SydneyJohn13AMJuly2007
Welcome (elder)
Singing (Musicians) (RJSII 291)
Call to worship:
Psalm 9 (NIV)
1 I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Opening prayer:
Our Father who is in heaven, we are here - and our prayer now is that our hearts and minds are turned to you.
We greet you Lord this morning, this day, reminded of the many gifts from your hand.
We start the week Lord, knowing that the only certainty as we go into the days ahead, is your never ending love and care – even amidst the difficult times that may come.
But we continue Lord, with renewed courage, each week, each morning, for we feel your closeness.
You are the maker of heaven and of earth – and you are our Father. We travel through this World in this awesome truth.
Our help is in You, Lord, and because we know it, we may experience Your grace, and Your peace, now…and forever more – AMEN!
Let’s sing 371 (How Majestic is Your name…) // My Life is in You Lord
Confession –
Please turn with me to Romans 3: 9-20 as we remember our unworthiness before
God.
9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and
bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their
eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
**Brothers and sisters, how wretched and hopeless we are, if left to our own devices. Of course the wonderful news - as we find it in the Word of God - is that we are not left to our efforts.
Please turn with me to Romans 3: 21-26…
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Let me lead us in prayer:
Our Father who is in Heaven, holy, holy, holy is your name.
Lord, by your grace we believe, by your mercy we live, through your love by the works of your Son Jesus, we may look forward to return to you and share in your grace, and mercy and love.
Thank you Father God for placing us in your heart and keeping us there, generation after generation.
Thank you Lord for giving us the knowledge that we are in it.
Thank you for the faith we have. We acknowledge that our faith is a gift, your most precious gift to us.
Grant Lord that we will live lives that bear witness to your love.
Forgive us our many sins. Please Lord, lead us on paths that may be acceptable to you, in all that we say, and think, and do.
Lord, we ask these things in humble submission.
We pray these things Lord, in the name of Jesus, who alone has made it possible for us to approach you. Thank you Father God, for Your Son.
In His name do we come to you - Amen!
Sing: BoW: The Servant King
Sunday School (Kids talk)
Reading: John 13: 1-17 (Arie Sietsma)
Sermon
Most blessed friends in our Lord Jesus, as Christians, how do we love one another, serve one another?
How do we love and serve ( and these two really are one) our wives or our husbands, our children and friends, our parents?
…. and how do we love even our enemies?
We all know that as Christians, our greatest command is to love one another as ourselves …and to Love God above all else! As Reformed folk we are raised on this theology … and in a way, it becomes highy theoretical, doesn’t it?
But the truth is, to love one another is a very practical command that we have from Jesus Himself.
Indeed, His very life and His service on the cross, points to this////////////////////////////
as will His act of washing His disciples’ feet as we have just read it
What John describes here in John 13, is Jesus about to show, practically, to show His disciples what He means when he says: Love one another the way I have loved you…
In the shape of an outline, this passage looks like this:
Verses 1-3 sets the scene – and highlights, importantly, who Jesus is;
Verses 4-11 describes the central event the main idea in this section
what Jesus does, or is about to do;
And verses 12 to 17 offers an overview, a debriefing, so to speak – or ... Why Jesus did what he did … and what it means for all of His followers.
To start with then, who is this man Jesus we meet again here in John 13?
Specifically, who is this Jesus who is about to humble Himself so completely before His followers.
Who is this Jesus??? ----- Jesus is God! –
And this passage indicates Jesus knows it!
And yet, Jesus, who Knows who He is, is about to go down on his hands and knees and serve His disciples, His followers!
We know that Jesus was God by the way this chapter starts:
“Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and be with His Father!”
– In fact, Jesus knew all things (as we will soon see).
This Jesus did not need to serve anyone, not even His disciples.
This Jesus, we know and He knew, had all power and knowledge and control
– We know He was accepted and respected for being a teacher, a rabbi… especially by His disciples… He was their leader.
– But much more, earlier in John we read He cured the sick, raised the dead, commanded the elements…
– And now we see that He also knew the hearts and minds of people/// and everything that was about to take place.
Truly, only God could know all of these things and do all of the things Jesus did.
So, Who is this Jesus – He is God! There is no doubt about that.
(Read verses 1-3)
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Of course, what Jesus also knew, was what was about to happen to Him in Jerusalem…and how Judas and Peter and for that matter, every other disciple would act…
Jesus knew that He was about to die a painful death on the Cross – “His ultimate act of Love”, John calls it!
And when Jesus stoops to wash the feet of His disciples, this becomes His way of showing them 2 things:
*He is giving them the means even now to know who He really is, even though it will be after the fact, as they look back on the Cross happenings;
*and He what true Christian love is all about.
And these two things are synchronized in what He is about to do – washing their feet.
(Read verses 4-11)
The scene would look something like this:
There would be a low table, so that the disciples could sit on the floor, perhaps on some sort of cushioning, mats, maybe. They will be leaning on one side (usually the left side) of the body, on an elbow, and with their feet pointing away from the table.
Their feet would be dusty, dirty even.
They would have walked wherever they needed to be during the day, and their shoes are open sandals.
As was the custom, normally, before they recline at the table, a slave, the lowest of the low, would have washed their feet as they arrived.
But not this time. For some reason, a slave was not present and no one else we may deduce, offered them water in which they could wash their own feet.
And so (and already this would have been a sign of disrespect towards the host at least, not to mention their table mates, the other disciples and Jesus Himself) they simply flop themselves down at the table.
The scene, clearly, is set up to highlight the selfishness and loveless nature at that time of the disciples.
How wonderful it would have been if one of them had offered to find some water and selflessly started washing the feet of the others – like Mary Magdalene once did for Jesus with that expensive oil, and with her tears…drying Jesus’ feet with her hair.
But no one here is going to do it.
Hey, they may loose face, loose their air of importance…and there is still that matter of who is going to be the deputy director of the Kingdom of God when the time comes…remember?
John and James? Lord can we sit one at your right hand and one at your left hand…?
And not surprising, really that they would act the way they did…
It would not have been proper for them, in their social setting to wash another’s feet.
The washing of a visitors’ feet, was a job for a slave.
A Gentile slave, no less. Even some Hebrew slaves were considered above the task.
So when Jesus does the job, clearly, here is something out of the ordinary – something extra-ordinary, and one ma suspect that Jesus is trying to teach his Disciples a lesson.
That lesson is the crux of this chapter as we find it in verses 4 and 5…Jesus, who is at the same time God Himself, does what not one of the Disciples will do – he takes on the dress of a slave, and He starts to wash their feet…
Why? Because that is the nature of Christian love – we should serve one another, love one another to the utmost above ourselves, friend and foe alike.
The disciples start to realize this, and they cringe.
In fact, this is a double embarrassment! Not only does Jesus deed shout against ingrained cultural practices, against every social norm (norms to which they are slaves, by the way); this deed of Jesus also reminds them that He is now doing something they should have done had they taken Jesus teachings to heart.
And yet, when Peter speaks, it becomes clear that the disciples, though they may feel embarrassed, they actually still do not understand Jesus’ practical lesson on that Thursday evening before Good Friday, even as it unfolds.
Jesus is indicating to them the price He will pay for their salvation and the glory of God – Him, who is Jesus, for the sake of them, sinners and mere followers. He who is God, will take on the garments of a slave, and serve them to the utmost.
And so this section ends…
Later they will look back, and understand, but not now…
And so, we might picture it, Jesus sits down again.
And clearly, He sits down to a table of confused looks…
Jesus sees this, knows this, and so he asks, directly:
“Do you understand what I have just done???”
Read verses (12 – 17)
The question Jesus asks his disciples is loaded to the brim!
The question is put in such a way that it implies – you should understand!
I, even though I am your Lord and teacher, by your own account, I do not deem myself more important than you, I have served you like in total humility – that is the way I want you to love one another…
They can hardly not understand now that he has shown them so graphically!
And later, of course, after they witness Jesus death on the cross; and add that to their witnessing his predictions that Judas would betray Him come true, they would understand even better. There they would see His ultimate service!
And then Jesus says, when you do start to understand, I want you to remember this: From now on, do unto each other as I have done for you.
You call me your teacher and Lord, signifying that you accept my authority over you – Well, I, who have authority over all things, I command you to love one another the way I have loved you. Now go out and do it.
B&S we understand, don’t we?
We know our theology so well…
Do we love one another the way Jesus loved us – unconditionally, as if we were more important than He was? Do we love one another that way - us becoming less, them becoming more?
If not, why not?
If Jesus is our Lord and Master and He commands us to serve one another, love one another – why won’t we?
Surely it is not right that we refuse our Lord’s commands?
And yet, we all can probably name, quite easily, a list of people we will never serve.
And even if we were to make a list of people we will serve, gladly! – that may turn out to be a very short list it seems – and then we will only serve them on our terms!
When I tried this list test in my mind (listing whom I would and would not serve, I realized we are quite good at softening the truth in our minds - until we put a name or names to our list…then this test come alive…
For instance… the man who took care of our garden in SA, was William… Would I have washed William’s feet at the end of a long day in the garden for him?
Lettie was our domestic helper – would we wash Lettie’s feet?
The Lord would, and he did!
Even Judas’ feet, Him who He knew would betray Him.
And it was no less absurd what He did than in His social setting, than it would be for us in Sydney today, or in Pretoria or Cape Town or Johannesburg…!
That said, though, it is interesting – and important - to see that it is in the spirit and understanding of Jesus deed – and specifically what He would do the next day, on Easter Friday - that we are deemed clean – not specifically the foot-washing!
With other words, we should not, as some Churches do, turn foot washing as such into a sacrament, a rite!
And we should certainly not perform such a foot washing ceremony then with the belief that it will lead to our justification!
Rather, if you are prepared and committed to serve, the way Jesus did;
if you put yourself at the disposal of your brother and sister, ready to serve him or her, even at the cost of yourself, you are clean (you are deemed to have had a bath, for then you share in Jesus blood).
The foot washing of Jesus points towards the Cross – and there lies our salvation – we will not be saved because we wash the feet of our neighbour as such.
But we will be saved in Jesus washing our feet, pointing us to his ultimate service on the cross! - - and us showing the love of the Lord towards each other!
How can we serve one another here in 2007? The same as in Jesus’ time, in His example!
How?
By genuinely sharing in each others joys and heartaches!
By caring for the sick and the lonely.
By loving not only our friends and family members but our enemies, too.
And we should do these things even if it comes at a cost…
perhaps, especially when it comes at a cost to us.
Amen.
Lets sing again. BoW 434
Collection and Prayer (Don Forrest)
Now is a good time to consider our offering. The offering this morning is for the Local Church and the Solomon Islands.
After the collection has been taken up, brother….will lead us in prayer
Let’s sing again. Lets stand as we sing Consider Christ.
Please remain standing afterwards for the benediction,
After the benediction, we will sing RJSII 331 (Forever Greatful.
The Lord Bless you and Keep you,
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turns His face toward you and give you peace
Amen