Maundy Thursday | Fr. Mohsin Mahmood

The Holy. Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

according to John. 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, where 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 hand and that He had come from

God and was going back to God, rose from supper.

He laid aside his outer garments and taking the tower, tied it

around his waist. Then he poured water into a

basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them

with a 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 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. But you are clean, but not

everyone 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 why I

have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord,

and you are right, for I am. If I then your Lord and Teacher

have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's

feet. I For I have given you an

example that you also should do, just as I have done to you the

gospel of the Lord. Good evening Emmanuel.

Anglican shirt Actually, I have a hearing problem, so I couldn't

hear from the backside. Good evening, Emmanuel Anglican

Church. That's wonderful.

You know, in Pakistan we use that.

So when I want to wake up the people and we ask them again and

again, I can't. I couldn't hear you.

I bring you warm greeting in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

for my family and my church in Pakistan.

I stand before you today with a grateful heart thanking our

Almighty God who has called me into His service, the one who

leads us in every place and spread the fragrance of His

knowledge through US, whether he's in Pakistan or in the

United States. It is truly love doing that.

So we are gathered here today. I want to sincerely thankful

first Father Aaron who give me an opportunity to preach here

with the beautiful people. You know, Father Aaron is a very

faithful and humble servant of God who continually encouraged

and supports me. I also pray that the vision God

has placed in his heart for Emmanuel Church, it will

flourish and grow and bear much fruit for His glory.

I had a testimony, you know, from very first day when I came

here, I visited many churches, but my spirit did not take

peace. So when I came here, I feel like

at home and especially thanks to Father Brian and my brother,

Father Kamran, who connected me to this beautiful family of

faith. I have been truly blessed by

your worship, especially for the choir, musicians, the

administrations and the ushers. So, you know, I learn a lot of

things from the ushers or from the administration.

So I will do a practice in my church and you know that.

So your service is not your work.

I'm talking to ushers. It is a worship.

It is not your service. It is not your work.

It is a worship. And you did it wonderfully.

And I also thank you. Father Samuel is my brother, so

every time when he meets me, he has a smile and he gave me honor

and he gave me encouragement. So thank you for the Samuel, for

your love and your encouragement.

And now we turn to God's Word. I pray that the same Lord who

brought us together will speak to our hearts and transform our

lives. Let's join in prayer, gracious

and loving God, on this sunny night as we remember the

humility and love of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Open our hearts to receive. Your Word cleans us, oh Lord,

not only outwardly but inwardly. Teach us what it means to love

as Christ loved, to serve as he served, and to humble ourselves

as he humbled Himself. May the word of my mouth and the

meditation of our hearts be placing in your sight, O Lord

our Rock, our Redeemer. Amen.

Tonight, on Monday, Thursday, we enter into one of the most

intimate and powerful moment in the life of Jesus Christ.

This is the night before the cross, the night of Last Supper,

the night of betrayal, and this is the night of denial, and this

is the night of deep love. The word Monday comes from Latin

word mandatum. Mandatum means commandment.

It refers to new commandment. Jesus gives a letter in this

chapter, and the commandment is love one another as I loved you.

But before Jesus speaks that commandment, he shows it.

He gets down his knees. He takes a towel.

He washes feet. And this is where we must pass.

Because for many of us of here in the United States, this act

can be unfamiliar, even uncomfortable.

Or we don't live in a culture where washing someone's feet is

normal. It may seem symbolic, distant or

even strange, but in Jesus time it was nothing but symbolic.

In 1st century in Judea, people walk everywhere.

Roads are dusty, unpaved streets unsanitary.

Sandals were the common footwear.

By the time someone arrived in the home, their feet would be

covered with the dust, mud and sometime worse.

So foot washing was a necessary act of hospitality, but it was

always the work of lowest servant.

In fact, in Jewish tradition, a Jewish slave could not be

required to wash feet. It was considered too degrading.

Only Gentile slaves servant they perform this act.

I just want to ask you, just imagine yourself, we all are in

the upper room where Jesus celebrate Last Supper with his

disciples. Just imagine that.

Disciples called Jesus teacher. Jesus called disciples Rabbi

Disciples called Jesus Master. Could you imagine that Rabbi

Master who is creator of heaven and earth, who is the only

begotten Son of God, who is the divine Son of God?

He kneels down and creator of the heaven on earth washes the

feet of His creation. Divinity kneels to humanity card

kneels down and wash the feet of a human being.

I must say that what an act of love you never see in your life.

The passages began with the profound theological depth Jesus

when we read Gospel John chapter 13 verse one to three, Jesus

John 13 · chapter mention

know that is our had come having loved his own, He loved them to

the end. And again, Jesus knowing that

the Father had given all things into his hands.

This is crucial. Jesus is not acting out of

security. He is not trying to prove

himself. He is not confused about his

identity. He knows exactly who he is.

He knows he came from God. He knows he is coming to God.

He knows all authority in his hands.

In our world where we live, people often do this kind of

things to get authority, to get status.

But Jesus never do that because he already has authority.

He already has a status. He didn't do this to gain us

status or gain of fame. He already has a status.

He already knows that who he is or when we read was four to

five. It is written that he rose from

support take of his government, took a towel, poured water into

a basin and began to wash the disciples feet.

Every moment here is intentional.

It is written that he rise just as he will rise again.

He lays aside his auto garment to laying aside His auto garment

is a picture of laying aside his glory.

He poured a water into basin, a sign of cleansing.

He wrap himself with a towel taking the form of a servant.

Jesus take off his outer garments.

As I mentioned that taking off his garments is mean to laying

aside his glory. Or when we read through the

Bible in Jesus like there is 2 times Jesus garments took off.

First time he take off his garment by himself.

On this night in the upper room before foot washing his

disciples, he take off his garments himself.

And second time before going to cross Roman soldiers take off

his garments. First time when he take off his

garment by himself, He cleans the foot of his disciples, and

second time when the Roman soldiers take off his garment,

he cleans. He wash our sins, He wash our

lives and he wash our sins. This is not just an act of

service, it is a living parable of gospel.

Just as he Stoops to wash their feet, he will soon stop to the

cross to cleanse their souls. And when Jesus came through

Simon Peter, Peter is shocked. Lord, do you wash my feet?

Peter understands the problem. This is upside on This is not

how things are supposed to work. And then he refuses.

He said you shall never wash my feet, But Jesus responds, if I

do not wash you, you have no share with me.

Here the meaning stiffens. This is no longer just about

physical washing. This is about spiritual crazy.

Peter must learn what we must all learn.

We cannot come to Jesus our own terms.

We must allow Jesus to serve us. We must allow him to cleanse us.

Salvation is not something to achieve.

It is something to receive. On salvation we cannot received

by our own terms. Peter swings to other extreme.

He said Lord not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

But Jesus clarifies the one who has bath does not need to wash

except for his feet. This speak of two realities.

Listen carefully. 1 is the full cleansing and second one is the

ongoing cleansing. Full cleansing means salvation.

Ongoing cleansing means daily forgiveness.

In theological terms for a believers, we use a term there

is a three steps in a believer's life. 1st is justification,

second is sanctification and third one is glorification.

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, as your Lord, you are

justified, you get the salvation or when you are justified, you

go through sanctification, ongoing cleansing and after that

you will go in the glorification here Jesus talk to Peter, you

got a salvation, you are sanctified.

You are no need of salvation. You are just need daily

cleansing. You are just need ongoing

cleansing. You just need a sanctification.

Those who belong to Christ are already clean, but we still need

daily cleansing because we walk through in the broken world.

We need daily forgiveness. We need daily cleansing in our

lives. After washing their feet, Jesus

asked. Do you understand what I have

done to you? Then he says you call me teacher

and Lord, and you are right. If I, your Lord and Teacher,

have wash your feet, you also ought to wash one another's

feet. This is the heart of one day

Thursday. This is the mandatum or this is

the commandment. I have given you an example that

you also should do just I have done to you.

So tonight, what is meaning for us washing feet?

So what does this mean for us? Especially in a culture where

foot washing is uncommon, we must have the literal act to the

theological truth foot washing means.

Lowering ourselves for the sake of others.

In a culture that values status, recognition and power, Jesus

calls us to something radically different.

To serve without being seen, to love without being placed, to

give without expecting return. And the second thing is self

giving love. This act is preview of the

cross. Jesus does not just teach love,

He embodies it. Foot washing is love that moves

towards other even when it costs something.

It is love that serves the undeserving.

If you remember that Jesus, wash the feet of Judah who will

betray Jesus wash the feet of Peter who will deny.

This is self giving love even to those who are not able to show

you love with them. And the third thing, third thing

is that it is are receiving before giving.

Before we can wash other's feet, we must allow Christ to wash

ours. This is often the hardest part.

We prefer to be strong, independent and self-sufficient.

But the gospel begins with surrender.

We must admit that I need to be cleansed.

I cannot save myself and the four and most important thing.

What is mean of foot washing? Jesus gave us a new definition

of greatness. Please listen this sentence very

carefully and it is my hardest desire you all to practice this

sentence in your life. What a greatness in the Kingdom

of God. Greatness is not measured by how

many serve you. Greatness is not measured by how

many serve you, but by how many you serve.

Jesus redefined leadership. The greatest is the servant.

The Lord becomes the slave. Even they were may not literally

wash feet regularly. The principle is deeply

relevant. Foot washing today may look like

serving someone who cannot repay you for giving, someone who has

wronged you, caring for the overlooked and forgotten,

choosing humility over pride in relationships or doing unseen,

unnoticed act of love. Tonight I want to encourage you.

When you start to love one another, when you start to care

others, you might face resistance.

Devil stops you. If you read this passage

carefully, actually in the upper room there is a silent war, and

the silent war is against the Jesus and Devil.

It is written that devil has already put in the heart of

Judah to betray him and Jesus knows that Judah will betray me.

Devil is already put in his heart and you know that devil is

doing his work and Jesus is doing his work.

The betrayal of you that did not stop Jesus to clean or to wash

his feet. I give you a challenge.

When you doing a good work, when you doing the love to others,

might be you face denial, might be you face resistance, might be

you face oppose. Devil's schemes and devil's plan

will never stop Jesus. And when you have believed like

this, so devil's schemes and plans will never stop you.

There are lot of people in the world.

I am from Pakistan, so I talk about my country.

I'm I talk about my diocese. So if I could say that my

diocese is a persecuted ISIS, it is not wrong.

You can find it on the Internet. In the last couple of years

there are many persecution incidents happen.

In my diocese, there are many churches were burned by the

Muslim extremists. A lot of houses burnt to fire,

people lose their belongings. Likewise in Africa there are lot

of churches, lot of communities who really deserve to wash their

feeds. How we can wash their feeds?

We can pray for them, we can care for them and we can love to

them. Here in this message, the

question is not will you wash feet?

The question is, will you live a life shaped by the tower?

On the Soly night we stand in that upper room, we see the

bastard, we saw the towel, and we see the Lord of Glory

kneeling before His disciples. As we hear Him say, as I have

done for you, so you must do for one another.

This is not just an example to admire, it is a life to embody,

because the one who washed feet is the same one who went to the

cross and the same one who calls us to follow Him.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen. Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus Christ, you who knelt to wash the feet of your

disciples, wash us tonight with your grace.

Cleans our heart from pride, our lives from selfishness, and our

hands for service. Teach us to love as you have

loved, to serve as you have served, and to work in humility

all our days. In your holy name we pray.

Amen.