Well, thank you very much, Alistair, for reading that passage for us.
We are going to be spending the next 20 minutes or so looking at this passage in John 13.
! I should introduce myself. I'm Craig. I'm a pastor in training here at Brunsfield.
And I want to extend Graham's welcome, especially if this is your first time here,
or maybe you've not come here too many times before. You're very welcome here.
As Graham said, this is Good Friday. This is one of the most important events.
In the Christian calendar. And Graham stole my thunder already. In my introduction,
I was going to ask ourselves, why is this day called Good Friday? Now, you may have seen this
cartoon. It's maybe a little bit far away. I'll read it out for you. You may have seen it before.
I hate the term Good Friday. Why? My Lord was hanged on a tree that day.
If you were going to be hanged on that day and he volunteered to take your place,
how would you feel? Good. Have a nice day.
Now, the reason Good Friday is called Good is because our Lord Jesus chose to die in our place on the cross so that we wouldn't have to.
That is what Good Friday is all about.
And we know that Easter Sunday is coming. We know that Jesus has risen.
But we pause on Friday to reflect on the love and the humility of Jesus and the depths that he went to to save sinners like us.
So that's what we're going to do this evening.
But you may be asking, why are we spending our evening thinking about John 13?
A passage all about feet.
Now, that's a very good question.
John 13 may seem like an odd place to go on Good Friday,
but it is full of reflections of the cross.
John 13 is great because we see Jesus in action and his actions, his love and his humility all point towards the cross
where his love, grace and humble service was ultimately displayed.
So it's my intention this evening to keep pointing forwards from John 13 to the cross
to show how Jesus's love was fully displayed.
So our big idea tonight is that Jesus lovingly and humbly invites all people to come to him
to be washed clean from their sins and to follow in his example of love and service.
That is the big idea that we're thinking about tonight.
So do come along with me as we track through this story.
Keep your Bibles open in front of you.
We're going to make lots of references to the verses in the chapter.
And we're going to start in verses 1 to 5.
So just a run through of what we're going to look at.
We're going to start in 1 to 5 and see that Jesus serves his followers because he loves them.
Then in verses 6 to 11, we'll focus on the humility of Jesus
and see how he humbly invites everyone to come to him and be washed from sin.
And then finally, we're going to look at verses 12 to 17
and we'll see that Jesus gives his followers an example to follow.
So that's where we're going tonight.
So let's start in verses 1 to 5.
Jesus serves his followers because he loves them.
Now, this story features Jesus and his disciples
and they are spending time in Jerusalem.
And we see in verse 1 that they are on the cusp of a really important festival.
That is the festival of Passover.
Now, Passover was a celebration of God's rescue of his people,
the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt.
And so they meet every year to celebrate and to remember that time.
So the disciples and Jesus, they're gathered together for this festival.
And the next thing we're told is that an evening meal is in progress.
They are enjoying the Passover supper together.
Now, this is the meal that is famously known as the Last Supper.
You may have heard of that.
It's depicted in a very famous piece of art.
And it is the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples
before he went to his death and before he was resurrected.
And in John's Gospel, there are five chapters devoted to the events
and the discourse which takes place at this meal.
So it is a very important scene, the Last Supper.
Now, looking at our passage in verse 1,
we're told that Jesus knew that the time had come
for him to leave the world and go back to the Father.
We see that in verse 1.
Now, this means that he has entered the last and most important scene
of his life, of his earthly ministry.
He knows what is coming in the next 24 hours.
His death on the cross, his resurrection from the dead,
and finally, his ascension to heaven.
That's all to come very soon.
And Jesus' imminent suffering on the cross
for the sins of the world,
it's fully on his mind at this moment during this meal.
Now, it's probably not something that you've ever thought about before,
but how would you prepare if you knew you were about to suffer a horrible death?
That's a bit of a grim thought, isn't it?
How would you prepare yourself if you knew that was coming?
I think I would give up.
I think I would curl up in a ball.
I want it to pass quickly.
Or maybe I would try and run away and delay the inevitable.
What would you do?
Well, despite heading towards a horrible death,
Jesus wasn't concerned about saving himself.
He wasn't concerned about running away.
His greatest concern was for his followers, his disciples.
Now, we're told in verse 1 that having loved his disciples up till now,
Jesus chose to love them to the end.
Literally, Jesus chose to love them to the uttermost.
Everything Jesus was about to do,
from the foot washing to his suffering and death on the cross,
he did it because of his immense love for his followers.
Now, we have a very low view of love in our society, in our world.
What are some of the things that we say that we love?
What do you love?
Well, I love pizza.
I love dogs.
I love the Star Wars franchise.
That's a bit of a controversial one.
Not everybody does.
And I love the Scottish Islands.
I love getting out and about.
Now, maybe some of you might say that you love your family.
You love your children or your parents or your spouse or your siblings.
What do you love?
Who are the people that you love?
How far does your love go?
How much do you love the things that you love and the people that you love?
Can you quantify it?
Or to ask a slightly different question.
How much does God love us?
Now, because of our fallen view of love, because we're sinners,
we fail to appreciate the magnitude of Jesus' love for us.
The love that we experience for others is only a shadow of the immense love that Jesus has for us.
And I don't think we'll fully grasp how great Jesus' love is for us in this life.
But Jesus loved his followers, and he demonstrated that by stooping low and washing their feet.
What a strange thing to do.
We're going to think a little bit more about that in a minute.
But this was just a reflection of the ultimate expression of his love.
As I said before, in less than 24 hours' time, Jesus would die for the ones that he loves.
For his disciples, for his followers, but also for you and I.
He died for us, too, on that cross.
But apart from dying, what was Jesus doing on the cross?
Well, he was willingly enduring the punishment of God that we deserve for our sins.
Every wrong thought, every wrong word or deed that we have done,
that judgmental thought that we've had for somebody else,
that impatient word that we said that we snapped,
or that selfish action that we performed.
Jesus hung on the cross and suffered for that action,
and for that thought and for that word and every other sin that we have committed in our lives,
so that we wouldn't have to bear the punishment for it.
So what was he doing?
He was willingly suffering the punishment that we deserve for everything that we've done.
And why did he endure it for us?
Because he loves us to the uttermost.
So in the last days and hours of Jesus' life,
he sets his sights on the cross.
He knows what it will cost him,
but he goes towards it,
because he loves undeserving sinners like you and I,
and he loves us to the uttermost.
Now the other thing that we see in these first few verses
is that Jesus knows certain things.
Now I wondered, as we went through the passage,
and you can look at it again now,
I wondered if you noticed all the kind of knowing
or understanding language that we see.
I counted seven instances of the words knowing or knew or understanding.
But what does Jesus know?
And what is the significance of him knowing these particular things?
Well, in verse 1,
Jesus knows that his death was imminent.
Now, maybe if you saw it in verse 2,
Jesus knows that his death is imminent,
but there is a certain trouble brewing in the background.
Satan is at work.
He wishes to unsettle Jesus,
to distract him.
He wishes to swerve Jesus from his path of salvation.
We're told that Satan had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus.
Satan uses someone who is close to Jesus,
someone who Jesus loves with that great love
that we thought about a minute ago.
But Jesus is not unaware.
The next thing that we see that Jesus knew,
it's all the way in verse 11, halfway through.
Jesus knew who was going to betray him.
What else does Jesus know?
Verse 3,
In other words,
Jesus knows that he had true power and control in this situation.
And we're told that Jesus knew where he had come from.
And we're told that Jesus knew where he was going.
Jesus had come from the throne room in heaven.
Then he stepped down into earth.
And Jesus was going back to that throne very soon
after his death and resurrection.
And as Jesus later hung on the cross,
it looked like he had lost.
It looked like the forces of evil had won.
But even then,
as Jesus gasped and struggled for breath,
he knew in that moment
that the whole of the created order was under his control.
Even in that moment,
Jesus was holding the universe together
by the power of his word.
What an amazing thing.
And as those mockers taunted him
and told him to come down from the cross,
if you are indeed the Son of God,
why don't you bring yourself down?
Why don't you come off that cross?
It doesn't look like you're so great after all.
Jesus knew that he could come down,
didn't he?
But he chose to remain there
to keep suffering until his last breath
because of his tremendous love for us.
He chose to remain on the cross
knowing that he was suffering
and dying to buy back the people that he loved
from the curse of sin.
And he chose to remain on the cross
knowing that his destiny
with the Father on the throne of heaven
was sure.
Can you imagine a greater expression of love?
Do you know of a greater expression of love?
Often when we watch movies
and we see great examples of sacrifice,
Hollywood is just copying this idea of Jesus.
I don't think we know of a greater expression of love.
Now, on the cross,
Jesus was fulfilling the very words
that he would go on to say
a few minutes later to his friends
in chapter 15.
Jesus says that
greater love has no one than this,
that someone laid down his life for his friends.
You are my friends
if you do what I command you.
Jesus lays down his life for his friends.
That is you and I today.
So with these things in his mind,
what's in his mind?
So his imminent death is in his mind,
the forefront of his mind.
In his mind is his tremendous love for his disciples
and also in his mind,
that knowledge of his power and his destiny.
And with these things in his mind,
he rises up from the table.
He takes off his outer garment.
He wraps a towel around his waist.
He prepares a bowl of water
and he begins to wash and dry
the feet of his disciples.
Did you see the meticulous description
of Jesus' actions in these verses?
The writer uses six verbs.
When he could have just used one or two,
he could have just said,
Jesus got up and started washing the disciples' feet.
This is a very visual scene.
You can almost picture Jesus doing these things.
Getting up,
taking his outer garment off,
wrapping a towel around his waist,
filling the bowl with water,
and then bending down.
And you can imagine the disciples
looking on,
slightly stunned.
Okay, so let's look at our next part.
So verses six to 11,
Jesus humbly invites everyone
to come and be washed from sin.
So let's get back into the action
in chapter 13.
Jesus comes over to Peter
with a bowl of water
and he expects to watch Peter's feet.
Now, that might seem like a strange thing to do,
but at that time in the first century
in Jerusalem,
this was a perfectly normal thing to do.
It was a hot country
and these folks likely went around wearing sandals.
And by the end of the day,
their feet would have been filthy.
Their feet would have been covered in sweat
and dust and dirt and dung
that lay all over the streets in Jerusalem.
So it was normal
on entering someone's home
to have your feet cleaned.
maybe by a servant
if you entered a house
of someone who was rich.
So,
what is unusual
in this instance
is that Jesus performs his action
in the middle of the meal.
I don't know if you noticed that
in verse two,
that the meal has already begun.
It's in progress.
You've got to ask yourself the question,
why had this not been done already?
Why didn't someone else
stoop to wash their feet?
Wasn't there a servant in attendance
to do this?
Why didn't one of the disciples do it?
These are questions
that we don't have answers to,
but I'm sure the disciples
must have felt super awkward
when Jesus got up
and started to do it.
Now,
the reason that Peter
objects
so strongly
to Jesus washing
his feet
in verse six
is because he recognizes
that as their master
and teacher,
it is completely
inappropriate
for Jesus
to stoop
and serve his followers
in this slowly manner.
Peter literally says
in verse six,
would you,
such a one
as you are,
wash the feet
of such a one
as I am?
Peter recognizes
that Jesus
is far greater
than him.
This was not the job
for the master.
We're supposed to be struck
by Jesus'
humility here.
Jesus isn't just doing
a weird thing.
He's choosing
to bend
low.
Now,
just like Jesus' love,
sometimes Christians
can be prone
to over-familiarity
with the idea
of Jesus
having humility.
But when we grasp
who Jesus is
and where he had
come from,
the heights of glory,
then we can better
understand how this
was a lowly task
for him.
Think of the dirt,
the sweat,
and the dung
that Jesus had
to come into contact
with as he washed
their feet.
Now,
as we point forward
to the cross again,
this foot-washing scene
points to an even
greater example
of Jesus' humility.
It is at the cross
where Jesus goes
as low
as it's possible
to go
to cleanse us
from the dirt
and dung
of sin
in our lives.
So,
Jesus stepped down
from the glory
of heaven
and to use
the words
of Philippians
chapter 2,
Paul describes
Jesus' humility
really well.
Jesus steps down
from the glory
of heaven.
He made himself
nothing
by taking
the nature
of a servant
and being made
in human likeness.
Then he humbled
himself
by becoming
obedient
to death.
We see in these
verses
this sort of
double humbling
of Jesus.
he humbled
himself
as he stepped
down
to the earth
and took
on a human
body.
Then he humbled
himself again
as he went
willingly
to the cross
and suffered
a cruel
and unjust
and torturous
and deeply
humiliating death.
Jesus' death,
it wasn't just
painful for him.
It was deeply
shocking
and it was
completely shameful
for him.
The whole point
of crucifixion
was to make
an example
of the victim.
Look how
terrible they are.
Look how
shameful a death
that they are
experiencing.
The cross
of Christ
is a total
scandal.
Never
was there
one so
undeserving
of that sentence.
The creator
of the universe
was put
to death
on a cross
made of
the very
wood
that he
thought up
that he
designed
and created.
As we
consider the
shame
and lowly
nature
of Jesus'
death,
let us be
filled
again
with awe,
with thankfulness
that Jesus
chose to tread
this path
to save us.
So,
we thought
about the love
and the humility
of Jesus.
But what does
Jesus want to
teach his
disciples in
this scene?
Well, after
a further
objection from
Peter in
verse 8,
Jesus says
more firmly
this time,
unless I
wash you,
you have no
part with
me.
Unless you
accept my
washing,
you will
have no
part with
me.
Unless you
accept what
I'm doing,
you can't
join me in
my kingdom.
With the
cross looming,
this act of
foot washing
is a picture
of the
washing of
souls that
Jesus is
soon to
offer to
all people.
Jesus
insisted that
he washed
everyone's feet
in that room.
Judas
hasn't departed
the scene
yet.
Jesus
insists on
washing all
of their
feet,
not because
the action
itself cleansed
their souls,
it certainly
did not.
Jesus
washes their
feet because
it is a
clear picture
of the soul
cleansing that
Jesus was
about to
offer to
all people
through the
cross,
even to
people like
Judas,
even to
people who
would ultimately
reject him.
Jesus
explains to
Peter,
unless I
wash away
your sins,
Peter,
you have
no
part with
me.
And Jesus
speaks the
same word
to us
today.
Unless you
come to
Jesus and
accept the
soul cleansing
that he
offers you,
then the
filth and
stains of
sin will
forever
remain in
your heart.
There is
nothing else
that we can
do to make
ourselves clean
before a
holy God.
Before a
holy God.
Only Jesus
can offer
the soul
cleansing
that we
need from
sin.
Because he
himself was
without sin.
He was a
perfect,
spotless
lamb.
And he was
offered up as
a sinless
sacrifice.
And his
blood was
poured out
at the
cross,
purifying
sinners from
their uncleanness.
And this is
very sacrificial,
ritualistic language.
It pictures
the sin
cleansing that
the Israelites
went through
in the Old
Testament.
And if you
want to read
a bit more
about how
Jesus fulfills
these kind
of ritual
cleansing
requirements,
then Hebrews
is a really
good book
to go to.
But without
going too
much further
into that,
I want to
say that these
are the most
important claims
of the
Christian faith.
All of
humanity has
been defiled
by sin,
but Jesus
offers salvation
to all
people,
even to
those who
continually
reject him,
and he
alone is
able to
wash us
clean and
make us
acceptable
before a
holy God.
These are
exclusive claims
of Christianity.
Jesus asked
everyone today,
come and
accept my
offer of
cleansing.
Come to
me and
be made
clean.
Okay,
finally and
briefly,
in verses
12 to
17,
Jesus gives
his followers
an example
to follow.
In verse
12,
Jesus puts
back on
his outer
cloak.
He returns
to his place
at the
table,
and he
asks his
disciples,
do you
understand
what I've
just done
for you?
Now,
you rightly
call me
teacher and
Lord,
for that
is who
I am.
So now,
as I,
your teacher
and your
Lord,
have washed
your feet,
then you
also ought
to do
the same
for one
another.
Now,
Jesus isn't
expecting all
of his
followers and
for Christians
throughout the
ages to come
to wash
each other's
feet.
Rather,
this is a
picture of
what he
was going
to do.
So,
Jesus wants
us to
follow his
example of
stooping really
low and
serving others
out of love.
Do as I
have done,
he says.
Now,
it's like a
football coach
demonstrating a
drill out in
the practice
field and
expecting the
players to
go about
the same
drill.
I've just
shown you how
to do it.
now you
can do it
like me.
Or like a
master tradesman
showing his
apprentice how
to perform a
particular skill.
Now that
you've seen
me do it,
now I expect
you to do
it too.
It's not
easy and
it will
require us
to swallow
our pride
and stoop
low,
but Jesus
says himself
in verse
17,
there is
great blessing
when we
choose to
love and
humbly serve
one another
in this
way.
Now,
we've spent
a lot of
time this
evening
reflecting on
the amazing
love,
the amazing
humility that
Jesus displayed
on the cross
in order to
offer us a
full and
final deep
clean for
our souls.
And we will
have a moment
very soon to
quietly reflect
and express our
thanks to
Jesus in
our hearts
as we
spend time
during
communion.
But I
just want to
say before
we get
there,
for those
here tonight
who have
not accepted
Jesus'
offer of
cleansing
and forgiveness
for your
sins,
he offers
you now
to come
and be
clean.
You can
see that in
these verses.
You can
pray to him
in your heart
tonight and
ask him to
forgive you
and clean
you and
you can
say to
him,
I commit
to follow
you with
my life.
I commit
to follow
you as
my Lord
and my
master.
And we
can do
that tonight
if that
is you.
See the
tremendous
love that
he has for
you.
See how
low he
stooped to
save you.
Come to
him and
be made
clean.
And for
those of
us who
are
followers of
Jesus,
who have
been
following
him and
have been
washed
by him.
Now the
right response
to him
now after
being forgiven,
after having
our debt
of sin
erased,
after being
loved by
him so
much,
the only
appropriate
response
now is
to worship
him with
praise and
thankfulness
and to do
as he
says,
to swallow
our pride
and seek
ways to
serve one
another
humbly
and lovingly.
Are there
ways that
you could
practically
love and
serve somebody
this week?
Maybe there's
someone that's
been on your
mind.
Maybe you
could check
in and pray
for someone
that you've
not seen
for a
while.
Or maybe
you could go
towards somebody
that you
know has
been struggling
even if you
don't know
what to
say.
I'll let you
fill in the
blanks in
your mind.
Who and
how can
you love
this week
and humbly
and lovingly
serve
in the same
way that
Jesus has
lovingly
and served
us?
Let's ask
him to help
us.
Let's pray.
Our Lord
Jesus,
we thank
you for
this scene
in John
13.
We thank
you that
your life
was so
clearly set
out in the
Gospels
that we can
read it
today and
see how
you love
us.
See how
you stooped
so low
for your
disciples
in this
particular
scene but
that we
can see
how at
the cross
you went
so low
the creator
of the
universe
and you
willingly
gave your
life up
on the
cross.
You
didn't
just suffer
pain but
you endured
the wrath
and the
punishment
of God
that we
deserve
Lord.
And we
confess
Lord
Jesus
that we
have
messed
up so
many times
we've
sinned,
we've
rejected
you,
we've
told you
we don't
want anything
to do
with you
and Lord
we are
sorry for
that but
we thank
you so
much that
you have
gone to
the cross
on Good
Friday and
that you
have suffered
and died
in our
place and
that you
hold out
to us
today this
offer of
forgiveness
and washing
of our
sins and
that you
can make
us perfectly
clean and
perfectly
acceptable
before a
holy God
we thank
you that
you have
done that
for us
Lord I
just pray
for those
here tonight
who have
not grasped
what you
have done
for us
I just
pray that
you would
be speaking
to them
this evening
and that
they would
know that
tonight in
their hearts
that they
can commit
their lives
to you
they can
say sorry
for what
they've done
the sins
that they
have done
and that
know that
you will
forgive them
and Lord
for those
of us
that have
maybe been
following you
for a while
Lord I
just pray
that you'd
help us
to grasp
your
tremendous
love
and humility
to an
even greater
level than
we maybe
have before
please help
us to see
you in an
even greater
light Lord
Jesus our
Lord and
our Saviour
and our
God and
so we pray
all these
things in
your amazing
and blessed
name
Amen