3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Fellow servants of God’s Servant, Jesus Christ,
Introduction: “Room service isn’t what it used to be!” That was one of the few problems the high-end hotel chains were hearing in the regular complaints from customers. In an effort to hire and keep talented employees in this field, six of the top hotel chains hired the Gallup Organization to help them. The Gallup Organization completed a model for interviewing and hiring staff that would be efficient and effective. The system, named the Selection Research Instrument System uses the latest internet and Interactive Voice Response technologies to help companies weed out the candidates with poor qualities from those with the right qualities for the job. So far, the hotel chains have had nothing but praise for the SRI system. All they had to do was understand the right qualities for someone in the service industry.
How important it is for us as Christians to understand the qualities that Christ asks of us. To “serve one another in love” and to be “humble” do not come naturally. Thankfully, we can find help in the one who became a Servant for us. Therefore, tonight we will listen to Scripture and
Theme: Understand Jesus’ Life of Humble Service! As we study, we understand first that…
I. He came to be Servant in our place
Why did Jesus come? Upon this questions many theologians have stumbled and fallen in recent years. Was he just a social reformer? Was he here to create a new social order and establish a utopian society? Why did Jesus come?
Well, to get the answer all you need is the faith of a little child and the answer becomes apparent through Scripture. The portion of John’s Gospel which we are considering reminds us that in order to understand the “why,” we need to understand the “where”: where he came from and where he was going.
Through John, the Holy Spirit recorded important information in verse three: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. He had come from God the Father and was returning to the Father. Here is the perfect Son of God who as John reminds us, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:17). In chapter eight, Jesus says, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me" (John 8:42, NIV). Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father. No one else can make that claim but the God-man himself, Jesus.
While he was here on earth, he made it apparent why he was here. If you follow Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels he tells us why he came. In Mark 1:38, he said, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” He came to serve by proclaiming the good news of salvation. He didn’t come to serve the self-righteous and inflate the ego of the elite of man-made religions. He didn’t come to pat moralists on the back. He told the Pharisees, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17, NIV).
But in order for there to be good news of salvation, he also had to come to BE the Servant in our place. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (vs 17). Jesus said he came “to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10 NIV) and to “give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). Christ came to fulfull Scripture and to be the chosen Servant spoken of in Isaiah 42:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes [Righteousness] on earth.”
Illustration: In Middle Eastern countries, it was the slaves who washed the feet of guests; here Christ took the place of a slave. He makes this clear to His disciples: if their Lord and Teacher has washed their feet, then they should wash one another’s feet, that is, serve each other in humility. This must have been a striking rebuke to the Twelve, for just that evening they had been debating who was to be the greatest! (See Luke 22:24–27)
Application: When we look at ourselves and how selfish and self-centered we are, Jesus stands out in stark contrast. We are loveless; he is love incarnate. We are sinful; he is full of grace. We are undeserving; he is deserving of all honor, glory and power. Yet, he did not demand it. Instead, he set it aside to serve.
Jesus’ foot-washing was only one small example of his humility as the Servant. Christ’s actions in verses four and five represent what he did when he left heaven to come to earth. The Bible declares that Christ arose from his throne, laid aside the outward expression of his glory, laid aside the full use of his divine power and became a Servant. He even humbled himself to be unjustly accused, abused, and sentenced to death on a cross as the Servant who would save us. By his perfect life and his innocent, suffering and death, Jesus our Servant saved us and ransomed us from our sins.
As the Messiah, Jesus came first as our perfect Substitute. He was sent by the Father to save us by paying the price of our sins. Believers will always see this as the primary reason why Jesus came.
Transition: But the Scriptures do reveal that Christ came also as an example for us. If we are to Understand Jesus’ Life of Humble Service, we also recognize that…
II. HE CAME TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US
Just as Jesus revealed in our sermon text starting at verse twelve:
12 When he had finished washing their feet, [Jesus] put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
If we believe that Jesus is our Savior, then we will have the proper motivation to serve him with pure hearts and God-pleasing actions. Where there is faith, there will be fruits of faith.
Ah! But what about our sins? When we look at our life of faith, we could easily get discouraged and as the question, “If I am a believer, then why do I keep struggling with this sin of lying or stealing or lusting or being disrespectful? If I am a believer, why do I constantly see myself being selfish or lazy or discontent?” We could easily ask the question, “If I am not following perfectly, am I a follower?”
Here, Christ’s words to Peter in verse eight are important: Quite literally, Jesus said, “If I do not wash you, you have no fellowship with Me”. To help Peter and to help us understand, Christ makes an important distinction between washing and cleansing in verse ten. The verse reads literally: “He who has been once-and-for-all washed all over does not need to do anything more than cleanse his feet.”
Illustration:In Eastern lands, people used public baths and got dressed again; as they walked in the dusty streets, their feet became dirty. On arriving home, they did not need another bath; they needed only to wash their feet. When the Jewish priests were ordained, they were washed all over (Ex. 29:4), which pictures our once-for-all cleansing; but God also provided the laver (Ex. 30:17–21) for them to use in the daily washing of their hands and feet.
Application: So it is with the believer. When we are saved, we are washed all over. Paul put it this way, “[God] saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5–6). At Baptism, we were thoroughly washed and robed in Christ’s righteousness. When we confess our daily sins to the Lord, we have our feet washed and our “walk” is cleansed. Christ’s Spirit washes His church with Baptismal water through the Word (Eph. 5:25–26). As we daily read the Word and confess our sins, the Spirit cleanses our souls and guides us. It is this daily cleansing of the Spirit that keeps the believer in communion with Christ.
The lesson here has nothing to do with “getting” or “losing” one’s salvation. It is strictly a matter of fellowship with Christ. Many believers make the same mistake Peter made; they want to be saved – that is washed or baptized all over again - when all they need is to have their “feet washed” to turn to Jesus trusting in his forgiveness. Then we will find the joy of following his example of love. That is the encouragement we receive from Jesus, the encouragement we have in his Word to follow his example, such as the Apostle Peter wrote in his first Epistle:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. And that is what we want to do as believers, isn’t it?
Conclusion: When we Understand Jesus’ Life of Humble Service as the Perfect Servant in our place, then we will gladly follow his example and live a life of love to his glory. Amen.
