Cleansed & Washed
Date: Sept 14, 2008
Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17; John 13:3-17.
In our church we celebrate two sacraments, or ordinances, whatever you might call them. I prefer to call them sacraments. And I prefer that word because I do believe that Christ is spiritually present with us when we observe these rituals.
An ordinance is something God has ordained for us to do
Any act of obedience is an act of worship, and since we know that Christ ordained these two acts, then we worship him through obedience when we observe them. Therefore, since we know that God inhabits the praise of his people, and worship is praise to God, then God (Christ) is present with us and therefore providing his grace and mercy to us through these acts of obedience.
Okay, so that’s why I prefer to use the term sacrament. As far as I know, there is no reference anywhere in the Bible to the word sacrament OR ordinance, so it’s a matter of interpretation and what definition a group or culture attaches to them.
Today, we will observe both sacraments. In just a few moments we will receive communion. This afternoon we will celebrate believers’ baptism.
So this morning, I thought it would be appropriate to look at both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper rather than one or the other.
Before Jesus began his public ministry, he was baptized by John, in the Jordan River. He was an adult. Adult baptism has traditionally been called “Believer’s Baptism.” The first extra-biblical references to “Believers’ Baptism” date back as early as 120 AD in the Didache and there we find instructions on how to carry out a baptism. It’s interesting to note some of the preferences for this ordinance:
First of all: Cold water was preferred over warm (we may have that this afternoon!)
Second, it should be “living” water (or running water) that is used (such as a river...).
Thirdly, it was ordered that the one being baptized should fast one or two days before. In fact, all those at the baptism were encouraged to fast, but at the very least, those being baptized.
Now the Didache is not an authoritative word from the Lord like the Bible is, but we CAN learn from it what the practices for baptism were in the days immediately following Paul’s letters and the gospel writings. The candidates for baptism will likely be happy to hear that it’s thought that the reason for cold, running water had to do with health. The fasting? Well, that’s a good spiritual discipline for any age.
As we look at baptism first this morning, I want to give you some things that I believe we see from what the Bible says. First, I believe:
1. Baptism is a sign of cleansing.
And the reason I’m suggesting that is because Oxford’s dictionary says that to “cleanse” is to make thoroughly clean - to get rid of something unpleasant or unwanted.”
First John tells us that if we confess our sins he (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And Jesus when he was persuading John to baptize him said that his baptism was necessary in order to “fulfill all righteousness.”
We know that righteousness means “right standing” with God. When we confess our sins, we come, through his grace, into right standing with God and when we are baptized we fulfill, or complete, again through His grace, that right standing with Him - righteousness.
The second thing I notice about baptism is that:
2. Baptism is an intentional act of obedience.
Verse 13 tells us that Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River. Now we don’t know exactly what part of the Jordan River Jesus went to, and we don’t know exactly where in Galilee Jesus came from. It’s most likely that he came from home - which was Nazareth. Nazareth was in the hill country of Galilee, so it’s probable that he came down from Nazareth to the Jordan river. He was intentional about getting to the river to be baptized.
The third thing I notice about baptism is that:
3. Fulfilling all righteousness, or carrying out all that God requires, will meet with resistance.
When Jesus asked John to baptize him, John argued with him. ME! Baptize YOU! You should be baptizing me!!
But what I also notice here too, is that John meant well. John’s heart was certainly in the right place. He was perplexed that Jesus would ask such a thing of him, even though at that point, he had not had it confirmed for him, who Jesus was.
And when we intentionally obey God’s calling on our lives, we will meet with resistance.
Right after Jesus was baptized he was tempted for 40 days until finally he had resisted the devil enough that the devil left him until he could find another opportunity.
Fourth:
4. Baptism identifies you with God’s kingdom - the community of followers of Christ - just as Jesus was identified as God’s son.
Baptism is our way of announcing to the world that we are followers of Jesus Christ. In Peter’s sermon in Acts 4, Peter says, “There is salvation in no-one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
When we are baptized we are announcing to the world that we are going down a unique, and narrow road.
5. Our obedience in baptism, is an act of worship which brings great joy to the Father heart of God.
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, when he was baptized and announced to the world, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” When we are baptized, - Rod and Troy, this afternoon, as you submit to the waters of baptism, the windows of heaven will open on you and you will receive, through your act of obedience, the blessing of God the Father, saying to you, “You are my beloved son. In you, I am well pleased.”
That’s just a few observations about Adult - or Believer’s Baptism.
Now let’s look at the Lord’s Supper, but specifically - preparation for the Lord’s Supper.
The scripture we read this morning from John is what Jesus did BEFORE he shared the passover meal - what we today call, The Lord’s Supper, with his disciples. And I chose this story because I think it is through it, that we can picture what Jesus requires of us, as we approach the Lord’s supper. In fact, (I’ll be really radical now) perhaps what we call today, “The Foot Washing” should actually be a sacrament as well. Jesus, after all, in this story tells us to do it to each other. But I think at the very least , we can learn some things about preparing our hearts for the communion table as we look at what the Bible says.
And I think, first of all,
1. The Lord’s Supper is a reminder to wash.
James 4:8 tells us to “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” James is writing to Jewish believers - he’s writing to Christians. They’ve been cleansed - they are believers - but they need to wash.
The second thing I notice from what the Bible says, about the preparing for the fellowship of the Lord’s supper is:
2. What we don’t understand now, someday we will understand.
There is a lot of controversy and variation of belief regarding the Lord’s supper. Our Catholic brothers and sisters believe that the bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Jesus. And of course, theological scholars have to give big words to these variances and that’s that word - transubstantiation. On the other hand, our Lutheran friends believe that while the bread and wine is not actually the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus, he is however spiritually present in a contrived, mysterious way and that is what is known theologically as “consubstantiation.” I believe, and I think most of us here do, that the bread and juice are symbolic of the body and blood of our Lord and yet when we partake of the elements worthily - or with the right attitude of heart, we do receive the blessing of Christ through remembering his death and looking forward to his coming again - the hope for the future.
Now there are some who believe we should take communion every week, some say every month, some say every so often. Jesus said, “As often as you do it.” In other words, it’s pretty open. The point that Jesus is making is, as often as you DO do it, do it in his memory. And I don’t know about you, but these days, I can use a lot of reminders -especially about something as important as the Lord’s death and resurrection, and the hope I have in his coming again!
The chances of us understanding fully WHY, in this lifetime, Jesus told us to observe this meal, and what actually happens when we participate in it, is minimal. But, we have his promise that someday we WILL understand, so the important thing for us now, is to obey - to listen, and do what he says.
The third and fourth things that I notice about how Jesus taught us to prepare for communion are tied so closely together that I want to look at them together:
3. To be part of the new community of Christ, we have to let Jesus wash what is dirty. (Vs 8) Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you won’t be part of me.”
and then...
4. Even though we are clean, we still need to be washed. (Vs 10)
Jesus said a person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. In other words, we have been cleansed through our repentance and forgiveness of our sins and the waters of baptism, BUT, our “feet” will still need to be cleaned.
When we walk through life, as believers, as followers of Christ - those who have been cleansed and made whole by the blood of Jesus, and baptized into new life in Him, will, from time to time, get their feet dirty. In other words, we will sin. We will hurt one another. We will become proud. We will envy, or boast, or lust, or deceive, or steal, or gossip, or neglect, or worry, or become anxious....and the list goes on and on and on. And none of us is exempt. And Jesus makes provision for that. He tells us when we come to the time of remembering his death, we are to allow him to wash those parts of us which are dirty so that we can be a part of him.
That’s why the Bible says we are to examine ourselves before we come to the communion table. You see, if the disciples had examined themselves that day, when they came in from their journey, they would have seen their dirty feet, they would have seen the towel and basin all ready, right there for them, and they could have taken care of what was dirty.
And that leads me to my fifth observation:
5. Don’t let the routine, blind you to the truth.
See the disciples were used to being with Jesus. When he washed their feet, they got a real eye opener. Sometimes Jesus has to do that for us. Sometimes he does something really radical in our lives to break through our routine as Christians, so that we can see the light of who HE is in our lives.
A foolish old farmer, so the story goes, concluded one day that the oats he had fed his mule for years were simply costing him too much. So he hatched a plan: he mixed a little sawdust in with the feed, and then a little more the next day, and even more the next, each time reducing the amount of oats in the mix.
The mule didn’t seem to notice the gradual change, so the farmer thought things were fine and kept decreasing the proportion of oats. But weeks later, on the day he finally fed the poor beast nothing but sawdust, the mule finished the meal and fell over dead.
A silly tale, perhaps, but it serves as a parable of (how the dullness of routine can affect us). Though we know our souls cannot survive on spiritual sawdust, we may well convince ourselves that a little won’t hurt too much, and a little less real spiritual food won’t be missed. Then, over time, the proportion of sawdust increases while the oats gradually disappear. Before long, the change is complete, and our starved, sawdust-stuffed spiritual life has collapsed. (Paul Thigpen, “Danger Zone,” Discipleship Journal, July/August 1999, 22.)
That’s why Paul warns the Corinthians in his second letter to them, 11:4, “You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”
Finally, as we prepare for communion, I notice that:
6. What we receive through fellowship of the Lord’s Supper is directly proportional to how well we obey.
Jesus said, “Now that you know these things God will bless you if you do them.” A blessing is a gift from God.
I love getting gifts, don’t you? With this, I conclude. I remember when I was in college and seminary, how excited I would get when I saw that I had a package from home. But I can tell you that even before I would dig into the package, I’d open the letter that always came with it, and I’d look at the bottom first. I still remember doing that. Why? Why was it so important for me to look at the bottom first. I was looking for the most important words of all: “Love Dad” and then I’d check and see how many x’s and o’s came with it. Do you know what they are? X’s an O’s are hugs and kisses. But those all important words at the bottom meant so much. “Love Mom” or “Love Dad.”
There is a story told of a brilliant young pastor and seminary teacher who opposed Hitler’s policies in the 1930s - Deitrich Bonhoeffer. On April 5, 1943, the Germans arrested Bonhoeffer and put him in prison. Two years later the Nazis executed him, hanging him on the gallows just days before the Allies swept in to liberate Germany.
About ten weeks after his arrest, Bonhoeffer ended a ltter to his parents with these words: “It is Monday, and I was just sitting down to a dinner of turnips and potatoes when a parcel you sent me by Ruth arrived. Such things give me greater joy than I can say. Although I am utterly convinced that nothing can break the bonds between us, I seem to need some outward token or sign to reassure me. In this way, material things become the vehicles of spiritual realities. I suppose it is rather like the felt need in our religion for sacraments.” (Adapted from Morgan, Robert J: Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes. Electronic ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000.)
Bonhoeffer knew his parents loved him. Just like I knew my parents loved me. But we still need for that love to be reaffirmed. We need to be reminded of their love in a tangible way. Bonhoeffer’s package from home served that purpose, and he saw the Lord’s supper doing the same.
Brothers and Sisters, a package from home has arrived. Let us eat and drink and be reminded of God’s awesome love for his children. He has given it to us as a tangible reminder. And he’s signed it with his blood, “Love Dad.”
