John 13:1-17: Learning to Serve

John 13:1-17: Learning to Serve

Please open your Bible and turn with me to John 13. If you’re using the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 746. We’re going to continue our series of sermons going through the Gospel of John passage by passage. And this morning, the next passage we come to is John 13:1-17. John 13:1-17: 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 were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had 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 back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 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. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. 16 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. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 

One of the most enjoyable things about a nice vacation is that you just get to relax and unwind and be pampered a little bit. Not too long ago, Becky and I were able to go to Oglebay resort for a few days, and it was wonderful. The mountains, the serenity, and the chance to just kick back and unwind. And I began thinking about what makes a good hotel. And Oglebay wasn’t a five star resort or anything like that, but it was nice—certainly nicer than we’re used to at home. And the reason it was so nice is because they designed that resort around me and around my desires, my preferences, my appetites, and what would make me the most comfortable. From the maid making my bed to the room service that was available to the indoor and outdoor pools that they had to the dining facilities. That resort was all about me. I loved it. And when you think about it, that’s how a lot of businesses become successful. Whatever the industry is, they make it all about the customer. From a nice restaurant to an upscale supermarket—even Burger King tells me that I can have it my way. That me-centered message is all around us, constantly being reinforced at least implicitly if not explicitly. In one form or another, we encounter it just about 365 days a year—the notion that it’s all about us as the consumer. 

And so, it’s very easy to bring that mentality to church with us. I think a lot of people come to church with the idea that it’s all about them—their preferences, their comfort, their everything. But Jesus calls us to something different—and I would even say something higher and something better—than that consumeristic mentality. Instead of always asking, “How can I be served?” Jesus teaches us to start asking, “How can I serve?” And we can see that theme very clearly here in John 13. Here’s main thing I believe we need to see in this passage, the main idea: We’re never more like Jesus than when we’re serving other people. We’re never more like Jesus than when we’re serving other people. We see Jesus here serving other people as he dresses himself like a slave and starts washing his disciples’ feet. And there are three ways in which Jesus washing his disciples’ feet was significant. By washing their feet, he did three things that we’re going to spend a good amount of time looking at this morning: Jesus demonstrated his humility, Jesus foreshadowed the cross, and Jesus set an example. He demonstrated his humility, foreshadowed the cross, and set an example. 

Jesus demonstrated his humility

So first, Jesus demonstrated his humility. Look back at what happens in verses 1-5: 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 were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had 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 back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 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.

So Jesus and his disciples were about to eat a meal together. But before they could eat together, they first needed to have their feet washed. You see, back in that day, people needed their feet washed a lot. I think I explained a few weeks ago how village streets back then were very dirty. And on top of the natural dirt that was already there, villagers would guide their animal herds through the streets, leaving behind animal excrement. So whenever you walked somewhere, your feet got pretty nasty, especially since people wore sandals. So in order to eat a meal with any kind of decency, Jesus and his disciples needed to have their feet washed. And normally, it was the job of the lowest servant in the household to wash the feet of people who entered. Only the lowest servant was expected to do that, because it was so disgusting.

And yet, Jesus demonstrated astonishing humility when he got up from the table, took off his outer clothing, tied a towel around his waist, and proceeded to wash his disciples’ feet. In verse 2, John reminds us that even Judas Iscariot, who would later betray Jesus, was one of the people whose feet Jesus washed. Jesus was even willing to wash the feet of someone who he knew was going to betray him. Not only that, but verse 3 states that Jesus knew “that the Father had given all things into his hands” as he did this extraordinary act of service. He was fully aware of his high position. And yet, he humbly served his disciples. 

I remember one time, while I was away in Louisville attending a seminary class, one of my classmates in that program with me was a fairly well known figure in evangelicalism—or at least in the more academic circles of evangelicalism. His name is Justin Taylor, and he’s a vice president and publisher at Crossway publishing company. He also has a very popular blog. So Justin probably could have been teaching the class, but he was a student. And after one of our class sessions that week, about six or seven of us students, including Justin, went to the seminary’s cafeteria to grab some dinner together. And we had a nice time. Justin was fairly down to earth and pretty enjoyable to talk to. And as we were all finishing up, he did something small for me that just really impressed me. He offered to throw away the trash from my meal. And it’s not like throwing a few things into the trash can required a high level of sacrifice or anything, but it just really struck me that here was this guy who was clearly batting in a much higher league than the rest of us, and yet who was willing to assume the role of a servant in throwing away my trash. And yet, that’s just a small glimpse of how amazing and astonishing it must have been for Jesus’ disciples to watch their Rabbi—their revered teacher—get up from his place at the table and start washing their feet. Justin Taylor’s act of service may have been commendable, but Jesus’ act of service was truly extraordinary. 

Let me ask you something: Do you ever refrain from serving in a way God gives you an opportunity to serve because you think that task is beneath you—because you think that you’re somehow above that assignment or above that role? Hopefully not, because that’s not the attitude Jesus had. He was willing to assume the role of the lowest servant in order to be a blessing to others. 

I’m also reminded of what Jesus said on another occasion when two of his disciples, James and John, selfishly requested to have the highest positions in his future kingdom. Jesus said, in Matthew 20:25-28, “25You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” So in other words, if you want to be great, the way you do that is by humbling yourself and making yourself a servant. And then Jesus points to himself as an example of that when he says that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That’s the ultimate way in which Jesus took on the role of a servant. He voluntarily gave himself to die on the cross for our sins. 

Jesus foreshadowed the cross

And that leads us to the second way in which Jesus washing his disciples’ feet—back in our main text—was significant. Not only did Jesus demonstrate his humility, he also foreshadowed the cross. Jesus foreshadowed the cross. Look at verses 6-9 of John 13: 6 [Jesus] came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

So why do you think Jesus told Peter in verse 8 that unless he allowed Jesus to wash him, he would have no share with Jesus? Did Jesus really have such an aversion to smelly feet that he refused to even be with Peter any more unless Peter agreed to have his feet washed? Well, even though Peter’s feet probably did give off an unpleasant odor, I don’t think that was why Jesus said to him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” I think Jesus was talking about a spiritual washing. He was saying that unless Peter received cleansing and forgiveness for his sins, there was no way he would ever enjoy true fellowship with him. 

So Jesus washing his disciples’ feet here in John 13 was actually a picture of the way Jesus would wash away their sins a few chapters later in John 19. And the way he would wash away their sins in John 19 would be by dying on the cross.  You see, Jesus’ disciples had something much worse than dirty feet. They had dirty hearts. Their hearts were polluted with sin. And so are ours. You know, our country witnessed something in Las Vegas last week that President Trump very appropriately called “an act of pure evil.” And certainly it was. It’s disturbing even to think that someone could open fire on a crowd of people like that. But should we not remember that there are impulses within our own hearts that are disturbing as well? Maybe not impulses toward violence but impulses toward lust, impulses toward pride, impulses toward greed, and impulses toward an array of other sins that God finds absolutely deplorable. Those impulses exist within us. Just like Jesus’ disciples here in John 13 and just like the Las Vegas gunman, we too have hearts that are polluted with sin to the very core of our being and have no way of cleansing ourselves. That’s why we need Jesus. By dying on the cross, Jesus was taking the punishment we deserved for the sins we had committed. He bore that punishment so we wouldn’t have to. And now, having risen from the dead, he’s able to cleanse us of all of that sin. As we look to him for rescue, he cleanses us. As Romans 8:1 says, “There is…no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And as 1 John 1:7 says, the blood of Jesus “cleanses us from all sin.” Praise the Lord for his grace!

Jesus set an example

So that’s why Jesus was washing his disciples’ feet. He was foreshadowing the way he would cleanse their hearts by dying on the cross. But Jesus also had another purpose in washing their feet—a third way in which this foot-washing was significant. Not only did Jesus demonstrate his humility and not only did he foreshadow the cross, but he also set an example. That’s number three. Jesus set an example. Read with me verses 12-15: 12 When [Jesus] had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. 

So not only does Jesus serve us, he calls us to imitate his example by serving others. So basically, when you read what Jesus does in this passage, don’t just admire him—imitate him! Follow his example. Think about ways you can go out of your way and below your ego to serve other people. Of course, you can’t do that in your own strength. You need to have a heart that’s been changed by the grace of God and filled with the Spirit of God. But once you have that heart, follow Jesus’ example by serving the people around you.

And there are a lot of opportunities we have to do that in a wide variety of different settings and circumstances. But since the Bible describes church as a spiritual family, I think it’s very appropriate to give special attention this morning to the ways we can serve others within the church. Like we talked about at the beginning, instead of asking “How can I be served in the church?” my prayer is that we would learn to ask, “How can I serve?” And I know many of you already have a servant’s heart, and it’s a beautiful thing to see, but let me encourage all of us to have that kind of an attitude more and more. Look for ways in which you can serve your spiritual brothers and sisters. 

And when you think about it, not only is serving in the church a way in which we can imitate Jesus, it’s also a way to be a part of God’s mission. You know, I think God’s put a desire in the heart of every human being to be a part of something bigger than themselves. You can see that desire in a lot of places. For example, think about sports. I’m sure we’ve all been to sports events where people were acting absolutely ridiculous as they cheered on their favorite team. I remember, when I was down in Alabama, I lived for a year with a roommate who was a huge Alabama Crimson Tide fan. And even when he was at home and not at the game, he was just over the top whenever Alabama was playing football. And if the game was going well for Alabama, everything was okay in that house even though my roommate could be a bit loud. But if Alabama wasn’t doing well, my roommate would come very close to breaking things. In fact, I’m pretty sure he did punch a hole in the wall one time. I mean, he was just so wrapped up in that game that it seemed to consume him. It was almost to the point where, during football season, you could tell if Alabama won or lost based on his mood that week. So people can get crazy when it comes to sports. 

And I think the reason for that is because that’s the way God wired us. He wired us to want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. As one author has said, “The desire to be a world-changer is planted in the heart of every human being, and that desire comes directly from the heart of God.” You see, God wired us the way he did that was so that we could be active participants in his mission and literally change the world. And I want you to know that you don’t have to go to seminary or engage in full time vocational ministry in order to do that. You can do that by serving here at Redeeming Grace in ways that seem so ordinary. Even in our small church, there are a lot of different opportunities to serve that may not seem very impressive at first glance, but they make a huge impact for the gospel.