Hi, my name's Lynn and I've been a member at Brunsfield for two years now.
I'm going to read Psalm 51, verses 1 to 10.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love,
according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned.
And done what is evil in your sight.
So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth.
Sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb.
You taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean.
Wash me and I will be white within snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness.
Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God.
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Hi, my name is Derek and I'm Lynn's husband and I'm reading from the New Testament today.
In John chapter 13, verses 1 through 20.
It was just before the Passover festival.
Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon of Scariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing and wrapped the towel around his waist.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, dragging him the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter and he said to him,
Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
Jesus replied, you do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.
No, said Peter, you shall never wash my feet.
Jesus answered, unless I wash you, you have no part with me.
Then, Lord, said Peter, replied, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well.
Jesus answered, those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet.
Their whole body is clean, and you are clean, though not every one of you.
For he knew he was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one of them was clean.
When he had finished washing your feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
Do you understand what I have 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.
Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,
nor is this messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Now that you know these things, you'll be blessed if you do them.
I am not fairing to all of you.
I know those that I have chosen, but this is to fulfil this passage of scripture.
He who shared my bread has turned against me.
I am telling you now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.
Very truly I tell you,
whoever accepts anyone I send, accepts me.
And whoever accepts me, accepts the one who sent me.
Amen.
Now let's pray for Ian before the sermon begins.
And Lord, we thank you for the gift of your word,
and as we think on these things, open our hearts and our minds to hear you.
We pray for Ian, and we give thanks for the gifts that you've given him.
Pray for him, as he guides us through his messages,
and opening our hearts to this.
Amen.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Ian, and I'm delighted to repeat the welcome that Luca gave you earlier.
We're continuing today our series of encounters with Jesus from John's Gospel,
and we're looking at the passage that Derek just read to us under the title,
A Puzzled Disciple, that disciple, of course, being Peter.
When I was growing up at Brunsfield, one of my friends, John, was a talented artist.
And one day John's father came to him and said,
I've got a special job I want you to do.
I want you to make a sign that says,
Divine Service performed here three times daily.
John was a bit puzzled about what his father meant,
but he duitly went away,
and in his best script, and with his best design,
he produced a sign and brought it back.
Divine Service performed here three times daily.
And his father said to him,
Right, that's great, well done.
I want you to go and hang that over the sink in the kitchen,
because that's where you have the opportunity in this house
to perform divine service three times daily.
Well, it was a good lesson,
and it was one that came to my mind
as I was reading this passage for this morning.
Not just because it features a basin and a towel.
Foot washing and dishwashing need both of these.
But the lesson is really the same
as the Lord is trying to get out to us today.
We serve God by serving others,
and we often need to do that
in ways that might seem to dent our pride,
might even sometimes seem mundane,
or even demeaning.
And so we're going to look today
at serving others,
and also at being served by others.
But there's a second significance
of this bowl and towel.
In Matthew chapter 23,
the Lord Jesus has a diatribe
against the religious leaders of his day.
Seven woes exposing their hypocrisy.
And the Lord Jesus says,
as one of them,
Matthew 23, verse 25,
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You clean the outside of the cup and dish,
but inside they are full of greed
and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee,
first clean the inside of the cup and dish,
and then the outside also will be clean.
Clean on the outside,
but dirty on the inside.
And that too is a lesson
that Jesus is trying to present to us
in this passage.
He has a discussion with Peter
about bathing and about washing feet.
But actually it emerges
that really it's about being clean
or being dirty inside.
So we'll be looking at clean feet
and clean hearts.
But first let's have a look
at the backgrounds to this passage.
We're on the eve of Calvary.
Within 24 hours,
the Lord Jesus will have died on the cross
for our sins.
And throughout this passage in John's Gospel,
there are references to that.
For example, in verse 1 of chapter 13,
it talks about the Lord Jesus
loving his disciples to the end.
The word could be translated
to the finish.
And that parallels the Lord Jesus'
final cry from the cross.
It is finished.
John talks about him
laying aside his garment
and taking it up again.
And the Lord Jesus uses the same words
earlier in the Gospel
about laying down his life
and taking it up again.
And there are several similar references
as we go through.
Very much in the Lord's mind
and in John's mind as he writes,
is the fact that the cross
is very close.
But the disciples don't know that.
They haven't realised
that the Lord is going to die
within a very short time.
As far as they're concerned,
they have come with him
to an upper room
to celebrate the Passover together.
And of course, as part of that,
the Lord instituted what we call
the Lord's Supper or Communion.
Now I say the disciples
didn't realise what was happening,
but I think there was a real tension
in the room.
The disciples knew
that there was danger about it,
that the Lord was in danger
from the religious leaders
because he had exposed their hypocrisy
and because he had stood up to them.
And so they were very tense.
And one of the things that happened
during the time in the upper room
was that the disciples had an argument
about which of them was the greatest.
That was one of the things
on their minds.
And I think that's relevant
as we look at this incident here.
Because the Lord Jesus
was trying to teach them a lesson
about greatness
and about serving others.
If you went to a house for a meal,
the custom was that the host
would arrange for someone
to wash your feet.
Your feet got quite dusty
walking around Israel
and the host would arrange
for your feet to be washed.
And that was something
that was done
by the lowest servant in the house.
The more senior servants
would think it was below them.
And certainly anyone
who wasn't a servant
wouldn't think this was something
they should be doing.
And so the Lord Jesus
come to this room
and there are no servants.
There are only the 12 disciples
plus Jesus.
And perhaps the disciples
were thinking,
well, who's going to wash
Jesus' feet?
And maybe all of them
were thinking,
well, it's not going to be me
because if I wash Jesus' feet,
I'll have to wash the feet
of the other disciples as well.
And I'm not going to wash the feet
of Matthew or of Thomas
or of Philip
because I think I'm greater than them.
They should be doing it,
not me.
And so you can imagine
their horror
when the Lord Jesus himself
takes off his garment,
takes the bowl of water
and the towel
and goes round
and washes
the disciples' feet.
That looks like
the first few of them
accepted it
but when he got to Peter,
Peter objected
very strongly.
And we'll look in a few minutes
at that discussion
between the Lord Jesus
and Peter.
But we're going to skip over it
for the moment
and we're going to think
about the key lesson
that the Lord takes
from his washing
the disciples' feet.
The lesson about serving
and being served.
So the disciples
hadn't been willing
to do something
that the Lord
was willing to do
for them.
The one who was the master
became the servant.
And Jesus says,
I'm leaving you an example
that you should wash
one another's feet.
Now I think
as we look at this passage
we shouldn't take it
that we literally need
to wash one another's feet.
That's not something
in our culture
is normally done.
We may do it
to demonstrate
our humility.
I have nothing against that.
People want to do it.
But it's not something
we do particularly
to serve others.
Perhaps my
dishwashing example
is a little bit better
from that point of view
as something
that we might do
to serve others
although I don't think
it gets quite to the heart
of just how demeaning
washing someone's feet
would have been seen
to be.
But the Lord
is giving us an example
and he's saying
you should follow
my example
and you should be willing
to serve others.
If I was willing
to serve you
then you need
to serve others.
And often
you will serve them
in unspectacular ways.
I think all of us
probably would like
to be seen
to be serving
in public ways
and to get
recognition
for it.
But the Lord
says we also
should be serving
perhaps even more
importantly
should be serving
when it's not seen
when it's difficult
for us
perhaps even
when it dents
our pride a bit
because we have
a love for the Lord
Jesus
and that's reflected
in our love
for others.
Jesus said
in Luke's Gospel
the Son of Man
did not come
to serve
but to be served
and to give
his life
as a ransom
for many.
Did not come
to serve
but to be served.
And he juxtaposed
that directly
with his giving
of his life.
Not that it is
on the same scale
in terms of
the sacrifice
he made
but serving
and being served
is really important
to the Lord Jesus.
In 1 John
chapter 3
John writes this
This is how we know
what love is.
Jesus Christ
laid down his life
for us
and we ought
to lay down
our lives
for our brothers
and sisters.
If anyone
has material possessions
and sees a brother
or sister in need
but has no pity
on them
how can the love
of God
be in that
person?
Do you get
the two verses
that are connected
so closely
again here?
The one verse
talking about
the heroic
we lay down
our lives
for our brothers
and sisters.
The other verse
talking about
the mundane
the everyday
seeing someone
who is in need
and meeting
that need.
and it's really
important
if we're believers
in the Lord Jesus
that we are willing
to serve others
and we're willing
to serve them
in ways that we
might not find
very attractive
and that might
also not be
very publicly
recognised.
One other thing
before we move on
I talked about
serving
and being served
and that comes out
earlier in the passage
in the Lord's
conversation
with Peter.
Peter was offended
that the Lord
should think
he would wash
Peter's feet
and yet Jesus
says
unless I wash
your feet
you have no
part
in me.
Perhaps I could
talk to a
particular group
this morning
of those
whose natural
inclination
in the church
perhaps in the
home as well
is to serve
who don't need
the exhortation
to serve others
because they
do it
and they do
it with real
love
and real
care.
And yet for
you, for any
of us
in that position
it is very
important that
we are also
willing to be
served.
To be served
by Jesus
and to be served
by others
representing
him.
Remember the
story in Luke
chapter 10
Jesus goes to
the house of
Martha and Mary
Mary and
Martha is
really busy
preparing the
meal.
Mary is
sitting at
Jesus'
feet and
Martha gets
more and
more upset
at what's
happening.
Eventually she
says to
Jesus, why
don't you do
something about
this?
Tell her to
help me.
And Jesus
says, Martha
you're worried
about many
things but
one thing is
important and
that is what
Mary is doing.
She is sitting
at my feet
learning from
me.
However busy
we are,
however much
we may serve
the Lord and
we may serve
others, it's
really important
that we spend
time with
Jesus, letting
him minister
to us and
also that we
let others
perform their
service and
to serve us
at times as
well.
Serving and
being served.
Second thing
I want to
think about is
clean feet and
clean hearts.
And that is
the discussion
that the Lord
Jesus has
earlier on
with Peter.
This discussion
that seems to
be about
washing feet
and having a
bath but
actually very
clearly is
about being
clean or
dirty inside.
Now the
relevance of
the passage
from Psalm
51 that
Lynn read
for us
earlier.
Where David
has committed
a sin and
he feels
really dirty.
He feels
that he is
soiled inside
and that he
needs to be
cleaned.
Look at the
language.
Wash away
all my
iniquity and
cleanse me
from my
sin.
Cleanse me
with hyssop
and I will
be clean.
Wash me
and I will
be whiter
than snow.
Now David
had just
committed
adultery.
Bathsheba
had become
pregnant and
to hide the
fact that
David was
the father
he had
arranged to
have her
husband killed
in battle.
So he was
quite justified
in feeling
really dirty
inside.
And there
are some
sins I
think that
make us
feel dirty
inside as
well.
Sexual sin
whether with
our body,
our eyes or
our mind
may well make
us feel
dirty.
Addictions
could make
us feel
dirty including
addictive
habits,
perhaps perpetual
dishonesty
telling little
lies repeatedly.
These kind of
things we
recognise are
wrong and
they make
us feel
dirty
inside.
But really
all sin
makes us
dirty.
Did you
notice when
we had the
passage from
Matthew 23
about Jesus
talking about
the Pharisees
and the
dirt that
was in
them?
What was
it that
made them
dirty?
It was
greed and
self-indulgence.
Ouch.
And then
Paul in
his letters.
In several
of his
letters he
has a list
of things
that
characterise
those who
are living
by the
flesh.
A list
of sins.
And
among them
there are
many of
the kind
that we
might expect
to see
there.
There are
the sexual
sins that
society
looks at
perhaps not
so much
these days
but looks
at
askance
and recognises
that they
are wrong.
But then
there are
things like
greed
and envy
and loose
talk.
Ouch.
Because these
are things
also that all
of us might
be aware of
in our lives
but don't
take too
seriously.
Paul says
these make
us dirty
as well.
All sin
makes us
dirty before
God and
makes us
subject to
God's
punishment.
That's the
bad news.
The good
news is
that all
of our
sins can
be forgiven
through the
death of
the Lord
Jesus.
There is
none of
us that
is too
bad to
be forgiven.
There is
no sin
that God
is not
willing to
forgive
because of
Jesus'
sacrifice
on the
cross
if we
confess it
to him.
1 John
chapter 1
verse 7
says the
blood of
Jesus his
son
purifies
us
from
all
sin.
Now in
this passage
clearly there
are two
types of
washing
that Jesus
talks about.
There is
feet washing
and there
is whole
body washing.
So Jesus
says to
Peter you
must let
me wash
your feet
if you
want to
be part
of me
if you
want to
be my
disciple.
And Peter
says well
then wash
my whole
body please
Lord.
And Jesus
says no
if someone's
had a bath
they only
need their
feet washed.
Now in
this the Lord
Jesus in
talking about
someone having
had a bath
is talking
about us
coming to
him for
salvation
to begin
with.
Recognising
our sin
recognising
the dirt
within us
and recognising
it only by
his blood
can we be
purified from
our sins.
It symbolises
isn't it in
baptism.
Baptism
one of the
pictures it
presents to us
is dirt being
washed from
the body
symbolising
dirt being
washed from
the inside
as we
trust in
the Lord
Jesus.
So there's
that once
for all
time when
we come
and confess
our sins
and trust
in the
Lord Jesus
and have
our sins
forgiven.
but our
feet
constantly
get
dirty
or perhaps
in the
time of
coronavirus
we could
say our
hands
get dirty
we need
to keep
washing
our hands
regularly
to make
sure they
don't become
contaminated
and Jesus
says we
need that
kind of
regular
washing
as well.
Yes we're
clean inside
through his
death for
us but
we do get
contaminated
by society
around about
us and
by our
own sinful
nature that
is still
in us.
So we need
to constantly
be coming
and confessing
our sins
to Jesus
and being
renewed
in our
fellowship
with him
being made
again
completely
clean.
A couple
of verses
on from
the one
I quote
to the
menisco
1 John
chapter 1
verse 9
John writes
if we confess
our sins
he is faithful
and just
and will
forgive us
our sins
and purify
us from
all
unrighteousness.
So I challenge
us this morning
have we had
that initial
cleansing
through the
blood of the
Lord Jesus
coming to him
in repentance
and faith
being forgiven
for our
sins
and if so
do we have
that experience
regularly
of coming
to him
confessing
our sins
feeling again
the purity
that comes
through his
blood
and being
restored
to fellowship
with him.
One last
point
three times
in this
passage
Judas
is referred
to.
Very much
in John's
mind
and in
Jesus'
mind
is the fact
that there
doesn't really
belong.
The other
disciples
ran aware
of it
at the
time.
As far
as they
were concerned
Judas
was one
of them
but in
reality
Satan
had entered
into
Judas
was not
clean
like the
other
disciples.
And I think
that's a very
sobering thought
for us.
And we
should be
examining
ourselves
and saying
am I
one of
Jesus'
disciples?
Quite often
when we
preach
we say
if you're
a Christian
then here's
a lesson
for you
if you're
not a
Christian
then here's
something
you should
think about.
And perhaps
some of us
when it comes
to a bit
that says
if you're
not a
Christian
we kind
of mentally
turn off
and think
that doesn't
apply to
me.
But all
of us
need to
examine
ourselves
and say
am I
really
one of
the Lord's
disciples?
Have I
really got
his
salvation?
2 Corinthians
chapter 13
in verse 5
Paul writes
examine
yourself
to see
whether
you're
in the
faith.
Test
yourselves.
Now Paul
is thinking
that most
of the
Corinthians
when they
apply that
test to
themselves
will decide
that yes
indeed
they are
in the
faith
they are
Christians
and will
then conclude
from that
that Paul's
ministry
is valid
as he
says
it is.
But he
does
envisage
the
possibility
that there
will be
some
who are
not
truly
Christians
that they're
not in
the faith
that they
haven't got
salvation
through the
Lord Jesus
and I
would suggest
to everyone
this morning
that we
examine
ourselves
that we
see whether
we are
truly
the
Lord's
is our
faith
completely
in him
for our
salvation
for the
forgiveness
of our
sins
and if
we can
see it
is
where is
the
evidence
in a
transformed
life
in the
behaviours
in the
love
that we
show
to others
examine
yourself
to see
whether you
are in
the faith
a basin
and a
towel
serving
and being
served
clean feet
and clean
hearts
if we
belong to
the Lord
Jesus
let's
follow his
example
let's go
and during
this week
let us
serve others
in any way
that we
can
and let
all of us
make sure
that we are
clean inside
clean through
faith in
the Lord
Jesus
and have
clean feet
figuratively
as well
that we
confess our
sins to
him
regularly
and know
again
that experience
of his
forgiveness
and of
fellowship
with him
let's pray
together
and for a
prayer I
want to
take the
words of
an old
chorus
and let's
apply them
to ourselves
let's pray
cleanse me
from my
sin Lord
put your
power
within Lord
take me
as I am
Lord
and make
me all
your own
keep me
day by
day Lord
underneath
your sway
Lord
make my
heart your
palace
and your
royal throne
Amen