Senior Retreat #3 - John 13:1-20 - Relaying the Christ

Intro

For the first message, I wanted to show you that Christ is great, God, and the ultimate center of all time and space. For the second message, I wanted to show you that the same God is close and intimate with you.

For this last message, I have a test for you.

Maybe you have heard all I have said, maybe you have thought about my challenges of “who do you say Jesus is?”

But maybe you doubt. Maybe you think: I’ll don’t know where Jesus and me are. I don’t know if I’ve truly been transformed like the last message shared.

Jesus has a test you can take. Something you can examine yourselves with.

John 13:35 ESV

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It’s a passage that people hear often and that often makes them grow apathetic towards it.

“Nowhere else do the blended lights of our Lord’s superhuman dignity and human tenderness shine with such lambent brightness. Nowhere else is his speech at once so simple and so deep. Nowhere else have we the heart of God so unveiled to us. On no other page, even of the Bible, have so many eyes, glistening with tears, looked and had the tears dried. The immortal words which Christ spoke in that upper chamber are his highest self-revelation in speech.” - Alexander Maclaren

This moment is Jesus’ final moments with his disciples before he is about to die. The urgent, heartfelt, and powerful words that cut through everything.

You have a being so great and so wonderful, yet he is close and intimate. He asks you to follow him, and to follow his example. To be people of the towel, to wash feet.

Everything we read about him in this passage is intentional. He says that what he does, he does as an example (v. 15).

How To Know You Have Been Changed By Christ:

1. You Delight that Christ Lowered Himself to Wash You (13:1-11)

Verse 1

John gives a bunch of details to show that we are in the last few hours of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

The last divinely appointed Passover

Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart (John 12:23)

He had loved his own, now he was loving them to the end.

The narrative shifts in chapters 13-17, which all focus on this interaction in the upper room between Jesus and the disciples.

John shows that Jesus was anticipating the final hours and his eventual reunion with the Father.

John includes these foreboding details to put a lot of stress on how precious these last few hours were here. Nearly ¼ of the book takes place in the upper room.

Like a somber sunset, John paints a picture of a weighty and overwhelming sense of pressure that Jesus feels. Think of the night before a big test. Think of the day before a big game or competition. Rest is the last thing on Jesus’ mind. We are spiraling to the finale.

“Out of this world/were in the world”

John is reminding us of Jesus’ exaltation and the disciples humanity

We have a God who is so distant, so out of reach of tiny humans like us.

Verse 2

“During Supper”

Luke 22:24 ESV

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

Why are they doing this? Because they care too much about proving to one another that they are cool. Being loved and being close with Jesus is not enough

These disciples had been warned time and time again that these disputes were harmful.

Matthew 20:26 ESV

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

Yet here they go again. So small minded. So like us.

They are arguing to see who was the main character. The main way they do that, ignore the actual main character and try to prove to the other competition that you are better.

That’s why we surround ourselves only with people we feel comfortable with.

“When the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot”

The Devil did not make Judas do this, Judas already had a desire to. His desire aligned with Satan’s desire allowing Satan to work through him as a partner (John 8:44).

This is a deep rooted hatred for Jesus. Complete animosity. And Jesus knew Judas felt it.

Think of the loneliness Jesus felt in this moment. He came from perfect love with the Father, a love and intimacy he missed. He is surrounded by a bunch of guys who are completely missing the point and can only think of doing what feels good in the moment.

Here is the point: Jesus disciples were so tiny and narrow minded. He felt the burning uncomfortability

Verse 3

He brings out the height of his glory so that he can soon show the depth of his humility.

Verse 4

Feet washing was customary before dinner.

Why weren’t the disciples feet washed?

Probably because they had grown comfortable in following Jesus’ manner, who in the past had not washed in order that he might confront the pharisees

There was no servant available to perform the washing, and none were willing to humble themselves (especially in the context of the debate) except Christ.

2. You Lower Yourself to Wash Others (13:12-20)

Think about this:

We care more about what the other disciples think of us rather than what God does.

Conclusion