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John 13
364 days are
gone. Let me ask, not how
will you remember 2007? But how
will 2007 remember you? I’m not
asking about the events around you, I’m asking about you. What would those closest to you say
about how you’ve handled this year?
What would be the adjectives used? Pressured?
Frustrated?
Easy-going? Good-natured? Kind?
Withdrawn? Driven? Discouraged? How will 2007 remember
you?
How will 2007 remember
All Souls church? What will we
be known for as we look back over the year?
Jesus said there is one
mark by which His followers are to be identified in the world. There is one word that should
spring to mind whenever the world thinks about Christians. Loving.
Look at v34:
"A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
That’s the adjective that should be on the tip of anyone’s tongue
as they describe a Christian: loving.
It is the distinguishing mark of the Christian. Not a dress code, not primarily a
moral or a religious code. The
ultimate, distinguishing mark of the Christ-follower is love.
By this your neighbours will know that you follow Christ, By
this your non-Christian family will know that you follow Christ,
By this, your work-colleagues will know that you follow Christ, By
this Eastbourne will know that we follow Christ. If we love one another.
When the world looks and sees this kind of love they will know that
we follow Christ. In fact later
on that night Jesus prays for His followers down through the ages. In John 17 He prays to the Father that
His followers would be united in love so
that the on-looking world may believe that the
Father has sent Him. That’s John
17:21. The power of Christian
community on display is breath-taking.
Christ wants the world
to look on our loving one another and say ‘So that’s what a Christian
is?’ More than that, He prays
that they will say ‘These people follow Christ. And this love they have is out of this world. Now I believe that Christ came from
the Father.’ That’s the power of
Christians loving one another.
In 2008 we are
renewing as a church our concerted effort to be the missionary,
disciple-making church that Jesus calls us to be. We want to reach out to Eastbourne
with the love of Christ. And
Jesus says , chapter 13:35: “By this all men will know that you
are my disciples. If you love one
another.”
And this is not simply
Jesus’ last request. Jesus calls
it a new command. ‘New’
because it is to be taken up a-fresh in every generation. But this is not a suggestion from
Jesus. This is our Commanding
Officer addressing His troops.
This is an order.
[SLIDE – Remember
the order]
Christ orders us to
love one another.
Are you a loving
person? Think about 2007 – are
you a loving person? My reaction
is to say “Well, I’m not unloving”. But that’s not the issue.
It’s not a question of being kind, or sweet, or socially
adept. It’s not about being
congenial or polite or nice. I’m
asking you and I’m asking myself
“Am I known for my constant and enduring love of others.” Is love of others the first thing
people would say about me?
And if this command to
love weren’t a hard enough, there’s a little two letter word in v34 that
makes immense claims on us. The
word ‘as.’ AS Christ has loved
us, so we must love one another.
In the SAME WAY that Christ has loved us, SO, IN THAT WAY, we must
love others. It’s an order.
And how has Christ
loved us? Well the footwashing at
the beginning of this chapter gives us a vivid picture of what Jesus’
love looks like. Do you see at
the end of v1 it tells us that the footwashing demonstrates ‘the full
extent of Jesus’ love’. Now
whether that should be translated like that or whether it should be
translated according to the footnote – ‘Jesus loved them to the last’ –
either way, the footwashing is a demonstration of Jesus’ love.
And maybe you’ve
read John’s Gospel before and you’re thinking – surely the cross is how Jesus
demonstrates His love. What has
the foot-washing got to do with the cross? Well, everything.
Notice the setting,
v1:
It was just before the Passover
Feast [Jesus died at Passover]. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to
leave this world and go to the Father.
This is the night
before Jesus died. Now look at
v3:
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things
under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God
Now put that
together and what do you have?
You have Jesus who had come from God, was returning to God, and
the path He treads in the middle takes Him through a bloody, sacrificial
death. Imagine a giant
U-shape. From God, through sacrifice
and back to God. That is the
history of Jesus Christ.
And the foot-washing
is a miniature picture of that journey.
Verse 4: Jesus got
up from the meal - He left His place of honour - took off His outer
clothing (literally ‘He laid aside His robe’!) - and wrapped a towel
round His waist. He set aside
His robe - the clothing of a King - and He took up a towel - the clothing
of a slave.
Then, one by one, He
knelt down before each of His followers and lovingly washed and dried
their feet. Then, verse 12, when
He had finished washing their feet, He put on His robe again - took back
the clothing of a king, and He returned to His place of honour. He asks (v12) “Do you understand what I have done for you?”
And hopefully we can say – Yes I do understand. Here is a miniature picture of
Christ’s journey – from the place of honour, to the place of service and
back again. The king becomes a
slave and serves in exceptional humility to make His followers
clean. Then He takes back His
royal robe and resumes His rightful place.
This foot-washing is
a picture of something far deeper.
Jesus had come from God, was returning to God - and the route
which He trod in the meantime took Him to the utter depths of the
cross. We must never forget that
these hands which lovingly washed His friends’ feet would, in a matter of
hours, be nailed to a Roman cross.
We can’t forget this because this event is meant to picture for us
Christ’s love shown at the cross.
And what a
picture! The ruler of the
universe, stooping and serving His followers.
John writes about it
recalling every last detail.
Verse 5:
He poured water into a basin and
began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was
wrapped around him.
As John writes about
it, he is carried back to the moment it happened. John was there, he’d had his own feet personally
washed and padded dry by the LORD of all creation.
How would you feel
as Jesus came around the table to you?
I was once in India,
staying with a very respectable family in Indian society. The father was a Nawab – the
equivalent of a Maharajah or the British equivalent of a Lord. And while I was there, my hosts were
insisting that I had a pedicure.
It was quite a big thing in Delhi – if you had any money, you got pedicures. But I flat out refused – no way was I
going to let someone else to poke around my carbunkled
monstrosities. Now my refusal
caused quite a bit of friction, but I was adamant I never wanted to stand
over another human being while they fussed over my dirty feet. No person should have to do that. It’s such an awkward thing, to have
someone hold your naked feet, to wash water over them and towel them dry
while all you can do is sit there and watch. There is something really uncomfortable about
allowing someone to serve you to that level.
But I was
uncomfortable having one of the household servants do it. It is unthinkable to even imagine my
host – this Lord – taking off his royal robes, wrapping a towel
around his waist and kneeling at my stinking feet.
That is almost inconceivable.
But here in John 13, the Lord of the universe does this very
thing.
This is how Jesus has loved
His disciples. He loved them in action. (Not with a love song). He loves in concrete service. He addresses our needs. He loves in humility – He gives
up His rights and privileges. He
loves in a costly way. He loves even under pressure – the cross was just hours away, it was
filling His thoughts yet even now He serves. Jesus loves unconditionally
- these men would, by the end of the night, either betray Him, desert Him
or deny Him, yet He lovingly washes all their feet, even
Judas’. And He loves in self-forgetfulness– He doesn’t
care that He loses face, He’s not concerned for His own self-image.
How do we measure up
to Christ’s order to love? I can
kid myself I’m loving until it would mean inconvenience or a loss of
face, or until my love is not returned in kind. And how often does our love evaporate when we’re under
pressure from other quarters?
But here is the
Commanding Officer’s marching orders:
“A new command I give you – love one another.” This is an order. So how are we going to obey this order
in 2008?
Well that’s my
second point. My first point was
‘Remember the order.’ My second
point is ‘Remember the order.’
[SLIDE – Remember
the order]
And it’s so
important that you understand both points. Remember the order.
But also remember the order.
My first point was
to remember Christ’s command – love one another.
My second point is –
there’s an order in which we are to obey that command. AS He loves us, so then we love
others. Here’s the order: first
BE loved. THEN love. First
RECEIVE Jesus’ love. Then pass it
on. First know, realise,
appreciate – then do. First
understand, then act. That’s the
order.
Do you see how
important the order is. Verse 12,
Jesus has finished foot-washing, now He wants to know:
"Do you understand what I have done for you?"
That’s the first
thing Jesus wants us to get. Do
you understand what He has done for you.
Then, v14:
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have
washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
Do you see the
order? First understand,
then do. First
receive, then pass it on.
It’s the same in
v17:
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do
them.
First know, then
do.
In fact this order is one
that Jesus Himself follows. Did
you notice that very strange line in verse 3? In verse 3 we get a rare psychological commentary on the
thought-life of Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and
that he had come from God and was returning to God; “SO he got up from
the meal, took off his outer clothing” and washed their feet.
First He knows, then
He does. The order is
important even for Jesus. First
He understands how much He’s loved, then He serves others. First He receives, then
He passes it on.
Remember the order. Because you can’t short-circuit this order. You cannot go out and love the world
without having been loved. Jesus Christ
didn’t. He loved the world out of
the security He already had from His Father. Don’t you think you can do it any other way. You can’t love without first being
loved. You can’t do
without knowing. You can’t
give without first receiving. Remember the order.
There are two people in this chapter who get
this wrong. Judas and Peter.
Judas never really knew the love of Christ – He never submitted to
Christ’s cleansing even though he looked like he did. Peter submitted to it, but he got the
order wrong – he put his actions ahead of Christ’s love.
We’ll just look briefly at these two
problems. First Judas’s
problem. The first thing to say
about Judas is that his feet were also washed by Jesus. Judas, like the other disciples had
been loved by Jesus. Judas had
been entrusted with responsibility by Jesus. Verse 29: He had charge of the money. He looked to all the world like a
whole-hearted follower of Jesus, but actually Jesus was not His Master –
Satan was. We see, even in this
chapter Judas give himself over more and more to Satan’s work. In verse 2 he listens to his
promptings, by verse 27 he is completely given over to evil.
And what I find fascinating is that none of
the other disciples could tell.
In v21 Jesus announces that there is a betrayer in their midst,
but none of them suspect Judas.
They don’t all immediately say ‘It must be Judas, he’s always
frothing at the mouth, eyes rolling back in his head, sacrificing
chickens.’ Judas had no
horns. Even when Satan enters him
in v27 no-one noticed an outward change.
Verse 29 says the disciples thought he might have been off to
“give something to the poor.”
Even to the end, Judas looked like a respectable follower of
Jesus.
What does evil look like? Evil looks like a religious person, in
the company of religious people, doing religious things with a heart that
is far from Christ. We know from
the previous chapter of John that Judas didn’t have a heart for the poor
at all. Instead he stole the
money out of the money bag. He
had never truly received the love of Christ and so he never truly gave it
to others.
In every Christian gathering there are
Judas’s. People who receive all
manner of Christian blessings, who are entrusted with all kinds of
Christian responsibilities, who do religious things, and who look like
they belong to Christ. But inside
they have never truly received the love of Christ. Instead something else controls them,
something that takes them away from Christ. Let Judas be a warning.
Don’t hide behind Christian associations and labels and responsibilities. Judas was a part of the best Christian
company imaginable, he was entrusted with tremendous Christian
responsibilities and enjoyed tremendous Christian privileges, yet truly
he belonged to Satan and not Christ.
He was cleansed on the outside, he never let it in on the
inside. The love of Christ has to
become personal to you. Not to the person next to you – to you. Do not let the love of Christ merely
wash over you. Know it. Receive it.
That’s Judas’ problem – he never received
Christ’s love in the first place.
Then there’s Peter’s problem.
Peter does receive the love of Jesus. But he’s always wanting to reverse the
order. He’s always wanting to put
his doing ahead of Christ’s love.
He does it twice in this chapter. In v8 and v37.
In verse 8, Jesus is offering cleansing and Peter says ‘No, don’t You
wash my feet.’ Peter wants to reverse the order. He wants to wash Jesus’ feet, he
doesn’t want to first receive. Same problem in v37. Jesus is heading for the cross to lay down
His life for Peter but Peter says in v37 “How about I die for You,
Jesus.” He’s reversing the
order. He’s saying “Don’t wash
me, I’ll wash you. Don’t die for
me, I’ll die for You.”
Jesus bursts Peter’s
bubble in a second. Look at v38
Jesus answered, "Will you
really lay down your life for me?
Peter has got the
order backwards.
"Will you really lay
down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the
rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
Peter has absolutely
no ability in himself to love like Jesus loves. His bold promises here would unravel in a matter of
hours. He would deny Christ three
times before day-break. That’s a
shocking turn-around for a man who sounds here so spiritual, so
committed. Actually Peter’s words
here are full of all the same independent self-assuredness which lead him
to deny Jesus.
Here’s Peter’s mistake
in a nut-shell: he trusted in
his own love for Jesus rather than Jesus’ love for him. He reversed the order, he put his own acts
of love ahead of Christ’s. And
when the crunch came his own love failed.
So, first remember
this order from our Commanding Officer.
Jesus commands us to an astonishing level of self-giving
love. And He attaches incredible
promises to this command.
Christ-like love within the Christian community will attract the
world to Jesus like a magnet. Can
you imagine what it would be like in 2008 to obey this command?
You know there’s one
person whose feet I’ll happily wash!
Me. I clean my smelly feet
every day, because I’m at the centre of my world. What if others were? What if we really lived the way Jesus
shows? What if you approached
your relationships not with you at the centre and everyone else
serving you. Jesus was the one
Person who ever had the right to live like that, but He didn’t. He left the centre of things in order
to serve those around Him. If we
live like this, Jesus promises that the watching world will see the
gospel in action and be attracted.
So let’s remember this
order – Christ has commanded it for our blessing. But let’s remember the order. Let’s get first things first. We can’t generate this love ourselves. We have to receive it from Him and
THEN pass it on to others.
Some here may be in
Judas’s position – you’ve never really received the love of Jesus in the
first place. Many of us here are
in Peter’s position. We’ve failed
to love others as we ought. We’re
full of good intentions and bad practice. We have failed time and again and seem to be drawing from
wells that ran dry long ago.
Perhaps 2007 has felt a burden.
Perhaps 2008 seems far too daunting.
Will you read John 13
when you get home? Will you
imagine yourself at this dinner?
There you are, dirty and helpless. And there is Jesus towel in hand, serving, stooping,
cleansing YOU. All you can do is
sit and watch and let Him wash you.
Will you be humbled by the love of Jesus? Will you receive the love of
Jesus? Because if you truly let
this in, it will spill over into our church and out into the world.
"A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
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