Jesus The Sergvant Kin

Introduction

"If you've spent any time in John's Gospel, you'll know that he's a master of detail, carefully crafting each scene to reveal the glory of Christ. But perhaps nowhere is his artistry more evident than in chapter 13, where he draws our attention to a matter of timing that many casual readers might miss.

'Jesus knew that his hour had come,' John tells us. Now, if you've been tracking with John's narrative, those words should stop you in your tracks. Throughout this Gospel, Jesus has repeatedly said 'My hour has not yet come.' At Cana, in Jerusalem, before the crowds—time and again, we've heard this refrain. But now, on the cusp of the cross, everything changes. The hour has arrived.

And what does Jesus do at this pivotal moment? What mighty demonstration of power does he offer? What cosmic sign does he perform?

He takes off his outer clothing, wraps a towel around his waist, and begins to wash feet.

The devastating irony of this scene should not escape us. At the very moment when Jesus is most conscious of his authority—when, as John tells us, he knows 'that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God'—he chooses to perform the task of the lowest household slave.

This is not simply a moral lesson in humility, though it is certainly that. No, what we are about to witness in John 13 is nothing less than the character of God unveiled in an upper room, a preview of the cross itself, and a profound revelation of what it means to be cleansed by Christ and to walk in his ways.

Let us look carefully at this text, for here we find not just an example to follow, but a gospel to believe..."

First Movement: The Divine Paradox (13:1-3)

I'll map out the body of the sermon, maintaining Carson's voice while varying the tone and rhythm. I'll structure it to move from exegesis to implications naturally, like waves building toward shore.

First Movement: The Divine Paradox (13:1-3)

[Scholarly tone]

"Notice how carefully John frames this scene. Three times in these opening verses he emphasizes Jesus' knowledge: He knew his hour had come, he knew who would betray him, he knew his authority from the Father. This is no accident. John wants us to grasp that what follows isn't Jesus stumbling into servanthood—it's divine authority choosing its truest expression.

[Shift to conversational]

"You see, we often think of power and service as opposites, don't we? When was the last time you saw a CEO cleaning the office kitchen? But here's Jesus, fully aware of his cosmic authority, doing precisely that. And this isn't just a contradiction—it's a revelation."

Second Movement: The Shocking Action (13:4-5)

[Narrative description]

"Picture the scene with me. The room falls silent as Jesus stands. He removes his outer garment—the action is deliberate, almost ceremonial. Every eye follows him as he wraps the towel around his waist. And then—can you imagine their discomfort?—the Son of God kneels.

[Teaching tone]

"In the ancient world, foot washing was necessary but degrading. Roads were dusty, feet were filthy, and this task was reserved for the lowest servants. Some Jewish teachers even held that Jewish slaves shouldn't be required to wash feet—it was too demeaning. Yet here is the Christ, on his knees, doing what even a Jewish slave shouldn't have to do."

Third Movement: Peter's Resistance and Our Own (13:6-11)

[Conversational, with rising intensity]

"Peter, bless him, does what many of us would do. 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' You can hear the incredulity in his voice. And when Jesus insists, Peter moves from resistance to overreaction: 'Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'

[Deeper application]

"But haven't we all been Peter? Sometimes refusing to let Jesus serve us, thinking we're being humble? Other times trying to dictate the terms of our relationship with him? The problem isn't just pride—it's our persistent tendency to misunderstand both our need and Christ's provision."

Fourth Movement: The Deeper Cleansing (13:8-11)

[Theological depth with pastoral warmth]

"When Jesus says, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,' he's revealing something profound about the nature of salvation itself. This isn't just about clean feet anymore. The foot washing becomes a vivid enacted parable of the cleansing we all desperately need.

[Personal connection]

"Think about it—how many of us come to church looking presentable, while our souls are as dusty as first-century feet? Jesus isn't interested in superficial cleanup. He's offering a deeper cleansing, one that requires us to admit our need and submit to his service."

Fifth Movement: The Pattern Given (13:12-17)

[Teaching that builds to challenge]

"When Jesus returns to his place, he asks a question that echoes through the centuries: 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' It's worth pausing here. Do we? Have we really grasped not just the what but the why?

[Rising intensity with practical implications]

"Because if we have, it should transform everything—our understanding of leadership, our church relationships, our family dynamics, our professional lives. Jesus isn't suggesting we perform occasional acts of token service. He's revealing the fundamental pattern of kingdom life."

[Following the Fifth Movement, transitioning to application]

"The implications of this text are both more profound and more disturbing than we might initially realize. You see, we're quite good at turning even Jesus' radical example into a manageable program of occasional service projects. We might schedule a day at the soup kitchen or sign up for the church cleanup committee—all good things, mind you—but we can do these while keeping our fundamental orientation toward power and status entirely intact.

What Jesus demonstrates here is something far more revolutionary. He's showing us that in God's kingdom, authority expresses itself primarily through service—not as an occasional gesture, but as its fundamental character. This has startling implications for how we live.

Let me be concrete. Some of you are business leaders. When you walk into your office tomorrow, what would it mean to exercise your authority as Christ exercised his? Not by abdicating responsibility—notice that Jesus never ceases to be 'Lord and Teacher'—but by fundamentally reorienting how that authority is expressed.

Others of you are parents. The temptation is to either dominate our children or capitulate to them. But Jesus shows us a different way—authority expressed through sacrificial love and service, yet without surrendering the legitimate responsibility of leadership.

[Shifting to deeper spiritual application]

But there's something even more fundamental here that we dare not miss. Before Jesus calls us to wash others' feet, he insists on washing ours. 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.' The sequence matters profoundly. We cannot serve as Christ served until we have first been served by Christ.

Some of you—and I say this pastorally—are trying to serve your way into God's favor. You've turned even Jesus' example of humble service into another form of works-righteousness. But notice: Jesus washed Judas's feet too. The service he offers comes not in response to our worthiness but precisely because of our unworthiness.

[Personal challenge with theological grounding]

So the question that confronts each of us today is not simply 'Whose feet am I willing to wash?' but first, 'Am I willing to let Christ wash mine?' Am I willing to admit that my feet are dirty? That my attempts at spiritual self-cleaning have left me still soiled? That I need not just Christ's example but his cleansing?

Only then can we move to the second question, which will reshape every relationship and responsibility we have: 'How must my exercise of authority—in my home, my workplace, my church, my community—be transformed by the one who, knowing all authority had been given to him, took up a towel and knelt?'

The answer to that question, worked out in the particularities of our lives, will look different for each of us. But it will always bear the mark of the cross, where divine authority and sacrificial service meet in their fullest expression."

Conclusion

"We must not miss what John is showing us here. The same Jesus who knelt with a towel would, within hours, be stripped and nailed to a cross. This is no mere coincidence. Both actions—the foot washing and the cross—reveal the same stunning truth about the character of God and the nature of his kingdom.

[Brief pause, shifting tone]

You see, what makes this passage so devastating is not primarily its moral implications, though they are serious enough. What makes it devastating is that it strips away every pretense we have about power, about status, about our own spiritual condition. If the Lord of glory himself chooses to serve in this way, what possible ground do we have for resistance?

But there's something even more crucial here. Notice again the sequence: Jesus washes first, then calls us to wash others' feet. The gospel order is always the same—we love because he first loved us, we serve because he first served us, we lay down our lives because he first laid down his for us.

[Growing intensity]

Some of you here today are still trying to wash your own feet. You're trying to make yourself clean enough, presentable enough, worthy enough. To you, Jesus says what he said to Peter: 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.' Will you let him?

Others have received his cleansing but have kept running back to the old patterns of power and prestige, of self-protection and self-promotion. To you, Jesus' words come with both authority and tender concern: 'Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.'

[Final movement]

The Jesus who washed feet is the same Jesus who now sits at the right hand of the Father. The same Jesus who says to us today: 'You know these things; blessed are you if you do them.'

The question that confronts each of us is disarmingly simple: Will we believe the gospel enough to let it reshape everything—our ambitions, our relationships, our use of power, our concept of greatness itself?

God help us if we leave here today having merely admired Jesus' example without submitting to his cleansing and committing to his pattern.

Let us pray."