TITLE: PICK UP A TOWEL, NOT A TITLE
SCRIPTURE: ST. JOHN 13:3-9 / 12-17
We continue our “MARCH TOWARDS CALVARY” this morning and visit a scene that began to unfold the NIGHT IN WHICH JESUS WAS BETRAYED. I lift as a thought this morning – Pick Up a Towel Not A Title.
What would you do if you knew you had just 24-HOURS TO LIVE?
• Would knowing that you had just 24-Hours change the way you would spend your day?
• What things would you make sure you did?
• What things would you leave out?
• Who would you talk to?
• Where would you go?
• If you had only 24-hours to live — what would you do?
Our Lenten Sermon Series has helped us focus on the final week and now the final 24-hours of Jesus’ life. What things did He make sure to do? Who did He talk to? Where did He go? In our text we find Jesus setting an example for us when he washed the feet of his disciples—an example of Servant Leadership. Washing the feet of one’s guests was not the job of a LEADER – HOST - RABBI - but the chore of a servant.
• But Jesus took on that role to show his followers how they ought to care for one another
• The night in which Jesus was betrayed, He still took time to teach a valuable lesson
• I am pretty sure this act reminded them of this statement made earlier by Jesus -- “FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE OTHERS AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY -- ST. MATTHEW 20:28
JESUS SHOWS THE FULL EXTENT OF HIS LOVE BY TAKING UP A TOWEL. Washing His disciples’ feet showed that His time had come to leave the world and return to His Father. He is showing them the Path that will lead to his Glory. His glory to the Father includes – TAKING OFF HIS OUTER GARMENTS – WRAPPING ON A TOWEL – HUMBLY WASHING FEET. Just as it will involve – BEING BEATEN – CRUICIFIED – MOCKED.
• Going to the Father means doing His Father’s will
• And so He does it
• Doing the humble work of a servant
• The task that not one of the disciples had been willing to lower themselves to undertake
Self-conscious of who He is and of His role, He loves his disciples to the end. The term reflects the extent of His love and has a temporal force as well. Mysteriously, the love He is reflecting is not only His own.
• He is teaching us something profound about the Trinity
• How can the Son love His own the way he does?
• Because, as He explains after the act, the Messenger is not greater than the one who sent Him
• In washing feet, Jesus is acting out the love of the Triune God
I have learned through the years – INSECURITY IS THE ENEMY OF A SECURED IDENTITY. Jesus was so sure about –
• Who He was
• Where He came from
• The authority given to Him
• The place He was headed back to
• He didn’t hesitate serving His disciples in this manner
• Jesus’ security in self, led him to have no issue with washing the feet of his disciples
We have it so backwards in our society. In our cultural understanding of leadership, we climb up the ladder to not have to do the menial tasks anymore.
• Jesus was as high up on that ladder humanly possible - Yet He served
• Jesus was as wealthy as they came (His father owned the cattle upon a thousand hills) -- Yet He served
• Jesus was as Intelligent and Well Educated as they came (His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts deeper than our thoughts) -- Yet He served
We forget one of the most important statements made by Jesus in ST. LUKE 9:48, “WHOEVER IS THE LEAST AMONG YOU IS THE GREATEST.”
• Could it be the benchmark for the quality of our leadership is found in our service to others?
• If Jesus is providing us such a strong example of fellowship and servanthood, then are we fulfilling his wishes?
Remember with me it was a common courtesy of this time for the host to provide a servant to wash the dusty, hot feet of guests as they arrived.
• The guest’s sandals would be left at the door
• Their feet would be accessible as they lay on low couches with their heads toward the central table
• A towel, water, and basin were present as the disciples joined Jesus that evening
• But there was no servant to take care of this menial task of washing their feet
The disciples noted in this borrowed room where the last supper would be served had no “Servant” to take care of this menial task of washing the feet. It is interesting to me back in LUKE 22 we find the disciples fussing among themselves in VS. 24 -- “AND THERE WAS ALSO A STRIFE AMONG THEM, WHICH OF THEM SHOULD BE ACCOUNTED THE GREATEST.” However, there was no strife as to which of them would humble themselves to wash one another’s feet.
So, Jesus puts on the apron (towel) and begins to wash the dirty feet of the disciples. It is interesting the text does not indicate in which order Jesus began to wash their feet. We are told -
• Peter Protests
• Jesus Responds
• Then he ultimately volunteers for a bath
• Note with me, he doesn’t volunteer to take over the job
• Peter never says -- Jesus you should not be washing our feet!
• Peter never says -- What were we thinking?
• Peter never says -- Let me do it
• Peter never says -- Give me the towel
• Peter never says -- Let me have the basin
• Peter never says -- I can wash these guys’ dirty feet
• To do that would require humility and a servant’s heart
I stopped by to tell us this morning – Pick Up a Towel Not A Title - We should FOLLOW CHRIST’S EXAMPLE.
• Jesus did not intend for us to literally observe this practice
• As the Roman Catholics and a dozen small denominations do
• Jesus said we should do ‘AS HE HAD DONE’ not WHAT HE HAD DONE
• If He had meant a literal observance He wouldn’t have asked if they understood what he had done
• It’s an example of Spirit
• He set aside His Rank
• Some of us have rank order hearts
• None of us have rank when it comes right down to it
• Jesus served for the sake of another
CONSEQUENTLY, THE MEAL BEGAN WITH THEIR FEET UNWASHED. Now, at this point you might say, “Well, why does it matter, they didn’t eat with their feet, they ate with their hands?” And, HYGIENICALLY you would be right.
• The problem was the attitude that led to the breach of etiquette
• Pride and a complex sense of self-importance prompted their behavior
What if this self-serving attitude, with its attendant passion for self-promotion, had been allowed to remain UNCHALLENGED – UNCHECKED by Jesus as they moved into the future?
• No one would have placed the needs of the Kingdom of God above his or her needs for comfort and security
• No real cooperation would have been possible, especially if it involved sharing credit or recognition for any good accomplished
• No one would have been willing to serve in the small, out-of-the-way place without constantly scheming to secure the larger, prominent place
• None of the entrenched leaders would have been willing to hear a new idea from anyone not in their circle
• No one—as Barnabus did for Paul (as John and Peter apparently did for others)—would have been willing to mentor a younger disciple lest that individual gain greater prominence than they
• The list could go on but you can see how the church would have been crippled if such self-serving attitudes dominated
JESUS CHOSE TO SWITCH PLACES - and He commands us to do the same. Imagine what our church would be like if we did that for one another; if we put our Christian brothers’ and sisters’ well being ahead of our own. Imagine the transformative impact that kind of love would have on this congregation. When we too chose to Switch Places our service will reach outside the walls of our church. For Jesus’ whole life had led up to this night when he washed his disciples feet. HIS WHOLE LIFE HAD BEEN A LIFE OF SERVICE --
• Jesus had served the Poor
• He served Children
• He served the Disabled
• He served those Oppressed by Evil
• Jesus served the Romans
• Jesus served the Gentiles
• Jesus served the Jews
His commission to us then is not only to sacrificially love our brothers and sisters within the church, but to lead a servant’s life outside the walls of our church as well. Since Christ has served us, we in turn serve others. We must Pick Up a Towel Not A Title.
IN THE GOSPEL OF THE CROSS, GRACE AND GLORY ARE JOINED TOGETHER. Paul learned that Christ’s power was perfected in weakness. Peter calls on the Church to PUT ON HUMILITY LIKE AN APRON – just as Christ set aside His Robe, Tied a Towel around his waist and washed the disciples’ feet.
• Jesus took the Towel - knowing who He was
• Jesus took the Towel - knowing from Where He came
• Jesus took the Towel - knowing Where He was going
Secure in that knowledge, He was untouched by defensiveness of insecure pride. So, too, the knowledge of Glory equips us to serve –
• First as Sons in the Son
• Then as Servants in the Servant
• With the cry “Abba, Father” on our lips, we can take the towel as Jesus did
JESUS LOVED HIS DISCIPLES TO THE END. Their love and care waivered, but His didn’t. The love that caused Him to wash their feet would be the same love that would cause Him to walk to the cross and be humiliated once again, being Mocked and Killed for them.
• It wasn’t out of some obligation - He desired to do it
• Jesus came to serve us - not to be served
• The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t about God telling the world to get better
Every other RELIGION – PHILOSOPHY – IDEOLOGY - say they need your SERVICE – MONEY - TIME. If you do those things, they’ll accept you and God will too. Often we think God is coming to us asking us to do all these things – READ YOUR BIBLE MORE – CLEAN UP YOUR LIFE – DO THIS OR THAT. If you really want Him to bless and love you, you have to do a couple of things. We think He’s saying He needs us to serve Him. But that’s not the Gospel.
• God’s command of us is to receive the service and love of His Son, Jesus
• He doesn’t need our service
• We need His
Jesus wanted His disciples to understand they couldn’t fix or save themselves. He wanted them to know He had to serve them. They needed His serving; He didn’t need their serving.
• Jesus doesn’t just wash our feet from dirt
• He washes our hearts from sin
• The Gospel is counter intuitive
• We naturally think we need to get better first
• But God continues to explain to us that we can’t clean ourselves up enough for Him to receive us
• Only Jesus can
THIS IS A SIMPLE, CLEAR AND POWERFUL PICTURE JESUS HAS GIVEN US. Washing a guest’s feet was the mark of a gracious host. It was meant to serve the guest who had been walking dusty roads wearing a sandals. The job of washing feet was left to whichever servant had the lowest rank in the house.
• Jesus example for us is not to go out and find someone’s feet to wash
• He was not suggesting we have a Foot Washing Service on Sunday’s
• But, it is to place ourselves in the role of a servant who is willing to humble ourselves to care for the needs of someone else
• It was to encourage us to Pick Up a Towel Not A Title
I have often wondered, WHY IS IT OUT OF ALL THE GOSPEL WRITERS, IT WAS ONLY JOHN THAT RECORDS THIS EVENT? Perhaps they still had a difficult time understanding the message that evening. The Scripture says not just in spite of but because He UNDERSTOOD WHO HE WAS, that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.
• At this point the disciples still did not understand who they were
• Perhaps that is why no other writer beyond John took the time to record this event
• It takes an understanding of our identity to be able to humble ourselves
• The world tells us we need to make ourselves look good in front of others
• The world tells us we need to exalt ourselves
• But Jesus said "WHOEVER EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED, AND WHOEVER HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED - ST. MATTHEW 23:12
If we don’t understand who we are in Jesus we will be unwilling to humble ourselves until the Lord Himself humbles us.
• Jesus, was the Lord of the Universe
• If anyone didn’t have to humble himself to wash the feet of farmers and fishermen - He didn’t
• But because He knew He was Lord of the Universe
• But because He knew He was not diminished by showing his love in humble service
• He took up the towel and basin and stooped to serve
• He Picked Up a Towel Not A Title
We ultimately cannot call ourselves followers of Christ and be unwilling to serve in humble ways. That doesn’t mean we don’t have individual gifts and places of service, sometimes very public ones, roles of leadership, but each of us should be willing to humble ourselves, to demonstrate our love for those we serve. FOOT WASHING ISN’T ABUT FOOT WASHING -
• It’s about serving others at personal sacrifice
• It’s about humbling ourselves when we don’t have to -- because we don’t have to
• VS. 17 tell us the end result of this command – we will be blessed if we do them
Our God is truly a God who honors our sacrifices. Thus as a result of obedience to God’s Word -
• When we humble ourselves and serve others
• When we consider others higher or greater than us
• When we do good to those who even betrays us and wash their feet
• We will indeed be blessed
--The towel- draped Jesus said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me”
--Without our being washed clean by Christ, we all die from the contamination of sin
--For God’s sake, . . . for your sake; be washed by Christ
-- Pick Up a Towel Not A Title
