What would you do if you knew you were going to die a violent death in the next 12 hours?
Would you want to be alone in prayer? Would you write down some final thoughts? Would you spend time with your loved ones? What would you want to emphasize to people in your last 12 hours? Would you share recipes or gardening tips or would you focus on what’s important?
Passover was the last night Jesus would spend with His disciples…
John 13:1-9, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 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 disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "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!"”
The Passover meal reads like a final will and testament. Jesus knew this would be His last evening with the disciples before His crucifixion, and He wanted to share some important things with them.
3 things I want you to do. You might not understand now, but you will understand eventually.
Three things I want you to do.
#1: I want you to accept what I’m doing for you.
"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
I want you (Name) to allow me to minister to you. Yes, you’ve served me and you should, but I want you (name) to allow me to heal you, allow me to touch you in a special way today. I want you ( ) to allow me to make you clean again. Let me wash your feet: the lowliest, the basest: the filthiest parts of your life… If you ever want to have any part with me, you have to begin by accepting the ministry I’m doing for you. Without it, no man will ever enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Peter said, “No, Jesus. You will never wash my feet.”
He misunderstood the act of Grace Jesus was performing… He took it for a simple act of servanthood. But it was more than that: it was more than foot washing. It was a picture of the grace, the forgiveness, and the cleansing that would take place in just a few hours. Jesus was leaving the disciples with a stark portrait of His Grace, His love, and His power over sin and death. They wouldn’t understand at this moment, but later they would. Tomorrow they would understand the cleansing power of Jesus Christ in a whole new way.
Tomorrow, they would follow Jesus to the hill of the skull and watch His blood flow down the wooden members of the cross. Tomorrow, John would stand next to Mary, look up at The crucified King of the Jews, and realize the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ, which washes the sin stained souls of men and women clean, which purifies us whiter than snow, which makes man righteous before God.
Peter didn’t know Jesus was symbolizing the washing away of the sins of mankind when He knelt down to wash his feet. He only saw his master stooping do a servant’s duty and he couldn’t imagine a King, the chosen one of God stooping to such a humble position…
I’ve got to tell you, I have a hard time imagining it myself because I’m not sure I could have done what Jesus did. I’m not sure I have that kind of love. I’m not sure I have that kind of grace…
I might have been as blind as Peter, and the rest of you with me, because no man knows the love of God the way Jesus does. None of us would have done life the way Jesus did.
? How many who watch “The Apprentice” could see Donald Trump kneeling down before the apprentices to perform a humble ministry for them, like the washing of their feet?
My guess is, you’ll never see it happen.
Trump could take some advice from Jesus. The best leader is every man’s servant.
Jesus was living the vision. He was describing the events to come in a concealed manner, so that anyone who had eyes to see it might see it. He always veiled His massive nuggets of truth in secrecy so those who really wanted to understand would and those who were pretenders wouldn’t. He loved to say, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
? How many of the apprentices would allow Donald Trump to wash their feet?
Probably none, for fear of being fired. They might be afraid to elevate themselves to the same level as someone they consider great.
In Isaiah 46:4-5 the Lord says, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. "To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?” And yet Jesus values us more precious than His own body…
When Peter refused to accept Christ’s ministry of washing his feet, he was missing the point of Christ’s Grace. He portrayed so many, who stubbornly refuse to accept Christ’s ministry of cleansing and forgiveness.
"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
Unfortunately, refusing Christ’s ministry only ends in death.
I heard on the news of a woman who was on an overseas flight. Called flight attendant over to her and told her she was having a heart attack. Flight attendant asked, “Is there a doctor on board?” At that point, 67 heart doctors stood up. They were all headed to a convention for cardiac surgeons.
Imagine her joy when she saw the doctors. They were ready, willing, and able to effectively diagnose her problem and prescribe the correct treatment. They had the knowledge, the expertise, and the desire to take care of her and meet her needs.
Friends, I want to tell you that Jesus our Lord and King of everything stands ready. He’s willing and able to help you today. He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. He took on your sin and shame. He is the Great I AM but became your sin, considered you more valuable than Himself. He loves you, wants a relationship with you. He’s willing, and able to help you today, but ultimately, you must accept His ministry of cleansing or you will never have any part with Him.
He’s serous about forgiveness and He’s serious about YOU.
When are you going to get serious about Him?
- He has already diagnosed your problems.
- He has already prescribed the correct treatment: cleansing through His Blood.
- He knows everything about you, even the things you haven’t told Him or anyone else.
- He has the expertise and the ability to take care of you.
- Greatest thing of all is that He has a passion to take care of you and make you whole again.
But you have to accept His ministry of cleansing and the forgiveness of your sins.
It wouldn’t have done the woman any good to have 67 doctors on the place with her if she had refused to accept their help. Picture her there having chest pains. 67 doctors know her disease. They know exactly what she needs and how to help her, but she says,
- “I don’t need your help today. Maybe tomorrow.”
- “I’ll be OK.”
- “I’ve got some home remedies I can try on my own.”
- “This heart attack really isn’t that bad. It’s not that serious.”
In order to be saved, she had to accept the doctor’s help. She had to surrender herself to their knowledge and expertise. She had to humble herself to admit that she needed help! She had to allow someone greater than her to minister to her needs.
And YOU need to allow Jesus to minister to YOUR NEEDS.
No more explaining your convictions away.
No more, “I don’t need your help today. Maybe tomorrow.”
No more home remedies.
TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME.
Where will you be tomorrow at this time?
None of you can answer that question for sure. Some may be safe at work, another may be standing before The Almighty, answering for the decisions you made today. Then what?
When the gavel comes down and the final question comes: Did you accept my ministry to you: the work I did on the cross for your forgiveness?
Your eternal destiny will pivot on your answer to that question. Don’t play Russian Roulette with your soul. Invite Jesus to be your Lord and Savior today. Accept His ministry of cleansing for your spirit today.
So the PRIMARY PURPOSE of the foot washing was as a symbol of His cleansing power.
“I want you to allow me to minister to you, allow me to heal you, to touch you, to cleanse you.”
Admonition #2: The SECONDARY PURPOSE of the foot washing.
John 13:34-36, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another…”
I want you to love each other the way I loved you.
A man is never greater than the love He shows for others.
If you want to be great in the eyes of Christ, you learn to develop a love like His.
A love, which puts others before yourself.
Rom 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Christ’s love is a love that considers others worth more than the cost of the relationship.
There was a young man, consumed with passion for his girlfriend. In his zeal to express his endless love, he wrote her this letter… “Sweetheart, if this world was a hot Sahara desert, I would crawl on my knees through the burning sand to come to you. If the world was like the Atlantic Ocean, I’d swim through shark infested waters to find you. I would fight the fiercest dragon to be by your side. He ended his letter with, “I love you. PS, I’ll see you on Thursday if it doesn’t rain.”
Love is considering your brother more important than the parking space he just stole. Love puts others before self… Love is a risky venture in which a person willingly becomes vulnerable and assumes the risk of being hurt.
A young girl was seriously ill with diphtheria (the body produces a deadly toxin in the mucous membrane). The doctors told her mother not to kiss her little daughter and endanger her life by breathing the child’s breath.
But one night when the daughter was struggling to breathe, her mother took her little daughter into her arms to keep her from choking to death. Rasping and struggling for her life, the child said, "Momma, kiss me!" Without considering the cost she would pay to love her daughter, the mother tenderly kissed her. She needed to be loved… to be held, and if it was the last thing she did, that mother was going to love her child. She contracted diphtheria and died several days later as well.
Love is the kind that lays its life down for a friend…
John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
A man’s greatness is measured by the love he has for others.
Love unconditionally, sacrificially forgives again and again and again.
Matt 18:21-22, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
So many times, we’re so busy remembering our brother’s sins and shortcomings that we forget Christ’s act of cleansing for our brother…
Can the sinner condemn the sinner? Absolutely not! Be careful to love each other!
The Peter who denies Jesus at tonight’s fire may proclaim him with fire at tomorrow’s Pentecost. The Samson who is blind and weak today may use his final strength to level the pillars of godlessness. A stuttering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next.
Don’t call Noah a fool, you may be asking him for a lift.”
Realize the potential of your brother through the cleansing power of Jesus Christ and you’ll learn to love each other the way Jesus loves you.
1 Cor 13:4-8, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
1 Pet 4:8, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
“I want you to love each other the way I loved you…”
That night at the table, “Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
ADMONITION #3: His 3rd important message: I want you to earnestly await my return.
I’m leaving for a while, but I want you to live as if I could come back at any moment.
John 14:1-6, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
I’m going away for an undisclosed amount of time, and I’ll be back when you least expect it.
I’m going away for now, but if you love me; I want you to be fruitful and productive for me while I’m gone.
These are the things I’m asking you to do.
You may not understand now, but you will.
When everything is said and done, and I say the final words, “It is finished.”
When the temple trembles on its foundations.
When the veil tears in two.
When my body lies lifeless in the tomb, remember these things and soon, you’ll understand.
“You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
You may not understand today, but God has a plan.
The Savior was pinned to the cross, but God has a plan.
His body lay lifeless in the tomb, but God had a plan.
Today, your life might seem dry and dead, but God has a plan.
It’s called the salvation plan. He designed it with you in mind.
You just have to receive the cleansing ministry He’s stooped down to give you.
CONCLUSION:
James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected President of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet to no avail. Today we know it went thru his vertebrae and lodged between the spleen and pancreas. But the dr. couldn’t find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn’t locate the bullet. Garfield’s body simply wouldn’t give it up. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak.
Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president’s body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him.
It’s the same way with people who refuse to accept Christ’s ministry for their lives.
Let go of your sin. Release your past to Christ. You need to let Him begin a new work in your heart in your mind, in your spirit, in your life.
Someone here is in need of Christ’s ministry.
Someone here needs to be reconciled to God.
2 Cor 5:17-20, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
