SELF SERVICE OR IN HIS SERVICE
Text: John 13: 1-17
John 13:1-17 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (2) The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper (3) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, (4) got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. (5) Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. (6) He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" (7) Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." (8) Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." (9) Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" (10) Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." (11) For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." (12) After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, 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 that is what I am. (14) So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (15) For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. (16) Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. (17) If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them (NRSV).
Years ago I used to work at a textile mill----the Milliken Plant in Saluda, SC. When I was there I noticed the chain of command. It always seemed that the foremen got to fill out reports in an air-conditioned office while the rest of the employees sweated their brains out. The foremen did their jobs and did them well. But, their duties did not require them to labor and sweat like those of us who worked on the floor.
To give you a clue as to how hot the place was, and how hot my particular job was I lost twenty pounds in a month working there. I had worked out, lifting weights and taking some weight gain powder to beef up and gain weight. In four months, I had gained twenty pounds. In less than a month at the textile mill, I lost those twenty pounds.
If you think about how this applies to the Bible, then you cannot help but to think about the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not tell us to do anything that He did not do Himself when He told us to love one another in His service. Jesus led His disciples by example. He did not just talk about things He wanted to be accomplished. No, Jesus got out there with His disciples and served the way He wanted them to serve and loved people the way that He wanted His disciples to love people.
In Matthew 20:28 Jesus tells us that " just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (NRSV). In that sentence, Jesus is telling about serving, humility and relationship.
Think about how this applies to the Bible, Jesus led His disciples by example.
SERVICE MODELS
How many models of service do you see where the company is the master?
1) Face value: It is possible for companies to have their employees practice good customer service while short-changing or even exploiting its employees. Maybe they want to cut corners because they want to save money. There are several other reasons that we could explore as to why some employees of some companies might get the short end of the stick.
2) Sincerity: The point is that Jesus taught us how to humbly and sincerely serve others. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said that “… the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many” (ESV). “I assure you, servants are greater than their master, nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sent them” (John 13:16 CEB). According to Jesus the ground for bosses and employees, sinners and the lost sinners is on level ground at the cross!
Are arrogant and proud leaders flawless in their own views?
1) The proud practices: The world we live in practices superiority where someone is always higher than another. That practice is often the road to pride and selfish ambition.
2) Conceit: C. S. Lewis once said, “The essential vice, the utmost evil is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed and drunkenness are mere flea biters in comparison. It was through pride that the Devil became the Devil. Pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind. …. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people. And, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” (Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quote Book. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 313). Consider what James 4:6 says about pride: “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (KJV).
What was Jesus’s service model? Jesus led by example in humble service and in the way that he loved people. One of the last things that we read about Jesus before His crucifixion is about how he humbly washed the feet of His own disciples. When He washed the feet of His disciples, He was doing the job that was customarily a servant’s job. As someone has noted, “It was the mark of honor for a host to provide a servant to wash a guest’s feet”. (Walvoord and Zuck. The Life Of Christ Commentary. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989, p. 320). Whenever a well-to-do host had guests in his house, he would have the servants to wash the feet of his guests.
HUMILITY
Why is the foot-washing part of this story so important?
1) Humility: One of the Church forefathers of the faith, John Chrysostom once said, “Humility is the mother, root, nurse foundation, and center of all other virtues”. (Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quote Book. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 201). Jesus exemplifies what it means to humbly serve.
2) Cleansing and salvation: As mentioned earlier, foot washing was a big deal as far as the customs of hospitality go where a host would provide servants to was the feet of guests, but the meaning goes much deeper than that here. Jesus was symbolically referring to the cleansing of sin as well. Unless Jesus washes us we can have no part with Him (John 13:8). Only the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) can make us clean!
Why did Jesus take off His robe to wash the feet of His disciples?
1) Taking off His robe: It has been said that the translation for “took off” can be translated as “laying down one’s life” (John 10:11- 18; 13:37). (John Wesley Study Bible. Common English Version. Notes. Nashville, Tennessee, 2012, p. 1355). Greater love has no man that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
2) Humble example: There is the story of a lowly private whose witness made a difference. “Dr. Stuart Holden in The Sunday at Home tells the following incident concerning soul winning. When on a visit to Egypt, in one of his meetings among soldiers, Dr. Holden asked a biog sergeant in a highland regiment how he was brought to Christ. He said, “There was a private in the same company who was converted in Malta before the regiment came to Egypt. We gave that fellow an awful time. One terribly wet night he came in very tired and wet. Before going to bed he got down to pray. My boots were heavy with mud, and I let him have it on one side of the head, and then the other side; and he just went on with his prayers. Next morning I found those boots beautifully polished and standing by the side of my bed. That was his reply to me and it broke my heart. I was saved that day.” (Theodore W. Engstrom. 227 Heart -Reaching Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1953, pp. 84 -85). Have we ever been humbled by the service of another like that?
RELATIONSHIP
Isn’t discipleship about relationships? The command that Jesus gives to us in John 13:34 - 35 seems to remind us about how the love of God and the love of neighbor are connected!
Are we doing all that we can to demonstrate the love of Jesus’s new commandment to us?
Consider this story: “I walked down Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. There was a filthy bum, covered with soot from head to toe. He had a huge beard. I'll never forget the beard. It was a gigantic beard with rotted food stuck in it. He held a cup of McDonald's coffee and mumbled as he walked along the street. He spotted me and said, "Hey, Mister. You want some of my coffee?"
I knew I should take some to be nice, and I did. I gave it back to him and said, "You're being pretty generous giving away your coffee this morning. What's gotten into you that you're giving away your coffee all of a sudden?"
He said, "Well, the coffee was especially delicious this morning, and I figured if God gives you something good you ought to share it with people."
I figured, This is the perfect setup. I said, "Is there anything I can give you in return?" I'm sure he's going to hit me for five dollars.
He said, "Yeah, you can give me a hug."
I was hoping for the five dollars.
He put his arms around me. I put my arms around him. And I realized something. He wasn't going to let me go. He was holding on to me. Here I am an establishment guy, and this bum is hanging on me. He's hugging me. He's not going to let me go. People are passing on the street. They're staring at me. I'm embarrassed. But little by little my embarrassment turned to awe.
I heard a voice echoing down the corridors of time saying, I was hungry. Did you feed me? I was naked. Did you clothe me? I was sick. Did you care for me? I was the bum you met on Chestnut Street. Did you hug me? For if you did it unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. And if you failed to do it unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you failed to do it unto me.” (David P. Barrett. ed. More Perfect Illustrations For Every Topic And Occasion.. [Citation: Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today (212)] “Giving A Bum A Hug”. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2003, pp. 209 - 210). Where do we rank on the theory versus practice part of humility? Can others tell we are Christ’s disciples by the way we love?
What is our story about how we have reached to another in the Name of Jesus Christ?
Are we doing all that we can to demonstrate the love of Jesus’s new commandment to us? There are times when our service makes the difference. There are other times when we wrestle with serving based upon how convenient it is for us. I read the story about a man who shares his own story that seems to hold the mirror up as to how we might sometimes feel. “As a general contractor, I frequently visit Home Depot. Actually, it has become one of my mission fields. I like to help people load their merchandise. Recently I was there and was on my way to my van when I noticed a guy who realized he had left his lights on. He turned them off, expecting a dead battery. I jumped in my car and thought of helping him. Then I thought, No. It had been a bad day. I didn't sleep well the night before and was running behind schedule.
I prayed, Lord, I don't need this right now. You know that I usually would help, but, God, not today! Let someone else do it. Yes, I know I have a set of jumper cables right behind my seat, but not today! I slipped the key in the ignition, gave it a turn and . . . UUH . . . mm, UUH . . . mm, click, click, click. I looked down to see my light switch was on. Guess whose battery was dead now.” (David P. Barrett. ed. More Perfect Illustrations For Every Topic And Occasion.. [Citation: Rich MacClean; Oakley California]. “Inconvenience Of Helping Others”. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2003, pp. 131 - 132).
Jesus gave us a new commandment to demonstrate who we are and whose we are. Consider what Jesus said in John 13:34 –35: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (KJV). If we are Christians, then other people should be able to tell who we are by the way that we live and love as Jesus’ modern day disciples.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
