This morning we are going to start our message off a little differently then normal. Since we are talking about servanthood, I thought it would be appropriate to wash one another¡¦s feet. In just a few moments men and women will be coming in with towels and basins, we will start from the outside rows and work our way in toward the center.
Now before we start let me say two things
1. We are not going to wash one another¡¦s feet
2. Were you nervous when I said we were going to wash our feet
If so you know exactly how the disciples felt the night of the PASSOVER In the ancient culture the most demeaning of task was to wash the guest¡¦s feet. This was job done by lowest slaves.
It was necessary because people either walked barefoot or wore sandals. They walked along roads that we not only dusty but also cluttered with camel and donkey dung. Thus it was a common courtesy for the host to have his slave wash the guest¡¦s feet as they entered the house.
Jesus had sent Peter & John to prepare for their meal together. The food had been cooked. The table had been set. I¡¦m sure the other disciples thought this matter of foot washing would be taken care of as well, but it wasn¡¦t!
As Jesus and the disciples enter the room they see towel & water basin in the corner. But no slave is present to wash their feet. Perhaps some of them pause as they enter the room, wondering why Peter and John had not taken care of this important detail.
As they recline at the table, each disciple feels a little uncomfortable.
„_ ¡§Somebody ought to at least wash Jesus¡¦ feet. But if I do that, where will that put me on the social pecking order?
I would be at the Bottom of the heap. If I volunteer I¡¦ll get stuck with that job from now on. Maybe if I just wait¡Xsomebody else will do it.
„_ I think maybe each disciple was hoping one of others would volunteer. Each one may have begun to JUSTIFY in own mind why it was not his job to do it.
„_ ¡§I did it last time¡Xits Matthew¡¦s turn¡Xhe hasn¡¦t done it in long time.¡¨
„_ ¡§Peter and John were supposed to take care of all this, Jesus told them to make all the arrangements. What part of ¡§ALL¡¨ did they not understand?¡¨
„_ Thomas thought, ¡§I doubt any of these guys will wash feet, I know I am not going to pick up that basin¡¨
„_ ¡§I came to enjoy a time with the Lord¡Xand now we¡¦ve got this problem¡¨
„_ John is thinking¡X¡§Look I¡¦m over here leaning next to Jesus, I¡¦m in spiritual intimacy. Jesus doesn¡¦t want me to leave Him and help you.¡¨
„_ Peter is thinking¡X¡§Don¡¦t these turkeys know the call of God on my life? Don¡¦t they see the leadership gifts in me? I just wish they would remember that I¡¦m the one who answered Jesus¡¦ Question: Who do you say that I am?¡¨ I got the revelation¡X¡¥You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.¡¦ Don¡¦t they remember the prophecy Jesus gave me on that occasion? I wish these people would pay attention to what God¡¦s doing in me. If they had, they would be over here right now washing my feet as well as Jesus¡¦ feet.¡¨
We don¡¦t know all the specifics of that night, but we do know that nobody rose to the occasion, Except Jesus!
It is Jesus who does the unthinkable ¡V he washes the feet of his disciples ¡V Setting the example of a true servant. Today I want us to notice the Attitude the Actions and the Accountability of a Servant
Note the¡K
1. The Attitude of the Servant
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. John 13:1
John prefaces the foot washing incident with an amazing statement;
A. Jesus knew he was about to face the cross
Jesus knew he was rapidly approaching the most important moment of life.
He knew that the pain and agony of the cross was imminent!
Here is the Question: If you knew that you would die a terrible death tomorrow, what would you be focused on today? What would be your main concern?
I can tell you I would probably be thinking about myself and what I¡¦m about to go through. I wish I could say otherwise. But I¡¦ve been in a couple rough situations and the drive for self-preservation can kick in real strong at a time like that.
B. John wants us to see something about Jesus.
Fully God and fully man, here is Jesus facing something we cannot even imagine. He is not saying to the disciples, ¡§Don¡¦t you care about what I¡¦m facing?¡¨ He is not focused on himself. He is concerned that they be prepared for what¡¦s about to happen. Jesus is focused on others!
C. Jesus focused on others even in the most horrific of times.
„_ At his arrest in the garden, his concern was for his disciples not to be harmed.
„_ On the cross He is concerned about his Mother¡¦s future.
„_ Just moments before death, he ministers to the thief on the cross.
„_ Under maximum pressure he remains totally unselfish and loving toward others.
D. How is Jesus able to focus on others in such intense times?
Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
Jesus had an attitude that was focused on love. The NIV says he showed the full extent of his love, the NKJV says loved them to the end. The idea that John is conveying is Jesus is able to serve because he puts no limits on his love.
E. I know a lot of reasons to serve others
„_ Some people serve out of guilt
„_ Some people serve out of duty ¡V they believe they must serve
„_ Some people serve for the purpose of notoriety ¡§LOOK AT ME¡¨
„_ Some people serve because of a perceived future reward ¡V Remember Peter¡¦s statement after watching the rich young ruler walk away because he would not sale his belongings? The man cannot be a disciple because his riches have a hold of him and Peter says ¡§We have left everything¡¨ implying do we have a reward?
All of these ways have one thing in common ¡V they have limits
„_ Guilt passes away
„_ Duty becomes a burden
„_ Notoriety is shallow
„_ Future rewards may not come
Yet love has no limits ¡V Jesus demonstrated this by showing the full extent of his love. Jesus was teaching us a divine principle ¡V You can serve without loving but you cannot love without serving
F. Jesus was motivated by love
When no one else would pick up the towel and basin, it was Jesus who loved his own, who chose to pick up a basin and serve his disciples by washing their feet.
Seeing the attitude of love, let us also note¡K
2. The Actions of the Servant
Note verses 4 & 5 of our text, 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.
I think a few jaws dropped when he began to wash their feet. Rather than begin with a lecture¡X
A. He gave them an EXAMPLE.
People remember only 10% of what they hear but 60% of what the see. People would much rather see an example than hear a lecture. Jesus could have ordered one of the disciples to wash the feet, he could have chosen any of the 12. But on this night he going to teach them not by assigning a project, not by teaching on Servanthood, but by giving the disciples and us an example of Servanthood.
B. Jesus met the need. Jesus took the appropriate ACTION!
Again look at the Action Words in verses 4 & 5:
„_ ¡§He got up from the meal¡¨ He left his Comfort Zone. He left the comfort of fellowship for the joy of service. To be a servant may mean leaving the comfortable things you want to do in order to discover the joy of service.
„_ ¡§He took off he outer clothing¡¨ To serve other we usually have to lay something aside. Most of us live with a full plate of activity. If I¡¦m going to add a service for somebody, I usually have to subtract something I would like to do just for myself. Every servant has to deny himself something, to have the time & energy to give to others.
„_ ¡§He wrapped a towel around his waist, after that he poured water into a basin.¡¨
He made preparations to meet the need. There are times when serving is simple like stopping and helping a person on the side of the road, or helping a neighbor carry out their trash, or carry in the groceries. Sometimes there are preparations we need to make. Supplies have to be purchased, schedules have to be shifted and obstacles have to be overcome so that service can be accomplished.
„_ ¡§He began¡K¡¨ I like that. At some point we have to begin. We can think about it. We can pray about it. We can prepare for it. But at some point we must start doing it.
C. The actions led to a profound teaching
No one is above serving others. Serving is not simply a good thing to do; it is our part of who we are in the body of Christ. Galatians 5:13, You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Jesus did not simply teach about serving, he demonstrated serving by taking up the basin and towel and doing what no one expected he served his disciples. I said no one expected him to wash the feet of the disciples but if you were paying attention to the ministry of Christ you knew he would be a servant, Matthew 20:28, Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served¡Xand then to give away his life
Knowing the attitude of a servant and seeing the actions of a servant, Jesus now teaches us¡K
3. The Accountability of a Servant
Jesus was a master teacher, he showed them how to serve and now he tells them why they should serve.
John 13:12-17,
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. "You call me ’Teacher’ and ’Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
A. He begins with The Question: ¡§Do you understand what I have done for you?¡¨
„_ Has the significance of all this soaked in?
„_ It goes way beyond just getting your feet washed.
„_ It goes way beyond just getting your needs met.
Jesus comes into our lives. He loves us. He receives us. He meets our needs.
And sometimes people think that¡¦s what church is about¡Xgetting my needs met, getting my strokes, getting my feet washed.
But that is not it, Serving others is about a personal transformation of character and thinking. It¡¦s about becoming like Jesus. Verse 15 ¡§I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.¡¨ Freely you have received, freely give.
If my experience in God is only about me, only about me getting my needs met, I¡¦ve missed something along the way. If church is just about me getting what I want, I¡¦ve missed something.
„_ The greatest human tragedy is for a person to never receive Christ and his mercy.
„_ The second greatest tragedy is for a person to experience Christ, experience his love, experience his grace¡Xbut never translate that into service toward others. Why because they never become like Jesus. When I serve others I am being held accountable to become more and more like Christ.
„_ To have his attitude to have his character to have his love.
It is the love of Christ in our hearts that makes us feet washers.
B. What is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn: ¡§¡Kwash one another¡¦s feet.¡¨
What does it mean to wash the feet of others? It means you humble yourselves¡Xto see the need ¡V and then do something about it. Christ is calling us all to be foot washers, not to literally wash one another¡¦s feet but to serve one another and thus become like Christ.
C. Jesus gives us a benefit to serving others
Verse 17 ¡§Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.¡¨
It¡¦s a whole lot easier to talk about service, think about service, fanaticize about great service, and hear sermons about service¡Xthan to actually serve others. But the blessing, the joy, the happiness, is not found in talking about it or hearing about it. It is found in actually doing it. Jesus says you will be blessed through service.
„_ We don¡¦t talk about that much do we? ¡V the blessing of service. Maybe it is because we feel like we are intruding on people¡¦s lives when we ask them to help out for a cause or to take on a ministry.
„_ Jesus is teaching us to examine our motives once again ¡V remember serving out of guilt, duty or reward, they will all fade away. But serving the way Christ served brings about a blessing.
Application ¡V how can we be blessed in our serving others today?
1. Discover your giftedness
I believe everyone has a gift of serving but not everyone has the same gift of serving. I enjoy talking to kids grades 1-12, but don¡¦t ask me to be in the nursery, I will not be blessed nor will the children be blessed. It is not my gift.
2. Use your gift.
That sounds simple, but I want to challenge you to seek out a time of serving each week. Our fall ministries begin in few weeks we have designed a ministry that is both challenging and aggressive. For our ministries to run at peak efficiency we need 84 different people to step up and serve in some capacity. We want to challenge you to have 1 hour of worship 1 hour of education and 1 hour of service each week, this will give you balance and help you to become a devoted disciple of Christ. To many churches follow the 20/80 rule ¡V 20% of the people doing 80%, but that simply will not make healthy disciples. Worship, Learning and Serving is what brings about maturity. Once you have discovered your gift use it to the glory of God.
3. Develop your gift.
While each of us have gifts of service the gift becomes better the more it is developed, the best way to develop that gift is to use it often in a variety of situations. Serving others is not a one time event but a lifetime pursuit. As Palm Bay CC grows it is important for us to develop our gifts to the point people notice Christ because we are becoming like him every day.
Conclusion: Is there a need you can meet? Is there someone near you who needs his or her feet washed¡Xsome practical service that could make that person¡¦s burden lighter? May the Lord open our eyes to dirty feet and give us a heart to wash them.
