"The End" Enacted

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you, Father, that you reveal yourself to us,

you speak to us by your word,

that every word in this book, the Bible,

is the word that you ultimately wanted to have here,

and that you are the ultimate author of Scripture,

the one who ultimately speaks to us through your word.

So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit

would still and quieten our hearts

so that we might receive from you this morning.

We ask that you would speak deep

into the very command centers of who we are.

And all these things we ask in the name of Jesus,

your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So amongst other things this morning,

I'm going to talk about the devil.

And I'm going to talk about the devil

not because I have a fixation about talking about the devil,

but because what we do is we preach through books of the Bible,

and the devil is mentioned twice in this text.

And you might say that twice isn't very much out of 38 verses,

but the two times are actually very significant,

and I wouldn't be serving you if we didn't look at it,

because it's important.

And I mention all of this because it's very interesting.

Those of you who've led Bible studies

or maybe done some preaching before,

you always have an interesting week.

I mean, the speaker always has an interesting week

when he's going to try to talk about the devil.

I don't know what it is.

It just seems as if there's more temptations that come my way,

more things that just don't work out in my schedule,

more reasons to be grumpy or angry or fill in the blank.

And I've had that type of week.

It's really as if the devil wants to knock you off your game.

He wants to knock you off

and either maybe try to dissuade you

from talking about the devil at all

or just, I don't know, just mess you up.

So that's been my week

because we're going to look at some things

that the Bible has to say about the devil.

And by the way, one of the things

that we're going to learn in this

is there's a very famous saying

from one of the English reformers

at the time of the English Reformation.

And he said that the devil never misses church.

And he's the one person who never misses the church.

The minister might not always be there,

but the devil is always there.

And some of you as well

might have had very, very odd weeks

and even now having very odd experiences

with your minds filled with all sorts of things.

And if that's what's going on,

it's just really good to remember

that even though when we gather together

in the presence of Jesus

to open his word

and to be together as Christ's people,

that it's a spiritual war

that we're involved in at the same time.

It really is.

And it's just important

to be gripped by the gospel

and to call out to the Father

to help us.

And when we come in,

especially if we're wrestling

with thoughts of despair

or depression

or worry

or sexual thoughts

or anger

or whatever it is,

to just try to remember

that the devil wants to have you

think about that the whole time.

And it's a really good opportunity

and invitation

just to call out to Jesus for help.

And he knows your frailty.

He knows your frailty.

And he loves you.

So let's look at the text.

It's John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

We'll begin at verse 1.

And what's happened

in the way that John,

who's one of the original apostles,

the way he chose to write

this biography of Jesus

is basically from chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

This is after Jesus' public ministry.

This is now Jesus' private interactions

just with his disciples.

The public ministry has come to an end.

It's a Thursday.

Jesus, as he's saying all of these things,

knows that he's going to be dead the next day.

That's looming very present in his thought

that this is going to be a very momentous 24 hours.

And one of the interesting things as well,

because Judas is mentioned

with significance in this text,

is that Judas will also be dead.

Not at the same time as Jesus,

but within 48 hours,

Judas will be dead.

But Jesus knows that he is going to be dying.

And this is the private interactions of him

with his disciples.

And here's how it begins.

John chapter 13, verse 1.

John 13:1

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 are in the world,

he loved them to the end.

Now, just sort of pause.

And I know this could end up taking us

like three hours to read through

if I pause after every verse and talk for a bit.

But this is a really important part to stop at.

If you're not that familiar with the Bible,

the Passover is a hugely significant event

in the history of Israel.

It's the event where God acts with great power

to deliver the people of Israel

out of slavery and bondage in Egypt.

And it's what propels them ultimately

towards the promised land.

And it's during this,

and it's a very, very important festival.

It's during, just as this festival is beginning,

that Jesus is doing this

and he's going to die during the Passover.

It's part of the whole overarching symbolism.

But the important thing I want to draw out to you

is this, it sounds, and this is just,

you don't know this in English,

but it's there in the original language.

Look at the very last words of verse 1.

He loved them to the end.

Now that word end is a very interesting word.

Those of you who are a bit familiar with Greek,

it's, I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly,

telos, telos.

It's the idea of,

it's not just that something's finished.

Okay, well, the movie's over,

let's do something else.

Or okay, my lunch is over,

it's something else.

It's a word that talks about

everything moving towards a purpose,

towards an end,

towards something that makes,

gives meaning to everything.

And that's the word that he's using.

But that's not the word that,

I mean, that's a very significant word.

But if you turn in your Bibles,

it's not going to be on the screen.

If you turn in your Bibles

to John chapter 19, verse 30.

John 19:30

John chapter 19, verse 30.

John 19:30

And if you have a Bible like mine

that gives you little headings,

you'll see that it,

just before verse 30,

it talks about the death of Jesus.

And what's happening the next day

is that Jesus is dying on the cross.

And whether this is the very last word

that Jesus says

or the second last word,

I mean, that's because

it's in different biographies.

This is the very, very important ending

in John's gospel.

And you'll see there,

it says in verse 30,

when Jesus had received the sour wine,

he said, it is finished.

And he bowed his head

and gave up his spirit.

And he dies.

And that word that says,

it is finished,

is basically the same word

as the end,

only in a different verb tense.

So what John is doing,

so when Jesus says

it's finished,

it's saying it's accomplished,

he's saying the telos,

the whole purpose,

the whole reason

of everything that I've gone through

in all of my life,

my conception in the womb

of Mary by God,

my time in the womb,

my birth,

my life,

everything that's gone through,

it's all moved to this purpose,

and I have accomplished

everything that it was

on my heart and mind

and on the heart and mind

of God the Father to do,

it has all come to its proper end

as I hang here on the cross

with blood coming out of my wrists

and out of my feet

and down my head

and my back is all scarred.

And as he dies,

he has accomplished everything

that he means to accomplish.

But if you go back

to John chapter 13 verse 1,

John 13:1

when Jesus says

he loved them to the end,

it's the same word,

it's the same idea.

In other words,

what Jesus,

what John is doing here,

and we're going to look at it

obviously a bit more,

is he's linking

what's now going to happen

with what's going to happen

at the end.

A way for you to think about it

is this,

that what's going to be,

you just sort of think about it

from the perspective of the disciples,

okay,

and of the high priests

and of Pilate

and the Roman soldiers

and the crowds

and Barabbas

and what's going to be happening

over,

and there's going to be

some teaching and everything.

You're going to see in a moment

that Jesus is going to be aware

of the devil being present

and he's going to be aware

of Judas' betrayal

and Judas is going to go out

into the night

and the soldiers are going to come

and Jesus is going to be captured

and he's going to be

falsely accused

and his disciples

are going to scatter

and he's going to be whipped

and he's going to be mocked

and he's going to die on the cross

and it looks like

he's completely underfailed

and on the ground,

you know,

it looks like Pilate

is doing this

because he's won

and the Jewish leaders

are doing this

and like this

because they've won

and Barabbas

is maybe just

having the biggest laugh

of his life

and getting drunk

after he's freed

and it's just going to be bloody

and it's going to be chaotic

and it's going to look like

it's a complete and utter failure

and everything is just sort of going

all this craziness

and what Jesus is going to do

in the very next story

is Jesus is telling his disciples,

I am about to go,

in a sense,

give you

from 10,000 feet up in the air,

so to speak,

I'm going to basically describe

in a simple act

and teaching

what's really going on.

I'm going to help you

to understand.

You're going to get caught up

in the betrayal

and the scattering

and the fighting

and the soldiers

and the mocking

and the blood.

You're going to get caught up

in all of these little details

down in the ground

but I am going to tell you a story

and I'm going to enact something

out in front of you

so that if you listen

and afterwards you'll understand,

it's like you're going to be

10,000 feet above the ground

and you're going to be with God

and God is giving you

a very, very,

I am God,

Jesus giving his disciples

a very, very simple image

to understand

what is really going on.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

Jesus does the same thing

but he does it

by the Lord's Supper,

the institution

of the Lord's Supper.

He gives them a way

to understand

from 10,000 feet

from God's perspective

what's really going on

on the ground,

what's really happening

not just in history

but for all eternity

because it's happening

in two levels both.

It's happening

at a spiritual level

in terms of all eternity.

It's happening in history

in real time

and John chooses

a different story

to help us to understand.

Out of the two significant things

or more that he did,

Jesus did on that night,

John says,

you know what?

I think the other guys

are going to talk about this.

I'm going to say this

because this is also

really important to understand.

So what is it?

Well, we have to get through

something else first.

Look at verse 2.

So during supper,

when the devil

had already put it

into the heart

of Judas Iscariot,

Simon's son,

to betray him.

Now just sort of pause.

What this is saying

is that,

you know,

this larger story,

this story,

this image

that Jesus is going to give

to help his disciples

understand

what's really going on,

it's going to happen.

It takes into account

the reality of the devil.

And it's going to take into account

the reality of how the devil works

with feeble and frail human beings

like you and me.

And what he,

Jesus is aware of,

John is now aware

of it afterwards,

but Jesus is aware

of it at the time,

as we'll see,

is that the devil

has been putting thoughts

into Judas' mind.

In fact,

another translation

for put is cast.

It's almost like,

you know,

like you're fishing.

You cast,

you cast the hook

with the worm

and you hope

a fish will bite.

It's almost the same

type of way to understand.

It's as if the devil's

fishing your mind

and your heart

and your will,

throwing out those hooks

with the worm,

seeing if George will bite,

because that's what he's doing.

And,

you know,

you and I can't stop

the devil

from putting thoughts

into our mind

and into our heart.

But what we do with it

is on us.

And that's one of the things

that goes on in our lives.

You know,

it's amazing how often

in my own life

and in others,

I see people snatch

unhappiness

out of the jaws

of happiness.

Like,

they could be happy.

Things are going well.

And then all of a sudden,

there's a thought

in our head

to remind us

of that mean thing

that somebody did

to us before.

Or the mean thing

our mom said to us.

Or the coach said to us

30 years ago

and all of a sudden,

on the way to happiness,

whoa,

our mind is preoccupied

with that.

Or our mind is,

all of a sudden,

we're on the way

to happiness

and then we look

at somebody

and they,

I just discovered

how expensive

purses are

because I bought

my wife a purse

at Christmas.

I did not realize

how much money

some people spend

on purses.

It was a shock

to me.

Anyway,

and listen,

if you're a woman

trying to impress me

with your purse,

it is lost on me.

I did not realize

that one person

might have a $25 purse

and a $3,000 purse,

right?

They both just look

black to me.

But those of you

who are into those things,

you know and you understand.

Okay?

So, but anyway,

so, you know,

but you're on your way

and all of a sudden

you see this $2,000 purse

and now you're filled

with envy

and then you go

from envy

to feeling lousy

about yourself

and your prospects

and then you go

from envy

to going,

well, I'm better than you

and before you know it,

happiness is gone.

The devil has cast

a little thought

into your mind

and you grab on it

and that's what,

that's what's describing here.

It's a very important

spiritual teaching,

actually,

just sort of thrown

right in here

in terms of how

the devil works.

But we have to still see

whether Judas

is going to bite on it.

I mean, we know,

many of us know the story

but that's what's going

to happen here

in the story

is that not only

we discover that Judas

has been biting

on these thoughts

that come into

the devil's mind,

the devil has him hooked

at some point in time.

So, verse 3,

so remember we said,

so this is going

to be something

that Jesus does

to help all of his disciples

understand what's

really going on

and it's a very,

very, very important image

for some of us.

I'm going to tell you

right now,

not all of us

struggle with shame

but some of us,

shame is a very,

very powerful part

of who we are

and the following image

is a very powerful image

for those of us

who deal with shame.

So, verse 3,

Jesus knowing

that the Father

had given all things

into his hands

and that he,

that is Jesus,

he'd come from God

and he was going

to go back to God

and 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.

And we'll just sort of pause.

So what Jesus does here,

it's a bit of a gross image

to us,

but he strips down

to his loincloth

and a loincloth

would have covered

his genitals,

but not all of his buttock.

And he strips down to that.

And he strips down to that

complete,

and takes,

in other words,

the complete humiliating place

of the lowest servant.

And he washes

his disciples' feet.

And that is going to be,

that with his explanation

that comes,

that is the image

that Jesus wants us

to have in our minds

to help us

to understand

the betrayal

and the running

and the scaredness

and the beatings

and the blood

and the nails

and the whipping

and the mocking

and the death.

And Jesus

wants this

to be a story

and an image

to help us

to understand

what's really going on.

Amidst all the events,

that's what we are

to understand

is happening.

That God,

the Son of God,

is setting aside

his glory and splendor

and divine prerogatives.

He's setting all of these aside.

He's taking the position

and the demeanor

of the lowest

of servants and slaves

to clean,

to make you clean.

To make you clean.

That's what's really going on.

We'll unpack that

a little bit more

in a moment.

But it's a very,

very powerful image.

And Peter doesn't like it at all.

You know,

Peter doesn't like it at all.

Look at 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.

Boy,

is that ever

an understatement.

They don't understand

it at all.

But afterward,

you will understand.

Because you see,

Jesus wants us

to understand.

And Peter said to him,

you shall never

wash my feet.

And in the original language,

this is emphatic.

You shall never

wash my feet.

It's emphatic

in the original language.

In the way

it's structured.

And,

and Jesus

answered him,

if I do not

wash you.

Now here he's going

beyond just the foot thing

and he's saying,

if I do not wash you,

if I do not make you clean,

so to speak,

you have no share

with me.

No participation

with me.

No,

you're not,

in a sense,

connected to me.

And in light of that,

verse 9,

Simon Peter,

because if there's one thing

Simon Peter wants,

he has lots of things

about him

that are weak and frail,

but he wants Jesus.

So he says,

Lord,

not my feet only then,

so to speak,

but also my hands,

my head,

like it's an image

of what I do,

how I think,

like all of me.

And then Jesus answers

in sort of a bit

of an elliptical way

and he's speaking,

of course,

in that culture

where you're walking

on dirt floors

all the time

and you're walking

on dirt

and dust

and Jesus said to him

in verse 9,

the one who was bathed,

you know,

had a bath,

does not need to wash

except for his feet.

In other words,

after they get out

of their bath,

the rest of them,

they're clean

from here up,

right?

But it's completely clean

and you are clean

because Jesus knows

what's going to happen

with them

and what's going on

in their lives

and then he says,

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.

See,

one of the things

which is so powerful

about this image,

this is an image

to help us

to understand

what's really going on

at the crucifixion

is that Jesus

also washed

Judas' feet.

In a sense,

with the devil

looking on,

while the devil

is casting hooks

with worms

into Judas' head,

seeing if he'll bite,

jiggling it,

while that's all going on,

Jesus washes

Judas' feet

as well as the disciples.

It's an act

of profound love

and an act of love

that respects our freedom.

Now,

I,

you know,

sometimes in my sermons

I talk about shame

and stuff like that

and that's because

I struggled with shame

for decades,

not just a week,

a day,

but for decades.

Even as a Christian

I struggled with shame

and it was one of those things,

I don't know how it was,

it's probably just in heaven

I'll find out,

God will just say,

George,

you are so dense,

like you listen to 15 sermons,

150 sermons

would have helped,

he never listened,

never heard,

I don't know what he's going to say,

but I just didn't ever,

it seemed like it took decades

for me to start to have a sense

about the resources

to try to handle,

I'd fight against it,

but for those of you

who struggle with shame,

you know,

it's that there's something

wrong with you.

It's not just that

people who don't struggle

with shame,

they do wrong things,

but then they move on.

But for those of us

who struggle with shame,

it's something at the very center

of our identity,

that there's just something

fundamentally broken about me.

And I don't mean here

in a scriptural sense,

I used to think that,

that somehow I'm just

experiencing Genesis 3

and on one level

I am experiencing Genesis 3,

but on another level

there's a different thing

going on within me,

a different type of,

an identity that I have,

even though I acknowledge

the gospel with my head,

but an identity that's

somehow not touched

by what Jesus has done

for me on the cross,

that even though,

yeah, yeah,

I'm going to go to heaven,

but in the meantime,

things just aren't going

to work out with me.

There's something wrong

about me.

There's something

that is just

dirty.

It's just dirty.

And some of us

in the room

have no idea

what I'm talking about,

and some of you

know very well

what I'm talking about.

And one of the wonderful

things about Jesus

and one of the wonderful

things about God

is that God knows,

Jesus knows,

that you and I

are all different.

And that's why

there's different ways

that Jesus communicates

this profound wonder

about what he accomplishes

for us on the cross.

And for some of us,

we struggle with guilt.

And so there's all these images

about how Jesus

bears our guilt.

And for some of us,

we struggle with

the fear of death.

And so there's all

these wonderful images

about how Jesus

brings life.

And for some of us,

we struggle with darkness.

And there's all these

wonderful images

about how Jesus

brings light.

And for some of us,

we struggle with

a sense that there

is something

foul about us.

There is something

broken.

There is something

unclean and dirty

about us.

And so it is

that the Bible,

Jesus presents us this image

that what Jesus is doing for us on the cross,

what he's going through

is sopping up all that

which makes us unclean and foul

to make us clean.

That when you put your faith and trust in Jesus,

he makes you clean.

He makes you clean.

And that is the image that he is communicating here.

If you think about it, isn't that so wonderful

that Jesus would provide such an image to Judas

who is eating the worms

that the devil is casting into his mind and heart?

I will make you clean.

You know, one of the things I read

and thought about different secular things,

and there's some help you can get from secular sources

about dealing with shame.

There's some help you can get in trying to understand

what it is and all of that.

But you know, at the end of the day,

the secular things to try to help you deal with shame,

and they can help you to understand

maybe a little bit about where it came from

and the shape it takes

and the different ways it forces you to act

or leads you or encourages you to act.

But at the end of the day,

all it can really do

is try to make me proud.

Because at the end of the day,

what it really tries to do

is either shift it,

don't feel ashamed,

because it's really all your mom's fault,

or it's really all your dad's fault,

or your coach's fault,

or your brother's fault,

or your boss's fault.

But you know what?

You know, in a very fallen way,

that can give you a certain type of pleasure

to know that it's somebody else's fault,

but it actually doesn't really deal with the shame.

And the other thing that secular things often do

is just try to say,

look in the mirror and say,

you're beautiful,

you're powerful,

you can do it,

you're a success,

you're wonderful.

Well, first of all,

isn't that sort of like,

yeah, really?

But at the end of the day,

it just makes you feel more proud,

doesn't it?

Like even if it works,

it turns you into a narcissist.

It turns you into a one who thinks,

I'm the guy,

I'm the gal,

look at me,

I deserve applause.

And get angry when there's no applause.

But you see,

the wonderful thing here about the gospel is

that this story,

on one hand,

it helps us to understand

those of us who struggle with shame.

You know what the Bible is saying?

Actually, George,

you know you think you're clean

and there's something foul about you.

You don't know half of it.

You're way more foul than you ever believed.

Why is it saying that?

Because my need for cleaning

must be unbelievably great

if Jesus had to go to such lengths

to make me clean.

Leaving heaven.

Suffering trial and temptation.

Dying on the cross.

On one hand,

the insight of a person struggling with shame

doesn't even begin

to get to the tip of the iceberg.

But at the same time,

Jesus,

knowing our need,

descends

into the absolute depths

to make you and me clean.

And if this was just a story,

then it's just maybe a variation

of what secular things do,

of either trying to shift the blame

or give you a type of self-talk

that gives you the power

to just sort of steamroller

over your emotions.

And this is maybe doing a different thing

by giving you an image

to think about

that might be helpful.

But it's not just an image

because you see

at the very, very center

of this biography

is that it's true.

It's a way that Jesus

is giving you and me

to understand

what really happened in history.

And in a sense,

what not just happened in history

but happened in eternity.

That God, the Son of God,

really did enter our human race.

That God, the Son of God,

really did live amongst us

suffering the trials and temptations

that we suffer only without sin.

That God, the Son of God,

knows from the inside

what it really is like

to be tempted

and to be feeble and frail

and to be troubled.

And that God, the Son of God,

really does get betrayed.

He really does die upon the cross.

He really does taste

all there is to taste of death.

And on the third day,

He really does rise from the dead.

The tomb really is empty.

The body was not stolen.

Jesus actually does deal

with the foulness

and the dirt

and the shame

and the sin.

And He really does deal with it

and emerge on the far side alive.

He really does deal with it.

And He really does offer

to make you and me clean

if we put our hand out

and He crosses that infinite distance

towards us.

And for those of us

who struggle with shame,

we might not even be able

to put our hand out like that.

It might just be like this.

We're out of our hand

and we do like this.

And He takes the least

and He crosses that infinite distance

and comes and takes you and me.

And He really does make me clean.

This is not just a story

for self-talk.

It is a story to understand

what God, the Son of God,

and the power of the Holy Spirit

by the pleasure of the Father,

God, the Trinity from all eternity,

who is love out of love,

did for you and me

to make you and me clean

when we put our faith

and trust in Him.

And our identity is clean.

Our identity,

my identity in Christ,

is clean.

Not because of self-talk

or powerful emotions

or drugs that change my emotions,

but because it's true He did it.

My identity in Him

is clean.

Jesus helps us to understand more.

We'll finish reading the text

and then I'll just sort of close

because there's still

some other important things

that come out in the whole

back and forward of the story.

Look at verse 12.

When Jesus had finished,

had washed their feet

and put on His outer garments

and resumed His place,

Jesus 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.

Some translations say

master and Lord.

If I then,

your Lord and teacher,

your Lord and master,

have washed your feet,

you also ought to wash

one another's feet.

For I have given you

an example that you also

should do just as I have

done to you.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

a servant is not greater

than his master

nor is a messenger

greater than the one

who sent him.

If you know these things,

blessed are you

if you do them.

I am not speaking

to all of you,

of all of you.

I know whom I have chosen.

But the scripture

will be fulfilled.

It's very important.

He tells them

the Bible will be fulfilled.

See,

just as a,

before I tell you about this,

this is what I'm telling you

right now.

All I'm doing,

I am just a messenger

on behalf of Jesus.

I am not an optimist.

I am a pessimist

in recovery.

And all I can do

is when Jesus says

the scripture will be fulfilled,

he's going to share

a dark fulfillment,

so to speak.

That's what I'm telling you

right now by,

you are clean

if you put your faith

and trust in him.

The scripture will be fulfilled.

God's word will be fulfilled.

His word is sure.

You can trust it

if you put your hand

out to him.

But then back to the text,

he who ate my bread

has lifted his heel against me.

Then verse 19,

I am telling you this now

before it takes place,

that when it does take place,

you may believe

that I am he.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever receives

the one I send

receives me.

Isn't that what I said?

I'm not,

you don't have to receive me,

it's the message.

And if you receive Jesus,

you receive him.

And whoever receives me

receives the one

who sent me.

After saying these things,

Jesus was troubled

in his spirit

and testified,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

one of you will betray me.

One of the things

which is so wonderful

about that,

those of you

who were here early enough

for the beginning

of morning prayer,

there's a wonderful line

in the beginning

of morning prayer.

It's also at the beginning

of evening prayer

and it's three different times

in the book of Ezekiel.

It's said in the same,

slightly different ways,

but it's the same message.

God takes no delight

in the death of a sinner,

but rather that they will

turn from their wickedness

and live.

And we see that here

in Jesus.

He's taking no delight

in the fact that the Scripture

is going to be fulfilled.

He's taking no delight

in the fact that Judas

is going to refuse

all of these options

to repent.

It troubles him.

He takes no delight

in the death of a sinner.

What delights him

is when you turn

from your wickedness

and live.

That's what delights Jesus.

That's what delights God.

That is who God is.

God is not a distant God

who occasionally gets mad

and wreaks destruction

on earth.

He's not just a force.

He's not just sort of like

a basic woo-woo-woo

spiritual type of thing

out there

that we go to

when we die.

This is how we know

who God really is

by Jesus.

Verse 22,

the disciples looked

at one another

uncertain of whom

Jesus spoke.

They had no idea

that somebody was going

to betray him that night.

They had no idea

who it was going to be.

Verse 23,

one of his disciples

whom Jesus loved,

that's John the writer,

he was reclining

at table right beside Jesus,

one of the places of honor.

So Simon Peter,

not in a place of honor,

motioned to him

to ask Jesus

of whom he was speaking.

So that disciple

leaning back against Jesus

said to him,

Lord, who is it?

Jesus answered,

it is he to whom

I will give this morsel

of bread

when I have dipped it.

He would have dipped it

into hummus

or tabbouleh

or something like that.

So when he had

dipped the morsel,

he gave it to Judas,

the son of Simon Iscariot.

Then after he had

taken the morsel,

Satan entered into him,

that is Judas.

And Jesus said to him,

what you are going to do,

do quickly.

You see,

the wonderful thing,

it's not that somehow

the devil was in the bread.

That's not what it's saying.

You see,

Jesus has already

warned everybody

that one of them there

is going to betray him.

This is Jesus'

constant speaking

to give Judas an honor.

You see,

God's desire

is always that we repent.

That's his fundamental

desire for us.

He warns Judas repeatedly

so that Judas will repent,

will turn.

And now in this moment

of real intimacy,

because that's what it is,

if my wife was to come in

to a room

and I was feeding

another woman

by my hand,

what would her reaction be?

It would be biblical.

No.

We all recognize

that that's a very

intimate gesture.

And that's,

Jesus gives a very

intimate gesture

to Judas.

And it is that moment

of intimacy.

It's dark outside.

In Jerusalem

at that time of the year,

it's about 10 degrees.

So it's,

and that would feel

very cold to people

who are used to 40

in the summer.

It would feel pretty warm

to us today,

but it would feel cold to them.

It's dark outside.

It's cold.

They're all huddled around

to feast.

Jesus and his disciples,

the friends,

it's a moment of intimacy

and it is the moment

of intimacy

that Judas decides

to have the devil

go all in

and possess him.

And the devil

and Jesus

are opposites,

but they're not equal.

The devil

doesn't boss Jesus around.

Jesus tells the devil

what to do.

Get it over with.

Be out.

Be gone.

And the rest of Jesus'

teaching now

is with the devil gone,

the betrayer gone.

It's just Jesus

and his disciples

just to wrap it up.

Verse 31.

When Judas had gone out,

Jesus said,

now is the Son of Man glorified.

He knows the cross is coming

and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him,

God will also glorify him

in himself

and glorify him at once.

Little children,

yet a little while

I am with you.

You will seek me

and just as I have said

to the Jewish leaders,

so now I also say to you,

where I am going,

you cannot come.

A new commandment

I give to you,

that you love one another

just as I have loved you.

You also are to love

one another.

By this,

all people will know

that you are my disciples,

not by your

brilliant apologetics,

not by your brilliant preaching,

not by your spectacular music,

not by your unbelievably

wonderful organizational church,

but if you have love

for one another.

Simon Peter said to him,

Lord, where are you going?

And Jesus answered him,

where I am going,

you cannot follow me now,

but you will follow afterward.

Peter will die.

Peter said to him,

Lord, why can I not

follow you now?

I will lay down

my life for you.

And Jesus answered,

will you lay down

your life for me?

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

the rooster will not crow

until you have denied me

three times.

Amen.

So just wrap it up

with a couple of points

to summarize where we've been.

If you could put them up,

that would be great.

The first one is,

the true Lord of all creation

loves you,

and he stooped like a servant

to wash you

and make you clean forever.

The true Lord of all creation

loves you,

and he stooped like a servant

to wash you

and make you clean forever.

That's the power of the image.

That's what Jesus is saying.

That what's going on

in the cross

is me,

the Lord of all creation.

I am stooping

and stooping

and stooping

and stooping,

even stooping

to the point of death,

even stooping

to the point

of bearing all the sin

and the shame

of the entire world

in my being.

I am stooping

lower and lower

and lower

because I love you.

And by my action

for you,

if you receive it,

I will wash you

and make you clean forever.

Forever.

That means,

I stand before you right now,

not because of arrogance

or pride

or narcissism,

but because I believe

the words of Jesus,

I stand before you clean.

clean.

That's how I stand before you,

in Jesus,

clean.

If you could put up

the next slide.

The Lord and the devil

are opposites,

but are not equal.

The Lord is God.

The devil

is a fallen creature.

It's a very important thing

for us to remember.

They are opposites.

The Lord stoops

out of love

to make you clean.

The devil

casts worms

that you might eat them

and become foul

and be destroyed.

Many people in our culture

who are afraid of God

are really afraid

of an imposter.

They do not realize

that who they think

of as God

and how they describe God

is actually

they are describing

the devil.

And they are right

to run from him.

But we are to proclaim

that that is not

the true God.

He is an imposter.

Then he is but

a fallen creature.

And Jesus

is the one

who reveals God

to us.

Next point.

The Lord loves you

knowing full well

that you are fallen

and frail.

The Lord loves you

knowing full well

that you are fallen

and frail.

He knew

that Peter

would deny him

when he washed

his feet.

He knows

your frailty

and mine

your sin

and mine

and still

he died

for you.

And the final point

please.

First the gospel

saves you

then the gospel

shapes you.

First the gospel

saves you

then the gospel

shapes you.

That is what

Jesus says here.

That as this story

of the fact

that I am clean

because the Lord

of the universe

stooped

to die upon

the cross

and by his

death

I don't understand

all of the

in a sense

what went on

in it

but I understand

that what he does

it is a profound

act to make me

clean.

His stooping

and loving

and stooping

and dying

and as that story

begins to grip us

it shapes us

to love one another

to serve one another

to take a turn

making coffee

to take a turn

standing by a cold door

so we can use

this space

to look after

snotty nose

little

nine month olds

to serve the poor

to take risks

that as the gospel

first it saves you

but as we

think upon the gospel

more and more

and more

it shapes us

please stand

and if you have

you know

never given your life

to Jesus

there's no time

better than right now

to give your life

to Jesus

and I would just say

Lord

be my savior

and make me clean

that's what I would say

you don't have to be

very complicated

you don't have to remember

I struggled

I grew up in an

evangelical church

and I think the minister

always used the exact

same words

and I would think

do I have to remember

all these words

and they're like

no

just think of John 13

and say

Jesus

make me clean

forever

I want to be yours

that's all you have to do

just listen to Jesus

there's no time

better than now

to do it

let's just bow our heads

in prayer

Father

thank you so much

that you sent Jesus

Father

thank you

that not only

did you send Jesus

but Father

and Lord Jesus

thank you

that the Holy Spirit

comes to move within us

to draw us to Jesus

that Jesus

draws us to himself

Father

we just thank you

for

for

all that you have done

to save us

we thank you

for Jesus

that he died

on the cross

it's an act

of stooping

to make us clean

when we

put our trust

in him

and he washes us

and makes us clean

forever

you make us clean

forever

Father

we ask that you

would make us

disciples of Jesus

who are gripped

by the gospel

learning to live

selflessly

and free

with love

for your glory

and all these things

we ask in the name

of Jesus

your son

and our savior

amen