1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:05,880 John 13 One through 16 Now, before the feast of the 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,840 Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,560 of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,880 the world, He loved them to the end. 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,360 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,400 heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,960 knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,119 and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose 9 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:35,360 from supper. He laid aside his outer garments 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,920 and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 11 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,720 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the 12 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,080 disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,360 around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,080 to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? 15 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,400 Jesus answered him, What I am doing you do not understand now, 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,480 but afterward you will understand. 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,320 Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. 18 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,560 Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no share with 19 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,600 me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, 20 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,360 not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 21 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,320 Jesus said to him, The one who is bathed does not need to wash 22 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,640 except for his feet, but is completely clean, and you are 23 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:24,600 clean, but not everyone of you, for he knew who was to betray 24 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,440 him. That is why he said, not all of 25 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,480 you are clean. When he had washed their feet 26 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,920 and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, He said 27 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:36,600 to them, Do you understand what I have done to you? 28 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,840 You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:46,160 If I then your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also 30 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:47,960 ought to wash one another's feet. 31 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,440 For I have given you an example that you also should do, just as 32 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,160 I have done to you. Truly, I say to you, a servant 33 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,760 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than 34 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,440 the one who sent him the word of the Lord. 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,600 Thanks be to God, you may be seated. 36 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,000 What are the qualities that you look for in your leadership? 37 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:25,160 What would you say makes a good leader in our church and your 38 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,880 businesses and the organizations and schools in your community 39 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:36,320 and our governments? We were just read one of the 40 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,600 greatest pictures from the greatest leader in the history 41 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,920 of the world, Servants leadership. 42 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,680 Our purpose here today is to be exhorted, encouraged, corrected, 43 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,480 and equipped by the text. But I ask you those questions 44 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,360 first because I believe if we were honest, what we as 45 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,680 individuals and collectively, what we as a society want from 46 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,600 our leaders, servant leadership is not often the first quality 47 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,240 that comes to mind. You probably say something like 48 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,400 intellect, competency, command, charisma. 49 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:26,640 We want leaders who win. We want leaders who are grand, 50 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:35,160 sometimes even larger than life. The amazing thing about Jesus as 51 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:40,560 a leader is he did win, and Jesus was grand. 52 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:47,320 But what's remarkable about the way that Jesus did it is that he 53 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:54,080 redefined what winning meant and what it would mean to be great. 54 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,240 This passage in the Gospel of John is the only time in the 55 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,960 Bible that we have the foot washing from the four gospels. 56 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,240 But in the Gospel of Luke, at a similar point in the narrative, 57 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,600 the disciples come to Jesus and they ask him who will be the 58 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:18,880 greatest amongst the disciples. What blows me away personally by 59 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,640 the Lord Jesus response is he actually does not rebuke their 60 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:29,800 desire to be great. He redefines what the word 61 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:38,640 means. He says to be great means to be 62 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:45,480 a servant, the one who does not try to be equal with those he is 63 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:50,080 even leading, but takes the posture of being less than. 64 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,480 That is what greatness means in Jesus world. 65 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,600 And just as Jesus challenged his disciples and their view of 66 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:05,120 greatness, those he spent three years of life with, he is doing 67 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,920 the same for us today. And we have the pleasure today 68 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,000 of seeing that through how he served them as he washed their 69 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,640 feet. Today we're dividing our text 70 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:20,960 into 3 sections, Washed, Prepared, and Sense. 71 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,240 We see that Jesus washes because he loves us. 72 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:34,880 Jesus prepares us because He has plans for us, and Jesus sends us 73 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,200 because the Father has provided us the opportunity to serve. 74 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,840 First. Jesus washes us on this 75 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:48,480 Ascension Sunday as we remember Jesus in his resurrected body 76 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,760 being raised to the heavens and leaving his people here on earth 77 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,880 with the gifts and the promise of the Holy Spirit. 78 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,440 We remember how we who are in Christ, we are destined to 79 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,360 heaven to follow Jesus to that place. 80 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,400 But for now, we wait. We wait for his return or we 81 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,600 wait for Him to call us home in in death, whichever comes first 82 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,920 by God's Providence. PCPC as we have just been 83 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,880 walking through the Gospel of John on this Ascension Sunday, 84 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,160 on this day, we're commissioning members to proclaim who Jesus is 85 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:27,600 in Dallas into the ends of the earth. 86 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,080 We find ourselves at a critical moment in the Gospel of John, 87 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,760 verse one from our passage now before the feast of the Passover 88 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,160 when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this 89 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,680 world. This is the third Passover feast 90 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,320 that we've come to in the Gospel of John, and we are at the night 91 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,720 of his arrest. Jesus will spend the next 5 92 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:56,120 chapters with his disciples explaining to him what is about 93 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,960 to happen. But John slows down in these 94 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,160 final hours. We have so much to learn from 95 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,120 our risen Savior. The second-half of verse one 96 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:14,240 tells us the explicit motivation of Christ through the washing of 97 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,160 the feet that He carries us into as He begins His farewell 98 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,560 discourse. And that is, it is His love for 99 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,000 those who are his, having loved His own, who are in the world. 100 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:35,200 He loved them to the end. On the eve of His death, Jesus 101 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,680 gives us his most emphatic expression of love that we have 102 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:43,680 seen up to this point in the Gospel of John, a love that will 103 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,360 be taken to the end with his dying breath. 104 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:53,000 And we see at this most intense moment, a love so intense that 105 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:59,640 it persists and endures even in the face of betrayal. 106 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,760 The dynamic of Judas is is entered in pretty quickly into 107 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:10,480 our narrative. And Judas, as we see the 108 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:15,200 betrayal that's there, shows us the contrast between how man 109 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:23,640 loves and how God loves. Jesus came to the dinner table 110 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:25,880 with the motivation to love the disciples. 111 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,400 It was a face to face interaction. 112 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,080 It was intimate. It was the fellowship of a 113 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,720 dinner table. Judas was there. 114 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,919 He was experiencing the same things that the other disciples 115 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:42,720 were experiencing. But what does the text tell us 116 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,400 was different, that the devil had tempted him away? 117 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:51,560 There was a misordered love in Judas's heart that he had 118 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:57,200 prioritized other loves ahead of receiving the love from God. 119 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,120 Personal wealth, Security. Jesus. 120 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:07,840 Judas's heart was cold to the love of Jesus, even as God was 121 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:14,920 manifesting it before his eyes. But Jesus loved to the end, even 122 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:21,960 in the face of his own betrayal. We hear the word Judas, 123 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,360 particularly if you've grown up in the church, and there's a bit 124 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,040 of a temptation to distance yourself from that. 125 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:34,280 And while we are not engaged in the act of betrayal of our 126 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,200 Savior, it would be foolish to believe that we're not more like 127 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:44,960 Judas than we'd like to think. The world and the sin that is, 128 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,600 that is in us, It tells us to love those who are like us. 129 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,120 It tells us to love those who can help us get something that 130 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,280 we need. That's something that our 131 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,960 hearts, those misordered love of the hearts, are longing for. 132 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:05,000 That might be social approval, it might be something that gets 133 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:10,600 us ahead in life. We are tempted to love based on 134 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:15,120 the favourites we keep, based on who is in our in list. 135 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:21,280 I think sometimes even the broader secular culture under 136 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:25,880 the guise of tolerance, there's only tolerance for those who 137 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:30,480 share the same views that we do. There's an intolerance for 138 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,880 anyone who appears appears to be intolerance. 139 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:41,760 But Jesus shows us a better way. He shows us his service, which 140 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:46,800 is motivated by his love, even to those who would betray him, 141 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,320 motivated by love. In the middle of their Passover 142 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:56,040 dinner, Jesus stands up. He begins to undress. 143 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,600 He ties a towel around his waist. 144 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,960 He begins to wash the disciples feet. 145 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:12,520 Jesus laid aside his garments in order to take on the work of a 146 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,640 servant. He's doing this face to face 147 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,080 with the disciples. They're seeing the fullness of 148 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:26,640 the form of a servant. It's also in the presence of his 149 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,320 disciples whom he just called his own. 150 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,040 What I want to say about Jesus service, it is not 151 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,120 inconspicuous. He is not trying to just kind of 152 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,160 go around the edges and wash the feet that no one would notice. 153 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,520 It's in your face. He wants the disciples to feel 154 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,320 the intimacy of the moments. Those he was just around table 155 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,960 with, he's now looking them in the eye, down on one knee, 156 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:04,800 washing their feet, doing the work of a servant because he 157 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,880 loved them. He was going to love them to the 158 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:12,320 end. Now, this washing would have 159 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:17,360 been normal for a Passover meal, but what is not normal about 160 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,240 this particular washing is that that washing would have happened 161 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,280 before the meal would have started, and this washing 162 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,400 actually took place right in the middle of the meal. 163 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,920 And so I think even from this early phase of the narrative, we 164 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:35,880 sense that Jesus is showing them that this is a different kind of 165 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:41,280 Passover. Jesus is maintaining the 166 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,200 continuity of God's story that started with the people of 167 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,720 Israel, the promise of the Passover that had been practiced 168 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,880 since they had escaped from the land of Egypt. 169 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,320 But he's also showing there's a preparation here that's somewhat 170 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,440 different. The preparation is different. 171 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,440 It's preparing for a more complete Passover. 172 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,000 So now we see how Jesus prepares us, prepared because he has 173 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,400 plans for us. And this preparation has to do 174 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,320 with a deeper understanding of his relationship to us. 175 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,840 And we currently know and we see that in the person of Peter in 176 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,120 the story, Jesus is showing us he's preparing the disciples for 177 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,560 a calling. And we see from Peter's response 178 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:33,360 at first in verse 6 that he he gets it. 179 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:35,960 He gets that there is a significance here. 180 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,880 That's why Peter asks the question. 181 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,960 It's, it's, it's interesting to know everything about Judas and 182 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,200 Peter and how the contrast here. Judas, we actually don't hear 183 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,000 anything from the text that Judas refused his feet to be 184 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,480 washed. I think it's, we can assume that 185 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,120 actually Judas had his feet washed by Jesus that night. 186 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,920 Judas was willing to accept the washing even though he knew what 187 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:07,960 he was about ready to do. But in Peter, we have a disciple 188 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,800 who's eager to announce who Jesus is, eager to say that 189 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,480 Jesus is the Messiah. But his first gut reaction is, I 190 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:16,720 don't need that. Why? 191 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,720 Why would you do that to me? He his mind is still kind of 192 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,480 catching up with what is happening in front, in front of 193 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:26,960 them. We pick up Peters response in 194 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,960 verse 6. Jesus was working his way around 195 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,240 the room. John, the Gospel writer, he was 196 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,800 in the room. He was either waiting for his 197 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,320 turn for his feet to be washed or they had already been washed 198 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,160 at the moment. And he recorded for us this 199 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:50,040 interaction, this dialogue. Peter is using some personal 200 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,520 pronouns here. Lord, do you wash? 201 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:56,600 Do you, Lord Jesus, wash my feet. 202 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,840 So that intimate nature of the interaction, he's getting it. 203 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,400 He understands that there's a relational nature here. 204 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:11,920 But the servitude, the action, Jesus lowering himself to Peter, 205 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:20,040 it's just too much for him. He's not able to accept the 206 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:21,800 washing. That's pretty clear from the 207 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,000 dialogue. Jesus, ever patient with Peter, 208 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,040 tells him that though he doesn't understand now, he will 209 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,200 understand later. We get a sense of the journey 210 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,640 that Peter is going to be on in these next couple of days, in 211 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,920 the next week. But Peter's pretty clear. 212 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,040 He double s down on his refusal. He states that Jesus can never 213 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:50,640 wash his feet and in preparing Peter for the greater Passover, 214 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:52,920 Jesus drives a point home pretty clearly. 215 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,080 There is no option of Peter maintaining this relationship 216 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,840 with Jesus if he doesn't receive the service. 217 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,760 In order to be with Jesus, Peter has to let himself be served by 218 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:12,240 the Holy Messiah. The Son of God is looking into 219 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,440 Peter's eyes. Peter knows who Jesus is. 220 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:23,320 Peter is tempted towards misunderstanding Jesus's role in 221 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,120 misunderstanding his own salvation. 222 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,200 But by the grace of God, Peter is brought to the end of 223 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:33,000 himself. We see at play here the grace of 224 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,800 a Savior who's willing to receive Peter's refusal at first 225 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,400 to explain what this means and the significance of it. 226 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,480 And who's there to respond to Peter's repentance in the 227 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:50,840 moment. He is always willing to remind 228 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,000 his disciples, those whom he loves, that they will always be 229 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:56,880 in need of Jesus service to them. 230 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:04,079 I've been reminded many weeks or many, many times this week that 231 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:09,720 I try to proclaim independence from God, say I don't know if I 232 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,599 need it this week, Jesus, I don't know if I need you to wash 233 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:19,160 my feet today. But this image from the gospel 234 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:24,800 of Jesus undressing himself, he washes our feet that we might be 235 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,200 clothed in his own righteousness. 236 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:34,120 And from that point on, we have feet clean enough to spread the 237 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:40,080 good news of what he has done. So I, as I have pondered this 238 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,640 week about how I try to refuse Jesus's moments of, of his 239 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,680 service to me, I want to ask you, how do you try and refuse 240 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:49,640 the washing of your feet by the Son of God? 241 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:56,240 And do you hear that kind voice of our Savior who explains to us 242 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,920 that we won't have a share with him if we don't receive it? 243 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,120 And he accepts our repentance as we come back to him again and 244 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,760 again. I love the way Claire read the 245 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,440 passage for us because I think this phase two of Jesus dialogue 246 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,280 with Peter, it shows you kind of a little bit of how Peter's a 247 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:18,520 bit of a ping pong right in this dialogue. 248 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,280 He's willing to accept, but he still does not understand the 249 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:28,560 purpose accepting the washing. Peter's statement in verse 9, he 250 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,520 wants Jesus to go a step further with what he's offered him. 251 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,400 He said not just my feet, but also my hand and my, my head 252 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:42,720 also, my hands and my head also. And what I see here in Jesus 253 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:49,240 response is that upon hearing Peter's response, Jesus knows 254 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,120 what's in Peter's hearts, just as he knows which is in all of 255 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:57,080 our hearts. And he sees Peter, instead of 256 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,680 receiving the service, looking down at his Savior who was 257 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,440 serving him. And he takes his gaze off Jesus. 258 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,760 He takes his gaze, his gaze off his Savior. 259 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,720 Jesus primarily wants his disciples to see him in the 260 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,720 position that he is taking that is lower than them. 261 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:22,880 He uses the the cultural image of the time, of what it was like 262 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:24,840 to dine. And he's, you know, a dinner 263 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,240 guest at that time was not expected to come to the table 264 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,520 having been completely washed, completely bathed. 265 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,120 And we know that some of the hygiene of the time was quite 266 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:35,360 different than what we have today. 267 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,040 So there probably would have even been a sense of even though 268 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,600 the feet were clean, it would have been a little smelly. 269 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,320 But a dinner guest was not expected to have come to the 270 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,920 table completely bathed. They just need to have their 271 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,520 feet cleansed from the dust and grind of the road. 272 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,480 And then they were welcomed to the table. 273 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,480 I think you can summarize Peter's mistake here as he's 274 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,880 confusing this doctrine of salvation that we must be 275 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:06,240 cleaned. He's accepted that at this 276 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,160 point. He knows that. 277 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,760 He's confusing that with forgetting that it comes through 278 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,080 a person. He's missing the face of his 279 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:21,120 Savior as he's declaring what is right and true. 280 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,720 Jesus verses and 10:00 and 11:00. 281 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,400 It's amazing how in in those two verses he actually does away 282 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:36,120 with this idea of universalism, but he also negates any attempt 283 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:41,560 to try and to add on to his work as necessary for salvation. 284 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,920 As necessary as being called one of Gods. 285 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,320 God's table and fellowship with him can only be obtained through 286 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:55,600 allegiance to Jesus, and allegiance to Jesus can only be 287 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,880 received by accepting the service he gives you. 288 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,000 Cleanliness here is symbolized by the washing of the disciples 289 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,600 feet. But the preparedness that Jesus 290 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,320 is demonstrating comes from our union with Christ. 291 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,360 It comes from knowing and believing and remembering that. 292 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:24,880 It comes from seeing our Savior face to face as He is below us, 293 00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,480 washing our feet that we might be cleansed, being welcomed to 294 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:34,920 the table of God. So we must be careful not to 295 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,320 make the mistake of Judas, of misordered loves of the hearts, 296 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:44,360 but not also not make the mistake of Peter, of forgetting 297 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:48,760 that it's all about allegiance to a person, not to just a right 298 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:55,880 way of thinking. The preparation for the ultimate 299 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:00,440 Passover is that the one who needed no cleansing, the one who 300 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,920 would become the Passover lamb given over for all of our sins. 301 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,680 He was the one willing to cleanse and act as a servant, 302 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:15,680 not just living the perfect life through the absence of sin, but 303 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,280 living the perfect life through his commitment to serve to the 304 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,440 end. This is the only preparation 305 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,680 that can prepare Jesus's disciples for what He was 306 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,880 calling them to. As we think about the depth of 307 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,960 the foot washing scene, we see many ways in which it shows the 308 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,200 beauty of who Christ is. He is loving. 309 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,240 That was his motivation. He is forgiving. 310 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,640 He's forgiving Judas as he washed his feet. 311 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:54,160 He is enduring knowing what lies ahead is mere hours away, 312 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,080 serving to the very end. He is patient with Peter. 313 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,640 He is kind and gentle as he washes. 314 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,760 And I was reminded in this week from a sermon from a one of my 315 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,960 professors from seminary Doctor Tim Keller. 316 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,800 He preached a sermon on this text in 1998, and he talks about 317 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:23,760 how as we view the beauty of Jesus in this scene, it actually 318 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,880 brings out the Trinitarian nature of our text. 319 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,760 Remember, Jesus is getting ready to to begin his final discourse. 320 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,080 These are some of the most explicit chapters that we have 321 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,880 in the Bible on the relationship between the Father, the Son, and 322 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,800 the Holy Spirit. But in preparation for that 323 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:49,280 discourse, Jesus is showing the fruits of the Spirit and all 324 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:55,440 that he is doing before them. He's living out the discourse 325 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,720 right now as he washes their feet, showing the senteness of 326 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,040 the Father, the relationship and submission of the Son to the 327 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:07,320 Father, and their fullness of the fruits of the Spirit on 328 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:13,040 display in Jesus's act. We have been washed because of 329 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,920 Jesus's love for us. We have been prepared because He 330 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,160 has a plan for us. And that plan is that He is 331 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:25,280 sending us out because He desires for us to serve. 332 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,800 Jesus continues to explain to the disciples what what they 333 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,280 were not only supposed to believe, but how they are to 334 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,840 apply their union with Christ, with one, with one another. 335 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,840 He got dressed again and went to work explaining that which would 336 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,320 only be ultimately clear at the crucifixion. 337 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,200 You see, the foot washing is a visible tangible picture of 338 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,640 servanthood, that at the cross it has its fullness. 339 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,080 So thus disciples right now in this moment, they can understand 340 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,080 the visible sign of the foot washing as their teachers 341 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,360 becoming a servant, but they will understand that much more 342 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:12,520 deeply just hours from that moment. 343 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:20,480 I want to take us to a time as we look at Ascension Sunday, a 344 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:25,000 time when Jesus was actually had already been raised from the 345 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,080 dead. His body has been resurrected 346 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,320 and he is waiting for his ascension comes from the Gospel 347 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:38,200 of John, chapter 20. It's just one verse, chapter 20, 348 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:45,520 verse 21 and Jesus says to his disciples, he's he's raised from 349 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,000 the dead, he's waiting for his ascension. 350 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,840 He says peace be with you as the Father has sent me. 351 00:25:54,320 --> 00:26:05,400 Even so I am sending you. So part of what Jesus is 352 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:09,080 teaching the disciples is he is teaching them how they are to be 353 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,800 sent. When they heard those verses 354 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,840 with Jesus resurrected body, they would have remembered what 355 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,320 it was like to have their feet washed by Jesus. 356 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:29,840 And what I see here and how Jesus sends us is he sending us 357 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,960 and demonstrating to us a type of character that we were 358 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,280 supposed to have as he sends us out into the world. 359 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,640 Now I think it, I want to be very, very careful at this point 360 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,760 because I believe it could be possible to leave having heard 361 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,040 this sermon, having listened to this text, and to leave here 362 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:56,280 thinking this is all about imitating a morality that we are 363 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,640 saying go and be servant leaders because that is how you are to 364 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,720 be saved. And I think what I want to be 365 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,760 very explicit about is this is about the nature, the character 366 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,760 of our servanthood that is meant to imitate how Jesus was 367 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,600 submitted to the Father. When we talk about that, our 368 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,440 mission here at Park City's Presbyterian Church is to extend 369 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:25,040 the transforming presence of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ 370 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:28,720 here in Dallas into the ends of the earth. 371 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:38,240 That is meant to encompass a type of character, an experience 372 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:44,720 of the Kingdom and how we go out where people can sense through 373 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,680 our service, through our character, the type of Kingdom 374 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,600 that Jesus is extending. And it's 1 of servant 375 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,760 leadership. It's one of submission one to 376 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,600 another. And I talk about this in this 377 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,680 way because I think there's a lot that our culture tries to 378 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:10,240 tell us about calling. Our cultural, our culture today 379 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:15,800 puts a lot of pressure on the individual to find calling. 380 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,480 But as we consider what we are being sent to, I would say that 381 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,800 the word, the world puts too much emphasis on it. 382 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,640 They put too much emphasis on what we are being sent to. 383 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,120 What is that thing that we are being sent to? 384 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,520 And it's dangerous because it deemphasizes the way in which we 385 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:44,560 are meant to be sent. Our character and how we are 386 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,000 sent, I argue, is actually far more important than what the 387 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,320 specific thing is that we are being sent to. 388 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,360 What would it look like to be a church that embraces A radical 389 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,000 acceptance of serving to the other most, wherever, whenever, 390 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,000 to whomever, by God's Providence, He is sending us to. 391 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:17,080 We miss opportunities to wash one another's feet because we 392 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,640 are too concerned about what's that person doing, what's that 393 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,000 person doing and where do I fit into it. 394 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,680 To our short term missionaries this summer, you will be sent 395 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,360 into all kinds of opportunities, all kind of circumstances as a 396 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:39,120 team. There will be moments when 397 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,000 someone on the team has an opportunity that you want and 398 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,640 you're going to wonder why am I not the one getting to do what 399 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:53,000 they get to do? Be a servant leader. 400 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,520 We have professionals amongst us right now that I trust perhaps 401 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,600 or even waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a job, 402 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:05,720 wanting that next step up and they're thinking that God has 403 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,240 forgotten them until they've got they get it. 404 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,200 God is sending you also into this moment. 405 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,040 How can you without be a servant leader as you wait for God's 406 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:19,960 Providence to give you that next opportunity. 407 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,560 There might be someone here who has recently experienced a big 408 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,480 discouragement, lost an opportunity you wish you had 409 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:31,680 back. You can still live in the 410 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:36,200 fullness of the servanthood of Christ, even as we wait for 411 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,240 God's Providence to show us what that is. 412 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:46,560 How we go matters. But as I think about that, 413 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:52,040 that's a big ask. I can even feel and remember it 414 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,160 in moments where I felt that tension of wanting a different 415 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:56,800 calling than the one that God had given me. 416 00:30:58,480 --> 00:30:59,560 It could be on that given moment. 417 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:01,880 It could be on that given day. It could be talking about career 418 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:07,000 job level. And so I kind of as I remember 419 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,600 what I needed in those moments. I'm sure you're asking where do 420 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:14,600 we get that strength to serve? It comes from looking, 421 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,280 remembering the the picture of Jesus. 422 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,440 We look to him. We are reminded, we allow the 423 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,640 text to to correct us, to exhort us, to show us what this picture 424 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:28,880 looks like. But on this Ascension Sunday, as 425 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,960 we remember Jesus being raised to heaven, it also comes from a 426 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:38,360 look for the future. And so, as I conclude, I want to 427 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:42,040 leave you with a quote that came from the end of the Chronicles 428 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:48,360 of Narnia, CS Lewis's work, The Last Battle, that speaks about 429 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:54,520 what future we have to look forward to as we wait for Christ 430 00:31:54,520 --> 00:32:01,120 to come back. And as he, King Aslan, spoke, he 431 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,160 no longer looks to them like a lion. 432 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:09,480 But the things that began to happen after that were so great 433 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,760 and beautiful that I cannot write them. 434 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,720 And for us, this is the end of all the stories. 435 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,200 And we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever 436 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:26,480 after. But for them it was only the 437 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:31,520 beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and 438 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,920 all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the 439 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,560 title page. Now, at last, they were 440 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:44,000 beginning chapter one of the great story which no one on 441 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:50,480 earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter 442 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:54,920 is better than the one before. Let us pray. 443 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,040 God, I thank you for these pictures of leadership that 444 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:12,240 correct us, that show us the better, the deeper way, and even 445 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,480 show us that the categories which our world tries to define 446 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,360 things, you are the one who needs to define them. 447 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:25,200 And so as we close our time here in the Word this day, I pray 448 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,160 that you would, by your Providence, by your sovereignty, 449 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,320 to allow one needs to remain in the lives of our brothers and 450 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,240 sisters, hearts that they would be sustained. 451 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,760 Sustained in the act of understanding who they are in 452 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:42,040 Christ. Preserved in the preparedness 453 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,840 that you've showed them, and strengthened and encouraged to 454 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,120 go out and be sent wherever it is that you might be sending 455 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,280 them to do the work that you, Jesus, have showed us to do. 456 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:57,480 Imitating you, Jesus, who was submitted to the Father, and 457 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,040 that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. 458 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:03,960 We trust you and thank you for this day. 459 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,880 And I pray this only with the Father, the Son, and the Holy 460 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:08,639 Spirit. Amen.