Jesus the Humble Servant
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12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 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. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
The last two Sundays, we have been looking at the implications of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet.
The love displayed by Christ in this gesture shows the great love Christ has for His own.
It shows us the level in which Christ is willing to stoop in order to lift His bride high.
It is symbolic for the greater stooping service that Christ will perform for His own on the cross.
The actual, physical foot washing is not what cleanses us from sin.
If it were the washing that cleansed…it would go against everything that’s been taught in the gospel, so far.
If it were the physical washing that actually cleansed, Jesus would not say that one of them is not clean.
—> Since they were all washed by Him.
Jesus even told Peter that He was already clean, before the foot washing.
Not all of them, meaning Judas, but the rest were fully clean because of their union with Christ…
—> United to Christ by faith in Him.
Christ’s work on the cross is for our justification…
But, it is additionally, for our sanctification and glorification, as well.
What saves us, cleanses us from sin’s condemnation, pardons us from our guilt…
—> Is Christ’s service of humiliation.
And, Christ on the cross is the ultimate service of humiliation…
—> As Paul, writes about in Philippians 2.
Jesus wants His disciples to understand…
And, on Easter morning, we need to remember that it is Christ’s willingness to humble himself that makes the New Covenant possible.
Christ’s willingness to stoop low, and condescend to serve His creatures is why the gospel exists.
And, for one to receive the gospel they must be willing to receive Christ’s service to/for them.
For one to walk in the path of sanctification, one must be willing to submit to Christ’s service to them in the New Covenant.
We must remember that this gesture of service by Christ…
We must remember that this gesture of service by Christ…
And, this lesson that Jesus is teaching them is on the heels of what we are told of in…
24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
Christ is nearing His ultimate act of humble service on behalf of His own…
And the disciples are arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of God.
And, why are they concerned with greatness?
Because they are concerned with who will Lord over others.
Jesus is teaching them that greatness is defined by how you use your position to serve others…
—> Not use others.
Greatness is not defined by how much you’ve been served…
—> But, by how much you’ve served.
And, so Jesus finishes washing all of their feet.
He puts on His outer garments and He takes His place again at the table with the disciples.
And, Jesus says to them…
12 …“Do you understand what I have done to you?
As we’ve already discussed, the footwashing was shocking to the disciples…
But, not near as shocking as a Messiah who would die a death of the damned on behalf of His own.
He has demonstrated to them what true service looks like.
—> He didn’t ask them to wash His feet.
—> He washed their feet.
He didn’t wash their feet in order to get something from them…
—> Or for reciprocal blessings.
They have nothing that He needs.
They have nothing to give to Him that would increase His value.
—> He has served them because He loves them.
What Christ has done to them is grace them with…
A Lesson on Service
A Lesson on Service
A lesson the disciples need to understand…
That the exalted Messiah would assume the role of the despised servant for the good of others.
Jesus states…
13 You call me [the] Teacher and [the] Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Teacher (Rabbi) and Lord (as simple as sir) are respectful ways that disciples would address their Rabbi.
John uses the term Lord as a Christological label for Christ being divine.
And, this would have been well recognized by his readers.
In the Septuagint, the OT in Greek, used the term Lord (kyrios) as the interpretation of the divine name.
Here, we have a definite article in front of Teacher and Lord.
meaning = the Teacher & the Lord
The highest Teacher as God incarnate.
The highest use of Lord as God incarnate.
Jesus adds…
13 You call me [the] Teacher and [the] Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
Jesus adds you address me correctly because that is exactly who I am.
Then Jesus flips human logic on it’s head…
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
IOW, if you recognize me rightly, which you do, as God incarnate.
—> The divine, exalted Messiah.
You have seen, witnessed, and experienced the service of humility that I have just lavished upon you…
You can have no excuse to not serve one another, as well.
IOW, enough of this talk about ruling over each other.
The Kingdom of God is about the greatest serving the least.
What Christ has just done, by washing the feet of the disciples, does away with the fallen, human thought of using position to be served.
Then Jesus adds…
15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 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.
Jesus says, I have given you an example.
An Example of Humility
An Example of Humility
Jesus us telling them that you also should do just as I have done to you.
What did He do to them?
—> He served them.
What an exercise of humility!
Fallen man resists taking the lower position.
Fallen man resists loving when love is not reciprocated.
Fallen man resists using position to serve.
But, our God does not.
Our Savior does not resist stooping to raise His own up!
What a demonstration of love expressing itself by stooping low to serve!
Jesus, the Lord of glory, stooped low to incarnate.
Jesus, the Lord of glory, stooped even lower to veil Himself of His privileges!
Jesus, the Lord of glory, stooped even lower to wash His disciples feet!
Jesus, the Lord of glory, stooped the lowest to become a curse for His own!
So, Jesus adds an explanation point, if you will…
16 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.
IOW, no servant, nor messenger has a right to refuse to do what the one they represent has done themselves.
So, to the disciples and to us…Jesus says you have no right to refuse to do what I have done myself.
Serve others, even lessers, in humility, out of love.
Let’s think about this…
Let’s think about this…
As Christians, we are called to serve one another.
As Christians, we are to humility towards one another.
We are to do these out of love for God, first.
And, out of our love for God, we serve our fellow man.
As a church:
We are to outdo one another in showing honor.
We are to encourage one another.
We are to bear one another’s burdens.
And, so we are to have a humble attitude of service towards one another.
And, that also means that we should not hide our true needs from the church, either.
We should not conceal ways in which the body can serve us.
Now, the Bible teaches, we should do for our self what we can.
But, at the same time, when there is a real need that we cannot meet on our own.
We should share that need with the body…
So we can serve one another in the love of Christ.
I think sometimes we do not allow others to suffer through/in serving us…
Not because we care that they suffer.
But because we do not want to feel indebted.
That is a resistance to humility, as well.
We always need the body praying for each other.
Sometimes we need the body ministering to us in greater ways.
And, we shouldn’t resist being served by the body of Christ.
Now, look at this wonderful truth Jesus states about having an attitude of humble service out of love for God and fellow man.
Now, look at this wonderful truth Jesus states about having an attitude of humble service out of love for God and fellow man.
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Many Amen such a statement.
And, we should.
But, we should also be careful that our enthusiasm for such a statement, does not end with the Amen.
—> IOW, it never goes beyond the Amen.
But, Jesus again stresses that faith works itself out in obedience.
Not perfect obedience, but a pursuit of obedience.
The Implication of Saving Faith
The Implication of Saving Faith
We are justified by faith alone.
—> But, a true, justifying faith is never alone.
The one who is truly justified also finds joy in obedience.
The implication of the gospel believed is obedience.
But more so, here, Jesus is saying, it is the blessedness felt from the obedience.
What do I mean by that?
Well, to be clear, Jesus is not saying that blessings come from your obedience.
All of our blessings come from the person and work of Christ.
Listen to what Paul states…
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
We already have all the blessings that heaven can bestow.
And, we have them in Jesus Christ.
We have them because of His work on our behalf.
So, what type of blessed are we when we do?
The blessedness that we feel when we seek to obey the Lord is a blessedness of experiencing the goodness of God.
When we obey the Lord, partially as it may be…
We are, within our selves, experiencing the grace of God in our inner being.
We are experiencing the grace of God in our inner person.
The blessedness of being a child of God has been stirred…
And, the bliss of being a child of God felt in heightened experience.
Listen to what a theologian said regarding this blessedness through service…
This explains how God the Son, although he left his superior status to serve his inferiors at the same time acted entirely in character as God himself. In the same way, when a disciple of Jesus serves others, he or she is not experiencing a demotion but a promotion to the kind of “life” God offers his children.
If you’ve been a Christian very long, you’ve felt the promotion of your inner being, your inner blessedness in that obedience.
You know that obedient service to God has brought great joy to your inner man.
You’ve felt the inner witness of blessedness that sings to your soul that you are a child of God…
And, that you are infinitely blessed because of it.
Human logic says humility and serving lessers…
Those things are a demotion, a negation of greatness.
But, God tells us —> they are blessedness.
—> God’s wisdom destroys the wisdom of man.
Jesus told us, “it is more blessed to give than receive.”
Now Jesus restates for clarification, regarding this state of being clean and blessed…
Now Jesus restates for clarification, regarding this state of being clean and blessed…
18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’
A Little Cultural Context
A Little Cultural Context
In ancient mediterranean society…
Betrayal by a friend was worse than an insult by an enemy.
The deeper level of intimacy one had, the more the trust was a duty.
And, the more terrible the betrayal.
Judas’ discipleship and his longstanding friendship with Jesus makes his betrayal a horrific act of treachery.
But the meal context that we see here in John…
Makes the betrayal even more monstrous.
The sharing of food and drink represented the most important bond of kindness.
So, Jesus states…
‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’
One of the purposes in this statement would be to pierce the consciences of Judas.
To awaken Judas to the heinous crime he was about to commit against the Lord.
In Judas, we see…
The Dangers of a Seared Conscience
The Dangers of a Seared Conscience
Judas is a display of the hardness of the human heart.
Three years in the intimate circle of Jesus.
Three years watching Jesus do signs that even the Pharisees admit can only equal Jesus being from God.
Three years watching Jesus pour out grace and mercy to His disciples and those He interacts with.
Three years of hearing Jesus expound the Word of God in ways that left the crowds speechless…
And, knowing He must be from God because of the authority in which He teaches.
Three years of sharing meals with Jesus and the disciples.
Now, Jesus has this intimate meal with the twelve and washes their feet…
Even Judas gets His feet washed, while Christ knows he will betray Him.
Judas had stolen from Jesus.
Judas had plotted against Jesus.
All the while suppressing the truth about Jesus.
The seared conscience is one that has convinced itself of lies…
Foolishly convinced itself that its sin is justified in the sight of wisdom.
That truth runs off it like water off a duck’s back.
Oh, what a dangerous position for anyone to be in.
And, it would lead Judas to death under condemnation.
If you have a seared conscience, at once throw yourself at the Lord and ask Him to soften it.
Ask Him to quicken it to the things of God.
He is your only hope.
Now look at the comforting words Jesus tells us…
Now look at the comforting words Jesus tells us…
19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
Let’s think about this...
Let’s think about this...
Judas was not a hiccup in the plan of God.
Judas was not someone whom God had to maneuver around.
God in His omniscience and omnipotence uses their sinful desires, their sinful plotting, their sinful rebellion, their sinful rejection…
Against them and for His plans and purposes.
When the disciples finally realize who the Betrayer is, they will remember that Jesus knew all along.
When the disciples finally realize who the Betrayer is, they will remember that Jesus knew all along.
They will remember that Jesus’ plan cannot be thwarted.
But, they will also remember the gracious way in which Jesus treated…
Even His betrayer.
And, if their Lord treated enemies as such…
And, if their Lord treated enemies as such…
They have no right to do any different.
Let’s conclude to day with this…
Let’s conclude to day with this…
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
The Message We Preach
The Message We Preach
Receive the Lord Jesus Christ.
—> Without Him you have no surety.
Just like Adam had no surety and life depended upon his obedience alone in the covenant of works.
Jesus offers a better covenant with God in which Jesus is our surety.
He has accomplished what we have failed to accomplish.
Find rest for your souls in Christ.
Find forgiveness of sins in Christ.
Find your righteousness in Christ.
Find your security in Christ.
Find eternal life in Christ.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
We serve a risen Savior that has conquered the grave on behalf of His own.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
