You Need The Heavenly Servant’s Love

I'll be reading from John chapter 13 verses 1 through 17.

John 13:1–17

This is our sermon text for today.

And as I read this and as you follow along,

remember that this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word.

After I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of the Lord.

You can respond, thanks be to God.

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,

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.

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 only my feet,

but also my hands and 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 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 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.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

And you may be seated.

Would you pray with me?

Lord, please open the eyes of our mind

open the eyes of our hearts

to behold Jesus.

Help us to see

our Lord Jesus Christ

in the upper room

serving

those you gave him.

And help us to see

Christ exalted,

having cleansed

all those you sent him

into the world

so that he would show

that you are love.

press home

this gospel truth

on our lives

and change us

as a result we ask

for Christ's sake.

Amen.

Beloved congregation

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

you need

the heavenly

servant's love.

love.

When you get home

later on,

you try to remember

what was the point

of the sermon today?

It's that you and I,

we need

the heavenly

servant's

love.

Let me read this

statement

and

decide if

you agree

or disagree

so your options

are true,

false,

or need more information.

You got those three options.

If I made you all stand up

and vote with your feet,

where would you go?

Here's the statement.

Ready?

I'm going to tell you

who it's from

in just a moment.

Quote,

Christianity has not been

tried

and found wanting.

Christianity has been

found difficult

and left

untried.

True,

false,

or need more information.

Do you want me to read it

one more time?

Christianity

has not been tried

and found wanting.

Christianity has been

found difficult

and left

untried.

This quote is by

G.K. Chesterton.

He was

English parliamentarian

at the time of

World War I.

There's a lot of

interesting facts

about this man.

He was also

a fiction writer.

He was also

Roman Catholic.

And I think that

he's writing this

in a way that

I would say

is mostly true.

It's mostly true

as an apologist

for,

you know,

arguing with

the atheists

of his day

that what we receive,

we receive by faith.

And you can say

from a rational,

humanistic,

secular standpoint,

it's difficult.

But

the Lord Jesus

reveals himself

and when you

behold him,

it's not difficult.

It's the most

natural response

is to obey

and believe him

and follow him.

Now,

the reality though

is when you believe

in Jesus Christ

and he says,

look to me,

look to this example,

you'll be blessed

if you do

as I have done.

That's how our

sermon text ended.

We look at

any story

of our Lord Jesus

in the Bible

and then I look

at my life

and it's not only

difficult,

it's impossible

by my own strength.

We just read this

in our catechism.

It is impossible

for me to present

anything to God

as a good work

that's not blemished

by my own

remaining sin.

I look to Jesus

and I see

my conscience

convicts me

and those

who are not

yet saved,

their conscience

convicts them

by looking at Jesus.

We are earthly,

we are proud,

we are selfish.

You know,

the term Christian

means little Christ,

a smaller or lesser

version of Christ.

And I cannot

imitate Christ

by my own strength,

can you?

Christianity

in that sense

is the most difficult.

It's impossible

to imitate Christ

by your own strength.

Adam could not

stand righteous

before God.

And we all

inherited that

sinful bent,

that inclination

of the will,

that bondage

of the will

to sin from Adam.

So it's even harder

for us than it was

for Adam.

I can't even love

my wife

or my kids

like Christ

would have me

love them

without the love

of Christ

loving them

through me.

Is that true

for you as well?

We need

the love

of heaven's

servant

inside of us,

don't we?

That's what

this scene

is about,

these first 17

verses.

And I want

to try to

develop this

theme that we

need the heavenly

servant's love

with five observations.

The first one

is this.

From just

verse 1,

the heavenly

servant came

into the world

because God

is love.

The heavenly

servant came

into the world

because God

is love.

Look at verse 1.

Before the feast

of the Passover,

when Jesus knew

that his hour

had come to

depart out

of the world,

to be,

depart out

of this world,

to return

to the Father,

notice what it

says next

in verse 1.

Having loved

his own

who were in

the world,

he loved them

to the end.

Sinclair Ferguson

said this first

verse is like a

prologue to this

whole second book.

The second book

is about the hour

of Christ.

It's about the

passion,

the death of

Christ.

And what you

need to remember

is that this

entire hour,

everything that

will take place,

Christ did.

Why?

For love.

His motive is

to reveal the

love that God

is to the world.

In Luke 22,

we get further

insights.

Luke 22 says

that they then

came the day

of unleavened bread.

That's how John

says before the

feast of the

Passover,

on which the

Passover lamb

had to be

sacrificed.

That's how Luke

told it.

And Luke tells

us it was Peter

and John.

So the author

of our gospel

here, Peter

and John,

they found a

man carrying a

jar of water

just as Christ

had instructed.

They followed

him there and

they prepared

the last supper.

That's what Luke

tells us.

Now John and

Peter, we get

wonderful insights

from these two

who prepared

this very feast,

prepared the

upper room in

which this all

takes place.

The Passover,

as we've seen,

is the day of

independence for

all of Israel.

It's July 4th.

It's a day of

patriotism.

It's a day of

revolution.

and taking

political control.

The blood of

Passover lambs

has already begun

flowing.

We have no

reason to

imagine anyone

else in this

upper room.

It seems like

Christ has

intentionally

prepared a

private place

where he's

going to give

us some very

insightful and

intimate details

into the

Father, Son,

and Spirit

in this upper

room.

So we can

picture a

quiet upper

room.

There's the

Passover table

set prepared

by John

and Peter.

There's a

jar of water

and there's

a towel.

There's the

Lord Jesus

Christ and

there's the

twelve

disciples.

The other

gospels,

Matthew,

Mark,

and Luke,

they describe

this final

hour of

Christ,

this final

passion from

the outside,

but it's the

fourth gospel

which was

written much

later by the

apostle John

that describes

this last

hour more

from the

inside.

And that's

what we get

from this

wonderful

account.

And John

wants you to

know that

the mind of

Christ was set.

He knew he

was going to

be departing

out of this

world and

returning to

the Father.

And having

loved the

ones God

gave him,

he loved

them to

the very

end.

That's the

impression John

has of this

whole account.

love.

It's God

himself who

shows this

love.

We started

this wonderful

gospel in

John 1.14

that the

word,

the word

became flesh

and dwelt

among us.

We have

seen his

glory,

glory as

of the

only son

from the

father,

full of

grace and

truth.

And he

knows he

will be

returning to

the father

very soon.

His hour

to depart

has arrived.

And that

phrase,

to depart

out of

this world,

is a

Jewish way

of saying

they're

going to

die.

Listen to

how Paul

used this

same phrase

in Philippians

1.

Paul said,

remember he

said,

I'm caught

between two

things.

Paul said,

my desire

is to

depart

and be

with Christ.

There's

that phrase.

For that

is far

better.

In Hebrews

12,

it tells

us that

it was

for the

joy set

before him.

The joy.

That's why

Christ would

endure the

cross and

its shame.

So that's

the hour

and that's

the love

that's now

overflowing

from Christ

unto these

disciples.

The Son

of God,

God himself

in the flesh,

would be

returning to

the Father.

He would be

returning

victorious.

John 1.1,

in the beginning

was the Word

and the Word

was with God

and the Word

was God.

See,

it's God

himself who

is love

and who

would love

to the end.

John 10.30,

we saw,

I and

the Father

are one,

Jesus says.

And we'll

see in

chapter 17,

verse 1,

Jesus

prays,

You,

Father,

are in

me and

I in

you,

that they

also may

be in

us.

To show

the love

of God,

Jesus took

on flesh.

To show

the love

of God,

Jesus would

love them

to the end.

And to show

the love

of God,

he would

unite his

own with

him.

As he

prepares to

return to

the Father,

he is

returning as

one who

has showed

God's

perfect love

fully,

completely,

to the very

end.

I want to

drive that

home,

it's because

God is

love.

The Nicene

Creed says

that the

Son of

God,

begotten of

the Father,

only begotten,

that is,

of the substance

of the Father,

God of God,

light of light,

true God of

true God,

begotten,

not made,

of one

substance

with the

Father.

He had

come into

the world

to show

God his

love.

Now his

hour had

come to

depart out

of the

world.

Having loved

his own

who were

in the

world,

he loved

them to

the end.

You see

how John

keeps saying

God is

love.

He

loves,

he came

to show

the love,

he loved

to the

end.

39

times John

talks about

the love

of God

in Christ,

more than

any other

book in

the New

Testament.

So church,

it's because

God loved

the world,

it's because

God loved

you,

that he

sent his

only begotten

son,

that whosoever

believes in

him will

not perish,

but will

have everlasting

life in

him.

It's because

God is

love.

John 3

16 says,

without the

love of

heaven's

servant,

you perish.

Without his

love,

you perish.

perish.

It's so

that you

will not

perish,

but you

will have

everlasting

life that

Christ took

on the

flesh and

did his

work.

You need

his love

to not

perish.

God took

on the

flesh.

He

accomplished

his mission

because you

and I

need the

love of

heaven's

servant.

Second

observation,

this heavenly

servant,

God himself,

is the

seed of

Eve.

It is

the

son and

the

triune

God.

The heavenly

servant is

the seed of

Eve and

the son of

God himself.

Look at

verse 2,

3,

and 4.

Why do I

say that

this servant

from heaven,

it's also

important that

this is the

seed of

Eve?

Look at

the battle

that's going

on in

verse 2.

During

supper,

when the

devil,

when Satan

had already

put it into

the heart

of Judas,

Iscariot,

Simon's son,

to betray

Jesus.

This great

battle has

been raging

on since

the garden.

The devil

put it in

Eve's heart

and in

Adam's heart

to break

the covenant

with God.

the devil

put it in

their son,

Cain,

in his

heart to

slay his

brother and

murder.

Satan had

put it in

Pharaoh's

heart to

kill all

those who

might be a

threat to

Satan,

the seed,

the promised

seed in the

covenant of

grace.

Satan put

it in

Haman's

heart to

wipe out

all the

Jews in

the story

with Esther.

You

remember

that?

Satan

had put

it in

Herod's

heart to

kill all

the baby

boys because

the seed

is coming

that will

crush his

head.

Satan had

put it in

Peter's

heart to

detour

Christ from

the cross.

Jesus saw

Satan lurking

behind even

Peter and

said,

get behind

me,

Satan.

There's a

great battle

that's been

going on

between the

serpent,

Satan,

the devil,

and Jesus

Christ,

the seed of

the woman

who would

crush the

devil's

head.

We saw

last week

how Jesus

said,

by my

work I

will cast

down

Satan.

Satan

is not

bound for

eternity in

the chains

of hell

yet.

He still

tries to

cause

destruction.

Now God

is victorious.

Have you

ever wondered,

I'm not even

going to ask you

if you've had

a dark

thought.

Every sinner

has,

which we all

are.

Have you

ever wondered

though,

how could

such a

dark

thought

come into

you?

Satan wants

to do

that.

He wants

to

pollute

our

thinking.

He wants

to corrupt

our minds.

And he

wants to

accuse us

against one

another and

against God.

The devil

put it in

Judas'

heart to

betray

Jesus.

I was

encouraged

just to

hear,

I'll say

he's one

of my

favorite

Jedis,

and it's

a Scottish

Reformed

Baptist

pastor.

It's

Alistair

Begg.

He said,

if you

knew,

congregation,

if you

knew,

the darkest

thoughts,

something like

this,

if the darkest

thoughts that

have passed

through my

mind,

you would

not want

to be

in this

church.

And then

he said,

if I knew

the darkest

thoughts that

have come

into your

hearts,

I would

not want

to be

in your

church.

That's

what God

does.

He takes

these

disciples

like Peter,

like everyone

in the Bible

that we've

seen,

and there's

that battle

and Christ

says,

no,

Satan,

you don't

get this

one.

This one

is mine.

You get

out of

here.

You get

behind

with Judas,

not as

Peter being

the perfect

sinless

man,

no,

the opposite.

Both

men standing

in need

of grace.

So pay

attention to

that contrast

which has

begun right

now.

Church,

I want to

encourage you

as well.

When Satan

does put it

in your

heart to

despair and

tells you

of the guilt

within,

what does

the hymn

say?

Upward I

look and

see him

there who

made an

end to

all my

sin because

these

sinless

Savior

died.

My

sinful

soul

is

counted

free.

For

God

the

just

is

satisfied

to

look

on

him

and

pardon

me.

Look

to

Christ.

Satan

has no

power

over you.

Not

only was

Jesus

Christ

the

seed

of

Eve,

he was

also

the

son

of

God,

God

himself.

Look

at

verse

3.

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.

This

is

Trinitarian

language.

The

Holy Spirit

inspired

John

and

showed

him

and

gave

him

the

words

to

write

it

exactly

this

way.

The

Father

had

given

all

things

into

the

hands

of

the

Son.

God

the

Father

into

the

hands

of

God

the

Son

on

earth,

who

had

come

from

God

and

was

going

back

to

God.

His

union

with

God

is

never

broken,

but

God

the

Son

took

on

a

mission

on

the

earth.

It's

God

himself.

It's

God

himself

who

entered

this

last

hour.

The

three

times

holy

God,

holy,

holy,

holy,

holy,

Father,

Son,

and

Spirit.

This

is

important.

He

lost

nothing

taking

on

the

flesh

to

walk

this

earth.

God

lost

nothing.

Adonis

Vidu,

a Presbyterian

professor at

Gordon

Conwell,

he put

it this

way,

all

three

persons

of the

Holy

Trinity

are

at

work

in

every

action

outside

the

Trinity's

life.

That's

why John

said God

dwelt

with us,

God

tabernacled.

God

himself

in the

flesh

was

really

shooting

us from

the glory

of the

triune

God,

Father,

Son,

and Spirit.

He

gave us

Christ

so we

could

look at

the

face

of

Christ

and

see

the

full

God

head.

I

think

this

is

important

that

God

put

on

a

human

nature

to

shield

us

from

God's

glory.

He

took

on

flesh

not

subtracting

anything

from

his

essence

or

who

God

is,

but

he

added

onto

it

this

human

nature.

Illustration

from

this

same

professor

Vidu

is

that

like a

great

magnet,

if you

picture a

great

magnet

and it

has that

power to

attract a

little

paperclip,

the

paperclip

is like

the

flesh.

Nothing

is lost

of God

by taking

on the

flesh,

just like

nothing

is lost

of a

great

magnet

that

draws a

little

paperclip

onto it.

That's

what it

is,

that

Jesus

Christ

in

verse

3,

he

had

everything

from

the

Father.

God

has

not

lost

anything

and

he

would

be

returning

to

God

the

Father,

going

back

having

accomplished

his

mission.

The

Father

has

given

all

things

into

his

hands.

He

is

Lord

of

all.

He

is

God

the

creator

supreme

over

all.

And

when you

hear

this

description

of

Jesus

Christ

picturing

him

in

this

upper

power,

that's

his

majesty,

his

sovereign.

What

do you

picture

he

would

do

next?

It's

Independence

Day.

What

would he

do

next

for

Israel,

for

his

beloved

people?

Look

what he

does

in

actuality

and

history.

Look

at

verse

4.

He

rose

from

that

meal.

He

laid

aside

his

outer

garments

in

verse

4.

Took

off

his

outer

garments,

laid

them

aside,

set

them

down,

and

taking

a

tower,

he

tied

it

around

his

waist.

Now,

Luke

22

gives

us

a

context

of

what

was

going

on

with

the

disciples.

Luke

tells,

based

on his

interviews,

that there

was a

dispute

that

had

arose

between

the

disciples.

This

is

Luke

Luke 22:24

22

verse

24.

What

were

they

disputing

about?

They're

talking

about

who

is

the

greatest

among

them.

Jesus

said,

the kings

of this

world,

they

lord it

over.

over those

that they're

leading.

Jesus

says,

I am

among you

as one

who serves.

The king

of heaven

took off

his outer

garments.

He took

a servant's

rag,

and he took

that rag and

wrapped it

around himself,

on his

person.

I am

among you

as one

who serves.

He laid

aside his

outer

garments

so that

he would

wash

the dirt

off of

the lowest

part

of his

disciples.

He's

fulfilling

what Isaiah

prophesied.

Isaiah 42,

behold my

servant,

says God,

whom I

uphold,

my chosen,

and whom

my soul

delights.

I have

put my

spirit upon

him.

He will

bring forth

justice to

the nations.

He will

faithfully

bring forth

justice.

How will

he do

this?

By obeying

as a

servant

on the

cross,

showing God's

love to the

very end,

by loving

his own,

and serving

them with

the love

of God

himself.

See,

Jesus Christ,

in his

work and

taking on

the flesh

and dying

on the

cross,

he had

laid aside

his royal

robe as

the prince

of heaven.

He did

that for

love and

he stepped

down from

his throne

in heaven

and he

became a

lowly

shepherd to

disciple those

who would

hear his

voice and

he did

that because

God is

love.

This

phrase here

that he

laid aside

his outer

garments,

it's the

same thing

he said

back in

John 10

John 10:10

verse 10.

A good

shepherd lays

down,

lays aside

his own

life.

What did

Jesus say

in John 10?

The good

shepherd lays

down his

life so

that he

may take

it up

again.

See,

Jesus lays

aside his

outer

garments,

washes

them as

a servant,

and he

takes up

his outer

garments again

and resumes

his spot

as Lord

over the

feast.

And then

Jesus says,

do you

understand

what I

have done?

They

said,

no.

He says,

you will

understand.

Church,

do you

understand

what Jesus

has done

by washing

their feet?

Third

observation,

the love

of heaven's

servant is

experienced

before it's

understood.

If you're

not understanding

the gospel

in this

picture,

maybe God

wants you

to experience

it by

faith.

And the

understanding

will grow.

It'll grow

from there.

The love

of heaven's

servant is

experienced

before it's

understood.

Now,

remember,

what he's

about to

do here

is wash

their dirty

feet.

Parents,

have you

ever had to

wash your

kids' feet

after they've

gone and

played outside?

Well,

our children

are cute

and they

don't smell

too bad.

But these

are stinking

men.

These are

fishermen

and they're

walking around

the streets

of Jerusalem.

There's no

pavement.

It's going

to get a

little bit

gross.

There's no

sewage.

There's a

lot of

animals

everywhere.

There's no

codes.

And they're

walking around

not with

rubber boots

up to their

knees.

They're walking

around in

sandals.

It would be

disgusting to

have to touch

those men's

feet.

In verse 5,

Jesus poured

water into a

basin and he

began to do

just that.

He washed

the disciples'

feet and

he wiped

them with

the towel

that was

around him.

In verse 6,

he came to

Simon Peter

who said to

him,

Lord,

do you

wash my

feet?

And Jesus

answered him,

what I am

doing,

you do not

understand now,

but afterward

you will

understand.

Do you

think Peter

would understand?

They did

not understand

that they

needed to be

cleansed by

heaven's

servant.

them.

They would

understand later

that this

act of,

as they're

reclining at

the table and

their feet are

all outward,

they're all

leaning on

their left