Good morning, everyone. Today reading will be in the book of John chapter 13 and 1 to 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 Simeon, Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had pulled 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 a towel around his waist.
After that, he put water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simeon Peter, who said to him,
Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
Jesus replied,
You do not realize 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,
Simeon Peter replied,
Not just my feet, but my hand 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 who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his cloth and returned to his place.
Do you understand what I have done to you?
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 his messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Now that you know all these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Amen.
Thanks very much, Alex.
And hi everyone. My name is Simeon. I'm one of the members here at West Kilburn.
And it's an exciting time, isn't it? Coming to God's word, seeing what he has to say.
Okay, so why don't we commit our time to the Lord here.
Gracious Father, we just thank you so much for your word, that you speak to us.
And Lord, we just long to hear you. We long to be open to what you have to say.
So we pray that you would help me with the words of my mouth be pleasing in your sight.
And help all of us to have hearts that are willing to listen to you.
Because we do pray for your glory. Amen.
Well, it's embarrassing to admit the depth of our need, isn't it?
Recently, we took a trip to Northern Ireland to see the new in-laws, my new in-laws.
We like them a lot. Hopefully they'll watch the recording so they can hear that.
Get some in-law points.
But at one point in the trip, Hannah, my wife, was having some trouble with a jar, opening a jar.
So, naturally, I stepped up, took the jar, twisted it, twisted it, nothing.
My dad takes it, pop, open, no trouble.
I did need his help, but omitting it wasn't easy.
We hate to admit our need, don't we?
It's embarrassing to admit our weakness.
That we can't do something.
Not that I couldn't have opened a jar, obviously.
Because if I wanted to, I could have.
But if I'm too proud to admit when I need help, then the help's not going to come, is it?
But when we realise that we need help, we need saving effectively,
then we put our hands up, we ask, I need help.
So it takes humility to be served, but it also takes humility to serve, doesn't it?
And we don't really like to serve too much.
Because, if I'm honest, my time and my needs are slightly more important than your needs.
And so, I don't like to be asked too much of, because it might interfere with my plans, with my dreams, my day.
But, I do think when we find a worthwhile cause, or a calling, if you like, then we are willing to serve.
We really do want to serve.
We think it's worth it.
And Jesus speaks into those two things in our passage today.
Humility to be served, and humility to serve.
Because we need to admit how deeply we need him, our humility to be served.
And just how high his call is for us.
We need to admit the depth of our need, and the height of our calling.
So, I don't know where you're at today.
Maybe today you're actually thinking, I'm pretty happy.
I don't think I need Jesus.
You know, I'm not too interested in what he wants for me.
Or maybe you're a Christian.
Maybe you know you need him, and you actually want to carry out whatever he has for you.
So, wherever we're at, we need John 13 to speak to us today.
And it might well humble us.
It might be a little bit uncomfortable.
Because it's going to show us just how much we need Jesus to serve us.
And my prayer is that it would spur us on to jump on board with his mission for us.
So, don't be scared.
This isn't just going to be about doing more stuff.
Filling up your plate even more.
But it's much more heart challenging than that.
So, let's strap in three things that we need to think rightly about to get our place in serving right.
What do we need to think rightly about?
First, we need to see how low you need Jesus to go.
That kind of makes me think of the game Limbo.
You know, how low can you go?
Well, I'm terrible at that game.
But I think Jesus would be good at it.
And you'll see why.
And anyway, with that really helpful image in our heads,
the way that Jesus acts here is actually pretty outrageous.
So, yeah, just like we heard in the kids' life.
They're having a nice dinner.
And then all of a sudden, verse 4.
Take a look.
If you close your Bibles, grab it back out.
Verse 4.
He's taking off his outer clothing.
He's taking off his robe and his cloak.
And he's wrapping a towel around his waist.
Uh-oh.
Ding, ding, ding.
Alarm bells for the disciples.
He looks like a servant.
He looks like the lowest of servants.
And now he's on his hands and knees.
He's washing his disciples' feet.
Can you imagine the awkwardness in the room
of Bartholomew and Thomas giving each other the wide eyes?
Like, what is going on?
This is completely upside down.
After the day of walking around in sandals,
you can imagine the smell.
And you can imagine the layers of dirt.
This is not a job for their superior rabbi.
But it's a job for a servant, right?
An inferior servant.
So, Jesus is humiliating himself.
So, Peter steps up.
Are you going to wash my feet?
Verse 6.
No way, Lord.
You're the one that God has sent.
I won't let you stoop so low.
But you don't get it, Jesus says.
Verse 7.
You do not realize now what I'm doing,
but later you'll understand.
Peter's not happy, is he?
No.
You shall never wash my feet.
Oh, boys.
It's getting heated.
So, Jesus has to tell him straight.
Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.
What's he saying?
Well, that word part is often used to do with inheritance.
So, think of the lost son.
Give me my inheritance.
Give me my part.
So, to have a share with Jesus, a part with Jesus,
is to share in what God will give him.
To share in his glory.
To know the living and true God, now and in eternity.
And Jesus says,
if you don't let me wash your feet,
then you can't have that.
And I wonder if that seems like a bit of an over-exaggeration to you.
A bit like saying to your sister,
if you don't let me make you a cup of tea,
then you're out of this family.
But,
the stakes are way higher, aren't they?
Because cleaning here is a picture.
And it explains people's spiritual reality.
And their eternal destiny.
So, our sin,
that's everything in us that wants to live our way
and resist God's way.
It's like this layer of dirt between us and God.
And he's a perfect God.
He's perfectly just and pure and right.
Nothing impure
can even come near him.
Nothing wrong can be tolerated by him.
And that is good news, right?
Because that means
he won't let any wrongdoing go unpunished.
But it's also bad news
for anyone who has ever done wrong.
For anyone who's not perfect.
Because it's like this big giant wall
that we've built with our own hands
that separates us from God.
So, our sin means that we can't be with Jesus in this life
and we can't be with him in the next.
So, that's a pretty bleak situation.
It's a big problem.
And what Peter doesn't understand yet
is that this whole act of service,
what Jesus is doing,
points to the solution.
It's actually what this whole section of John
is going to be leading up to.
And verse 1 is the introduction to it.
It says,
The hour has come
for him to leave this world
and to go to the Father.
So,
he's about to die.
And when he dies,
all of that dirt and filthiness
of our hearts
that meant that we couldn't be with God,
he took it on himself.
He faced the judgment of the Father
so that he can say,
verse 10,
he can say,
you are clean.
So, there's a separation in the room here,
isn't there,
between Judas and everyone else.
If you look halfway through verse 10,
Jesus says,
You are clean,
but not every one of you.
But he knew who was going to betray him.
And that was why he said,
not every one of you was clean.
So, there's a separation in this room too, right?
We're either spiritually clean or not.
We either know God or we don't.
And it's nothing to do with how much we serve
or give or attend.
It's either those that have admitted
their need for the cross
or haven't.
And maybe we need to think more
on Jesus' response to Peter here.
Peter, he hated the idea of Jesus
serving him.
He says,
No way.
But Jesus,
it's like he says,
Don't you see
the extent of your need?
I have to do this for you.
I have to sink
this low for you
and way further
to die for you.
And I love you too much,
not to.
It's embarrassing to admit
the depth of our need,
isn't it?
How low we need him to go.
How we need him to die for us.
And it's the only way
to be right with God,
to have a part with Jesus,
to share in his heaven.
Because, yes,
our sin is that awful,
is that serious.
And you might feel
the burden of that today.
You might feel the weight
of your sin
making you feel
impure
or ashamed.
But actually,
the beauty of Jesus' offer here
is that he will wash it away.
That night
that we just can't forget.
Those words
that we wish
we could take back.
And that thing
which we haven't told anyone.
Like a teacher
at the end of the day
wiping the whiteboard
clean.
Or they're probably
just all digital now.
Just press a button.
But
it's gone.
You can't see it anymore.
We're washed,
pure,
acceptable to God.
Nothing held against you
and welcomed
into his eternity.
And all because Jesus,
in the words of
Philippians 2.7,
made himself nothing.
He humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to death,
even death
on a cross.
So if we get this,
if we understand this,
when we want to
to burst out
like Peter,
wash me.
Verse 9,
not just my feet,
but my hands
and my head as well.
We need Jesus
to give everything
to save us.
and we need to see
just
how low
he still needs
to go
even after we're saved.
So that's our second
thing that we need
to see.
You never stop
needing
his service.
So verse 10,
those who have
had a bath
need only
to wash
their feet.
Their whole body
is clean
and you are clean.
So Peter's clean.
He's had a whole
body wash.
In other words,
he's forgiven
by God.
But he still has
to see his need
for this foot wash.
So,
what's that all about?
Well,
it's a beautiful
picture of
our constant
need
for forgiveness.
Not to save
us again,
because
Jesus' death
has already
changed our status
with God,
right?
The disciples
are already
clean.
In verse 10,
they're pure
in his sight.
This foot wash
is about
ongoing
relationship
with God.
Because our sin,
it hinders
our walk
with God
every day.
We know that,
don't we?
It entangles
us.
It trips us
up.
And,
undealt with,
it makes our
relationship with
God unhealthy
and unhappy.
Maybe you feel
that today.
Because we
start to welcome
again the
very things
that separated
us from God
in the first
place.
It's like they
stick to our
feet.
And so Jesus
needs to stoop
low and wash
our feet from
the very
sin that he
died to
forgive.
And I
wonder if
it's even
harder to
admit our
constant failure
that we've
messed up
again.
Like a
child not
wanting to
admit that
they've wet
the bed
again.
We want to
be the
finished article.
not after
10,
20,
50 years
of being
a Christian
still
constantly
needing
Jesus to
wash our
dirt away.
It's
embarrassing.
But we
have to
admit our
need.
So I
think humility
looks like
saying sorry
to God
and trying to
steer clear
of the mud
which holds
us back from
that healthy
happy life
with God.
So just as
a quick
side note,
it's not
about ritual
confession.
I don't need
to have a
special prayer
or I don't
need a
special person
to, like a
priest, to
save me,
re-save me,
bring me back
to God.
This is all
about a
heart and a
mindset change
that we
constantly need
to walk
with the
Lord.
We constantly
need forgiveness.
forgiveness.
But if you're
anything like
me, I think
when I've
disobeyed
him, I
kind of feel
like I
need to
wait a
little while
before I
come back
to him to
show that
I'm not
that bad.
Maybe let
the dust
settle a
bit.
As if I
think that
if I come
straight back
to God,
he'll be
like, look
at what
you've just
done.
Like, you
think I'm
going to
forgive you
after just
literally a
second ago
you disobeyed
me.
But that's
actually, that's
the devil's way
of thinking
because I
don't have to
prove myself
worthy or to
earn his love
again.
My relationship
with him is
always going to
be dependent
on his love
and his
forgiveness.
So I need to
run back to
him at that
very moment.
So I want
to ask, is
there sin
that you
don't want
to get rid
of that's
sticking to
your feet?
Because that's
a dangerous
thing, right?
Run back to
Jesus.
Have that
dirt that's
hindering your
walk with
him washed
away.
So see how
much we
need him.
See how low
we need him
to go.
We need
Jesus to
die for us.
And we
never stop
needing his
service.
We need
Jesus to
keep forgiving
us.
Jesus serves
and he
keeps serving
and he
will keep
serving even
into eternity.
And the
scary thing
is that
Jesus sets
the bar
for us.
Right?
That might
sound a bit
shocking or
confusing,
but that's
the third
thing that we
need to see.
We need to
see how
high our
calling is.
Do you
see how
high your
calling is?
So take
a look
with me
at verse
15.
I have
set you
an example
that you
should do
as I have
done to
you.
Now,
we obviously
aren't called
to die to
give people
eternal life.
We can't
save people
like that.
but we're
called to
serve like
Jesus.
So to
go low
for the
sake of
others and
even for
the sake
of their
salvation.
Now that
is a high
calling.
I'm not
sure there
could be a
higher one.
How can
we ever
attain to
that?
How can
we ever
have hearts
that really
want to
serve like
that?
Well,
Jesus gives
us three
life-changing
truths here
and they're
three phrases
that I
really want
to fix
in my
mind so
that they'll
give me a
heart that
wants to
serve.
And I
know three
might sound
like a lot
of ground
but we'll
move quickly
and I just
couldn't not
share these
with you.
So stick
with me.
Here we
go.
Phrase
number one.
I'm not
better than
Jesus.
Now,
it feels a
little bit
awkward saying
that like
how proud
do you think
we are?
Like I think
I'm better
than Jesus?
But actually
Jesus does
think that
there's a
danger of us
thinking this
way.
So take a
look at
verse 16.
Very truly
I tell you.
So this is
Jesus' way
of saying
I'm about
to tell you
something crucial.
So get the
highlighter ready,
get the
pen ready
for the
double
underlining
because what's
he going to
say?
Very truly
I tell you
no servant
is greater
than his
master
nor a
messenger
greater than
the one
who sent
him.
So Jesus
is the
greatest,
right?
There's no
one greater
than Jesus
who's walked
this planet.
And verse
three,
all things
are under
his power.
Literally
he's in
charge of
everything.
And yet
his mindset
was to go
way to the
bottom of
the pile
to lay
aside his
glory and
his status,
become a
man and
to give
his life
for those
who hated
him.
And we're
not greater
than Jesus,
are we?
No one
is.
So that
means that
there's no
task too
low for
the Christian,
right?
There's no
position too
inferior.
If Jesus
was willing
to go so
low for
me, how
low am I
willing to
go for
others?
So we're
not better
than Jesus.
And second,
service is
greatness.
The reason
Jesus served
was because
of his
importance,
because of
his importance,
not in
spite of
it.
So this
is backwards
to how we
think of
it.
So Jesus,
he knows his
authority,
he's in charge
of everything,
verse 3,
and he's
come from
God and
he's going
back to
God.
And it's
because of
that that
he serves.
So we
think that
authority and
status,
greatness,
it should
mean reward
now,
shouldn't
it?
I should
get honour
and status,
I should
have a
comfortable
life,
I should
have
riches,
I'm
working
hard for
my gain,
right?
That's the
way we're
taught to
think.
But Jesus
flips it,
he says the
role of the
greatest is
to serve.
And our
word,
prime minister,
I don't know
if you know,
it literally
means first
servant.
And I
think Jesus
would be
pretty happy
with that.
The one
at the
top should
be the
first to
serve.
And I
wonder if
we have
that mindset,
are we
the first
to serve?
Are we
the prime
minister of
our home?
Are you
the prime
minister at
work?
Are you
the prime
minister for
God's
people?
Because
instead of
saying I'm
important,
serve me,
my job is
important,
my time is
important,
so serve
me,
we need to
flip it.
It's how
can I use
my important
time to
serve you?
So we're
not better
than Jesus,
service is
greatness,
and lastly,
we have an
eternity
changing
mission.
Have you
ever thought
of yourself
as a
messenger,
like in
verse 16,
a messenger
sent by
Jesus?
He gave
his disciples
this life
saving message,
right?
So that
the people
who accepted
them,
who accepted
that message,
accepted
Jesus
himself.
Take a
peek at
verse 20,
very truly
I tell you,
whoever accepts
anyone I
send,
accepts me.
And in
the same
way,
we
represent
Jesus
to the
world.
And those
who accept
us and
the message
that we
pass on,
the gospel,
accept the
Lord Jesus
Christ
himself.
So we're
his ambassadors
serving so
that others
might be
saved.
Did you
catch that?
we're the
Lord's
ambassadors
serving so
that other
people might
be saved.
But how
high a
calling?
Could there
be a
higher one?
Going low
so that
others might
hear and
believe.
Is there
any length
that it's not
worth going
to?
Is there
any energy
or money
or time
that's not
worth giving?
And we've
got to start
to rethink,
ask ourselves
questions about
things like,
is the beach
holiday worth
giving up for
the Christian
summer camp?
Or is
respect worth
losing to
share about
what I heard
about the
sermon at
work tomorrow?
Or is a
little bit
less in the
bank account
worth it so
that more
people, the
unreached, can
hear the
gospel?
Well, obviously
there's good
reasons to
not do those
specific things.
That's just to
help us to
examine our
hearts and
think, do we
believe that we
have this
eternity
changing
mission from
the Lord?
So those are
our three
statements.
Can you
imagine what
would change
if we woke
up in the
morning with
these things
ringing in our
ears?
Like, I'm
not better
than Jesus.
Service is
greatness.
I have an
eternity
changing
mission.
How much
more would
my heart
want to
serve him?
And so that
means that
today we're
not going
away
with a
list of
things to
do,
but it's
about a
heart that
says, I
know the
depths of
my need.
I see how
low Jesus
went for
me.
It's a
heart that
cries out, I
know how
high my
calling is.
I want to
serve for
others and
for their
salvation.
And man, I
wish I was
less of a
hypocrite in
this really.
I wish I
made my
life more
about this
calling.
And maybe
some of you
are in the
same boat.
So we
need to pray
because we
can nod along
this morning,
we can have
all of our
intentions in
the right
place, but
let's go for
it, let's
follow our
Lord.
So I'll
leave you
with the
Lord Jesus'
words in
verse 17.
Now that
you know
these things,
you will be
blessed if
you do
them.
Let's pray,
shall we?
Gracious
Heavenly
Father,
we come
before you
and we
admit how
much we
need you.
And we
just pray
that we
would admit
that more
and more.
We just
thank you
so much
for how
low Jesus
went for
us, that
he was
willing to
become
nothing for
us so
that we
can know
you.
That he's
willing to
keep having
mercy on
us, to
keep forgiving
us, and
we just
pray that you
would help
us to never
move away
from that,
never move
away from
the cross.
If there's
anything here
Lord today
that you're
convicting us
of or
prompting us
to lay
aside or
to repent
of, to
turn back
to you,
we just
pray that
you would
give us
the boldness
and trust
to do
that.
And Lord
give us
hearts that
want to
serve like
Jesus.
Keep that
mission on
our hearts
and in
our minds
and help
us to
follow Jesus
more each
day.
Because we
do pray it
for your
glory.
Amen.