Well, I do invite you this morning, if you have Bibles with you, to turn to John chapter 13. We're continuing our study in the Gospel of John. Really, now entering the second book of John, what is commonly designated the book of glory. Such a wonderful section here. And that glory is the glory of the cross, which is an interesting thing, that that glory through his death that would be revealed would be made known to the ends of the earth. And you're evidence of that today. You're evidence of his washing today. So we're studying the book of glory now. We looked at the book of signs and what happened last time at the end of that and how it would be taken from that nation and given to a nation bearing the fruits thereof. And that's you. To the Gentiles, to the ends of the earth, of all peoples. Now we study this last Passion Week of our Lord and we're looking at 1 through 17. Let's give our attention to the reading of God's word. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I am doing, you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands in my head. Jesus said to him, the one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That was 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 teacher and 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. And there we'll stop the reading of God's word. This is a precious moment in the gospel of John. All the way from the beginning, Jesus had said, remember at the wedding in Cana, where Jesus had talked about the hour and when they asked him to turn the water into wine and he said, my hour has not yet come, he was essentially saying the hour of my death and resurrection where I will have my wedding feast with my people as the bridegroom and my bride has not yet come. My hour has not come. My hour for the glory as the bridegroom. Well, here we are. Here we are. Jesus is now saying very clearly his hour has come and that's a beautiful moment that is emphasized here at the beginning of John that this Passion Week and what Jesus is about to go, the hour of glory, the hour of the cross, the hour of mercy to the ends of the earth, the hour of salvation is here. But his disciples don't get any of this yet. They just don't understand this yet. It's not that it's been unclear. Jesus has been saying these things the whole time. I must die. I must go to the cross. I must rise the third day. But things are about to happen and things are going to happen that are going to be even more confusing for them. The shepherd's going to be struck and the sheep are going to scatter. They're going to be fearful when he says, I'm going away. What does that mean for us? This is all the questions and issues that are coming together now. And what Jesus does in John chapter 13 to begin the book of glory is help the disciples and help us to understand everything that we need to know. a help to them to understand what the gospel is all about, a help for them to get through the difficult times they are about to face, and a help for them to understand the mission that they're called to. All of that is embedded here in this foot-washing event of Jesus here in John chapter 13. So that's really why I want to open this and look at this with you briefly today, the illustration that Jesus provides for them that they wouldn't immediately understand, but that the Holy Spirit would take later and bring to their minds constantly to help them understand and remember what this is all about, why they're facing what they're facing, and what they need to do to help others. The confusion we'll look at that follows here. So the illustration, the confusion, and then this great clarification that Jesus gives at the end. Now, if you look at verse 1 today of John chapter 13, Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having, and this is a beautiful statement, loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. I think that's one of the most beautiful truths of election right there. He loved his own. He's not going to let them go. He loved them to the end. There was nothing that was about to happen. There was no failure that they could do in this life that could take his love for them away. That's a huge point for you. It's a huge point for all of us. And I think that's what's proven here in this first section here of this very truth that said that the love that he has, what he's illustrating, he's illustrating that very truth amid all their failures, all their sins, all the messiness, all the stupid things that they've done. This truth was in front of them. he loved them and he loved them to the end there was nothing that would stop that love there was nothing that would take that love and you have to live in light of that notice what he says loving his own who were in the world he had come for them the scene now is is really a moving scene i don't know how many times we've heard this preached and i never get tired of preaching it They're hearing it. It's Thursday evening. Sun is set, supper time. It's a wonderful time. They're with their Lord. They have arrived from the journey and they go into the upper room. This is an important place for the disciples. We know at these times exactly, we have nice shoes, but they wore sandals a lot. And their feet would be filthy from travels. We know this. And in these rooms, there would be in the corner a large bowl and a pitcher of water and a cloth. And that is how people who would come in, when they came into their homes, they would have to have their feet washed. Typically, you would have slaves appointed for this. You would have slaves appointed for this who would get up, and they'd be waiting for the guests to enter the room, and they would get down on their knees, and they would wash the feet of the filthy travelers. So here we are. That has not happened. They are reclining at one of these low tables. Typically, they would lean on their left arm, and you can picture the scene. Somebody should get up and go and wash and do what should have been done when they entered the room. Somebody should get up and wash the smelly, stinky feet of disciples. I don't know if there's anything that I don't want to do more, but it would be difficult for me to take off your shoe today and wash your feet. I really don't want to see what's under there, to be honest with you. Somebody should get up and do this. Somebody should. Now before we dive into the actions here of Jesus, we're prompted to look carefully at the scene. I often like to stick just with what the author's doing, But sometimes it's really helpful to know from the other Gospels exactly what is happening in these particular scenes as we put these scenes together. And this is one of those times I like to do that. What is happening with the disciples at this moment? Well, Luke tells us very clearly what's happening as they're preparing for the Passover. Jesus institutes the supper, and even in connection with the supper, this happened. Now, there was a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. and so putting that together they walk in the upper room they see all the seats they know and they're thinking to themselves well you know i've served jesus longer than this guy he really should be the one and so a dispute happens an argument happened this is i went through this with my own kids you notice how it's embedded in them right from the beginning to call shotgun every time they get in the car i nipped that in the butt a long time ago let me tell you jesus would have been at the head of the table somebody would have sat at the the end the lowest rung on the totem pole and and and they're probably all looking back to the end and saying you really should get up you really should get up and do this you know these were these were quite characters weren't they that jesus chose philip didn't even know him the next section do you not even know me philip yet? Peter's going to deny him three times. How many bumbling, foolish mistakes does Peter make in the Gospels? Thomas says, I won't even believe unless I see. Thomas has been an interesting character already from John chapter 11. He's just a pessimist, a negative guy his hour had come he has to suffer and die he is carrying this weight of the wrath of god being poured out upon him body and soul for your sins okay he's already he's already in excruciating agony in his soul it's what he's facing so john john 13 verse 2 is really remarkable that adds to the the tension and the drama here that the devil has entered the room here jesus knows all this of course the devil has entered the room and he has put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus is aware of all this. He knows this. You know, we think of demon possession as people with hair going straight up. Judas was demon-possessed. Think about this. One of Jesus' own is about to betray him under the direct demonic influence of the devil who's entered him. what a contrast john wants us to think about here the selfish followers of jesus and one so evil whom is a tool of the devil he's going to sell the lord of glory for 30 pieces of silver now what would you expect this is not the kind of people i would ever come to help and deliver they all want to exalt themselves they're all pushing for their own glory they're all not getting along and and john john is really capitalizing on this moment here john is really focusing in on this moment at the beginning of the book of glory that this would be something that would always be remembered and determined for the disciples something that they would see look at the love jesus had for us john wants us overwhelmed with that he was overwhelmed with this when he finally understood the scene. So that's verse 3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God rose up. Now picture that. They're all arguing you should get up. You need to go do this. Who gets up? He knew the path to the cross. He knew what he had to endure. I mean, they could have at least washed his feet for him, right? They could have at least done that for him. Somebody should have jumped up and said, I don't really care about washing yours, but I'll wash Jesus' feet, right? He stands up. His love for his disciples and his love for you is being put on display as something that is intended by the power of the Holy Spirit for you to hold on to. right here he loves failures like this how great was his love for them and what is the extent of that love i mean that's really the the question here what is the extent how much really does he love his own we we carelessly say to one another our spell i love you i love you a lot of times there's not a lot of backing behind that what does it look like this is the heart of roman of first Corinthians 13 of what love is isn't it and that's verse four in verse four we read he rose from supper he laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel tied it around his waist then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him remember he would have been at the head. He would have been in the seat of honor, the rightly deserved seat of honor. Jesus gets up and he walks all the way past all of them. And in a minute, in a second here, in front of their eyes, he visually, now think of this, he visually transforms himself into a slave. A slave. In other words, he does exactly what the slaves would do, none of them willing to do it. He now transforms himself into what a slave looked like. Well, that's Philippians 2. You see the illustration here, don't you? That in a moment, he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a slave. I'm sure Paul had this on his mind. Taking the form of a slave, coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself to the point of not just washing feet, death. Deep symbolic representation. Something symbolic just happened right in front of them, and it's the big story. It's the big story of everything we've ever studied. That Jesus, the eternal Son of God, John has been telling us the whole time, would come here in the incarnation and would take on our human flesh, our human nature is what I mean, just like us. He would leave the out or he would leave the seat. He would leave all the glory. Remember, he's going to pray in John 17, the glory that I had with you before the world was. He would leave that position. He would put on our outer garments, and he would walk all the way into this earth and all the way to hell for us. And he's visually showing them that. He's providing them a visual to understand it. I think this is so important that Jesus gave good illustration for the disciples to understand this that would be used by the Holy Spirit constantly. And so you see this in verse 5, that after he poured water into a basin, he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. I thought to myself, you know, this is really the other side of the story too, the complete story. that Jesus is about to head into the sanctuary, the heavenly sanctuary. He would come down and then go up. He would come down to the lower parts of the earth and then ascend on high. And as Hebrews says, he would with his blood purge our sins and then sit down at the right hand of the majesty on high. He is the one through whom we have access. He's the one who opens up heaven for us. And I think this is where something else would have come into view in their understanding as we've been looking at Exodus the whole time to be somewhat consistent here. With the power of an indestructible life, he would cleanse people. But remember in the earthly sanctuary what Israel was taught all these years in the tabernacle. There would be, as you walk into the tabernacle, remember there would be a massive altar there right before the tabernacle and you would have atonement for sins that were made. But what sat right in front of the entrance to the Holy of Holies. What was it? A bronze laver. Aaron and his sons had to wash before entering into the presence of God. So I thought to myself, look at the whole scene here. The Lord of glory through whom everything was made gets down on his knees and the imagery here you can hardly handle. He's down on his knees and he's washing the feet of smelly, filthy sinners. and i think john is telling us here everything that you've ever studied in the old testament all comes to fruition and all comes to fulfillment right here with jesus's work he is your labor he is the one that washes you to enter into heaven he is the one that washes the priests of god he is the one that washes the people of god and the whole scene is is is helping us to understand love. It's helping us to understand the love that endures to the end, that he would not only come here and die for us, he would wash us and cleanse us and present us as that offering that washed, cleansed people before the Lord. Now, how much have you sinned in the course of your life and how much have you done that you know we still struggle with believing that God really loves us and that God is really for us and that God, and then you go back to these same old stupid sins and you wonder, there's no way. There's no way. I'm filthy. I know I'm filthy. I think the gospel is saying to you, you know, it never was about your lovability to begin with. It never was about your lovability to begin with. Here comes the great moment of confusion. Peter sees this. And Jesus comes to him, which is interesting. Lord, you washing my feet? You washing my feet? That's for slaves. That's for slaves. You know what? That is not, that's for Gentile dogs to do. That is not fitting for the Messiah to do. And Jesus, of course, corrects it and says, listen, what I'm now doing, you don't understand now. You will understand later when the Holy Spirit comes. Remember what Jesus is about to say in the next chapter, When the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He's going to teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you. He is your Helper, but the one who is going to work, the Spirit's going to work in our hearts to solidify these truths of the Word so that we understand the work of Jesus and believe the work of Jesus for us. You're going to understand this. Peter doesn't accept this. Peter's not accepting this. Peter can't get beyond the social implications of this. Peter can't get beyond the idea that our great Messiah would get down and do this. Lord, you're not washing my feet. You're not doing that. Get off your knees. You can hear the rebuke in the corner. Get off. This is embarrassing. Do you know who you are? Stop this. Stop this. I'll do it. I should have got up. I should have done this. My bad. I'm going to do it. But what I don't need is a handout. You shall never wash my feet. Feel it. This is a rebuke. Not happening. If you're a hardworking person in this life and you've come to this place and you've listened to a nation that promises us an American dream and you've worked hard and you've achieved the American dream and you've had everything in life and you've done well in life and you've achieved all the utopian goals that you've ever wanted and you've made lots of money and you've been very successful and you have everything that your heart could ever imagine and dream of. What if tomorrow were taken away? You know what would be the most difficult thing for you? Is to come to the deacons and to say, I need help. I doubt we'd ever know. I doubt we'd ever know. That would be viewed as a handout. Give it to someone else. I'm going to pull myself back up. I can do it. Did it once before, I'll do it again. You understand that what's before us is exactly what grace is. Do you understand grace? We struggle with grace. We don't really, really accept grace, to be honest with you. We can't accept that we're sort of onlookers and we're just receivers and that we're supposed to sit and simply be recipients. We cannot accept that. We cannot accept that. We will not accept that. We are the ones who are the givers here. I mean, I look at a church today, we're all very well together people, right? Come on. It's too good to be true. Listen, you never get on your knees for me. I'm going to be out the one serving everyone else. Notice how that happens. I'm going to be out the one serving everyone else. I think we give lip service to the gospel. That's why I think John 13 has to always be preached. I think there was a reason Jesus said this one's really important, that it will always be brought to remembrance. I mean, look at how often we portray worship in this regard. Are you coming here to give God your best today? That's how we think. We should. Of course we should. God deserves our best. Is that why you came? Do you think you came here today to give God your best? Or did you come today because you don't have much to offer and you need something? See, it's a whole different mindset with regard to worship. It's a whole different mindset with regard to our approach to God. If we understand this properly, then we're going to understand the marvel of the sacrifice. We come here dirty, filthy, stinky. We've stunk up our whole paths last week. Did you know that? We said things, we did things, we looked at things. We go right down the line. We shouldn't have done. Do you think God needs us? We're beggars. We're beggars. Help, please. We turn our face and go the other way. Help. Just a few coins. This is hard. This is a hard passage to get through if we understand it properly. That's what Peter says here. Listen, never, never, I won't accept that. And this is the whole point of the passage is that God sends his son to the bottom of the barrel to pull us out. That we have to place our feet in the hands of a divine washer. This is why I fully believe in why we're baptizing little babies this morning. It's the same principle. You're no stronger, you're no wiser, you have no more abilities when you're older to save yourself than Micah Brower did. Here's where we begin to understand more of what Jesus is really doing. He says, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. That's a crucial statement. Part was the inheritance. Part, the way that Jesus is using it was the portion of the inheritance. Father, give to me, the prodigal son said, the portion, the part of the inheritance that falls to me. That's what Jesus is saying here. Using temple imagery, Jesus is saying, unless you come to the laver and are washed, you have no entrance, you have no part in the kingdom. You can't enter the kingdom. You have no access, no ability, no way to get in. Part of being identified with me is to be washed in me. You see? And Peter, without understanding, blurts out, well, then go ahead and wash everything. Jesus discloses very clearly for us what this washing really was. In verse 10, it becomes crucial to understand this. Jesus said in verse 10, he who is bathed needs only to do what? Wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you. Judas was there. Judas was not being washed. Judas was not being washed. Judas was not washed. He would betray the Lord of glory, which tells you that the outward sign of this has much deeper representation in the reality that it signifies. Jesus says, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet. What he's saying is something very important for us. On the basis of the cross, do you understand today, on the basis of the cross, on the basis of his work, you're completely washed when believing and receiving him? All of your sins are forgiven. This is how the New Testament writers looked at the cross and understood the cross. This is Colossians 1 and 2 where he says, listen, when he died, when he said it's finished, everything that was needed to wash you and to cleanse you by the word and the power of that word, receiving that word was done. It is done. You are completely washed in Christ. You're forever forgiven. There's no more sacrifice to be made. Only one sacrifice. We don't need multiple sacrifices. This is what he's talking about here. On the basis of that, people are clean. Remember Hebrews says, For by one offering he has perfected those forever who are being sanctified. Once we've believed, and once we've rested in Christ, and once we've been forgiven, and once we've been washed, you're never more righteous ever than you will be on that day. You understand that? You never become more righteous. You'll never gain more righteous standing before God when you believe you are completely washed and justified and the Lord has done everything necessary. But Christ says something here important. Accept his feet. Accept his feet. Where would Peter's feet soon lead him? Denial? Your feet lead you in all kinds of places you shouldn't go. Did you know that in life? Your feet make you walk into bad situations. Your feet take you to places you shouldn't even be. Your feet lead you into situations you shouldn't do. Your feet take you a lot of bad places. Some of you with your feet ran right into sin this last week. You stumble and you fall when you do that. And you keep on going back to the same old struggles and you keep on going back to the same old sins and you're often dull to it. And after it's done, incredible guilt comes over you, doesn't it? And you begin to doubt everything that was said and you begin to wonder if you're a child of God and you're on that roller coaster. And that's not profitable Christianity, by the way. That makes you an inactive, powerless Christian. Sin has contaminating effects on the relationship. Sin has contaminating effects and draining effects on your strength in this life. We don't realize that enough about sin And when we play with it, it actually drains us so we can't get up. What's Jesus saying? You're already forgiven. But your feet need constantly to be washed. You see, there's a daily washing we need. There's a weekly washing we need. Don't you think the apostles were really wise when they said that's why you need a washing of water with the word? you know how much I love you, says Jesus. You want to know? I'm going away. I'm going to a cross and I'm going to once and for all wash you and we'll be resurrected and I'm leaving. I'm going to go prepare a place for you. But I want you to know I'm not leaving you alone. I want you to know I'm not leaving you alone. I'm showing you what the continual ministry is going to be for you. I want you to understand the continual ministry. I'm going to remain a high priest for you forever. you can come to me as the laver all the time. You don't need a priest. You don't have to go to a priest to do that. I am your priest. And every time you sin, I'll wash you. Don't you think that was at the basis of John saying, listen, you shouldn't sin, but if you do, and I know you're going to sin, confess your sins, and he's what? Faithful and just to forgive you your sins, and then do what? Cleanse you. from all unrighteousness. Again, I emphasize, what do you need coming here today? That's why church is so important. You have to put your feet out. In other words, Jesus is coming and stooping and washing you today. Because life's hard right now. Life's difficult right now. And the choices we often make are foolish, and you need this. He says in a moment of clarification here, do you understand what I've done to you? Do you get it? Do you understand this yet? Do you understand grace yet? Do you understand my love for you yet? Do you understand the depths of what I went through here to help you? Do you get that yet? Here's the clarification. Do you know what I've done? If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you've got to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example. Jesus is most certainly a great exemplar in this regard. That you should do as I've done. Most assuredly, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. You ought to do the same. Well, we love those who are easiest to love, don't we? We really do. I love the ones who are easiest to love. There's a lot of people here who are struggling. There's a lot of people here who are drifting. There's a lot of people here whose feet are filthy. And we don't need to do and put out big basins for show in the wrong way, as I've seen it done. The actual act of washing feet is to go and love your neighbor this kind of sacrificial way. That's the response to this. I've got to practice what I preach. There's a neighbor two doors down. Living in a neighborhood now has been good for me. Their dog keeps peeing on the lawn in front of my house and killing it. We've had a conflict. The most difficult people in life are sometimes put right in front of us. And what do we do with that? Everything contrary to this. Everything contrary to this. Sacrificial love gets up. It understands and receives grace every Sabbath from the Lord. Washing, cleansing. And to show that we understand this and believe this, then we begin to look like Jesus. We begin to act like Jesus. We begin to live like Jesus. We begin to show the world what sacrificial love truly looks like. Does the world have any of this? They bite, they devour, they hate, and they dump mud on everyone. But this is love. I think Jesus is saying to us here, the truly blessed people in this life are those who understand my word. And blessed are you if you follow the same path. That's a blessing in your life. It's the little things. Nobody would ever stay today. That was a great thing to wash somebody's foot. I remember in Linden, there was this older saint, one of the most godly saints I've had the privilege of serving in the ministry. And you saw the gospel radiate from this woman. I almost thought she was an angel at times. And I remember after she had died, one of the old widows in the church who was a challenging widow at times. I found out that this woman would go every week and actually wash the feet, trim the nails, and care for this woman who was alone. Nobody had any idea. Nobody knew. I didn't know the works of this woman. I saw it in the way she received Christ every week. I knew she was a believer. But that's what was going on. To this day, she stands out to me as exactly what this passage in this life illustrates of somebody who has received the washing themselves. It's beautiful, isn't it? Isn't this exactly what the world needs right now? Isn't this exactly what we're learning and what Jesus came to do? Having loved his own who were in the world, what did he do? He loved them to the end. People who were the most unattractive, difficult. Think of your marriages right now. What if you have the most difficult spouse? What if your spouse is really hard to love? What if somebody in your life's provoking you? You know what you should see? That is me and the way I've always treated the Lord. and he loved me, and he washed me, and I will do the same. That's the effect of this passage today. That's the help of this passage. I hope as we've looked at this today in the washing, and then to see the baptism with Micah, a little infant carried whom the Lord washed from the beginning to say he's already washed and cleansed by the power of the Holy Spirit. When he believes these promises, that becomes the reality he enjoys. that's why we call him the profession of faith and believe these promises. But it's all a sign and a seal of his work. Let it set in today, and then you'll know this truth. God loves you. That's not cheap grace. That's not cheap love. It's this kind of love that did that. And he calls us to the same. Thank the Lord for a love that loved us to the end, and he's going to prove that soon. He's coming. He's coming again. Praise the Lord for his steadfast love as we consider it from Thanksgiving. His steadfast love that endures forever. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your steadfast love. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for proving this and teaching us everything that was done in the incarnation and the cross to wash us and to cleanse us. may lord we then since it matters to you and is said here follow the example for that's why you left us here to be your witnesses to the ends of the earth we all fail in this we all struggle with this let us first receive from you the grace and washing we need we need this day and every sunday this place should be full of people putting out their feet to be washed. And then, O Lord, we will know and respond in the way we should in loving one another. Great is thy faithfulness. Great are your promises. Great is your steadfast love that never fails. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.