
to be tempted
and to be feeble and frail
and to be troubled.
And that God, the Son of God,
really does get betrayed.
He really does die upon the cross.
He really does taste
all there is to taste of death.
And on the third day,
He really does rise from the dead.
The tomb really is empty.
The body was not stolen.
Jesus actually does deal
with the foulness
and the dirt
and the shame
and the sin.
And He really does deal with it
and emerge on the far side alive.
He really does deal with it.
And He really does offer
to make you and me clean
if we put our hand out
and He crosses that infinite distance
towards us.
And for those of us
who struggle with shame,
we might not even be able
to put our hand out like that.
It might just be like this.
We're out of our hand
and we do like this.
And He takes the least
and He crosses that infinite distance
and comes and takes you and me.
And He really does make me clean.
This is not just a story
for self-talk.
It is a story to understand
what God, the Son of God,
and the power of the Holy Spirit
by the pleasure of the Father,
God, the Trinity from all eternity,
who is love out of love,
did for you and me
to make you and me clean
when we put our faith
and trust in Him.
And our identity is clean.
Our identity,
my identity in Christ,
is clean.
Not because of self-talk
or powerful emotions
or drugs that change my emotions,
but because it's true He did it.
My identity in Him
is clean.
Jesus helps us to understand more.
We'll finish reading the text
and then I'll just sort of close
because there's still
some other important things
that come out in the whole
back and forward of the story.
Look at verse 12.
When Jesus had finished,
had washed their feet
and put on His outer garments
and resumed His place,
Jesus 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.
Some translations say
master and Lord.
If I then,
your Lord and teacher,
your Lord and master,
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.
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.
I am not speaking
to all of you,
of all of you.
I know whom I have chosen.
But the scripture
will be fulfilled.
It's very important.
He tells them
the Bible will be fulfilled.
See,
just as a,
before I tell you about this,
this is what I'm telling you
right now.
All I'm doing,
I am just a messenger
on behalf of Jesus.
I am not an optimist.
I am a pessimist
in recovery.
And all I can do
is when Jesus says
the scripture will be fulfilled,
he's going to share
a dark fulfillment,
so to speak.
That's what I'm telling you
right now by,
you are clean
if you put your faith
and trust in him.
The scripture will be fulfilled.
God's word will be fulfilled.
His word is sure.
You can trust it
if you put your hand
out to him.
But then back to the text,
he who ate my bread
has lifted his heel against me.
Then verse 19,
I am telling you this now
before it takes place,
that when it does take place,
you may believe
that I am he.
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever receives
the one I send
receives me.
Isn't that what I said?
I'm not,
you don't have to receive me,
it's the message.
And if you receive Jesus,
you receive him.
And whoever receives me
receives the one
who sent me.
After saying these things,
Jesus was troubled
in his spirit
and testified,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
one of you will betray me.
One of the things
which is so wonderful
about that,
those of you
who were here early enough
for the beginning
of morning prayer,
there's a wonderful line
in the beginning
of morning prayer.
It's also at the beginning
of evening prayer
and it's three different times
in the book of Ezekiel.
It's said in the same,
slightly different ways,
but it's the same message.
God takes no delight
in the death of a sinner,
but rather that they will
turn from their wickedness
and live.
And we see that here
in Jesus.
He's taking no delight
in the fact that the Scripture
is going to be fulfilled.
He's taking no delight
in the fact that Judas
is going to refuse
all of these options
to repent.
It troubles him.
He takes no delight
in the death of a sinner.
What delights him
is when you turn
from your wickedness
and live.
That's what delights Jesus.
That's what delights God.
That is who God is.
God is not a distant God
who occasionally gets mad
and wreaks destruction
on earth.
He's not just a force.
He's not just sort of like
a basic woo-woo-woo
spiritual type of thing
out there
that we go to
when we die.
This is how we know
who God really is
by Jesus.
Verse 22,
the disciples looked
at one another
uncertain of whom
Jesus spoke.
They had no idea
that somebody was going
to betray him that night.
They had no idea
who it was going to be.
Verse 23,
one of his disciples
whom Jesus loved,
that's John the writer,
he was reclining
at table right beside Jesus,
one of the places of honor.
So Simon Peter,
not in a place of honor,
motioned to him
to ask Jesus
of whom he was speaking.
So that disciple
leaning back against Jesus
said to him,
Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered,
it is he to whom
I will give this morsel
of bread
when I have dipped it.
He would have dipped it
into hummus
or tabbouleh
or something like that.
So when he had
dipped the morsel,
he gave it to Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot.
Then after he had
taken the morsel,
Satan entered into him,
that is Judas.
And Jesus said to him,
what you are going to do,
do quickly.
You see,
the wonderful thing,
it's not that somehow
the devil was in the bread.
That's not what it's saying.
You see,
Jesus has already
warned everybody
that one of them there
is going to betray him.
This is Jesus'
constant speaking
to give Judas an honor.
You see,
God's desire
is always that we repent.
That's his fundamental
desire for us.
He warns Judas repeatedly
so that Judas will repent,
will turn.
And now in this moment
of real intimacy,
because that's what it is,
if my wife was to come in
to a room
and I was feeding
another woman
by my hand,
what would her reaction be?
It would be biblical.
No.
We all recognize
that that's a very
intimate gesture.
And that's,
Jesus gives a very
intimate gesture
to Judas.
And it is that moment
of intimacy.
It's dark outside.
In Jerusalem
at that time of the year,
it's about 10 degrees.
So it's,
and that would feel
very cold to people
who are used to 40
in the summer.
It would feel pretty warm
to us today,
but it would feel cold to them.
It's dark outside.
It's cold.
They're all huddled around
to feast.
Jesus and his disciples,
the friends,
it's a moment of intimacy
and it is the moment
of intimacy
that Judas decides
to have the devil
go all in
and possess him.
And the devil
and Jesus
are opposites,
but they're not equal.
The devil
doesn't boss Jesus around.
Jesus tells the devil
what to do.
Get it over with.
Be out.
Be gone.
And the rest of Jesus'
teaching now
is with the devil gone,
the betrayer gone.
It's just Jesus
and his disciples
just to wrap it up.
Verse 31.
When Judas had gone out,
Jesus said,
now is the Son of Man glorified.
He knows the cross is coming
and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him
in himself
and glorify him at once.
Little children,
yet a little while
I am with you.
You will seek me
and just as I have said
to the Jewish leaders,
so now I also say to you,
where I am going,
you cannot come.
A new commandment
I give to you,
that you love one another
just as I have loved you.
You also are to love
one another.
By this,
all people will know
that you are my disciples,
not by your
brilliant apologetics,
not by your brilliant preaching,
not by your spectacular music,
not by your unbelievably
wonderful organizational church,
but if you have love
for one another.
Simon Peter said to him,
Lord, where are you going?
And Jesus answered him,
where I am going,
you cannot follow me now,
but you will follow afterward.
Peter will die.
Peter said to him,
Lord, why can I not
follow you now?
I will lay down
my life for you.
And Jesus answered,
will you lay down
your life for me?
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
the rooster will not crow
until you have denied me
three times.
Amen.
So just wrap it up
with a couple of points
to summarize where we've been.
If you could put them up,
that would be great.
The first one is,
the true Lord of all creation
loves you,
and he stooped like a servant
to wash you
and make you clean forever.
The true Lord of all creation
loves you,
and he stooped like a servant
to wash you
and make you clean forever.
That's the power of the image.
That's what Jesus is saying.
That what's going on
in the cross
is me,
the Lord of all creation.
I am stooping
and stooping
and stooping,
even stooping
to the point of death,
even stooping
to the point
of bearing all the sin
and the shame
of the entire world
in my being.
I am stooping
lower and lower
and lower
because I love you.
And by my action
for you,
if you receive it,
I will wash you
and make you clean forever.
Forever.
That means,
I stand before you right now,
not because of arrogance
or pride
or narcissism,
but because I believe
the words of Jesus,
I stand before you clean.
clean.
That's how I stand before you,
in Jesus,
clean.
If you could put up
the next slide.
The Lord and the devil
are opposites,
but are not equal.
The Lord is God.
The devil
is a fallen creature.
It's a very important thing
for us to remember.
They are opposites.
The Lord stoops
out of love
to make you clean.
The devil
casts worms
that you might eat them
and become foul
and be destroyed.
Many people in our culture
who are afraid of God
are really afraid
of an imposter.
They do not realize
that who they think
of as God
and how they describe God
is actually
they are describing
the devil.
And they are right
to run from him.
But we are to proclaim
that that is not
the true God.
He is an imposter.
Then he is but
a fallen creature.
And Jesus
is the one
who reveals God
to us.
Next point.
The Lord loves you
knowing full well
that you are fallen
and frail.
The Lord loves you
knowing full well
that you are fallen
and frail.
He knew
that Peter
would deny him
when he washed
his feet.
He knows
your frailty
and mine
your sin
and mine
and still
he died
for you.
And the final point
please.
First the gospel
saves you
then the gospel
shapes you.
First the gospel
saves you
then the gospel
shapes you.
That is what
Jesus says here.
That as this story
of the fact
that I am clean
because the Lord
of the universe
stooped
to die upon
the cross
and by his
death
I don't understand
all of the
in a sense
what went on
in it
but I understand
that what he does
it is a profound
act to make me
clean.
His stooping
and loving
and stooping
and dying
and as that story
begins to grip us
it shapes us
to love one another
to serve one another
to take a turn
making coffee
to take a turn
standing by a cold door
so we can use
this space
to look after
snotty nose
little
nine month olds
to serve the poor
to take risks
that as the gospel
first it saves you
but as we
think upon the gospel
more and more
and more
it shapes us
please stand
and if you have
you know
never given your life
to Jesus
there's no time
better than right now
to give your life
to Jesus
and I would just say
Lord
be my savior
and make me clean
that's what I would say
you don't have to be
very complicated
you don't have to remember
I struggled
I grew up in an
evangelical church
and I think the minister
always used the exact
same words
and I would think
do I have to remember
all these words
and they're like
no
just think of John 13
and say
Jesus
make me clean
forever
I want to be yours
that's all you have to do
just listen to Jesus
there's no time
better than now
to do it
let's just bow our heads
in prayer
Father
thank you so much
that you sent Jesus
Father
thank you
that not only
did you send Jesus
but Father
and Lord Jesus
thank you
that the Holy Spirit
comes to move within us
to draw us to Jesus
that Jesus
draws us to himself
Father
we just thank you
for
all that you have done
to save us
we thank you
for Jesus
that he died
on the cross
it's an act
of stooping
to make us clean
when we
put our trust
in him
and he washes us
and makes us clean
forever
you make us clean
forever
Father
we ask that you
would make us
disciples of Jesus
who are gripped
by the gospel
learning to live
selflessly
and free
with love
for your glory
and all these things
we ask in the name
of Jesus
your son
and our savior
amen