Clean Feet, Humble Hearts Series

Clean Feet, Humble Hearts 

John 13:1–17

Introduction?

R.C. Sproul said, “Imagine: Jesus strips to a loincloth, grabs a servant's towel, and scrubs feet caked in Jerusalem filth—including Judas'. That's your King redefining glory.”

Today, we will spend some time in John 13, hearing a call to discipleship that is unexpected and shocking. No matter how often we imagine King Jesus washing the filthy feet of the disciples, it is astounding.

John 13:1 tells us two things about the setting of this story.

-This takes place during the Passover—a remembrance of the tenth plague, where God’s faithful people were saved by the blood of the lamb on their doorpost. That is a fitting image for what is about to take place in the life of Jesus.

-That his hour had come. Five times previously in John’s Gospel it is said that his hour had not yet come. But now it is here.

John 13:1- 5 (ESV)

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 were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 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. 

Jesus is going to use the events of this chapter to demonstrate discipleship to his followers. It was a stark lesson for them, and it is one for us as well. What does he teach us about serving and being humble?

1. Serving Begins With Loving (John 13:1)

Jesus is demonstrating divine love in this text. He loved them “to the end” (ESV). The AMPC says, “He loved them to the last and to the highest degree.” He chooses to love even though there are many other things on his mind. The cross is near. He shouldn’t have to serve in this way if the disciples had taken it upon themselves. Even so, he

loves them by serving them. Jesus rooted his actions in two aspects of love:

-Love for those who were in the world with him.

-Love for his Father, to whom he was returning.?

Notice that his love is not based on how wonderful the disciples are. The world may label some people as unlovable, but when we see them as made in the image of God, we can serve in love.

He has been extending God’s forgiveness and love throughout the Gospel “…he loved them to the end.”

2. Serving Includes the Unworthy (John 13:2)?

Jesus saw them for who they really were. In this instance, He knew about Judas and the betrayal already. No one would have blamed him if he had sent Judas away before this moment. Yet he washes Judas’ feet.

Although that is striking, the truth is that Jesus has served every one of us—and none of us deserved it. We are in that company, all of us sinners who need saving.

Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The cross is the ultimate expression of his love. It is a testimony to our inability to save ourselves. It is a testimony to his love for us. God comes to us in our state of helplessness. Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is the kind of love that Jesus said would be the defining mark of those who claimed to follow him. It is not just a feeling, but a willingness to be humble. It moves beyond what is expected for the benefit of others. It serves even when it is unconventional, inconvenient, uncomfortable.

3. Serving Reaches Beyond Status (John 13:3–5)?

Jesus is Lord, King, Son of God. Washing dirty feet is way beneath his status. Yet he takes no regard for his power or position. He is fully aware of who he is in the Father’s eyes, so he willingly serves even the disciples.

I wonder, have we overlooked others who needed our help because they were not in the same category / social status / ability as we are? The big question is not “Can I lower myself to serve?” The big question is “What are the needs that I can help meet?”

4. Serving By Surrendering Our Pride (John 13:6–11)?

John 13:6-11

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, 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.”