A Puzzled Disciple

Hi, my name's Lynn and I've been a member at Brunsfield for two years now.

I'm going to read Psalm 51, verses 1 to 10.

Psalms 51:1–10

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love,

according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned.

And done what is evil in your sight.

So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth.

Sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb.

You taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean.

Wash me and I will be white within snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness.

Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God.

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Hi, my name is Derek and I'm Lynn's husband and I'm reading from the New Testament today.

In John chapter 13, verses 1 through 20.

John 13:1–20

It was just before the Passover festival.

Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon of Scariot, to betray Jesus.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God.

So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing and wrapped the towel around his waist.

After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, dragging him the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter and he said to him,

Lord, are you going to wash my feet?

Jesus replied, you do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.

No, said Peter, you shall never wash my feet.

Jesus answered, unless I wash you, you have no part with me.

Then, Lord, said Peter, replied, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well.

Jesus answered, those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet.

Their whole body is clean, and you are clean, though not every one of you.

For he knew he was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one of them was clean.

When he had finished washing your feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

Do you understand what I have done for you? he asked them.

You call me teacher and lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.

Now that I, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,

nor is this messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Now that you know these things, you'll be blessed if you do them.

I am not fairing to all of you.

I know those that I have chosen, but this is to fulfil this passage of scripture.

He who shared my bread has turned against me.

I am telling you now, before it happens,

so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.

Very truly I tell you,

whoever accepts anyone I send, accepts me.

And whoever accepts me, accepts the one who sent me.

Amen.

Now let's pray for Ian before the sermon begins.

And Lord, we thank you for the gift of your word,

and as we think on these things, open our hearts and our minds to hear you.

We pray for Ian, and we give thanks for the gifts that you've given him.

Pray for him, as he guides us through his messages,

and opening our hearts to this.

Amen.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm Ian, and I'm delighted to repeat the welcome that Luca gave you earlier.

We're continuing today our series of encounters with Jesus from John's Gospel,

and we're looking at the passage that Derek just read to us under the title,

A Puzzled Disciple, that disciple, of course, being Peter.

When I was growing up at Brunsfield, one of my friends, John, was a talented artist.

And one day John's father came to him and said,

I've got a special job I want you to do.

I want you to make a sign that says,

Divine Service performed here three times daily.

John was a bit puzzled about what his father meant,

but he duitly went away,

and in his best script, and with his best design,

he produced a sign and brought it back.

Divine Service performed here three times daily.

And his father said to him,

Right, that's great, well done.

I want you to go and hang that over the sink in the kitchen,

because that's where you have the opportunity in this house

to perform divine service three times daily.

Well, it was a good lesson,

and it was one that came to my mind

as I was reading this passage for this morning.

Not just because it features a basin and a towel.

Foot washing and dishwashing need both of these.

But the lesson is really the same

as the Lord is trying to get out to us today.

We serve God by serving others,

and we often need to do that

in ways that might seem to dent our pride,

might even sometimes seem mundane,

or even demeaning.

And so we're going to look today

at serving others,

and also at being served by others.

But there's a second significance

of this bowl and towel.

In Matthew chapter 23,

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

the Lord Jesus has a diatribe

against the religious leaders of his day.

Seven woes exposing their hypocrisy.

And the Lord Jesus says,

as one of them,

Matthew 23, verse 25,

Matthew 23:25

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites!

You clean the outside of the cup and dish,

but inside they are full of greed

and self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee,

first clean the inside of the cup and dish,

and then the outside also will be clean.

Clean on the outside,

but dirty on the inside.

And that too is a lesson

that Jesus is trying to present to us

in this passage.

He has a discussion with Peter

about bathing and about washing feet.

But actually it emerges

that really it's about being clean

or being dirty inside.

So we'll be looking at clean feet

and clean hearts.

But first let's have a look

at the backgrounds to this passage.

We're on the eve of Calvary.

Within 24 hours,

the Lord Jesus will have died on the cross

for our sins.

And throughout this passage in John's Gospel,

there are references to that.

For example, in verse 1 of chapter 13,

it talks about the Lord Jesus

loving his disciples to the end.

The word could be translated

to the finish.

And that parallels the Lord Jesus'

final cry from the cross.

It is finished.

John talks about him

laying aside his garment

and taking it up again.

And the Lord Jesus uses the same words

earlier in the Gospel

about laying down his life

and taking it up again.

And there are several similar references

as we go through.

Very much in the Lord's mind

and in John's mind as he writes,

is the fact that the cross

is very close.

But the disciples don't know that.

They haven't realised

that the Lord is going to die

within a very short time.

As far as they're concerned,

they have come with him

to an upper room

to celebrate the Passover together.

And of course, as part of that,

the Lord instituted what we call

the Lord's Supper or Communion.

Now I say the disciples

didn't realise what was happening,

but I think there was a real tension

in the room.

The disciples knew

that there was danger about it,

that the Lord was in danger

from the religious leaders

because he had exposed their hypocrisy

and because he had stood up to them.

And so they were very tense.

And one of the things that happened

during the time in the upper room

was that the disciples had an argument

about which of them was the greatest.

That was one of the things

on their minds.

And I think that's relevant

as we look at this incident here.

Because the Lord Jesus

was trying to teach them a lesson

about greatness

and about serving others.

If you went to a house for a meal,

the custom was that the host

would arrange for someone

to wash your feet.

Your feet got quite dusty

walking around Israel

and the host would arrange

for your feet to be washed.

And that was something

that was done

by the lowest servant in the house.

The more senior servants

would think it was below them.

And certainly anyone

who wasn't a servant

wouldn't think this was something

they should be doing.

And so the Lord Jesus

come to this room

and there are no servants.

There are only the 12 disciples

plus Jesus.

And perhaps the disciples

were thinking,

well, who's going to wash

Jesus' feet?

And maybe all of them

were thinking,

well, it's not going to be me

because if I wash Jesus' feet,

I'll have to wash the feet

of the other disciples as well.

And I'm not going to wash the feet

of Matthew or of Thomas

or of Philip

because I think I'm greater than them.

They should be doing it,

not me.

And so you can imagine

their horror

when the Lord Jesus himself

takes off his garment,

takes the bowl of water

and the towel

and goes round

and washes

the disciples' feet.

That looks like

the first few of them

accepted it

but when he got to Peter,

Peter objected

very strongly.

And we'll look in a few minutes

at that discussion

between the Lord Jesus

and Peter.

But we're going to skip over it

for the moment

and we're going to think

about the key lesson

that the Lord takes

from his washing

the disciples' feet.

The lesson about serving

and being served.

So the disciples

hadn't been willing

to do something

that the Lord

was willing to do

for them.

The one who was the master

became the servant.

And Jesus says,

I'm leaving you an example

that you should wash

one another's feet.

Now I think

as we look at this passage

we shouldn't take it

that we literally need

to wash one another's feet.

That's not something

in our culture

is normally done.

We may do it

to demonstrate

our humility.

I have nothing against that.

People want to do it.

But it's not something

we do particularly

to serve others.

Perhaps my

dishwashing example

is a little bit better

from that point of view

as something

that we might do

to serve others

although I don't think

it gets quite to the heart

of just how demeaning

washing someone's feet

would have been seen

to be.

But the Lord

is giving us an example

and he's saying

you should follow

my example

and you should be willing

to serve others.

If I was willing

to serve you

then you need

to serve others.

And often

you will serve them

in unspectacular ways.

I think all of us

probably would like

to be seen

to be serving

in public ways

and to get

recognition

for it.

But the Lord

says we also

should be serving

perhaps even more

importantly

should be serving

when it's not seen

when it's difficult

for us

perhaps even

when it dents

our pride a bit

because we have

a love for the Lord

Jesus

and that's reflected

in our love

for others.

Jesus said

in Luke's Gospel

the Son of Man

did not come

to serve

but to be served

and to give

his life

as a ransom

for many.

Did not come

to serve

but to be served.

And he juxtaposed

that directly

with his giving

of his life.

Not that it is

on the same scale

in terms of

the sacrifice

he made

but serving

and being served

is really important

to the Lord Jesus.

In 1 John

1 John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

John writes this

This is how we know

what love is.

Jesus Christ

laid down his life

for us

and we ought

to lay down

our lives

for our brothers

and sisters.

If anyone

has material possessions

and sees a brother

or sister in need

but has no pity

on them

how can the love

of God

be in that

person?

Do you get

the two verses

that are connected

so closely

again here?

The one verse

talking about

the heroic

we lay down

our lives

for our brothers

and sisters.

The other verse

talking about

the mundane

the everyday

seeing someone

who is in need

and meeting

that need.

and it's really

important

if we're believers

in the Lord Jesus

that we are willing

to serve others

and we're willing

to serve them

in ways that we

might not find

very attractive

and that might

also not be

very publicly

recognised.

One other thing

before we move on

I talked about

serving

and being served

and that comes out

earlier in the passage

in the Lord's

conversation

with Peter.

Peter was offended

that the Lord

should think

he would wash

Peter's feet

and yet Jesus

says

unless I wash

your feet

you have no

part

in me.

Perhaps I could

talk to a

particular group

this morning

of those

whose natural

inclination

in the church

perhaps in the

home as well

is to serve

who don't need

the exhortation

to serve others

because they

do it

and they do

it with real

love

and real

care.

And yet for

you, for any

of us

in that position

it is very

important that

we are also

willing to be

served.

To be served

by Jesus

and to be served

by others

representing

him.

Remember the

story in Luke

Luke 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

Jesus goes to

the house of

Martha and Mary

Mary and

Martha is

really busy

preparing the

meal.

Mary is

sitting at

Jesus'

feet and

Martha gets

more and

more upset

at what's

happening.

Eventually she

says to

Jesus, why

don't you do

something about

this?

Tell her to

help me.

And Jesus

says, Martha

you're worried

about many

things but

one thing is

important and

that is what

Mary is doing.

She is sitting

at my feet

learning from

me.

However busy

we are,

however much

we may serve

the Lord and

we may serve

others, it's

really important

that we spend

time with

Jesus, letting

him minister

to us and

also that we

let others

perform their

service and

to serve us

at times as

well.

Serving and

being served.

Second thing

I want to

think about is

clean feet and

clean hearts.

And that is

the discussion

that the Lord

Jesus has

earlier on

with Peter.

This discussion

that seems to

be about

washing feet

and having a

bath but

actually very

clearly is

about being

clean or

dirty inside.

Now the

relevance of

the passage

from Psalm

51 that

Lynn read

for us

earlier.

Where David

has committed

a sin and

he feels

really dirty.

He feels

that he is

soiled inside

and that he

needs to be

cleaned.

Look at the

language.

Wash away

all my

iniquity and

cleanse me

from my

sin.

Cleanse me

with hyssop

and I will

be clean.

Wash me

and I will

be whiter

than snow.

Now David

had just

committed

adultery.

Bathsheba

had become

pregnant and

to hide the

fact that

David was

the father

he had

arranged to

have her

husband killed

in battle.

So he was

quite justified

in feeling

really dirty

inside.

And there

are some

sins I

think that

make us

feel dirty

inside as

well.

Sexual sin

whether with

our body,

our eyes or

our mind

may well make

us feel

dirty.

Addictions

could make

us feel

dirty including

addictive

habits,

perhaps perpetual

dishonesty

telling little

lies repeatedly.

These kind of

things we

recognise are

wrong and

they make

us feel

dirty

inside.

But really

all sin

makes us

dirty.

Did you

notice when

we had the

passage from

Matthew 23

about Jesus

talking about

the Pharisees

and the

dirt that

was in

them?

What was

it that

made them

dirty?

It was

greed and

self-indulgence.

Ouch.

And then

Paul in

his letters.

In several

of his

letters he

has a list

of things

that

characterise

those who

are living

by the

flesh.

A list

of sins.

And

among them

there are

many of

the kind

that we

might expect

to see

there.

There are

the sexual

sins that

society

looks at

perhaps not

so much

these days

but looks

at

askance

and recognises

that they

are wrong.

But then

there are

things like

greed

and envy

and loose

talk.

Ouch.

Because these

are things

also that all

of us might

be aware of

in our lives

but don't

take too

seriously.

Paul says

these make

us dirty

as well.

All sin

makes us

dirty before

God and

makes us

subject to

God's

punishment.

That's the

bad news.

The good

news is

that all

of our

sins can

be forgiven

through the

death of

the Lord

Jesus.

There is

none of

us that

is too

bad to

be forgiven.

There is

no sin

that God

is not

willing to

forgive

because of

Jesus'

sacrifice

on the

cross

if we

confess it

to him.

1 John

1 John 1:7

chapter 1

verse 7

says the

blood of

Jesus his

son

purifies

us

from

all

sin.

Now in

this passage

clearly there

are two

types of

washing

that Jesus

talks about.

There is

feet washing

and there

is whole

body washing.

So Jesus

says to

Peter you

must let

me wash

your feet

if you

want to

be part

of me

if you

want to

be my

disciple.

And Peter

says well

then wash

my whole

body please

Lord.

And Jesus

says no

if someone's

had a bath

they only

need their

feet washed.

Now in

this the Lord

Jesus in

talking about

someone having

had a bath

is talking

about us

coming to

him for

salvation

to begin

with.

Recognising

our sin

recognising

the dirt

within us

and recognising

it only by

his blood

can we be

purified from

our sins.

It symbolises

isn't it in

baptism.

Baptism

one of the

pictures it

presents to us

is dirt being

washed from

the body

symbolising

dirt being

washed from

the inside

as we

trust in

the Lord

Jesus.

So there's

that once

for all

time when

we come

and confess

our sins

and trust

in the

Lord Jesus

and have

our sins

forgiven.

but our

feet

constantly

get

dirty

or perhaps

in the

time of

coronavirus

we could

say our

hands

get dirty

we need

to keep

washing

our hands

regularly

to make

sure they

don't become

contaminated

and Jesus

says we

need that

kind of

regular

washing

as well.

Yes we're

clean inside

through his

death for

us but

we do get

contaminated

by society

around about

us and

by our

own sinful

nature that

is still

in us.

So we need

to constantly

be coming

and confessing

our sins

to Jesus

and being

renewed

in our

fellowship

with him

being made

again

completely

clean.

A couple

of verses

on from

the one

I quote

to the

menisco

1 John

1 John 1:9

chapter 1

verse 9

John writes

if we confess

our sins

he is faithful

and just

and will

forgive us

our sins

and purify

us from

all

unrighteousness.

So I challenge

us this morning

have we had

that initial

cleansing

through the

blood of the

Lord Jesus

coming to him

in repentance

and faith

being forgiven

for our

sins

and if so

do we have

that experience

regularly

of coming

to him

confessing

our sins

feeling again

the purity

that comes

through his

blood

and being

restored

to fellowship

with him.

One last

point

three times

in this

passage

Judas

is referred

to.

Very much

in John's

mind

mind

and in

Jesus'

mind

is the fact

that there

doesn't really

belong.

The other

disciples

ran aware

of it

at the

time.

As far

as they

were concerned

Judas

was one

of them

but in

reality

Satan

had entered

into

Judas

Judas

was not

clean

like the

other

disciples.

And I think

that's a very

sobering thought

for us.

And we

should be

examining

ourselves

and saying

am I

one of

Jesus'

disciples?

disciples?

Quite often

when we

preach

we say

if you're

a Christian

then here's

a lesson

for you

if you're

not a

Christian

then here's

something

you should

think about.

And perhaps

some of us

when it comes

to a bit

that says

if you're

not a

Christian

we kind

of mentally

turn off

and think

that doesn't

apply to

me.

But all

of us

need to

examine

ourselves

and say

am I

really

one of

the Lord's

disciples?

Have I

really got

his

salvation?

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

in verse 5

Paul writes

examine

yourself

to see

whether

you're

in the

faith.

Test

yourselves.

Now Paul

is thinking

that most

of the

Corinthians

when they

apply that

test to

themselves

will decide

that yes

indeed

they are

in the

faith

they are

Christians

and will

then conclude

from that

that Paul's

ministry

is valid

as he

says

it is.

But he

does

envisage

the

possibility

that there

will be

some

who are

not

truly

Christians

that they're

not in

the faith

that they

haven't got

salvation

through the

Lord Jesus

and I

would suggest

to everyone

this morning

that we

examine

ourselves

that we

see whether

we are

truly

the

Lord's

is our

faith

completely

in him

for our

salvation

for the

forgiveness

of our

sins

and if

we can

see it

is

where is

the

evidence

in a

transformed

life

in the

behaviours

in the

love

that we

show

to others

examine

yourself

to see

whether you

are in

the faith

a basin

and a

towel

serving

and being

served

clean feet

and clean

hearts

if we

belong to

the Lord

Jesus

let's

follow his

example

let's go

and during

this week

let us

serve others

in any way

that we

can

and let

all of us

make sure

that we are

clean inside

clean through

faith in

the Lord

Jesus

and have

clean feet

figuratively

as well

that we

confess our

sins to

him

regularly

and know

again

that experience

of his

forgiveness

and of

fellowship

with him

let's pray

together

and for a

prayer I

want to

take the

words of

an old

chorus

and let's

apply them

to ourselves

let's pray

cleanse me

from my

sin Lord

put your

power

within Lord

take me

as I am

Lord

and make

me all

your own

keep me

day by

day Lord

underneath

your sway

Lord

make my

heart your

palace

and your

royal throne

Amen