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Foot
Washing – Part 1 – A Picture of Humility John
13:1-17 Introduction: A. The Last Night (John 13 – 17) 1.
John chapters thirteen through seventeen record
the last hours of Jesus’ earthly stay before His betrayal, arrest, trial,
condemnation, crucifixion and resurrection. a)
John 13-16 reports His last session with His disciples. b)
John 17 reports His last lengthy prayer with His Father. 2.
We can clearly see His primary focus and interest that last
night: His Father and His disciples. a)
Where you spend your time tells us what is important to you –
Time - with His disciples & His Father. b)
What you pray for tells us what is important to you - Prayer –
His disciples & His Father. (1)One simple statistic
should make that interest evident. (2)In twenty-three verses of
this prayer, Jesus prays for His disciples forty-six times! (3)Think about this
carefully. (4)In the Great Commission,
Jesus commanded His followers to “turn people into disciples,” (5)The emphasis of Jesus in
this prayer tells us: (a)what His focus is, (b)what His strategy is, (c)
where His heart lies. c)
His main concern is that His followers be disciples for, with, and through the Father,
and that they build other disciples of
the same kind. B. The First of the Last (John 13:1-17) 1.
For at least two messages, we will be focusing on John
13:1-17, which is the opening passage of His last session with His disciples.
2.
This passage contains the story of Jesus’ washing of His
disciples’ feet. a)
Immediately a question is raised. b)
In a passage of such great and important teaching, why does
the foot-washing come first? c)
I believe the answer is found in humility, which is the cure
for pride, the beginning of all sin and the worst of all sins. 3.
In this passage, Jesus models humility (which is in stark
contrast to the disciples’ pride). a)
The lessons here go far beyond humility, but humility is the
foundation. b)
So here Jesus models the very first and maybe the most
important benefit in His legacy to us — the virtue of humility. C. The first lessons – Part 1 1.
This lesson on humility has two parts: a)
The reasons for humility, and b)
The acted parable. 2.
Two verses give us hints of this in the passage — verses 7
& 12. a)
Verse seven indicates that there is far more in the passage
than “meets the eye.” (1)“What I am
doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” (2)They could clearly see
(and basically understand) the simple act of Jesus washing their feet. (3)But here, He says that
there are lessons hidden in the event which will only be understood later. b)
Then in verse twelve, He asked them, “Do
you know what I have done to you? (1)This indicates that there
is a deeper and fuller understanding of what happened. 3.
So what are the lessons. a)
What are the pictures in
the event? b)
What is the interpretation of the “acted parable”? I.
Humility: The Reasons for
It (v. 3) A. The Secret of Security 1.
The foot-washing account of John thirteen is prefaced by
these words: “3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He
had come from God and was going to God,” (John 13:3). a)
In this verse, we find the reason for the freedom of Jesus to
act a slave’s part and wash His disciples’ feet. b)
We also can learn, conversely, the reason for our inability to perform menial service. c)
The secret of Jesus’ security was in what He knew, and d)
The reason for our inability is that we do not know what He knew. 2.
According to the text, Jesus knew three magnificent truths
about Himself. a)
First, He knew “that the Father had given all
things into His hands.” (1)The term “all things”
bears major emphasis in this verse. (2)So Jesus was perfectly
assured of His Divine sovereignty over
all things. b)
Then He knew “that He had come from God.” (1)The words “from God” also
bear major emphasis. (2)Jesus knew that He had
come right out from God. (3)So He perfectly knew His
Divine origin. c)
And finally, He knew “that He was going back to
God.” (1)Here, the words “to God”
bear major emphasis. (2)So Jesus perfectly knew His
Divine destination. 3.
Because of His perfect assurance of these three things — His
Divine sovereignty, His Divine origin, and His Divine destination — Jesus was
perfectly free to perform the slave’s act of foot-washing. 4.
Jesus knew He could not lose anything; a)
Therefore, He could volunteer to give up everything without
any threat to His Person or position. b)
Do you have this kind of security? c)
Has it occurred to you while reading this verse that the
three things that Jesus knew about Himself then are also true right now of every child of God? B. The Truth for Every Child of God! 1.
It is just as true of me
as God’s child as it was of Jesus that God “has delivered all things into my
hands.” a)
What an incredible thought! And it is totally true! b)
1 Corinthians 3:21-22 says, “All things are yours . . . all are yours.” c)
1 Timothy 6:17 says, “God has given us (Christians)
richly all things to enjoy.” (1)When you look at me, you
are looking at one rich person! (2)Everything belongs to me!
(3)Unbelievable, perhaps,
but still true. 2.
And it is just as true of you
and me as it was of Jesus that I “have come right out of (from) God.” a)
By a real birth of the Holy Spirit in my human spirit, the “birth
from above” Jesus referred to (John 3:3,7), you and I
have come out from God. b)
Our inner character is an extension of God’s own nature by a
real Divine spiritual birth. c)
The new birth is not merely a “turning over a new leaf”
beginning. d)
It is a miraculous new life! e)
It begins by being born again, from above, by means of a spiritual
birth. f)
God is the Father of our spiritual life. g)
We have come out from Him as surely as Jesus did! (1)Do not think that I am
claiming that Christ’s Sonship and my sonship are the same. (2)They are not, but we are as much God’s children as Jesus is through adoption. (3)We are quite different in
our sonship, but we are both sons of God. 3.
And finally, it is just as true of me as it was of Jesus that “I am going back to God.” a)
My inner person is an extension of God’s character by a
mighty spiritual birth. b)
And that person will go back to God when our life is over
here on earth. c)
Having come out from God, we are on our way back to the One
from Whom we came. 4.
Most people in the church and all unbelievers don’t begin to
understand the security that belongs to a Christian through a fullness of faith
in God. a)
Your life is transformed, b)
Your self-esteem is now invincible, because it is determined
by the grace of God and by His truth. c)
As a believer, your self-esteem is never determined by
emotions or the circumstances of life! C. The Effects of Insecurity 1.
Friends, insecure people will never serve God! a)
Insecure people must serve themselves! b)
They are always seeking the security that has eluded them all
their lives. c)
Do you know why Christians can’t humble themselves? (1)They are too insecure to
give up control to God! d)
Do you know why they can’t love as they should? (1)They are too insecure to
love without conditions, the way God loves us! e)
Do you know why they can’t tithe their resources and give generously? (1)They are too insecure to
trust God as Jehovah Jireh - their Provider. (2)They believe that getting
and guarding of possessions is totally in their own hands; (3)But a believer
who knows and understands by faith His security in Christ Jesus, can give
anything away because he knows his Source, his Security and his Salvation are
all in God. 2.
The good news for a believer is that the Gospel is set up to
produce and provide perfect security. a)
In order to be free to forget yourself and live to serve God
and other people, you must know that all things are yours, that you
have come from God, and that you are going to God! 3.
Robert Schildgen wrote a biography
of Toyohiko Kagawa , the great Japanese Christian, and he called it
“The Apostle of Love”. a)
Toyohiko Kagawa was born in 1888 in b)
He was orphaned early and lived first with his widowed
stepmother and then with an uncle. c)
He enrolled in a Bible class in order to learn English, and in his teens and he became a Christian and
was disowned by his family. d)
Mr. Kagawa was destined for a lucrative career in e)
He suffered persecution, deprivation and disease because of
his choice to humble himself, but he made an eternal impact on f)
A 4.
If you know that “all things are yours” in Christ,
and that you have come from God and are on your way back to Him, your inner
security will cover any outer need that you may have. a)
No adventure for Christ will be too daring. b)
His resources will never be depleted. c)
So you can rise to a Throne or descend to a foot-washing in
your daily walk with Christ, and He will make you equal to the task. II. Humility: The Acted Parable (vv. 4-5, 12) A. A Perfect Picture 1.
First, there is a perfect picture here of the Divine Christ and His entire eternal
redeeming history, with particular stress on His role as a servant. 2.
In this passage, Jesus did seven things. a)
First, He stood up
(4a), b)
then He put something
off (4b), c)
the He put something on
(4c), d)
then He poured
something out (5a), e)
then He washed His
followers with that which He poured out (5), f)
then He went back to
His original place and reassumed His original garments (12a), and g)
finally, He sat
down again (12b). 3.
In these seven actions of Jesus, we can clearly see His
entire history “from eternity to eternity.” a)
He had spent all of eternity “past” in Heaven at God’s right
hand (1)co-equal, (2)co-eternal, (3)co-existent with His Father. b)
Then, at one awesome moment, He “stood up,” from the throne of God, preparing to change locations and assume a human nature. c)
When He stood up in Heaven, He put something off, (1)“stripping
Himself” (the very word that is used in the great “kenosis passage” of His
Self-emptying in Philippians chapter 2) of His independent use of His Diving
right and powers. d)
Then He put something
on, clothing Himself and His full Divine Nature in a human body. (1)This is pictured in the
foot-washing “parable” by “a towel” wherewith He “girded Himself.” (2)What is a towel? In the
story, it is a slave’s instrument of service. (3)And what does a slave do?
(4)He just goes around
cleaning up other people’s messes. (5)And this is precisely
what Jesus came to do — to clean up the big mess we had made of things
through our sins! e)
After He put on our humanity, He poured something out on earth. (1)He poured out His
precious blood on the Cross at f)
Then He washed His
followers with that which He poured out, (1)He cleansed them of their
sins with His own precious bleed (Revelation 1:5b-6). “To Him who loved us and
washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made us kings
and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen.” g)
After rising from the dead and appearing unto many, He went back to His original place and
reassumed His original garments of glory. (1)He returned to Heaven
where His prayer was answered: “5And now,
O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with
the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5). h)
Back in Heaven after His earthly incarnation (and still “wearing”
our humanity), He sat down again at
God’s right hand. (1)He reigns again with the
Father in glory, and is waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. 4.
This is the history of Jesus from the infinity of eternity “past”
through the infinity of eternity “future.” a)
And the entire history is pictured in the acted parable of
the foot-washing in John 13. b)
So this acted out parable revealed His humility, His redeeming
history, and His everlasting glory. B. Jesus Humbled Himself (Philippians 2:5-11) 1.
“And He was made in the likeness of men.” a)
Let these words reach the deep of your person: God became man! b)
The word “likeness” means similar
but with a difference. c)
Jesus became a man, similar to each of us — but with a
difference! d)
He was fully human, but He was unique among humans in that He
was without sin. 2.
The New Testament writers use an impressive array of words
and phrases to present the incarnation (“in-fleshment”) of God in Christ. a)
John 1:14 says that He “became flesh.” b)
Galatians 4:4 says that he was “born of a woman.” c)
Romans 1:3 says that “He was born of the
seed of David according to the flesh.” d)
1 Timothy 3:16 declares that “God was manifested in the flesh.”
e)
Hebrews 2:14 indicates that “He became a partaker of flesh
and blood.” f)
And His time on earth is referred to as “the days of His
flesh” (Hebrews 5:7). 3.
As we approach this Easter Sunday, and every day we live, we
must never allow the incarnation of Christ to fade in our minds or hearts. a)
“Jesus” is the human name of God! b)
And we must not confuse this truth. 4.
The incarnation is not the deifying of man; it is the humanizing
of God. a)
It is not man rising into Godhood; it is God condescending
into manhood – He humbled himself! b)
For the first time in His eternal existence, God now had a nature that was capable of
dying! c)
So the stage is now set for a transaction of eternal redemption
to be made. d)
God is on earth as a man, with a mortal human nature —
something awfully big is in the making! e)
The vital ingredients of a coming 5.
Ernest Gordon’s autobiography is entitled Miracle On the River Kwai. a)
Gordon was a British Highland soldier captured by the
Japanese during World War II. (1)He was kept in a POW camp
in a Burmese jungle. (2)The prisoners of war were
forced to build a railroad for the Japanese in the jungle. (3)Gordon nearly starved
along with the other prisoners, and became the victim of numerous tropical
diseases. b)
He was not a Christian when he was placed in the death house
and left to die. (1)However, a fellow
prisoner took Gordon out, shared his food rations with him, and nursed him
back to health. (2)This friend also
introduced Gordon to Christ. (3)Gordon’s story is a story
of the triumph of faith and it is also the story of Christ’s triumph among His helpless people. c)
Years later, when Ernest Gordon was chaplain at (1)But before He could come “into
our Death House,” He first had to become a man. (2)When Jesus came to the
earth, He might have said, “I am
what I was — God. I was not what
I am — man. I am now both — God and man.” d)
The Son of God became also the Son of Man. e)
He who was totally God humbled Himself and became truly man
so that He could pour out His blood to cleanse us from our sin. f)
Then He arose, put His glory back on, and sat down again in
heaven. g)
That is the true picture of humility! And Jesus says to us, today: “Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so
I am. 14If I then, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s
feet. 15For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than
his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. |
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