The greatest act of humility
John 13:1-8
Good Morning everyone, glad to see you and have you join us online.
This morning we have with us two of the Girl Scout troops that use our building and we are glad that you are with us.
As we move through the Lenten season, we have been working our way to the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Jesus final week on earth where He is journeying to the cross, where He would die a horrible death, and then His powerful resurrection from the grave that we would celebrate each Easter Sunday.
We looked last week at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemene. Jesus desired his disciples pray while He was off praying. He found his disciples weak and numerous times unable to pray and stay focused of the task at hand.
“Sit here” while” I go over there” to pray.
My soul Jesus said is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and “keep watch” with me.
Jesus goes a little farther falls down in prayer and asked the Father that if it were possible to take this cup from him.
Yet, not my will, but your will Father.
Jesus returns from that intimate time with the Father, to find his disciples sleeping.
Not once but three different times they were sleeping and not keeping watch as Jesus had requested.
Watch and pray so that you to not fall into temptation.
The Spirit is willing but the body is weak.
We find ourselves this morning still wondering why we cannot keep watch and why we fall short of doing God’s will in our lives and we fall short of accomplishing the task at hand.
Jesus is today still looking at his people and saying “are you still asleep and resting when you should be doing kingdom work?”
If you would turn in your bible or where you read God’s word and turn to John chapter 13:1-8.
John 13:1-8 read from bible slowly and clearly.
We read that it was just before the last supper and Judas Iscariot has already made his deal to betray Jesus. Judas, who was to give Jesus the kiss of death and point him out to the Jewish leaders who then would throw him into prison.
The time had come for Jesus to go from this world and go to the Father and complete the task He was sent to do.
The Son of the living God was going to put into motion the love that He had for each one of us.
I don’t think we can comprehend the love that Jesus has for us and his action of great love for us.
He gets up from the table… (4) “So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciple’s feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
We need to stop a minute so we do not just skip over this like it was not a big thing!
This is not just anyone washing their feet, this is Jesus Christ going to wash their feet.
The Son of God, the one who said “let there be light” and there was light. The one who separated the sky from the oceans, the one who created us from the dust of the earth, rises from that table and prepares to wash feet.
See, Jesus may not have went to the cross yet but who He is already has been established because it had to be the Son of God who would go to the cross and the one who was sinless to take the place of you and me.
You have to understand what this meant to be a foot washer- Jewish slaves did not have to do it- only Gentile slaves. Women and children were usually tasked with that job of washing feet as guest would come into their homes.
Ancient roads were not paved, they were dirt roads that were dusty and muddy.
The shoes that were worn were sandals- open shoes that exposed the feet to the dirt of the trails.
Adult Jewish men thought the task so demeaning that their slaves did not do it.
It was Mediterranean hospitality to wash the feet of your guest as they enter your home.
So you who have some foot issues would not have like that job- some nasty feet have probably entered some of those houses to have their feet washed.
Jesus assumes a role unexpected of a Jewish man, rare for a hosts to do himself, and unthinkable for a master.
The gospel writer treats foot washing as a shocking and socially unacceptable job for anyone of any standing to do.
Jesus act was self-humiliating
There was significance in foot washing- you have to read and know other text about these same disciples who’s feet Jesus was about to wash.
They were gathered together behind closed doors and fighting and arguing who would be the greatest among them.
Who was going to sit at the right hand side of Jesus?
Who was going to get those honored spots of power and authority?
Jesus turned upside down the authority of man and the power of God.
They were looking for human power to be honored by a powerful God of love and Jesus was showing them that the most powerful God was going to humble himself and wash the feet of his disciples.
Jesus not only showed them the humble Spirit of God in washing their feet but was showing the humble Spirit of God that was going soon to endure the shame of the cross and take the sins of the very people who were fighting to see who would sit next to him for eternity.
We don’t do foot washing much anymore- Maundy Thursday service of Easter week sometimes bring us to remember the humble Jesus.
The early church for years instituted foot washing as one of the ordinances in the church and in the same regard as baptism and the Lord’s supper.
I believe only one denomination still has foot washing as an ordinance of the church.
“After that, he poured the water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around his neck.”
How many feet were washed?
How many times was the water needed to be changed?
How many conversations were spoken by the humble Spirit of our Lord Jesus to those that he loved?
(6) “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord are you going to wash my feet?
Do you think possibly Peter was thinking of those times that he messed up?
Those times that he denied Jesus?
Those times he had fallen short?
(7) “Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
Foot washing symbolized the saving work Jesus would accomplish through his death.
Peter only saw that Jesus washing his feet was a violation of social order.
Jesus should not be washing feet. That was left to someone of low standard.
“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
And by later, he means after the cross and after his resurrection and after the Spirit of the living God is dwelling inside of the believer to change our lives forever! One day Peter, you will understand.
Jesus rebuke- “unless I wash you Peter, you have no part of me!”
Refusing the washing, he is disinherited from the people of God-
To refuse was to keep him from entering into the kingdom the Father was providing.
Peter, still not understanding fully what Jesus was saying in verse 10-
“A person who has had a bath need only to wash his feet, his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you. For he knew who was going to betray hm.”
He knew Judas would betray him.
Imitating Christ humility in our lives
Philippians 2:5-11 Read from Bible slowly and clearly
What does it mean for Jesus to be humble?
How did Jesus “humble himself”?
By becoming obedient.
To humble oneself is to acknowledge God as Lord and to obey as servant.
In order to do so, then, the Son had to take “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men”
Illustration
A person I care a lot about last week did an act of kindness for no reason except because there was a need to be met. This person would definitely not want attention drawn to them. The reason it was done was to be obedient and be a servant to those that need a hand.
We need to take the form of a servant Jesus says.
Paul writes (Phil 1:9)
“And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.”
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life-in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”
Mark 10:45
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Philippians 2:3
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
Matthew 23:12
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
As we close our time together,
“You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” John 13:13-15
3 lessons we can take away this morning-
Sanctified/ set apart
John 17:17-
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them, I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Jesus has set you apart from the world.
He has chosen you to dwell with Him forever.
The Holy Spirit has regenerated you and bathed you in the righteous blood of Jesus. .
Saturated in the Spirit
We walk in a dirty world and we must walk in the Spirit –
We must allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, convict us, and correct us.
Wash us white as snow- wash those things out of our lives that drive us away from Him.
Sin makes our walk dirty, and we must allow Him to soak our feet with the cleansing water of the Word of God.
To be like Jesus is to take on the character of Jesus and that is a humble and contrite heart-
Contrite heart is a heart that is repentant, remorse of sin and humbly changing.
Sent People-
Jesus sends us on a purified walk to serve others, to wash their feet, to become a servant of others.
He has equipped us for every good work, and He is increasing our love for others as we obey His leading.
Sanctified and set apart
Saturated in the Spirit
Sent People
On Wednesday small group we were talking about the holiness of God. I read a prayer by Regi Campbell as a prayer we could all pray and work toward the holiness of God. This prayer will also work for us this morning as we humbly seek to be more like Jesus in humility.
Let me read this prayer and then could we close asking the Lord to give us that kind of heart and character as we seek Him out more in our lives.
Regi Campbell
Dear Lord, I give myself to you, without reservation. And surrender to you my will, my mind, my emotions, my body, my plans, my hopes, and my dreams. I give you my home, my marriage, my spouse, my children, my geographical location, my recreation, my entertainment, my career. I commit into your hands my successes, my failures, my habits, my finances, my problems, my time, my integrity, my character, my attitude, my business conduct and relationships, my Christian walk, my response to authority.
Lord, I give you permission to do anything you wish with me, in me, or through me. I claimed the above once as mine. Now I acknowledge that they all belong to you and are under your control. You can do with them as you please. I willingly make this commitment in the name and authority of Jesus Christ, and I recognize that this is an agreement with you that can never be broken. Now I have surrendered authority of my life to you. I understand that you will never give ownership back to me. I accept that I am not my own, that I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that I have been bought with a price.
Prayer-
