Sermon

John 13

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  1. Do turn, if you will, to John chapter 13 in the church Bibles.

    John 13 chapter mention

  2. I said I hoped to kind of do two more sermons in Psalm 17,

  3. but I've been away and the end of this week was chaos.

  4. So I've kind of been working on an article on the three nevers that Peter says to our Lord.

  5. So you're going to get the fruit of that this morning.

  6. And then it's something from Hebrews 13 tonight.

  7. No Lord. No Lord. Have you ever said that?

  8. No Lord. What a stupid thing to say.

  9. How crazy it is to call him Lord and to say no to him.

  10. Either he is Lord or he isn't.

  11. And if he is Lord, you can't say no to him.

  12. Or maybe you do.

  13. Look at Peter in this passage. Look at verse 8.

  14. Of chapter 13.

  15. Peter says, no, no, no.

  16. You will never wash my feet.

  17. Never ever. Literally.

  18. And not to all eternity, he says.

  19. Never in a million years, Lord.

  20. And this isn't the only time that Peter says no to Jesus.

  21. Three times Peter says no to Jesus.

  22. The most obvious time is at Caesarea Philippi.

  23. Where he says no to the cross.

  24. Jesus says this is what is going to happen to me.

  25. And Peter says no, no, no.

  26. That's not to happen.

  27. And Jesus says get behind me, Satan.

  28. Now there are many people on there.

  29. There are actually many churches that would like to take the cross out of Christianity.

  30. Now they'd love to do that.

  31. But Jesus says, doesn't he, to that, get behind me, Satan.

  32. Now Peter was one of those people.

  33. He said no, Lord.

  34. That will never happen to you.

  35. And now he is saying no to having his feet washed by Jesus.

  36. He's saying no to a changed life by Jesus, actually.

  37. He wants Christianity without cleansing.

  38. And it's not possible.

  39. It's not possible.

  40. It's a really famous episode, isn't it?

  41. John 13.

  42. You'll be familiar with it.

  43. It's been ritualized and dramatized every Easter around the world.

  44. It's inspired great works of art by Leonardo da Vinci.

  45. And Dan Brown thinks he's found a hidden meaning, doesn't he, in the da Vinci code?

  46. And people are fascinated, aren't they, by conspiracy theories.

  47. Especially if they seem to discredit Christianity.

  48. Well, if you've read the da Vinci code, it's absolute nonsense.

  49. But I do want to say to you, there is a hidden meaning in this incident, isn't there?

  50. I look at verse 7.

  51. It says there.

  52. It says what I'm doing, you do not understand now, but afterwards you will understand.

  53. There's a hidden meaning.

  54. It's not apparent now, but Jesus says to them, it will be apparent later.

  55. John's Gospel is written, if you've read it, on multiple layers, isn't it?

  56. And they're not arbitrarily imposed, a kind of hidden code within it.

  57. But there is, deliberately intended by the author, many levels of meaning.

  58. And we see that in this passage.

  59. And so three things, three things beginning with P.

  60. First of all, a portrait, then a parable, and then a pattern.

  61. Verses 1 to 5, you can see a portrait of Jesus.

  62. And then there's a parable of salvation between Jesus and Peter, verses 6 to 11.

  63. And there's a pattern for us to follow.

  64. And so writing many decades later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

  65. and with the benefit of hindsight, looking back on this event,

  66. John sets the scene in these opening words.

  67. Look at verse 1.

  68. He says this is when it happened.

  69. It happened just before Passover.

  70. Just before the feast of Passover.

  71. And Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of the world.

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

  73. In other words, John is saying he showed the full extent of his love towards others.

  74. In this little passage here, he shows us something of the height and the depth and the length and the breadth of his love.

  75. That's what this story is.

  76. It's a glorious little picture.

  77. It's a picture of love on its knees.

  78. Think of a mother with her small children who've dropped food yet again on the floor.

  79. Is she proud to her children?

  80. Does the mother boast of her accomplishments to her kids?

  81. No, of course not.

  82. A mother might be very proud of her children, but she is never proud to her children.

  83. Because love is not proud, is it?

  84. Love is not puffed up.

  85. Love does not stand on dignity.

  86. So think of even the most powerful, high-flying executive.

  87. When he's with his grandchildren, he'll get down on his knees to play, won't he?

  88. It's what love does.

  89. Love stoops.

  90. And that's what Jesus demonstrates in the upper room.

  91. He knows, verse 1, his hour has come.

  92. He knows that it's now time for him to go to the cross.

  93. All through John's Gospel, if you read it, you're told the hour has not yet come.

  94. The hour has not yet come.

  95. And then you get to chapter 13.

  96. The hour has come.

  97. And he knows it's time.

  98. It's Passover time.

  99. It's going to be time for him to lay down his life as a sacrifice to God for the sins of his people.

  100. The time has come for him to go to the cross.

  101. The time has come for him to leave this world and go to his Father.

  102. And he knows in verse 3 that the Father has given all things into his hands.

  103. And he knows that he's come from God.

  104. And he's going to go back to God.

  105. And knowing that, knowing all who he is and all that he's come to do in the world,

  106. he comes down from the table.

  107. And he takes off his outer clothing.

  108. And he wraps a towel around his waist.

  109. And he washes the feet of his disciples.

  110. And that's what's being painted for us.

  111. Love doesn't stand on ceremony.

  112. Love gets down on its knees to meet the needs of loved ones.

  113. And that's what you see here, isn't it?

  114. That is the hidden meaning in this painting.

  115. Love which brought him down.

  116. Love which brought the creator into his creation.

  117. Love which brought the one who flung the stars into space.

  118. Love that brought him who was always at the Father's side in glory to the feet of smiley disciples.

  119. The him, it wasn't the nails that held him there.

  120. It was his love.

  121. For you and for me, having loved his own who were in the world,

  122. he loved them to the very end.

  123. He saw it through.

  124. Probably the best commentary on John chapter 13 is Philippians chapter 2, isn't it?

    John 13 chapter mention Philippians 2 chapter mention

  125. Philippians chapter 2, which says this about him.

    Philippians 2 chapter mention

  126. Jesus Christ, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

  127. But emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, being found in human form.

  128. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

  129. Joseph de Vista was a missionary in 19th century Hawaii.

  130. It's the worst places to go as a missionary.

  131. But he was a missionary to the leper colony on the island of Molokai.

  132. You might have seen the film.

  133. There's a film out about it.

  134. One morning, he was preparing to take a service in the leper colony,

  135. when Damien actually spilt boiling hot water on his bare foot.

  136. It took him a minute to realize what had happened.

  137. He realized that he hadn't felt anything.

  138. And realizing what that might mean in a leper colony,

  139. he poured more boiling water on his foot, on the same spot,

  140. and there was no feeling whatsoever.

  141. That morning, he went to church, and he opened the service,

  142. not in his normal way, dearly beloved, or welcome to IPC, good morning.

  143. He opened the service with these words,

  144. my fellow lepers, my fellow lepers.

  145. What a demonstration of love, isn't it?

  146. It's one thing to go to a leper colony to minister to lepers,

  147. but to die a leper's death, my fellow lepers.

  148. Isn't that what Jesus has done for us?

  149. Isn't that what is being demonstrated in this passage?

  150. It's telling you that he is a friend of sinners.

  151. He is numbered with the transgressors.

  152. And that is baptism.

  153. We've often thought of it, don't we?

  154. He joins the queue of sinners to be baptized by John in the Jordan River,

  155. confessing his sins.

  156. Jesus is in line with them.

  157. Jesus is numbered with the transgressors,

  158. even though he was not a sinner himself.

  159. He was numbered with the transgressors on the cross.

  160. We're told he became sin for us.

  161. He who knew no sin became sin.

  162. It's him that I used to sing when we were growing up.

  163. It's borderline heretical, but it's brilliant.

  164. Listen to this.

  165. How willing was Jesus to die that we fellow sinners might live?

  166. The life they could not take away.

  167. How willing was Jesus to give?

  168. But Jesus was not a sinner, was he?

  169. He was not a sinner.

  170. And yet, in identifying himself with us,

  171. he became sin for us.

  172. Our sin was laid on him.

  173. He was numbered with the transgressors.

  174. Having loved his own, he loved them to the limit.

  175. He loved them to the end.

  176. And so what you've got in this passage

  177. is a beautiful portrait of a servant king

  178. who stoops to meet your need.

  179. What you have in that upper room

  180. is a prefiguring of what he will do at Calvary.

  181. It's a picture of love on its knees.

  182. How far love will go.

  183. How love far will go to meet the needs

  184. of people like you and I.

  185. And the answer is this.

  186. He will go all the way.

  187. Here's the second thing that I want you to see.

  188. That all who are loved by Jesus

  189. are washed by Jesus.

  190. And what I mean by that is

  191. there's an interchange between Jesus and the eleven

  192. and you see a parable of salvation.

  193. It's a parable of salvation.

  194. Peter says, doesn't he,

  195. just look with me at John 13 again.

  196. Peter says when Jesus comes to him

  197. with the bowl and the towel,

  198. verse eight,

  199. you will never wash my feet.

  200. Never ever.

  201. Not a chance, Lord.

  202. And Jesus answered him,

  203. if I do not wash you,

  204. you have no share with me.

  205. It's not about hygiene.

  206. It's not about COVID

  207. and counting in 20 seconds while you wash.

  208. It's about holiness.

  209. It's a parable.

  210. And Jesus is taking the social conventions of the day

  211. and he's preaching the good news,

  212. the gospel to Peter.

  213. The streets of Jerusalem were filthy.

  214. Not only with dirt,

  215. but probably with sewage as well.

  216. And the streets were a thousand times worse at Passover

  217. because the city swerved to about five times its normal size.

  218. And so if you went into someone's house on arrival,

  219. there would be someone to wash your feet.

  220. And maybe it would be a household slave

  221. or the lowest in the whole household.

  222. And Jesus says to Peter,

  223. let me do that for you.

  224. Let me be your servant.

  225. Let me wash your dirty, smelly feet.

  226. And it's too much for him.

  227. What you, you wash my smelly feet?

  228. Never.

  229. Not in a million years.

  230. You'll never wash my feet.

  231. And Jesus says,

  232. unless you let me wash you,

  233. you will have no part in me.

  234. That's the same word,

  235. the word part in me,

  236. that's used in the prodigal son.

  237. So the younger son goes to his dad, doesn't he?

  238. And he says,

  239. give me my share in the inheritance.

  240. Give me my part.

  241. Before he goes and he kicks off the traces.

  242. It's the same word that was used for Israel

  243. when they came into the promised land.

  244. When they were given a share,

  245. when they were given a part of the promised land.

  246. It's the same word that's used in Revelation.

  247. When we will have a share in the tree of life

  248. as part of the holy city.

  249. And Jesus says,

  250. unless I wash you,

  251. you'll have no share in what I came to do.

  252. In other words, Peter,

  253. if you recoil,

  254. if you draw back from what I'm doing now,

  255. then you're rejecting the very principle

  256. on which my kingdom is founded.

  257. You reject this,

  258. you reject me and everything I stand for.

  259. Because, Peter,

  260. if you think that washing your feet

  261. is offensive,

  262. how much more are you going to find

  263. the cross of Jesus Christ offensive?

  264. If you're too proud to let me wash your feet,

  265. how will you ever accept my death on your behalf?

  266. My atoning sacrifice for you.

  267. And if I don't wash you, Peter,

  268. you will have no part with me.

  269. No share in what I've come to do.

  270. And that's the offense of Christianity.

  271. That's the offense of the cross.

  272. Unless I wash you.

  273. Christianity is about being washed.

  274. Christianity is about having

  275. your sin cleansed

  276. and your sin blotted out.

  277. And that's our problem.

  278. I want to ask you,

  279. how's that happened to you?

  280. Have you come to Jesus

  281. to be cleansed from your sin?

  282. Or are you too proud to do it?

  283. Some hymns that we sing,

  284. when you think of them,

  285. they're so odd, aren't they?

  286. Foul,

  287. I to the fountain fly,

  288. wash me, Saviour,

  289. or I die.

  290. Foul?

  291. A bit extreme.

  292. You sing, I'm foul?

  293. The dying thief

  294. rejoiced to see

  295. that fountain in his day,

  296. and thereof I,

  297. though vile,

  298. as he washed all my sins away.

  299. Vile?

  300. Vile?

  301. Is that what you're saying?

  302. And our problem is Peter's problem,

  303. that he is too proud

  304. to admit that he's got a problem.

  305. And many of us are like that,

  306. aren't we?

  307. We refuse to admit

  308. that we need to be cleansed.

  309. And we need to be washed.

  310. And we need to be made fit

  311. for the company of Jesus.

  312. I'm not that bad.

  313. I'm not that bad.

  314. I'm not that bad

  315. compared to others.

  316. I'm a decent person.

  317. It's too humbling, isn't it?

  318. And pride is so very subtle

  319. that it can invert itself.

  320. And so most of us,

  321. like Peter,

  322. we are far more comfortable,

  323. aren't we,

  324. with what we can do for Jesus

  325. than what he can do for us.

  326. And in fact,

  327. a lot of people,

  328. they think that's what

  329. Christianity is all about,

  330. don't they?

  331. They think that Christianity

  332. is all about doing Jesus a favor.

  333. It's all about trying your best.

  334. But Christianity is not about

  335. what you do for Jesus.

  336. It is about what Jesus

  337. has done for you.

  338. And so we see this

  339. all the time, don't we,

  340. in churches.

  341. We can be really happy

  342. serving and doing this

  343. and doing that,

  344. but we hate to be served.

  345. It's one of the hardest things,

  346. isn't it?

  347. I'm told about growing older.

  348. That you can't do

  349. what you want to do

  350. and you can't serve

  351. as you used to serve

  352. and instead,

  353. you have to let

  354. other people serve you.

  355. And instead of people

  356. depending on you,

  357. you are dependent on them.

  358. But that's a great picture

  359. of what Christianity

  360. is all about.

  361. It is all about

  362. what Jesus has done for you.

  363. And Jesus says to Peter,

  364. unless I wash you,

  365. you've completely missed

  366. the point altogether

  367. and you've got no part

  368. in what I've come to do.

  369. And at which point,

  370. Peter, in kind of

  371. characteristic fashion,

  372. does this great backflip,

  373. doesn't he?

  374. Look at verse 9.

  375. He goes from one extreme

  376. to the other.

  377. He says,

  378. Lord, not only my feet,

  379. but also my hands

  380. and my head.

  381. First, he protests

  382. about washing at all.

  383. I don't need to be

  384. washed at all.

  385. And then he says,

  386. I need a bath.

  387. And what he needed

  388. was to have his feet washed.

  389. And Jesus says to him,

  390. Peter, actually,

  391. you don't need to have

  392. another bath.

  393. You need your feet washed.

  394. If I come to your house

  395. for lunch today

  396. and somebody comes in

  397. from the kitchen

  398. and they say,

  399. dinner's ready,

  400. feel free to wash your hands,

  401. and I say,

  402. actually,

  403. I'm just going to pop

  404. in the shower,

  405. you would think,

  406. wouldn't you,

  407. he's a very,

  408. very odd man.

  409. Because you would hope

  410. that I showered

  411. before I came to church,

  412. which I did.

  413. Not when you arrive

  414. at someone's house

  415. for dinner.

  416. It would be weird,

  417. wouldn't it?

  418. Dinner's ready,

  419. I'm just going to jump

  420. in your shower.

  421. No, what do we do?

  422. We wash our hands.

  423. I shower you

  424. to do that

  425. before you left home.

  426. And in their case here,

  427. it wasn't their hands,

  428. but their feet,

  429. and they needed

  430. their feet to be washed,

  431. and so do we.

  432. Because as the people

  433. of God,

  434. as the people of God

  435. who have trusted in Christ,

  436. we have been forgiven

  437. wonderfully.

  438. We've been forgiven.

  439. If you put your trust

  440. in the Lord Jesus Christ,

  441. you have been saved,

  442. you've been regenerated,

  443. you've been born again.

  444. But you still need

  445. your feet washed.

  446. And as we walk

  447. through the dirty streets

  448. of this world,

  449. week by week,

  450. we pick up all sorts

  451. of yuck on our feet,

  452. and we come week by week,

  453. don't we,

  454. needing to confess our sin.

  455. We know that.

  456. Every day,

  457. it's a parable.

  458. Jesus is speaking

  459. in language

  460. that they could understand

  461. and you can understand

  462. to point you to the cross.

  463. to show your need

  464. of what he's about

  465. to do for you,

  466. to wash away your sin.

  467. You don't understand,

  468. he says in verse 7,

  469. but you will later understand.

  470. When later,

  471. on the other side

  472. of the cross,

  473. at the deepest level

  474. of how we're to understand it,

  475. it's a parable of salvation.

  476. A.M. Hunter,

  477. a New Testament scholar,

  478. says this,

  479. he says,

  480. there is no place

  481. in Jesus' fellowship

  482. for those who've not

  483. been cleansed

  484. by his atoning death.

  485. Many people today

  486. would like to call themselves

  487. Christians,

  488. but see no need

  489. of the cross.

  490. Ready to admire

  491. Jesus' life

  492. and praise his teaching,

  493. and even perhaps

  494. like Gandhi,

  495. follow his example,

  496. but they cannot

  497. bring themselves

  498. to believe

  499. that Jesus died

  500. for their sins.

  501. And that's the gospel.

  502. There is a fountain

  503. that is open

  504. to sin and uncleanness.

  505. There's a fountain

  506. filled with blood.

  507. It's such peculiar

  508. language,

  509. isn't it?

  510. Blood drawn

  511. from Emmanuel's veins

  512. and sinners plunged

  513. beneath that flood

  514. lose all their

  515. guilty stains.

  516. The dying thief

  517. rejoiced to see

  518. that fountain

  519. in his day,

  520. and there may I,

  521. though vile as he,

  522. just like him,

  523. wash all my sins away.

  524. That's the good news.

  525. There's a once

  526. and for all-ness

  527. about it,

  528. isn't it?

  529. There's a once

  530. and for all-ness

  531. about the death

  532. of Christ

  533. and forgiveness

  534. that no one

  535. need to spare.

  536. But there's an

  537. ongoingness

  538. that none of us

  539. should be complacent.

  540. In the atoning

  541. sacrifice of Jesus

  542. on the cross,

  543. there is complete

  544. cleansing for your

  545. sin that is past,

  546. that is present,

  547. that is future.

  548. When you put your

  549. trust in the Lord

  550. Jesus Christ,

  551. he washes you

  552. completely from

  553. toe to toe.

  554. And so that when

  555. God looks at those

  556. who put their

  557. trust in his son,

  558. he doesn't see you

  559. in your sin

  560. and your dirt

  561. anymore,

  562. he sees you

  563. justified,

  564. right with him.

  565. Completely clean,

  566. washed.

  567. He gives you a

  568. bath,

  569. he cleanses you

  570. from all your

  571. sins,

  572. but there's an

  573. ongoingness as well,

  574. isn't there?

  575. Think of King David

  576. and what he did,

  577. how he lived a lie

  578. and committed adultery

  579. and murder

  580. until Nathan the

  581. prophet comes and

  582. challenges him

  583. and he is convicted

  584. of his sin.

  585. And in Psalm 51

  586. he says,

  587. Have mercy on me,

  588. O God,

  589. according to your

  590. steadfast love,

  591. according to your

  592. abundant mercy,

  593. blot out my

  594. transgressions,

  595. take them away,

  596. wash me thoroughly

  597. from my iniquity,

  598. cleanse me from my

  599. sin,

  600. hide your face

  601. from all my sins,

  602. blot out my

  603. iniquities,

  604. creating me a

  605. clean heart.

  606. And renew a

  607. right spirit

  608. within me,

  609. cast me not away

  610. from your presence,

  611. restore to me

  612. the joy of your

  613. salvation,

  614. and then I'll

  615. teach transgressions

  616. your ways.

  617. Sinners will be

  618. converted to you.

  619. David had fallen

  620. into the mud

  621. and the muck

  622. of sin,

  623. he'd lost the joy

  624. of his salvation,

  625. that's his testimony,

  626. and the prophet

  627. comes and says,

  628. you're the man.

  629. Do you remember

  630. what John says

  631. later on,

  632. in 1 John,

  633. he says,

  634. if we confess

  635. our sins,

  636. if we own up

  637. to our guilt,

  638. if we open up

  639. the closet,

  640. take the skeletons

  641. out and say,

  642. Lord,

  643. this is who I am,

  644. God will what?

  645. God is faithful

  646. and just.

  647. He will forgive us

  648. our sin,

  649. and he will cleanse

  650. us from all

  651. unrighteousness.

  652. There's a once

  653. and for allness

  654. about the death

  655. of the Lord Jesus

  656. Christ,

  657. and there's an

  658. ongoingness.

  659. The truth of the

  660. Christian life is

  661. we need to keep

  662. short accounts

  663. with God,

  664. don't we?

  665. We can't become

  666. blasé about

  667. walking through

  668. this life and

  669. the mud on our

  670. shoes.

  671. We need to be

  672. cleansed and

  673. ongoingly cleansed.

  674. John Sott,

  675. I think,

  676. really helpfully

  677. compares the

  678. two sacraments

  679. of baptism

  680. and the Lord's

  681. Supper.

  682. He says this,

  683. he says,

  684. you're baptised

  685. once.

  686. I think that's

  687. really important.

  688. You need to be

  689. baptised once

  690. in the name of

  691. the Father,

  692. the Son,

  693. and the Holy

  694. Spirit.

  695. There's one

  696. baptism,

  697. the Bible

  698. says.

  699. You don't

  700. get baptised

  701. over and

  702. over and

  703. over again

  704. because when

  705. you do that,

  706. you're

  707. misrepresenting

  708. the gospel.

  709. Baptism is a

  710. sign and seal

  711. of our

  712. regeneration,

  713. of our

  714. need to be

  715. born again.

  716. It's a sign

  717. of your

  718. justification,

  719. of being

  720. declared right

  721. with God

  722. by faith

  723. in Christ.

  724. You're

  725. baptised

  726. once,

  727. but you

  728. come to

  729. the Lord's

  730. table

  731. frequently,

  732. don't you?

  733. And every

  734. time we

  735. come,

  736. we examine

  737. ourselves.

  738. You need

  739. to know

  740. what's going

  741. on.

  742. You need

  743. to know

  744. what's

  745. happening.

  746. And we

  747. examine

  748. ourselves.

  749. That's what

  750. we need

  751. to do

  752. because at

  753. the Lord's

  754. table,

  755. we keep

  756. short

  757. accounts.

  758. we keep

  759. coming back

  760. for cleansing

  761. and forgiveness

  762. and feeding.

  763. Those who've

  764. had a bath

  765. only need

  766. to have

  767. their feet

  768. washed,

  769. Jesus said.

  770. And Jesus

  771. says,

  772. you are

  773. clean.

  774. You're

  775. all clean,

  776. but not all

  777. of you,

  778. not every

  779. one of you.

  780. Of course,

  781. he's referring

  782. his knee to

  783. Judas.

  784. Look at

  785. verse 11.

  786. For he

  787. knew who

  788. was to

  789. betray him.

  790. That's why

  791. he said,

  792. not all

  793. of you

  794. are

  795. clean.

  796. try and

  797. think

  798. yourself

  799. into this

  800. scene

  801. for a

  802. moment.

  803. Judas

  804. scares me.

  805. Judas

  806. frightens me

  807. because I

  808. can easily

  809. see myself

  810. doing what

  811. he did.

  812. Jesus

  813. saw the

  814. miracles.

  815. Judas

  816. saw the

  817. miracles,

  818. heard the

  819. teaching.

  820. He'd been

  821. with Jesus

  822. every day.

  823. He was the

  824. treasurer of

  825. the twelve.

  826. He witnessed

  827. the wisdom,

  828. the kindness,

  829. the patience,

  830. the consistency,

  831. the goodness,

  832. and the love

  833. of Jesus.

  834. He was an

  835. insider.

  836. He was a

  837. disciple.

  838. That's scary,

  839. isn't it?

  840. It's possible

  841. for you this

  842. morning to be

  843. in church and

  844. not to be in

  845. Christ.

  846. You can read

  847. your Bible,

  848. you can pray,

  849. you can talk

  850. the talk,

  851. you can look

  852. the path and

  853. not be saved.

  854. It's possible

  855. to be close

  856. to Jesus

  857. and not

  858. be with

  859. Jesus.

  860. You are

  861. clean,

  862. Jesus says

  863. to his

  864. disciples,

  865. but not

  866. all of you.

  867. And I

  868. think when

  869. Jesus said

  870. that,

  871. that one

  872. of you

  873. will betray

  874. me,

  875. I think

  876. there were

  877. eleven

  878. frightened

  879. men in

  880. the group.

  881. In that

  882. room,

  883. don't you

  884. think?

  885. The other

  886. gospel writers

  887. tell us that

  888. the other

  889. disciples began

  890. to say,

  891. is it I?

  892. Is it I?

  893. Is it me?

  894. And I

  895. think that's

  896. the right

  897. response.

  898. I guess

  899. there were

  900. eleven

  901. frightened

  902. men in

  903. that room,

  904. but there

  905. was one

  906. who wasn't.

  907. And Judas

  908. wasn't

  909. frightened

  910. because he'd

  911. already made

  912. up his

  913. mind.

  914. He was

  915. going to

  916. walk out

  917. on Jesus

  918. and betray

  919. him.

  920. He'd

  921. already

  922. done the

  923. deal.

  924. And so

  925. this morning,

  926. let me say

  927. this to you,

  928. if you are

  929. frightened by

  930. Jesus here,

  931. then you

  932. jolly well

  933. ought to

  934. be.

  935. And if

  936. you think

  937. that could

  938. so easily

  939. be me,

  940. that is a

  941. very good

  942. sign.

  943. That you

  944. are spiritually

  945. alive.

  946. And your

  947. conscience is

  948. working properly.

  949. And if you're

  950. not frightened

  951. at all by

  952. these words,

  953. then you

  954. really ought

  955. to be.

  956. Decades

  957. later, as

  958. John writes

  959. this gospel,

  960. he can still

  961. see Judas

  962. disappearing,

  963. the silhouette

  964. against the

  965. door.

  966. He disappears

  967. out of the

  968. door, verse

  969. 30, into

  970. the night.

  971. He immediately

  972. went out into

  973. the night.

  974. He surrendered

  975. to his greed.

  976. He's in league

  977. with the devil

  978. to betray

  979. his Lord.

  980. And it

  981. was night.

  982. It is

  983. darkness.

  984. He walks

  985. away from

  986. the love

  987. of Jesus

  988. into the

  989. darkness.

  990. Into the

  991. darkness of

  992. a Christless

  993. eternity.

  994. him.

  995. And so

  996. be warned.

  997. Don't be

  998. Judas.

  999. Make your

  1000. calling and

  1001. election sure.

  1002. Love portrayed.

  1003. Love

  1004. betrayed.

  1005. Love

  1006. displayed as

  1007. an example

  1008. for us to

  1009. follow.

  1010. Love

  1011. displayed as

  1012. an example

  1013. for us to

  1014. follow.

  1015. Most people,

  1016. when they come

  1017. to this passage,

  1018. go straight

  1019. here.

  1020. It's the

  1021. first thing

  1022. they see,

  1023. and it

  1024. turns out to

  1025. be the

  1026. only thing

  1027. they see.

  1028. And so

  1029. they see,

  1030. ah,

  1031. here is an

  1032. example to

  1033. follow.

  1034. Verse 12.

  1035. When he

  1036. washed their

  1037. feet and

  1038. put on his

  1039. outer garments

  1040. and resumed

  1041. his place,

  1042. he said to

  1043. them,

  1044. do you not

  1045. understand what

  1046. I've done

  1047. to you?

  1048. You call me

  1049. teacher and

  1050. Lord,

  1051. and you are

  1052. right,

  1053. for so I

  1054. am.

  1055. If then I,

  1056. your Lord and

  1057. teacher,

  1058. have washed

  1059. your feet,

  1060. you also

  1061. ought to

  1062. wash one

  1063. another's

  1064. feet,

  1065. for I have

  1066. given you

  1067. an example.

  1068. You know,

  1069. a sense of

  1070. occasion,

  1071. some people

  1072. have it,

  1073. and some

  1074. don't.

  1075. Some people

  1076. get the

  1077. dress code

  1078. right at

  1079. a party,

  1080. others

  1081. don't.

  1082. And here,

  1083. the apostles,

  1084. the disciples

  1085. get it

  1086. wrong.

  1087. They turn

  1088. up to

  1089. the Last

  1090. Supper,

  1091. and they

  1092. are arguing

  1093. amongst

  1094. themselves,

  1095. who is

  1096. the

  1097. greatest?

  1098. It's a

  1099. remarkable thing,

  1100. isn't it?

  1101. I am the

  1102. greatest.

  1103. No,

  1104. no,

  1105. no,

  1106. I am

  1107. the

  1108. greatest.

  1109. No,

  1110. no,

  1111. no,

  1112. I am

  1113. the

  1114. greatest.

  1115. They

  1116. were arguing

  1117. about who's

  1118. going to

  1119. get the

  1120. top jobs

  1121. in Jesus'

  1122. kingdom.

  1123. Who's

  1124. going to

  1125. fulfill the

  1126. top positions?

  1127. James and

  1128. John have

  1129. even got

  1130. their mum

  1131. to put in

  1132. a good

  1133. word for

  1134. them,

  1135. much to the

  1136. disgust of

  1137. others.

  1138. They're

  1139. jockeying for

  1140. position.

  1141. And as

  1142. Jesus prepares

  1143. to lay his

  1144. life down for

  1145. them,

  1146. they are

  1147. competing and

  1148. comparing

  1149. themselves with

  1150. each other.

  1151. the evening

  1152. meal is being

  1153. served,

  1154. verse 2,

  1155. and normally

  1156. the feet are

  1157. washed before

  1158. the meal.

  1159. but obviously

  1160. there's no

  1161. servant girl

  1162. because it's

  1163. hired room.

  1164. Somebody's

  1165. not done

  1166. their job.

  1167. Anyone could

  1168. have done it

  1169. but nobody

  1170. did it.

  1171. There was an

  1172. important job

  1173. to be done

  1174. and everybody

  1175. was sure that

  1176. somebody would

  1177. do it.

  1178. Anybody could

  1179. have done it

  1180. but nobody

  1181. did it.

  1182. Somebody got

  1183. angry about

  1184. that because

  1185. it was

  1186. everybody's

  1187. job.

  1188. Everybody

  1189. thought anybody

  1190. could do it

  1191. but nobody

  1192. realized that

  1193. everybody

  1194. wouldn't do

  1195. it.

  1196. It ended

  1197. up that

  1198. everybody

  1199. blamed

  1200. somebody

  1201. when nobody

  1202. did what

  1203. anybody

  1204. could have.

  1205. Welcome to

  1206. the upper

  1207. room.

  1208. And the

  1209. tragedy is

  1210. it's often

  1211. like that

  1212. in a local

  1213. church,

  1214. isn't it?

  1215. There's a

  1216. job to be

  1217. done but

  1218. nobody wants

  1219. to do it.

  1220. Somebody

  1221. ought to

  1222. have done

  1223. it.

  1224. Anybody

  1225. could have

  1226. done it

  1227. but nobody

  1228. did it.

  1229. Why

  1230. don't

  1231. they

  1232. do

  1233. something

  1234. about it?

  1235. Who are

  1236. they?

  1237. Anybody

  1238. could have

  1239. done it

  1240. nobody

  1241. did it

  1242. until

  1243. Jesus

  1244. he got

  1245. up

  1246. wrapped

  1247. himself

  1248. in a

  1249. towel

  1250. and

  1251. stooped

  1252. down

  1253. to

  1254. wash

  1255. their

  1256. feet.

  1257. And

  1258. he

  1259. does

  1260. for

  1261. them

  1262. what

  1263. they

  1264. were

  1265. too

  1266. proud

  1267. to

  1268. do

  1269. for

  1270. themselves.

  1271. There's

  1272. no household

  1273. slave

  1274. and all

  1275. the guests

  1276. are too

  1277. self-important

  1278. to do

  1279. that so

  1280. Jesus

  1281. does

  1282. it.

  1283. He

  1284. who

  1285. is

  1286. lord

  1287. of

  1288. all

  1289. becomes

  1290. the

  1291. servant

  1292. of

  1293. all.

  1294. How

  1295. embarrassing.

  1296. Twelve

  1297. red

  1298. glowing

  1299. faces in

  1300. the

  1301. dark.

  1302. And

  1303. the

  1304. silence

  1305. is

  1306. deafening.

  1307. I'm

  1308. breaking

  1309. the

  1310. silence

  1311. Jesus

  1312. says

  1313. do

  1314. you

  1315. know

  1316. what

  1317. I've

  1318. done

  1319. for

  1320. you?

  1321. I've

  1322. set

  1323. you

  1324. an

  1325. example.

  1326. I've

  1327. set

  1328. you

  1329. an

  1330. example.

  1331. How do

  1332. you learn

  1333. to write?

  1334. You learn

  1335. to write

  1336. in school?

  1337. You learn

  1338. to write?

  1339. How do

  1340. you learn

  1341. to write?

  1342. Do you

  1343. remember?

  1344. What do

  1345. you do?

  1346. You get

  1347. little letters

  1348. and little

  1349. dots

  1350. and you

  1351. copy

  1352. them.

  1353. Is that

  1354. right?

  1355. Is it

  1356. still like

  1357. that?

  1358. I think

  1359. it

  1360. is.

  1361. And so

  1362. you

  1363. do

  1364. that.

  1365. You

  1366. do

  1367. that.

  1368. You

  1369. follow

  1370. the

  1371. lines.

  1372. that.

  1373. You

  1374. may well

  1375. be

  1376. teaching

  1377. Sunday

  1378. school.

  1379. Maybe

  1380. volunteering

  1381. for

  1382. little

  1383. stars.

  1384. Maybe

  1385. washing

  1386. dishes.

  1387. Maybe

  1388. cleaning

  1389. toilets.

  1390. Maybe

  1391. giving

  1392. your

  1393. time.

  1394. Jesus

  1395. says

  1396. I've

  1397. set

  1398. you

  1399. an

  1400. example.

  1401. 30

  1402. years

  1403. later

  1404. when

  1405. the

  1406. apostle

  1407. Peter

  1408. came

  1409. to

  1410. write

  1411. his

  1412. first

  1413. epistle

  1414. he

  1415. said

  1416. Christ

  1417. suffered

  1418. for

  1419. you

  1420. leaving

  1421. you

  1422. an

  1423. example.

  1424. In

  1425. his

  1426. steps

  1427. yes he

  1428. died a

  1429. substitutionary

  1430. death.

  1431. Yes he

  1432. died to

  1433. wash our

  1434. sins

  1435. away.

  1436. And that's

  1437. the most

  1438. important

  1439. thing.

  1440. But he

  1441. also died

  1442. giving us

  1443. an example.

  1444. And as

  1445. you see

  1446. the image

  1447. of Jesus

  1448. kneeling

  1449. with a

  1450. towel

  1451. wrapped

  1452. around

  1453. him

  1454. stooping

  1455. to wash

  1456. his

  1457. disciples

  1458. feet.

  1459. It's

  1460. so ingrained

  1461. in Peter's

  1462. mind

  1463. that he

  1464. says in

  1465. chapter 5

  1466. clothe

  1467. yourself

  1468. with

  1469. humility.

  1470. He

  1471. says this

  1472. is the

  1473. way that

  1474. I want

  1475. you to

  1476. do

  1477. church.

  1478. I've

  1479. set you

  1480. an

  1481. example.

  1482. Let me

  1483. wrap up.

  1484. As I

  1485. finish let

  1486. me ask you

  1487. this question.

  1488. Are you

  1489. saying no

  1490. to Jesus?

  1491. Is there

  1492. anything in

  1493. your life

  1494. and Jesus

  1495. is speaking

  1496. to you

  1497. about it?

  1498. at least

  1499. in your

  1500. heart

  1501. probably

  1502. not out

  1503. loud

  1504. you are

  1505. saying

  1506. Tim

  1507. no

  1508. Lord

  1509. never.

  1510. Not in

  1511. a million

  1512. years.

  1513. Don't

  1514. go there.

  1515. Don't

  1516. go there.

  1517. Anything

  1518. else but

  1519. don't

  1520. go there.

  1521. And Jesus

  1522. is saying

  1523. to you

  1524. this morning

  1525. that's the

  1526. very thing

  1527. I want

  1528. to talk

  1529. to you

  1530. about.

  1531. And

  1532. that's

  1533. the

  1534. very

  1535. thing

  1536. that you

  1537. need

  1538. to

  1539. change.

  1540. Let's

  1541. go there.

  1542. And

  1543. perhaps

  1544. you're

  1545. here

  1546. this

  1547. morning

  1548. and

  1549. you're

  1550. not

  1551. a

  1552. Christian

  1553. but

  1554. you're

  1555. definitely

  1556. interested

  1557. and you

  1558. see the

  1559. advantages

  1560. of

  1561. Christianity

  1562. and you

  1563. want

  1564. Jesus

  1565. as an

  1566. example

  1567. you think

  1568. he'd be

  1569. great

  1570. for the

  1571. kids

  1572. but you

  1573. don't

  1574. want a

  1575. relationship

  1576. with him.

  1577. You

  1578. don't

  1579. want him

  1580. as your

  1581. Lord

  1582. and

  1583. saviour.

  1584. And

  1585. you can't

  1586. bring yourself

  1587. to admit

  1588. that you

  1589. need a

  1590. saviour

  1591. and that

  1592. you need

  1593. to be

  1594. washed

  1595. because

  1596. you

  1597. stink

  1598. like I

  1599. do.

  1600. And

  1601. that's

  1602. the reason

  1603. he came

  1604. into the

  1605. world

  1606. to

  1607. rescue.

  1608. So

  1609. don't

  1610. say no

  1611. to him.

  1612. Don't

  1613. walk

  1614. out on

  1615. him

  1616. like

  1617. Judas.

  1618. Let's

  1619. pray.