Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love.?*?2 It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, ?Lord, why are you going to wash my feet??
7 Jesus replied, ?you don?t understand now why I am doing it; someday you will.?
8 ?so,?Peter protested, ?you will never wash my feet!?
Jesus replied, ?but if I don?t wash you, you won? belong to me.?
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, ?then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!?
10 Jesus replied, ?a person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,?*?to be entirely clean. And you are clean, but that isn?t true of everyone here.? 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, ?not all of you are clean.?
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, ?do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ?teacher ?Lord,?and you are right, because it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other?s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17 You know these things, now do them! That is the path of blessing.
During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers that were repairing a small defensive barrier. As the soldiers were working another man was nearby shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked by the man in civilian clothes why he didn?t help, he answered with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!" The stranger apologized, got off his horse, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again." The man in plain clothes who got off the horse and helped was the first president of the United States George Washington. (Today in the Word, March 6, 1991.)
-George Washington knew what Jesus taught. That great leaders are also the greatest servants.
-Jesus put it this way in *Matt. 20:26-27; "Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must become your slave."
-Rick Warren says; "You can do two things with your life. You can waste it or you can invest it. Which one will you do?"
-When you are in the service of the Lord, you are investing your time in the Kingdom of God. The rewards are truly out of this world. It?s not a waste of time!
I want you to transport yourself with me two thousand years ago to the time in when this incident took place.
-Jesus entered Jerusalem on Sunday,
-Monday, He cleansed the temple.
-Tuesday was a day of conflict as the religious leaders sought to trick Him and get evidence to arrest Him.
-Thursday He met in the Upper Room with His disciples in order to observe Passover.
#1.What Jesus knew.
-
Jesus knew that His time had come to leave this world and return to the Father.
- He knew that the devil had already enticed Judas to betray Him.
- He knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything.
- He knew that He had come from the Father and would return to Him.
-It was an intense time in the life of our savior because of what He knew. He knew what was awaiting Him at the cross.
-He knew that the next few days would be tough ones.
-He knew that His ministry on earth was coming to a close and He turned His attention on the disciples to teach them a few final lessons before joining His father in heaven.
In the culture that Jesus lived in, It was customary for the slaves or the house servants to wash the feet of the guest.
-People didn?t have shoes.
-They didn?t have good sneakers like Nike or Fatfarm.
-They didn?t have odor eaters.
-They wore sandals or nothing at all.
- the roads were dusty, muddy and dirty. Instead of cars like we have they had camels or donkeys that relieved themselves on these roads.(WHEN A GUEST ARRIVED AT YOUR HOUSE, THEY HAD A BIT MORE THAN DUST ON THEIR FEET!). It was common to have the servants of the house wash the feet of the guest, specially if it was someone important!
#2. NOW COMES THE SCENE AS THEY WALK IN;
-Jesus had sent two disciples ahead to prepare for their meal together.(1) The meal had been prepared. The table was set.
-as they walked in they probably saw a water basin and a towel, probably by the door or in a corner somewhere.
- they probably started feeling a bit uncomfortable realizing that there wasn?t a servant there to wash the feet of their most important guest.
- Luke?s account in Luke 22:24 says that; the disciples were arguing over who was the greatest.
"And they began to argue among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom."
- "I?ll just wait for someone else to volunteer".
You know how people think in the church when something need?s to get done.(THE THINGS THAT YOU HEAR FROM THE Disciples IN THE CHURCH ARE THE SAME THINGS THAT PERHAPS JESUS HEARD)
-If someone is needed for the nursery
Some might say, "that?s not my ministry".
-If the bathroom needs cleaning
They complain instead of just doing it..
-"I did it last time, its Matthew?s turn, he hasn?t done it in long time."
-Another one said; "Peter and John were supposed to take care of all this-Jesus told them to".
-The more spiritual ones said; "I just came to enjoy a good time in the Lord and now this happens. Maybe I should had stayed home"
-Peter is thinking; Why are they looking at me, don?t they know who I am. I am the Rock, Jesus said so!
#3. What Jesus Did!
1.Jesus teaches us that it?s best to teach by example
Verses 4 & 5 says; " he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples and to wipe them with the towel he had around him".
- (THEY SHOULD HAVE SERVED HIM!, yet HE WAS SERVING THEM !)
-There was a Need and Jesus was aware of it.
-everybody else saw the need to. They just didn?t respond. This also happens in the Church.
- Jesus met the need. "He took the appropriate ACTION."
- He left his place of comfort to meet the need..
-He made his body do something it may have not wanted to do.
-My body many times doesn?t want to do what God tells me to do but I have to force it to, in order to be obedient.
2. He took off His outer clothing.
- Sometimes we have to put our agendas to the side, to serve others.
3. He wrapped a towel around his waist, After that he poured water into a basin.
-He made preparations to meet the need.
4. He began
- At some point we have to begin.
-it wasnt time to think about it.
-it wasn?t time to pray about it.
-it wasn?t time to prepare for it.(IT WAS TIME TO BEGIN!)
- at some point we must start doing it. MANY PASTORS ASK ME HOW WE BOUGHT THIS PROPERTY ONLY TWO SHORT YEARS AFTER COMING TO TAMPA.
-The secret is simple (WE BEGAN!)
-Pastors in Tampa 15 years or more talking about starting a Christian Academy for kids. BUT WE BEGAN AT SOME POINT AND NOW IT?S A REALITY!
5. (verse 5) "Jesus washed the disciples feet and dried them with a towel".
- He teaches us by example to;"wash one another?s feet".
v.15," I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you."
What does it mean to wash the feet of others?
-Humbling yourself.
-Meeting the need.
-Like when the building needed painting and some of you volunteered your time to come and paint the Lord?s house.
-Like when we had the day of work and volunteers showed up to clean the house of the Lord.
-Or mow the lawn.
-Or visit someone that is sick or call them on the phone.
-People that are foot washers inconvenience themselves to help others.
6. He did what was required. verse 17, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
It?s important to do what God requires.
-It?s a lot easier to talk about service,
- think about serving others,
-hear sermons like this one about service.
- It?s a lot better and more rewarding when we do it!
CONCLUSION;
1. We must make service a priority.
*Philippians 2:3-8 tells us; "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself..."
2. Be confident of your identity in Christ.
-Jesus had no doubt about who He was.
vv. 3 says, " Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power".
- When we understand who we are in Christ, we have no problems humbling ourselves.
-Jesus said; "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12)."
3. We must acknowledge our need to be served by Jesus.
v. 6-9 SIMON peter said; "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
- a submissive spirit is one that can both give and receive to the glory of God.
4. We must be Servants
Jesus says, "If I your teacher, your Lord, your Master, found it necessary to serve you, then you should serve others."
-each of us should be willing to humble ourselves, to demonstrate our love for those we serve.
