“Serve”
John 13:1-17
John 13-17 We enter the last day of Jesus earthly life before He was crucified.
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father…
His hour (Cross)
Jesus lived according to the… Fathers timing.
That’s how we want to live too! “Timing is everything!”
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Love is CENTRAL to the message of Jesus!
“Love Love Love… All we need is LOVE!” It’s true!
BUT…The love were searching for is… the love of Jesus!
- Jesus loves the world. Cross! (height, depth, width, breath)
No greater love! (John 15:3)
- Jesus loves his own (those who have received Him)
Not a different love… but it is a different dynamic!
(Reciprocal love❣️)
2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
We will spend more time taking about Judas next week.
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands…
Jesus was not a victim but but He’s the Victor!
The Father gave ALL things into His hands… Understand at the cross…Jesus WILLINGLY gave his hands (ALL) for you!
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
Philippians 2
4 Jesus… rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Jesus.. began to do the job of the lowest servant in the household. He began to wash the disciples’ feet.
In Jesus day.. it was customary that the lowest servant of the house would wash the feet of the guests as they came into the house…especially for a formal meal like this.
For some reason… this didn’t happen when Jesus and the disciples came into the room. So they ate their meal with dirty feet.
It was a dramatic scene… Luke 22:23 after eating, the disciples began arguing about who was the greatest.
By what Jesus did here ..He modeled for them…TRUE GREATNESS.
6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Jesus was modeling True leadership- Servant Leadership!
Peter did understand…1 Peter 2 & 5
There may be a lot of things we don’t understand …
But CENTRAL to being a TRUE FOLLOWER of Jesus is SERVING OTHERS!
Marriage, Family, Church, “Others”
8 Peter said to Him, “You shall NEVER wash my feet!”
Maybe… Peter thought he was supposed to protest… acknowledging who Jesus was!
8 Peter said to Him, “You shall NEVER wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not WASH you, you have no part with Me.”
Revelation 1:5 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Titus 3:3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 having been justified by His grace…
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean…
Peter your completely clean! Through faith in Jesus we are completely clean, washed! Regenerated! Justified! Saved!
We don’t need to be saved over and over again!
But those us of us who are washed, justified, saved …. our “feet” get dirty living in this world… and thus we need our feet cleansed regularly ..
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.
True… this morning too! (Washed?) (Feet washed?)
11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
Judas’ faith was not a GENUINE faith. He hadn’t yet believed in Jesus in such a way that he was cleansed of his sin.
It’s possible to be a follower of Jesus…leader in the church of Jesus and still NOT be cleansed of your sin!
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
1. This was a PICTURE of His Great Condescension!
2. This was an EXAMPLE of Servant Leadership
13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
16 Most 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. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (Happy, Blessed, Satisfied, Favor)
Next time you feel depressed or distressed, discouraged , despondent; next time you feel like throwing in the towel… do what Jesus did instead!
Grab the towel, find some dirty feet to wash, start to serve somewhere & experience the happiness Jesus promised!
The world thinks that happiness is the result of OTHERS serving us… but REAL HAPPINESS comes when we serve OTHERS, following Jesus example!
The world asks us how many people work for you…?
But the Lord asks “how many people do you work for?”
Studying this… this morning can stir us… EMOTIONALLY.
It can enlighten us INTELLECTUALLY…
But only DOING what Jesus taught us here… can lead to true happiness!