A Cleansing Christ-like Distinctive: Washing Feet
John 13:1-13
This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and for the next six weeks we are going to spend some time considering Jesus’ Lessons to His Disciples in the Upper Room, which basically covers day leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ notoriety soared with the raising of Lazarus from the dead (which pointed to His own resurrection) followed by Palm Sunday’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and in John 12:42-50 we read:
42 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue ; 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. 44 And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47 "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
John 13:1: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
I. A Scriptural Statement of Christ’s Love: “He loved HIS OWN to the End.”
He loved them to the uttermost; He loved them with total fullness of love. Jesus loved them to perfection. Although Jesus would give His life within a day, although He would suffer the punishment of an eternity of God’s wrath upon sin before that time, He was not pre-occupied with the pain but rather with a totally perfect consuming love for His own... All the way to the cross, all the way through the grave, all the way through eternity.
Jesus loves HIS OWN fully, totally, completely, to the uttermost, to the absolute limit. There is no greater word to define Christ’s love for those that He would give His Life than “loving them to the end.” There’s no superior word that can better define Christ’s kind of love. He loved them to the end.
John 13:2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, (Amazing…the Pure love of Jesus side by side with the destructive hatred of Judas. We talked about this during the week: HOW CAN PEOPLE have all the evidence before them, and yet reject GRACE! Judas had been daily in the presence of Christ’s love, a witness of His Love and Power, but yet Judas denied its power, and He had never come to receive its forgiveness. Today it’s the same way: Men and women hear the statements concerning the Love of God in Christ, but in the hardness of their own hearts they resist it, and as a result, they will be without it for all eternity.)
Look at Verse 3: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.” That verse really says it all: Jesus came from the highest, He returned to the Highest, He possesses ALL that IS because God gave it ALL into His hands!
Then what? John 13:5: “Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” He went from having ALL THINGS GIVEN TO Him in Heaven and on Earth, and then go, not only to washing dirty feet, but washing the dirty feet of SINNERS; You have two extreme contrasts immediately: the hatred of Judas and the love of Jesus, and the Greatest of all Exaltation in Christ over all, over every single thing and Christ’s greatest humiliation in stooping, not only to wash the feet of sinners, but to die for sinners! And so the Savior stoops to wash the filthy feet, as if He were the lowest of the menial household slaves. That’s what He is demonstrating here!
Imagine how they felt: In Luke 22 they disputed among themselves as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest in the Kingdom of God, and now the King of Kings and Lord of lords, the Lord of the Universe, God Incarnate stoops to wash their feet!
Do you ever think they forgot this lesson by His actions rather than teaching on the subject of humility? I was going to DO something this morning that would have been similar to Jesus’ actions, but I decided to let His actions speak instead of mine.
II. Christ’s Love Resisted.
Christ’s Love is Resisted by Judas because he had already decided in his heart to betray Jesus, to refuse His Grace and Love, yet we don’t read that Judas refused this OUTWARD washing by Jesus. That occurs to many people today, too; they receive an outward ceremonial washing without the heart and life cleansing by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
In verse 6 we read: “So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" 7 “Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do, you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." 8 Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!"
Peter’s resistance here is undeniable: He is saying, “Lord, you will NEVER EVER wash my feet. I absolutely will never allow it. That will never happen!” Peter’s reply in part is probably out of guilt in seeing Jesus DO what one of the disciples should have been doing. I couldn’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t react the same way. If I asked for volunteers to wash their feet, I probably wouldn’t get any takers. It would be too embarrassing. Honestly, I would probably prefer to wash YOUR feet, rather than have mine washed! Either way, what would be the main issue? PRIDE with a capital “P”. We would think, “There’s no way you’re gonna do that for me! I can handle it!”
So it is not only Judas and Peter, initially, who resist Jesus’ Grace-offer, but anyone who refuses their sinful nature to dominate and control their lives and their so-called destinies. Selfish pride dies hard!
Yet Jesus doesn’t give Peter a brutal rebuttal; “Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have NO PART with Me." 9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." 10 Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
III. Christ’s Great Love is Demonstrated
Jesus wasn’t teaching about personal hygiene here, He was teaching SPIRITUAL TRUTH, and He is teaching and demonstrating His Great Love by example. Through the washing of feet, Jesus’ Love is being applied BY HIM to those who would receive Him; “Foot washing” reveals the servant role of our Dear Savior. What a difficult thing for the Jews to understand and accept; For them, the Messiah would CONQUER their enemies and reign forever, not be humiliated by sacrifice and servanthood! So Jesus is telling His Disciples, you have to accept my humiliation as Savior. It is why I came to earth.
The action of Jesus demonstrates His high priestly AND highly personal service to sinners: Jesus is the one to provide cleansing and He is the ONLY ONE who can cleanse hearts and lives. Apart from Him you have no washing or cleansing. There's no other way to come to God except through Jesus Christ, nor is there salvation in any other; That’s why Jesus said: ‘IF I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” His Action is not a skill, but pointing to the ultimate gift and demonstration of God’s Grace in Christ. The only way a man ever enters the presence of God is when his sins are cleansed, and there's only one agency of the cleansing of sin in the universe, and that's the blood of Jesus Christ and the word that He speaks. When a man puts his faith in Jesus Christ he's clean, and not until. Jesus’ Action is not only about dusty dirty feet, but about dirty desolate hearts. If Jesus washes your heart thoroughly once through the washing of His Spirit, His Word, and by His sacrifice, you need only have your feet washed as you travel the rest of your lives.
IV. Christ’s love is Shared.
Look at Verses12-17: “So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you know 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, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
Now Jesus comes back to the table and says: Do you understand why I washed your feet? I did it as an example for you to follow: This is not an example of foot-washing, this is an example of humility. Of humility. Don’t minimize the lesson. Jesus is not trying to institute a monthly foot-washing service, but rather, a practical humility for every area of life for every day of life for every experience of life. Humility should be a moment by moment truth in the life of the believer and we can’t substitute ritual for reality. Christ’s Love is to be Shared in Humility toward one another.
Verse16 says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 "If you KNOW these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Rank and privilege in the Kingdom of God are not occasions for arrogance, but credentials for greater service to each other. You know how the world's going to know that we belong to Jesus? When we show this kind of love toward one another. Charity begins at home…right here in the body of Christ. Why doesn't the world hear our message of God’s Grace? Many times it’s because they can't see our love and humility toward each other. We are not grace-filled toward each other. How will they ever hear our words if our actions do not coincide with the message? They WILL perceive our love when it's on this level of humility, because it is so other-worldly…so Christ-like, so irresistible.
Verse 16: "Verily, verily, I say unto you ... the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he who has sent him, If you know these things, happy are you if ye do them."
If the Lord of Glory is willing to gird Himself with a towel, take upon Him the form of a servant, act like a slave, and wash the dirty feet of sinful disciples, and die to clean the guilt of your sin soaked soul, then we as His disciples should be willing to proverbially wash each other's feet. That’s the cleansing, Christ-like distinctive: He's teaching us to humbly serve each other the way He has served us. If you have received His Cleansing then your response is to be reflected in a humble eagerness to serve one another.
When we give Jesus Christ His rightful place as Lord of our lives, His lordship will be expressed in the way we serve others: "For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you."
OUTLINE
I. Christ’s Love is Stated: “He loved HIS OWN to the End.”
II. Christ’s Love is Resisted: by Judas, Peter, anyone who will not die to selfish pride.
III. Christ’s Love is Demonstrated.
1. His Action reveals the servant role of our Savior.
2. His Action is High Priestly AND highly personal.
3. His Action is about dirty hearts not dirty feet.
IV. Christ’s Love is Shared in Humility toward one another.
