2017.06.04                                          John 13: 6-20

                  Having loved His own…

                                   Part 2

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus…

Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God…

Once again this morning we are studying the Gospel of John…

All through the  Scriptures…  God reveals Himself to Humanity… As we were reminded of Last week… We see the Father perfectly reflected in the Son… In perfect Loving obedience to the Father… Jesus laid down His life for us… As we saw last week… Jesus demonstrated Humble Servant Leadership as He washed the disciples feet… Jesus' public ministry is complete...   He has nothing more to say directly to the world… But he has a lot more to say to his disciples… Jesus is going to teach and prepare them for the very difficult days ahead… As he teaches them... He serves them… A living sermon and an awesome example… We are going to pickup at Chapter 13 Verse 1 again…

John 13: 1-5                            NKJV    slt 2000

1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded

Look at the last part of v1…

v1b… Having loved His own who were in the world… As We saw last week… The phrase… His own… is from  the Greek tous idious… It can be translated as… Near and dear… those who belong to Him… It is a very personal expression... He is thinking about His own who are in the world… next phrase…

 v1b…He loved them to the end…

This is another great phrase in the Greek… it means to perfection… to the consummation… to the infinite capacity of divine love... You might translate this…   He loved them fully and forever...

He loved them with all the love with which God can love…  And His love and protection continues on into Eternity… Forever…

We focused on these verses last week… In them we see a clear picture of the depth and fullness of Jesus Love for His own... You can listen to it on line if you missed it…

v2… the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot… to betray Him…

This betrayal by Judas is part of the Sovereign Plan of God… Matthew 26… Judas Iscariot has already received the money… 30 pieces of silver… The price of a slave by the way…  

He has arraigned to give Jesus over to the Chief Priests on this very night…. Jesus knows it… Judah thinks that he is executing his plan… But He is only following The Fathers… Because the time had come…   And what is that time? His hour… Tomorrow Jesus will lay down His life for them and us… look with me at v5-8…

John 13: 5-8                          NKJV   slt 2000

5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Last week I said that the Disciples were going to freak out when Jesus is arrested and crucified… Peter really starts to freak out right here is these verses… Let me set some context here…. First remember it is only a few days since the huge crowds hailed Jesus as the great King Messiah… Peter and the others were certain that finally Jesus was ready to seize His Kingdom and destroy the Roman rule over them… This even though He has told them several times that He was going to die on the cross… They somehow deleted that from their Whattsapp accounts without really comprehending it… When He is betrayed they will freak… But even now Peter sees that Jesus behavior is not that of a conquering King… Rather a common slave… He does not yet understand the concept of the prophesied suffering servant of the Lord… Also… They had just been arguing with themselves over who would be the greatest in the kingdom…Luke 22… They are not thinking about serving at all... They are thinking about being served proudly as Jesus´ right hand man…

Jesus  washes their feet to demonstrate to them what it means to be a servant of the Lord… Not proud and arguing… But In humility loving and serving... Teaching them that Putting others first… Is true Godliness…

As Jesus takes out the towel and begins to wash feet… Astonishment is on every face in the room… Look with at Peter´s reaction… v6-8…

v6… Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?

Peter cannot quite believe it…. He knows that He should be the one serving Jesus… He knows he does not deserve to be served by Him…

v7… What I am doing you do not understand now… But you will later…

What Jesus did that night was more than just a simple example of humility…

Philippians Ch 2  tell us that He emptied himself… He laid aside his garments of glory…   He laid aside the heavenly garments… And took on garment of flesh...  v8…

Peter says no way… v8… You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me… This washing of feet is wonderful symbolism… When we look at the Word of God… We see two very important ideas describing washing or cleansing… Blood and water… Here Jesus uses water to wash the disciples feet… He is using the idea of washing away the defilement of sin and the wicked influences of the world… Soon He will use His shed blood to wash away our sins forever… Isaiah ch1… Let´s look at the next section… v9- 12…

John 13: 9-12                           NKJV   slt 2000

9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?

v9…  Lord not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "calm down Peter… You are already clean except for the betrayer… You just need your feet washed…. Jesus is clearly talking about their hearts and not their external bodies… v12…

v12… Do you know what I have done to you? Jesus is going to make His point very clear… 

I believe that when Jesus began… There was a quiet astonishment that fell over the disciples…  Jesus begins to wash... And Peter protests...   He says, no way, Lord...

And then Jesus said… Then you'll have no part with me."

Then Peter swings the pendulum to the other side and says…  then not only my feet, but also my hands, and my head… wash everything Lord I so want to be a part of you… That´s good…. But It is spoken too soon… Because this is a teaching moment and Peter is missing the lesson… Jesus said, "he who is-- now watch this word-- bathed."   It's the Greek word louo... louo means a complete washing...

He who is completely bathed... louo… needs only to wash… A different Greek different word… nipto his feet… This word means to wash a part… You've already been louoed, Peter… But you need to be made totally clean….

Jesus is giving a picture of the daily process of being transformed by the Word of God… The process of being made holy… We would use the theological term” “Sanctification” When we repent and believe the Good News of the Gospel… We are washed completely… In a moment in time we are declared to be righteous… Free from sin… This is instant perfection… But we know that even as believers…. We are not perfect… So In the Word of God… We also see the continuing process of sanctification… It continues all through our lives as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of him… 2 Peter 3:18… Paul describes this transformation… This growing in grace in Ephesians ch 5… look at it with me…

Ephesians 5: 25,26                        NKJV   slt 2000

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Here we see Jesus… Giving Himself for the church…. Sanctifying her and making her holy… The washing of Water by the Word…

Here is the spiritual analogy… As genuine believers… We don't get unsaved….

That is impossible Romans ch 8 and many many other scriptures…  But we do get defiled and dirt clings to us because Jesus is still transforming us day by day… We are saved, but we do walk in this world…

And all Along the way… we pick up a little dirt… We pick it up in conversations and media trash… You pick it up driving...  These things all tempt us to give in to our pride and selfishness and lust… We need to keep our feet clean… How… By being quick to repent and confess our sins… We should do that the moment that we realize that we have sinned… Every time we take communion I try to remember to encourage of us to search our hearts and confess our sins…

The Bible says…  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness… 1 John 1:9…  John is saying that to believers who are already [? luoed. ?] They're already bathed… They're already born again... They are  already clean… But they need to be niptoed… next section…. v13-17…

John 13: 13-17                     NKJV   slt 2000

13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

look at v13,14…

Think about Jesus example… One of the great needs of the church is to have feet washed… What  an example of servant-hood… Serve each other…. Stop trying to lord over your brothers and sisters…Be a servant to them… Love them…. Love the people that the Lord has put in your lives...   Encourage each other... Mature and Train people…   Forgive each other… Talk and  Pray with and for each other… That is how you Wash their feet…

v15v… For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you... Follow me… Don´t be proud and stubborn… Humble yourselves and Serve each other…

v17… If you know these things, blessed are if you do them... Please note that… He said… you want to be really blessed or happy…   Do it… The key to happiness is humility… You want to be blessed, you want to be truly happy? Then do what it says... Joy will follow when you learn to serve each other and put others first… It is true in Marriage… It is true in the church…  We must help and encourage each other…

Close

We all get a little dirt on our feet… There is no room for arrogance and pride… In closing I would like to look at Paul strong encouragement to the Church in Galatia… Galatians 6: 1-

Galatians 6: 1- 5                          NKJV   slt 2000

1Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

1 Liebe Freunde, wenn ein Mensch einer Sünde erlegen ist, dann solltet ihr, deren Leben vom Geist Gottes bestimmt ist, diesem Menschen liebevoll und in aller Demut helfen, wieder auf den rechten Weg zurückzufinden. Und pass auf, dass du nicht in dieselbe Gefahr gerätst.

2 Helft euch gegenseitig bei euren Schwierigkeiten und Problemen, so erfüllt ihr das Gesetz, das wir von Christus haben.

3 Wer sich für wichtiger hält als die anderen, betrügt sich selbst.

4 Jeder achte genau auf sein eigenes Leben und Handeln, ohne sich mit anderen zu vergleichen.

5 Schließlich ist jeder für sein eigenes Verhalten verantwortlich.

v1b… you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself…

v2… Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ… Bear one another´s burdens…. Carry each other… Wash each other´s  feet…  Grab the basin of the Word of God… Grab the towel and wipe away the tears… Ideally from your eyes and from their eyes…  Do it gently…

We need to correct and encourage with an attitude of humility…   You don't do it… I'm better than you… or I'm wiser than you…  

Listen If we are going to help each other do life… If we are going to wash each others feet…  We must do it gently… After all… We all sin… We all go through hard times… We have fears and doubts... we need to counsel and pray each other… We are called to help each other… To Provoke one another to love and good works… Hebrews 10: 23-25…

John 13: 17-20                             NKJV

17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

 v17… If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them… Jesus is saying… I have set this example for you to follow… Love and serve each other…. Do not be proud and stubborn… I think you know the famous Childre´s song…. The wise man built his house upon the rock… It is in Luke 6…  Jesus said… Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you… Luke 6:46,47… The wise man builds his house on the rock…

v18b… He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me… Jesus is quoting Psalm 41... look at v19…

v19… "'Now I tell you it before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Jesus knew who would betray Him… The disciples are going to freak out when Judas betrays Him… But Jesus is steadfast and not at all surprised…  It is all part of God´s sovereign plan… He quotes this scripture  to show them, That He is in control of this whole event… Now it is time…  This is the plan…

v20… Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives, whomever I send, receives me. And he who receives me, receives him who sent me.'

Jesus is explaining the Mission that they are receiving… He wants them to carry on the Work that He has began… He is sending them… We will see this in John 17… When Jesus is interceding for them in the Garden of Gethsemane… And they will take the Good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth… This morning we are celebrating Pentecost… That is the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in great power… So that they could be His witnesses…

Let´s pray…