Touching Judas’ Feet
Jn 13:1-20
INTRO: A. Upper Room & Dark Hours of the Lord
1. Less than 24 hrs till He’ll be on the cross
2. Inside Disciples are meeting
a. Outside there is grumblings
3. Inside the disciples arguing & fighting over superiority
a. Outside there is plotting of His demise
4. Outside there is a desire to restore power to the religious
a. Inside, no better, desire to have new power available
5. In the midst is Judas the soon to be traitor
a. Unbelief has taken over his heart
b. Desire for worldly gain is stronger than desire for heavenly
rewards
1. Already has begun the act of betrayal by agreeing with the high
priest on the amount of reward
B. The Lord’s reaction & response is interesting to all of this
1. There is peace & calmness, Poised
2. Jesus is troubled, He is the God Man, He is fully God but
also fully Human
a. All the strife, stress, of enemies & His own disciples lack
of understanding troubles Jesus
b. troubled 12:27, 13:21 same word as 14:1 tarasso = agitated,
disturbed, stirred up
3. Yet in all of this His relationship with the Father is stronger
than the trials
a. He continually relies on the strength of His Father to
sustain Him in this time
b. He found strength to act by relying upon God the Father
4. This is where the first point is important to Him & us
I. Profound Knowledge
A. 3 Key things to Know
1. The Imminence of Death v1 “Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world…”
a. Yes Jesus knew His earthly ministry was near the end
1. As all things of this world, it must end
a. Even His humanity must end
b. Knowing the truth of the temporal way of life is important
1. Jesus wasn’t making plans for 20 yrs down the road
2. Jesus wasn’t planning His career
3. Jesus wasn’t preparing to find happiness on this planet
4. Jesus knew the reality of Eternity
“..There is but a step between me and death.” 1 Sam20:3
2Cor 1:9 “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:”
Heb 9:27 “It is appointed onto men once to die…”
2. There is a Traitor in the midst
a. The other gospels tell that the hand of the betrayer was on
the table Lk 22:21
1. Judas was there in the room with them
b. It is important to identify those that can do us harm
1. To know who your enemy is
3. Where He was going
a. Jesus knew His origin, where He came from
1. He understood His future, His destiny, His Eternity
b. Knowing with assurance you are to be with the Heavenly
Father is extremely important
B. Assurance & Confidence for Crisis
1. When you know these things you can face tomorrow cause
you know who holds your hands
2. The Lord was feeling the stress, the troubles
a. He turned to the Father for help
3. He had the knowledge of what was happening
a. He was content that God the Father was in charge
1. He could be calm, cool & collected in times of stress & Crisis
4. When we have that kind of relationship, that kind of
knowledge. We can do as Jesus tells us in Jn 14:1
a. He knew that He had what He needed to face these
circumstances
b. Do you? Do you know the Lord? Do you know the truth
about life & eternity? Do you know who your real enemy
is? Do you know where you are going?
II. Profound Example
A. Who is ministering to whom?
1. You’d think the disciples would be concerned about Jesus,
the master’s welfare & minister to His needs
a. But they are preoccupied with their own selfish ambitions
1. They completely miss the fact of Jesus impending death & departure
2. Totally unaware of Jesus’ trouble soul, the stress
2. But the Lord knows who He is & the relationship He has
with the Father
a. He is able to minister to them, not visa versa
3. What is true of our Lord is also true of us & our
Identification with Him Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
a. As Jesus is made complete by the Father
b. We are also made complete, mature, perfect in Jesus
4. We have exactly the same relationship with the Father that
He had
a. We are Sons of God, and heir with Christ
5. Remember John speaks of our divine origin
a. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are birthed
into the Family of God. Called the new birth, regeneration
1. We are now ID with God the Father, God the Son & God the Spirit
who indwells us
6. Our Origin is in Christ & our destiny is to be with God
a. Nothing can change that
1. Not a decision at work, school or home
a. Not a bad hair day, not a dear John letter, Not the flu
b. Not anything we can do will eliminate the new relationship w/ God
7. It is God’s Authority we trust in to sustain us in any & all
circumstances
a. We can now afford to be calm, cool & collected
1. Not uptight, frustrated and angry cause of others or bad times
8. Instead of being ministered to. We can minister to others
a. Many seems to always need to be ministered to
1. Need their hands held, support, comforted
b. But when that relationship is secure & understand the
issues of life
1. Can help others hurting even when hurting yourself
B. Culture
1. Big occasion time to take a bath
a. No baths at home, no built in tubs or showers
1. No running water. Best haul the water & take a sponge bath. Clean
down as far as you can & up as far as you can & that would have to
be good enough
b. But on those special occasions need more
2. Benefit of Roman Conquerors
a. Romans liked their baths. Where ever they conquered they
built bath houses
1. People could now take clean clothes and go to the local public bath
house and get good & clean
3. So now could go to the big shindig al clean, but..
a. Traveling through the city streets to the host’s house &
wearing sandals the clean feet did not remain clean
1. Dusty, hot & sweaty and any other nasty waste that was on the
streets were picked up on the feet
4. So a custom was come to dinner and basin or water, clothes
& towels were provided with the assistance of a servant to
clean the guest’s feet.
a. Now the guest would be clean all over, including their feet
C. The Master’s Actions
1. Obviously Jesus’ actions is a parable in action, a living
parable to teach a lesson
a. Jesus is teaching humility & servitude
2. Notice He removed His garments pl grk halation (him at ee on)
a. 3 layers of clothing robe/cape a knee length tunic &
undergarments breechcloth
b. Jesus took off more than just the robe but also the tunic
1. Remain in undergarment, much like a servant slave
2. Began to wash the disciple’s feet
3. We can gather that He washed ALL the disciple’s feet
a. Paul tells us He remove his glory to become a man, a
servant man
Php 2:6-7 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
b. Jesus remove the clothing of Glory/heaven
c. Set aside all the rights of God to be a man
1. As a man He served to the extent of His service in His death
a. He poured out His life for us
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
d. After his work as a servant He replaced His clothes and sat
back down at the right hand of the Father
Php 2:9-10 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;
4. He came to do what we could not do nor would do
Ro 5:7-8 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
a. To clean up the mess we make of our lives
D. Including Judas
1. Amazing isn’t it? That he would have anything to do w/ him
a. Knowing what Judas was about, knowing what He had
done & was about to do
b. Didn’t kick him out, no rejection
c. No bitterness, resentment or even a hint to the others
1. Nobody but Jesus & Judus knew what was going on
2. Outreach all the time in this relationship with Judas,
Jesus continually reaches out to him
a. All the teachings of Jesus was for the benefits of the
disciples including Judas
b. Here in the upper room there is an attempt to get Judas’
attention
1. Even though all the time Judas is moving toward the ultimate act of
betrayal
3. Opportunity: This final incident, Jesus dips the morsel into
the little pot or bowl & hands it to Judas v26
a. He had already prefaced it in v18 “..He that eatheth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.”
1. v18 is a quote of Ps 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up [his] heel against me.
b. he is saying to Judas, “Do you understand what you are doing?”
“Do you grasp the enormity of this act?”
c. In this symbolic way Jesus gives Judas a piece of bread to
show Judas He knows his act of betrayal
1. The Lord is again reaching out this final time
a. Judas, “It’s never too late”
4. Never an act of rejection, but reaching out
a. He loved Judas & served him as one of his own
5. That parable in life tells us the nature of Jesus’ ministry
a. That leads us to the nature of our call to ministry
III. Profound Calling
A. Feet vs. Body v12c-17 ‘What I did, you are to do”
1. Very apparent Jesus isn’t talking about foot washing
a. Though it may not hurt for us to do the act, Jesus is not
starting an ordinance but teaching a lesson
2. Notice a couple of things
a. 1st The disciples didn’t understand at that moment what it was
About v7
1. If it was just foot washing, they would. What is complicated about
washing feet?
3. 2nd Jesus begins to talk to Peter & the rest of the disciples
about the nature of Salvation
a. Peter tries to stop Jesus from washing his feet, no way Lord
b. v8b Jesus response:
1. Jesus wasn’t offended by Peter’s dirty feet
2. He welcomed the little children with all their dirty faces
c. Peter’s dirty feet symbolized a deeper spiritual condition
1. It could effect the relationship with the Lord
d. Peter had had a bath, but His feet got dirty by the world
1. Same way, we get clean in salvation
a. But as we walk & live in this sinful world, the dirt of the world can
get on us
1. We can begin to accept the attitude, the values & morals of the
world if we are not diligent to wash it off
4. When a person accepts Christ as Lord & Savior we accept
His ID & are cleansed 1 Cor 6:9-11
a. We are cleansed, saved, made right
b. But we must be cleansed daily to remain in right
fellowship with the Lord
c. To not do so proves never was really clean, that is what
Jesus is saying to Peter
1. Peter & the disciples were clean, all but one Judas
5. But some can take on the appearance of being clean, but are
not, in case Judas 2Pt 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
B. Ministry of Washing
1. We are called to remain clean, to daily seek forgiveness and
cleaning 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. But we are also in the ministry of helping others to be clean
a. To humble ourselves, to seek to aid others in the walk with
the Lord
b. To teach & present the Word that it might cleans from sin
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
C. Privilege of Service v19-20
1. A foreknowledge of the way things work
2. To accept us & the message we preach is an ultimate
acceptance of the Lord
a. He gets the glory *God’s wife While shopping in New York, one woman noticed a young boy shivering in the cold November weather. He was pressed against a store window looking at a pair of shoes. She asked what he was doing out in the cold and he replied, "I was asking God to give me a pair of those shoes." A quick glance down at his feet revealed tattered shoes that barely covered his protruding bare feet. Her arm immediately wrapped around him and she whisped him into the store. She pulled several pairs of socks from the shelf and instructed the department employee to bring the pair of shoes her young friend wanted. He was soon walking around the shoe department with not only the shoes for which he had prayed, but socks to go with them. The woman paid for everything without asking for a cent. She then turned for the door and said, "You’ll be a lot more comfortable now." The little boy looked up into her eyes with an inquisitive expression and asked, "Are you God’s wife?" When the bride of Christ selflessly serves others, people will notice our relationship to God.
b. To Accept Jesus is to accept the Father
1.There is that relationship again we have with Jesus & the Father
3. We are to serve as Jesus served
a. We are to minister as Jesus ministered
1. In Humility, love, Outreach & by serving the needs
CONCLUSION
1. Are you cleansed? Saved or just got the appearance like a
Judas?
2. Are you clean, but have allowed the attitude of the world to
cling to you
a. Is there filth, sin in life that needs to be washed away?
3. Christians are you serving, Can NOT have true Christian Joy
outside of service
a. Just as Jesus came to serve, we were saved to serve
