Serve Like Jesus

I guess his speech write forget to include the predicate to that verse-

Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: The Bricks have fallen down, but will will rebuild them with dressed stone. The fig trees have fallen, but we will replace them with cedars

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have gone after the terrorists- of course we need to vigorously defend ourselves and bring those who planned and orchestrated this attack to justice.

But we went way beyond that, and as a result of our pride- plainly spoke by our political leaders, We spent almost 10 Trillion dollars, and the Global War on Terror killed over 900,000 people.

And now look what our country has become. 19 men, filled with their religious pride and armed only with box cutters may have irreparably damaged the greatest nation this world has ever known.

This is why Jesus’ reaction to Peter’s religious pride is so strong- “If I don’t wash you, you will have no part in me.”

The second reaction is that of Judas-

III. Judas

I can’t imagine what was going through the heart and mind of Jesus as He came to Judas. This is a man who had followed HIM for 3 years. He had, along with the other disciples, gone on missionary journeys to heal the sick, cast out demons, and spread the good new of the Gospel.

There was no evidence that the disciples ever suspected Judas of being anything other than a loyal follower. In fact, he was among the most trusted as he carried the money purse for their ministry.

Now Jesus is on his knees before the man who while shortly leave the gathering, and will go find the chief priests and lead a party to arrest Jesus, which will lead to His eventual crucifixion.

Jesus begins to wash the feet that will carry Judas back to him, to betray him with a kiss.

And now, Judas’ name will be synonymous with the word traitor or betrayal.

The bible doesn’t say if Jesus wept during this time, but I have to imagine his heart was breaking as his hands rubbed the dirt and grime from Judas’ feet.

It would be the last time Jesus would see him as a friend. After Judas betrays him, the next time Jesus will see him will be as his judge, and he will condemn him to the lake of fire for all eternity.

Of that time, Jesus himself said, “He will wish he had never been born.”

Within the church, betrayal and backsliding are the hardest things about being a member of a church family.

Watching a person be set free from the sin that was destroying them, seeing them experience of the joy of salvation, then only to watch them eventually turn around and go back to it is heartbreaking.

That’s why these passages in the bible are so powerful to us.

But we have to remember- Jesus washed Judas’ feet. If Jesus can do that, then we can’t turn our backs on people because they fail to meet our expectations.

Or my favorite saying of last year- “Don’t judge others because they sin differently than you do.”

That’s the take away from today’s teaching.

Have the heart of Jesus

Serve like Jesus.

Even if they are prideful

Even if they betray you

Serve like Jesus.

Altar Call/prayer for meal.