The Greatest Act Of Humility

The greatest act of humility

John 13:1-8

Good Morning everyone, glad to see you and have you join us online.

This morning we have with us two of the Girl Scout troops that use our building and we are glad that you are with us.

As we move through the Lenten season, we have been working our way to the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Jesus final week on earth where He is journeying to the cross, where He would die a horrible death, and then His powerful resurrection from the grave that we would celebrate each Easter Sunday.

We looked last week at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemene. Jesus desired his disciples pray while He was off praying. He found his disciples weak and numerous times unable to pray and stay focused of the task at hand.

“Sit here” while” I go over there” to pray.

My soul Jesus said is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and “keep watch” with me.

Jesus goes a little farther falls down in prayer and asked the Father that if it were possible to take this cup from him.

Yet, not my will, but your will Father.

Jesus returns from that intimate time with the Father, to find his disciples sleeping.

Not once but three different times they were sleeping and not keeping watch as Jesus had requested.

Watch and pray so that you to not fall into temptation.

The Spirit is willing but the body is weak.

We find ourselves this morning still wondering why we cannot keep watch and why we fall short of doing God’s will in our lives and we fall short of accomplishing the task at hand.

Jesus is today still looking at his people and saying “are you still asleep and resting when you should be doing kingdom work?”

If you would turn in your bible or where you read God’s word and turn to John chapter 13:1-8.

John 13:1-8 read from bible slowly and clearly.

We read that it was just before the last supper and Judas Iscariot has already made his deal to betray Jesus. Judas, who was to give Jesus the kiss of death and point him out to the Jewish leaders who then would throw him into prison.

The time had come for Jesus to go from this world and go to the Father and complete the task He was sent to do.

The Son of the living God was going to put into motion the love that He had for each one of us.

I don’t think we can comprehend the love that Jesus has for us and his action of great love for us.

He gets up from the table… (4) “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 disciple’s feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

We need to stop a minute so we do not just skip over this like it was not a big thing!

This is not just anyone washing their feet, this is Jesus Christ going to wash their feet.

The Son of God, the one who said “let there be light” and there was light. The one who separated the sky from the oceans, the one who created us from the dust of the earth, rises from that table and prepares to wash feet.

See, Jesus may not have went to the cross yet but who He is already has been established because it had to be the Son of God who would go to the cross and the one who was sinless to take the place of you and me.

You have to understand what this meant to be a foot washer- Jewish slaves did not have to do it- only Gentile slaves. Women and children were usually tasked with that job of washing feet as guest would come into their homes.

Ancient roads were not paved, they were dirt roads that were dusty and muddy.

The shoes that were worn were sandals- open shoes that exposed the feet to the dirt of the trails.

Adult Jewish men thought the task so demeaning that their slaves did not do it.

It was Mediterranean hospitality to wash the feet of your guest as they enter your home.

So you who have some foot issues would not have like that job- some nasty feet have probably entered some of those houses to have their feet washed.

Jesus assumes a role unexpected of a Jewish man, rare for a hosts to do himself, and unthinkable for a master.

The gospel writer treats foot washing as a shocking and socially unacceptable job for anyone of any standing to do.