He Came to Serve

That is why he said, Not all of you are clean. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me teacher and lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I'm not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the Scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

I'm telling you this now before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me. And whoever receives me receives the one who has sent me. So far, our reading.

I wonder what you would do if you knew that you only had twenty-four hours to live. What would you have done in those twenty-four hours? Would you have looked for some way to change your fate? If you knew how and when it would happen, would you try and circumvent this situation to avoid it? Or would you have partied all night and gone out with a massive bang?

Would you have done any last-minute confessions? Any final words of contrition and confession of sin? Well, here in chapter 13, we see Jesus knowing full well by this time what was going to happen in these next twenty-four hours, that he was going to the cross. And this is what he does in those final hours. He comforts and he teaches his dearly loved disciples.

As the apostle John begins his account of these final moments, he begins by emphasising twice that Jesus knows, doesn't he? Jesus is aware of two very important things. Firstly, in verse one, we see that Jesus knows that he is going to die and go to the Father. In verse three, Jesus knows that the Father has, however, given him all things and that he has come of this, all of this has come from God, and that he is going back to God, verse three says. We are to understand what Jesus does, therefore, in the washing of his disciples' feet and more generally in the chapters that follow, that they're all within the context of Jesus knowing what was going to happen.

All of what he teaches, you know, John chapter 15 about the vine and the branches, about the giving of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit, all of this in the upper room discourse is in the context of these opening verses that Jesus knows what is going to happen next. And despite this, verse one says that Jesus now in this moment, in this moment is going to show the full extent of his love to his disciples. And what follows is the most intimate display of humility and selfless service that we can imagine. Against this backdrop, as John indicates, Jesus knows what is going to happen to himself.

We see the disciples in the story as well, and we see the context of their thoughts. You see, Jesus had organised, we know, this Passover feast, and we celebrate that today in symbolism as well. Jesus knew that this was a Passover. He had organised this upper room catering for the Passover meal. And what was customary in the ancient Near East is, coming to someone's house, especially a host who had invited you, as Jesus had invited his disciples.

What was customary is that the host would provide washing basins for the guests to come and wash their feet because, you know, it was a bit dusty, so you wanted to be clean. And so, as they would have entered this upper room, there would have been basins to wash your feet, as was customary of the day. Now, if you were a poor family, you would have everyone wash their own feet as they came in. But if you were wealthy and if you could afford one, you would have a slave come and wash the feet of your guests. Now, imagine this, the disciples entered this room.

They probably smelled a delicious lamb that was on offer at the Passover meal being cooked, and the bread that's being baked, and they see that there's wonderful wine on the table, and they walk straight past the water basins. Given that it's Passover, they may have already had a bath as a ceremonial cleansing. So they might be thinking, it's just some dirty feet. We don't need to wash it. But one thing that we know for certain and that is this, is that it never crosses their mind, not for a single moment, that they would wash the feet of their fellow disciples.

In Luke's Gospel, in fact, it shows us that at this time, as the disciples are moving to the upper room, as they're entering into the upper room, the disciples are arguing amongst themselves about the question, Who would be the greatest in the kingdom of Jesus when it comes? Who is the greatest? They're talking to one another? And while they're squabbling about this, there stood the pitcher and the wash basin at the door. They lay their linen towel to dry their feet, and no one moved. Heaven forbid that these men arguing about who is the greatest in the kingdom of Christ would do the job of a slave and wash their brother's feet.

Who among us is the greatest? They were thinking. But it's in the midst of such men with such attitudes, attitudes so big and hearts so small, that the dreadful words of verse two are pronounced. The devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

And yet Jesus waited. And he waited. And the disciples had started getting themselves settled around the traditional U-shaped table of the time, perhaps in some sort of pecking order, maybe Peter up the front and John the youngest at the back. The food was on the table. The meal was about to begin.

John tells us, and Jesus waited. And no one took up the duty of a servant. The water pitcher, the wash basin, the apron towel, it stood there in silence. No one moved, and Jesus waited. But then, in a staggering foreshadowing of what would happen the very next day, the day we celebrate today, Good Friday.

Jesus, with calmness and with the majesty of knowing all things about his nature, about his mission, rises from the table, John says, and starts taking off his outer garments. So much so that he's only in his loincloth, his undergarments. He wraps this long linen cloth around his waist so that he could use the long end to dry the feet. And there, one by one, the Master starts washing the feet of, yes, his disciples. And, yes, even the feet of Judas.

One day, an airline had some trouble with flights, and a particular flight was cancelled due to bad weather. One solitary agent was trying to rebook all the travellers whose schedules had gotten messed up because of the cancellation. One passenger squeezed past everyone in the line and pushed his way up to the counter and slammed down his ticket on the counter and said, I have to be on this flight, and it has to be first class because that is what I paid for. The agent politely said to him, Sorry, sir. I'll help you as soon as I can, but I have to take care of these people here first.

The man became angry and shouted, Do you have any idea who I am? Without hesitating, the agent picked up the microphone and said to the hundreds of people in the terminal, May I have your attention, please? We have a passenger here at the gate who doesn't know who he is. If anyone knows their identity, can they please come and see him? The man, of course, slunk back, and the crowd of people burst into applause.

No one is keen on the idea of someone who thinks more highly of themselves than others, especially us Aussies, hey. But if we're honest with ourselves, our greatest problem is not that we think too little of ourselves, but that we think too much of ourselves, too highly. In this act of Jesus washing his disciples' feet, we see the foreshadowing. We see an explanation of Good Friday, of what the sacrifice of the cross meant.

We see the disciples refusing humility because they're trying to work their pecking order out. And yet Jesus, despite knowing that God the Father had handed all majesty over to him, the Bible says, Jesus, knowing this, stoops down and becomes a slave. It's a picture of the cross. It's a picture of Good Friday.

And Jesus says, You guys don't know this yet, but this is an explanation of what's going to happen soon. The humiliating death of a criminal on the cross, the wrath of God poured out on the sacrificial lamb, an innocent man dying for guilty mankind, is represented here in the upper room. Friends, if there was ever a picture to remind us of why we should think twice about our selfishness and our pride, if we are ever tempted not to serve our wives or husbands because, why? They don't ever serve me. If we are ever tempted to quit church because it doesn't meet my needs and I deserve more.

If we are ever tempted to think, I don't need to serve God, to give a hand with this, to go and visit so-and-so, if we are ever tempted to think along those lines, just remember your saviour down to his undergarments washing your feet. And your priorities are soon disrupted. Your identity will be overhauled. Jesus stoops down, and he becomes a slave. One by one, Jesus begins to wash his disciples' feet, and it is awkward.

In planning today's events, we had a planning meeting a few weeks ago, and we thought maybe it'd be a good thing for us to do a foot washing ceremony. And it was a little bit awkward as we sort of mentioned it, and there was one person in particular, I won't mention who that was, said absolutely not. I'm willing to wash everyone's feet, but no one is touching my feet. It's awkward. And you can imagine that the silence, the disturbed silence, only broken by the splashing of water as this is happening.

No one is comfortable about what is happening. And everyone is thinking that it should be them doing this instead. Now they think, maybe I should have done this. Why didn't I think of it? But there is one disciple who breaks the silence, and it's always that one, the same one, Peter.

Impetuous and impulsive Peter, a man who always did his thinking out loud. When Jesus comes to him, Peter asks, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Peter is absolutely shocked. Jesus says to him that nothing of what is happening now will he understand. You won't understand this, Peter, but trust me.

Unless I do this for you, you have no part with me. What does it mean? What does that mean? And in classic Peter style, he responds, even though he's been told he won't understand. He's desperately trying.

He says, then, Lord, wash my hands and my feet as well, my head as well. And opening his mouth a second time only reveals how much poor Peter doesn't understand. When Jesus said he needs to wash them, he's not talking about water. The meaning is simple, and it is profound, and they will get it only after the events of Easter. Peter, unless by the means of my entire work of humiliation, of which this is only the start.

Unless you are cleansed from your sin, you will not share with me in the truth of redemption. Peter wants everything washed, washed. And Jesus adds, Someone who has had a bath only needs to wash their feet again. The whole body is still clean.

And like I hinted again, it was customary of the day to have a bath before you had a big celebration dinner or you were invited to a special host. And so we can think, and perhaps with the Passover, there was a ceremonial cleansing that had happened. And so that was still fresh in their minds. But of course, walking in dusty Jerusalem with sandals, your feet would get dirty, and they would need to be washed clean. Peter would have understood this, but Jesus is pointing to something deeper again, something that would become apparent only later.

Jesus is not speaking about what is physical. Jesus is speaking about the spiritual. Once Jesus' work on the cross had been finished, those who had placed their trust in that work, those who had put their hope in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, they would be washed clean. And the Bible speaks of this by literally saying washed by His blood. Every single Christian is and has been washed by the blood of Jesus.

Now, as a non-Christian, that sounds horrifying. A shower in blood. But every believer is washed of their sin by the shedding of the blood of Jesus. Jesus. And this knowledge is the greatest joy that we have.

But Jesus adds here that your feet will get dirty again. Temptation is not removed from the life of the Christian. We stumble and we fall. We will make mistakes. But your body is clean.

Your salvation is assured. You need only to recommit yourself and be washed again. That is what we do this morning as well at the Lord's Supper, don't we? We are reminded here that we are clean, but we ask for forgiveness anyway.

We wash our feet. But friends, we have to know once and for all that every Christian, every person who places their trust and gives their life to Christ, they will be bathed. They will be showered in the all-sufficient forgiveness of God. So friend, the promise this morning is that you are clean forever. You will be cleansed forever. Now there might, however, be some of us, and we may have been in church for a long time, who might say with Peter, You shall not wash my feet.

Lord, it is too much for you to stoop to wash my feet. How can it be that Jesus should die on the cross for me? How can God the Father punish His Son for my sake? I can't accept that. I must work hard enough to win God's love.

I must see forgiveness in another way. I don't accept that. If you find yourself thinking or struggling with that, then these words from Jesus you need to hear today. If I don't wash you, you can't have any part with me. You see, it was still pride that made Peter reject the service of Christ. It was pride that had Peter not wash other people's feet. But it was pride that flared up again when his own Master decided to do it.

See, a proud man might hate the idea of washing the feet of someone beneath them, but they absolutely abhor the idea of being served by a superior because it messes with the hierarchy. It messes with the system of how things should work in their minds. But friend, I want to warn you that pride may be keeping you out of the kingdom. Pride may be keeping you out of the kingdom. It takes humility to accept what Christ is offering us at Easter, because we can say it's too easy to believe in a saviour who has died for me.

What do I bring? Friend, you don't bring anything. All that you can do is accept it, but it takes humility to accept. So come to Jesus today. Let Him wash you clean.

Accept this loving act of Easter and receive it with thanks. And now our final point. Do you see what the result from this passage is? After Jesus has humbly served his people, for Jesus, it doesn't simply end with his disciples being clean. The result of Jesus' humility is that in turn, his disciples live a life of service.

He says, Do you understand what I have done to you? You called me teacher and lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your lord and your teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. And so here we see the economy of the Christian life, the way that we are moved and motivated. We see the core motivation about why Christians act and behave in a Christian way.

It's all the result of Jesus' humility. We act and we serve as Christians because Jesus ultimately served us. And the amazing thing is that Jesus, having done this, is glorified. We glorify today a humble saviour, but He is lifted high because of His humility. And God is glorified.

Jesus is glorified when we serve one another. The work of Christ is magnified more and more as the world out there sees the love that these Christians have, serving and loving others in a sacrificial way. And for us who understand just how much has been done for us, for us who have been touched and so moved and so overwhelmed by His grace, our greatest desire, if we understand this, is, Lord, I give you everything so that I may be counted worthy of serving Him who served me. Now, ironically, this humility that is called for is at odds with popular ideas of what constitutes spirituality or religion today.

Some people seem to think that in order to get nearer to God, you must remove yourself further from mankind. Remove yourself from all that is dirty and unholy and sinful, and we get closer to God. Yet it's the opposite. Actual closeness with Christ comes from imitating Him and serving the people who sit in the dirt. The people who have sinful lives, the people who are broken.

That is how we get and imitate our Saviour. And this is the economy of Christian living. There was never anything that Jesus was unwilling to do for those who were dirty. So why would His disciples, therefore, be any different? Jesus said it Himself.

I tell you the truth. No servant, no servant, is greater than his Master. If the Master does this, his servant will do it also. So in the story that we read this morning is that foretaste and a rich explanation of the cross. And we gain an incredible insight into the heart of God.

We see His love, and we see the extent to which He would go for us. Friend, you are cleansed. You are washed. You are purified. You are made new by the work of Jesus.

And so hear these words this morning and remember that you are washed clean and that if we respond in love to this, to those around us, Jesus says we will be blessed. We will be blessed in some way by serving like Jesus served. And so may the blessing of God therefore be upon this church. May the rich blessing of God, in whatever way that that looks or takes place, may that be upon this church.

Friend, will you thank Him for Easter? Will you thank Him for this incredible love for you? And if you haven't understood this love before, if this is new for you this morning, if you haven't ever truly accepted this love for you, why not today receive it? Why not today speak to someone who you trust and say, I want this. May the love of God shown in the face of Jesus Christ fill your hearts this weekend as we celebrate this humble, loving, self-sacrificing Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Let me pray. Father, Father, may this new Easter celebration that we enter into today, may it be new life for us. May it be absolutely life-changing. Father, we thank you for a Saviour who humbled Himself and became a servant. Our Lord Jesus, You knew that all things had been given to You, that all majesty was Yours.

And then You humbled Yourself and You served those You loved. Lord, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for the sacrifice that happened there, the Passover meal that represented the Passover lamb slaughtered, sacrificed on behalf of God's people. We recognise Jesus as our Passover lamb this morning.

We thank you for this incredible act, Father, and we dedicate our lives to You again this morning in humble gratitude and thankfulness. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.