SERVE
Faith In Action - Week 1
JOHN 13: 1-17
INTRODUCTION: Video Clip: The Guardian - Start: Chp. 5 43:54 - Stop: 46:16
Senior Chief Randall had a choice. He could have taught the recruits about hypothermia as an abstract theory during a lecture from the comfort of a classroom. Instead, Randall chose to fill the pool with freezing water and then share the experience with his students. He wanted them to “see” and “feel” the effects of hypothermia not just hear about it from a sterile classroom.
Jesus Christ, the greatest teacher, did something very similar. He wanted to teach his disciples about serving others. But instead of just telling them he showed them. John 13:3: “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” Then he said, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant...” Just as those recruits understood hypothermia by being in the cold water, Jesus knew that we would learn best by watching Him actually serve.
But you know what? Some of us would rather stand in freezing water than be known as a slave. Slave? Yes, when Jesus says “servant” he uses the word “doulos” which literally means “bond-slave.” A bond servant wasn’t someone who just served another once in a while, a bond-slave was one who was in bondage to another. I doubt that anyone in this room said as a little child, “When I grow up I want to be a slave.” Or “When I grow up I want to be somebody’s servant! Our pride keeps us from seeing service to others as an aspiration. But Jesus Christ asks us to go against our carnal natures and to go contrary to today’s cultural characteristics of self-promotion and self-centeredness and serve others. In fact he would say that your faith, your belief system is best seen in how you serve. Jesus said, “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. 26But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. 28For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”(Mt. 20:25-28 NIV)
So, for the next 6 weeks we are going to put our faith in action, we are going to talk about and then jump “into the pool” and serve others. That’s the purpose of this all church campaign called Faith in Action. To not just go to church but be the church. We’ll talk about it for 4 weeks but on the 5th week we are actually going to go out and serve. On the weekend of October 20-21 we hope some 3-4000 strong are going to rally here and then go out and serve others. PRAY
We begin in the upper room. Some of Jesus’ most significant words were said in this chamber when He was alone with His disciples. This particular episode of Jesus washing the disciples feet really convicts me of my need to serve others, even in the most menial tasks. So, let’s see from the Master Servant what characteristics He demonstrated in this incident that we need to develop. How do we serve like Jesus?
I. DEVELOP CHRIST-LIKE COMPASSION: John 13:1-5
First, we need to develop Christ-like compassion. It was the custom in Jesus’ day for someone to perform the routine of washing feet. Someone should of volunteered.. When they ate back then, they reclined at table and the person next to you had his feet at your elbow, just about in your face. So your neighbors feet would be very visible and very smellable. Naturally, that made it very important that they were clean. They paid as much attention to washing feet as we do to washing hands before a meal. And according to William Barclay, if there was no host, hired servant or owner, as occurred on this night, then the first person in the room was responsible for making the provisions. That meant that the first one there would normally volunteer to do the customary thing- wash feet. But not this crowd.
Why did that happen? Why, didn’t someone, other than Jesus, jump to the task and grab the basin and the towel? Well, it happened because the Disciples had an attitude problem: they were more concerned about rights and superiority than they were service. There’s a couple of times in Scripture that identify their problem of pride.. In fact they had this penchant for arguing about who was the greatest among their little group. That’s the attitude they had that night. Luke 22:24 tells us that even after the institution of the Lord’s Supper, hearing that Jesus would lay down his life for them, they still argued about who was the greatest. Is it any wonder then that no one volunteered to wash feet? Please remember this principle: You will never serve properly if you are worried about your position of importance. (repeat)
But there was an even more evil attitude than pride on the part of one of the 12- Vs:2- “It was time for supper, and the devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus.” Judas has already decided to turn Jesus in. Now, if you were Jesus, knowing all of this: the pride, the treachery, would you have been quick to wash their feet? I mean here is Jesus’ greatest night of trial. He is going from this room to the Garden of Gethsemane. There He will be arrested, accused falsely, and in less than 24 hrs nailed to a tree. He is the victim of gross neglect. When Jesus needed the greatest comfort, He got none. I think most of us would have felt sorry for ourselves or thrown a fit. But not Jesus, instead of pouting or getting mad He volunteered to wash feet.
Notice two things in this text that motivated Jesus to act differently than we probably would. (1) His motivation was compassion for others. Vs:1b- “Having loved His own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of His love.”(NIV) Jesus was more concerned for His disciples in this hour than He was for Himself. The One who was neglected, the One who was hurting, the One who had told them He was facing death, is the One who is taken for granted. He does it because of His great love for them. Do we love in such a way? More concerned about others than ourselves?
But a (2) reason Jesus responded this way was out of confidence in His mission. Vs:3 - “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.” Jesus was not confused or worried in His last hours.. He knew who He was, He knew what He was doing and nothing was going to deter Him from His mission- to die for the sins of the world. You see a servant is unassuming but not insecure, a servant is self-sacrificing but not self-conscience. And now, as vs:1 tells us, Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love."
Let’s read vss:4-5 and visualize in our minds what He did here. “..He got up from the table, took off His robe...” That was a very undignified act for a Jewish man. They would take off their outer cloak so as not to get it wet and so be bare chested. Here is the Son of God, the Creator of the Universes, without a shirt on, towel wrapped around Him, getting down on His hands and knees on the hard floor. No rubber gloves, no sterile mask.. And.. “...wrapped a towel about his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” What an act! But not only was this act undignified and unsanitary, it was also unfair! After all, Jesus washed ALL 24 feet! That would include Judas’. That’s right, Judas hadn’t left yet. I’ve often wondered what expression Judas had when Jesus bent down to wash his feet knowing that he’d already sold out? Contempt? Guilt? If you were Jesus, how would you have reacted that night? I think I might of come to Judas, and said, "hold on a minute friend I need to change this dirty water." And then I’d go get some boiling water, come back and say, "Stick `um in here bub, may as well get used to heat, where you’re going." But not Jesus. He bent low and washed the feet of this man who would sell Him out.
But He was able to do that because He knew His mission and He had so great a love. Let me ask you. How Christ-like is your compassion? You see, the world thinks that service is a matter of action, Jesus says it is a matter of attitude. What do you see when you look at people? Jerry Jones’ book, Discipleship in God’s Eternal_Purpose, contends that we have lost our Christ-like compassion. He writes: "As a true disciple of Jesus, do you see others as Jesus sees them? When you see large crowds at athletic contests, what do you see? If Jesus were watching the World Series, or the Super bowl what do you believe His thoughts would be? Would His primary thought process be only on which team is ahead or how many innings or how much time is left? To ask these questions is to answer them. The heart of Jesus was so in tune with the Father that He could look on the crowds and have deep compassion for them, even when He was mistreated. Until we can look on people with Christ-like compassion, we have not developed the sight of Jesus." And I would add- Until we can look on people with Christ-like compassion we cannot be Christ-like servants either. I believe that begins by seeing ourselves as we really are. Jesus says in vs:16 that no servant is greater than his master but we are also no greater than anyone else. We are simply sinners saved by grace. People trying our best to love like Jesus and show others the full extent of His love.
II. DEVELOP CHRIST-LIKE HUMILITY: John 13:6-16
The second thing we need to develop is Christ-like humility. As Jesus went down the line the disciples they must have been shocked and humiliated. I’ve washed feet before in a service. Do you know who is more humbled by that act? Not the washer, but the washee.. there is something about that act that makes you want to say, "Oh, don’t do that for me.. I can wash my own feet."
He comes to Simon Peter who says in vs:6- “Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus says in vs:7- “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; someday you will.” And Peter responds emphatically in vs:8, "No! Never!" “You will never wash my feet.” Now, at first glance it seems that Peter is really being humble. But is this sincere humility or a false self-serving pride? There is a pride that refuses assistance. "I don’t need counseling, I can handle my problems myself." "I don’t take charity." "I don’t need to stop at a service station and ask directions." "I’ll wash my own feet, thank-you!" By the way, when you try to serve others you may be surprised that others will object. "Hey, I don’t need your charity." "What are you trying to do, make me look bad?" So, Peter said, "No, not my feet." And Jesus replies in vs:8b- “But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Whoa, Peter didn’t want that. So he says in vs:9- "In that case Lord, don’t wash just my feet.. ...wash my hands and head as well.. give me a bath Lord." Peter can put his foot in his mouth without trying. Jesus replies "You don’t need a bath Peter, just your feet."
When Jesus finishes, He gets up, puts His clothes back on and says in vs:12.. “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me, “Teacher” and “Lord,” and you are right because it is true.” Notice that Jesus exhibits genuine humility. He didn’t have pseudo-modesty. He didn’t say "Oh, shucks fellas, I’m just one of you." He said, "I’m your Lord, I am your leader and I did this for a reason." Now it would of been a whole lot easier if Jesus would of said, "Now you do what I did. Now that I’ve washed your feet you ought to wash my feet.” We’d love that. Wash our Savior’s feet. That’s not what He said. He said, "Since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each others feet.” That’s a different matter. We’re delighted to wash Jesus’ feet but to wash one another’s feet? But that’s exactly what Jesus is telling us to do. To be like Him is to do what he did... others. I like what Max Lucado writes: "The Lord of the universe’s first day was spent in a barn, His last was spent bending down washing feet."
I sometimes wonder if we realize just how radically different from the world Jesus is calling us to be. When we become a Christian He doesn’t just save us from our sins. He wants to save us from the futile and shallow attitudes and lifestyles of this world. As Christians we are to think counter culture. Remember, the Bible makes it clear that God resists the Proud! Three separate times in the Bible it says that God resists the proud. Pro.3:32; James 4:4; 1 Ptr 5:5 - That’s radically different than what the world says. "Stand up for your rights!" "Display your degrees." Jesus says, "I want you to deny yourself. Think more highly of others than yourself." The world looks for status, Jesus looks for servants. The greatest leader, the all knowing, all powerful God of heaven and earth led by service. And when Jesus was finished he said, "Now, do the same thing."
And He was humble enough to do the little things, not just the big ones. Bob Russell, a preacher in Kentucky, tells of calling Baptist East Hospital late one night to check on one of his elderly members. The operator transferred him to a nurse who answered, "Pediatrics." Bob said, "Pediatrics? I’m checking on a lady that’s 87 years old! I’ve got the wrong floor." Bob expected the nurse to say, "Sir, just call the switchboard back and they’ll reconnect you." But she said, "Sir, would you wait just a minute, let me see if I can help you." She came back to the phone and said, "Your church member is in room 423. But sir, it’s rather late and they might not put you through, let me give you the number of the nurses station on that floor and the name of a nurse who I’m sure will help you out. But sir, here’s my name and my number. If they don’t help you, I’ll be here til midnight, you call me back and I’ll see that you get through." Bob said, "I almost hired her over the phone." That is so rare! What a humble, helpful spirit. And I bet you, that Bob’s opinion of Baptist East hospital was enhanced greatly because of one helpful servant.
Do you realize how Jesus and the Church can be enhanced by your willingness to serve, even in the small areas? That’s what makes our Faith in Action Blitz day on Oct. 21 so fantastic. Not only will we serve but the Lord’s church will be known for serving - in a big way! But I hope it goes deeper than just one day. We’re hoping this will be a change of lifestyle for many. That we will begin to find a need and fill a need. Jesus did that. No-one gave Him the title of Sr. Vice-President in charge of foot washing. He just did it because there was a need. And you don’t need someone to assign you a task, just look for a need and start filling it. I love the plaque that says, "Great occasions for serving God come seldom but little ones surround us every day." But you’ve got to be humble enough to look for them. Then lastly...
III. DESIRE CHRIST’S BLESSEDNESS: John 13:17
Now, look at vs: 17. “You know these things - now do them. That is the path of blessing.” You know the world desires happiness; Christ offers blessedness. Don’t people just knock themselves out, trying to be happy? How many times have you heard someone say that their goal in life is "..just to be happy." But the truth is, that when you try to be happy you seldom are, but when you look for the blessedness that Christ offers, you are surprised by the joy you find in your life. And here Jesus is basically saying, "When you look for others to make you happy, you won’t be. But when you look for ways to make others happy, you’ll be blessed."
A writer from Huntsville, Al. told as a boy that he was lounging around on the living room floor watching TV. His dad came in from shoveling snow, saw him there and said, "Son, in 24 hours you won’t hardly remember what you are watching. How about doing something for the next 20 minutes that you’ll remember for the next 20 years? I promise you that you will enjoy it every time you think of it." "What is it?" "Well, son, there are several inches of snow on old Mrs. Brown’s walk. Why don’t you see if you can shovel it off and get back home without her knowing who did it?" He wrote, "I did the walk in about 15 minutes. She never knew who did the job and Dad was absolutely right. It’s been more than 20 years & I’ve enjoyed the memory, every time I’ve thought about it."
There is a blessedness that comes from serving others that you never get when you indulge yourself. Now, all of this sounds rather simple coming from up here, but it is not easy to put into practice. Because it means you’ve got to go counter to the world around you which is proud and full of self-promotion and self-centeredness. It also means that you have to be willing to be taken advantage of on occasion. I have to confess to you, that like a lot of new husbands, I wasn’t very good servant around the home when we were first married. I mean, I didn’t pick up my clothes regularly, I didn’t help keep the house straight. After all, that was my "wife’s job." But as I matured and as I got deeper and deeper into the Bible, I realized that serving doesn’t just mean studying or preaching a sermon, it means that when I’m home I’m supposed to put my wife ahead of me. I hope I’m doing better now that I think I’ve matured but I discovered two bi-products that come from service that I think you will find too.
(1) You’ll feel fulfilled. I felt so much better about myself. I had to make sure my wife saw what I did. "Did you notice I hung up my clothes, Deb? “I cleaned the kitchen, and put the dishes in the dishwasher, doesn’t it look better?" “Did you notice the house is vacuumed?” So, I felt better about myself and (2) I discovered that once you really start being a servant, people will come to expect it all the time! And there’s the rub..
I mean if we just could do it once.. that’d be okay. But they expect you to keep doing it. They’ll say, "Where have you been?" "Why did you stop?" Service takes commitment.. But you talk about commitment, Jesus didn’t stop His service with washing feet did He? He kept serving all the way to the cross! And now He says, "take up your cross daily and follow me." (Lk. 9:23 NIV) You see, Jesus calls us to a radically different way of life. Not an attitude of superiority but of compassion, not a lifestyle looking for proud status but humble service, not pursuing worldly happiness but finding Christ’s blessedness. That’s greatness, in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus said, "You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
17Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them." (John 13:13-15,17) Washed any feet lately?
PRAY
