A Better Way to Get Through Life - John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17

©Copyright June 13, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

When a person knows death is near their words take on a new importance. They want to express their love to those near them . . . even if they had rarely done so before. They may pass on a blessing to their children or enumerate the appreciation and gratitude they have for their spouse, and they make sure essential information is shared and known. Everything takes on a greater significance at the end of one’s life.

As we move into John 13, we are looking at the last hours of the earthly life of Jesus. Tomorrow at this same time, Jesus will be dead. And this makes chapters 13-17 precious to us. These are words and things that happened without the crowds around. There is an intimacy in these words that draws us closer to Jesus than ever before.

It all starts with Jesus celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room.

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.

The Mindset of Jesus

These opening verses tell us something about the mindset of Jesus. Knowing this mindset will make what Jesus does stand out that much more vividly.

First, Jesus knew his hour had come to leave the world. In other words, Jesus knew the shadow of the cross was upon Him. Before long He would die an excruciating death. Yet, even with this heavy cloud hanging over Him, Jesus was still teaching His disciples. He was still wonderfully present.

Second, we are told Jesus knew the Father had given him authority over everything. Jesus knew exactly who He was. He knew He was God in human form. He knew He was there at the creation and would be standing victorious on the Last Day. He could have been aloof but He was not.

We are also told Jesus knew Judas (who was present at the meal) was going to betray him. If we look ahead to next week, we know Jesus also knew that Simon would deny Him and that his disciples would run away. This could have left Jesus discouraged but He was not.

The reason this is so important is because when we read what Jesus does next, we will come up with all kinds of excuses for why His instruction does not apply to us.

· We have more important things to do

· It is beneath us; it is not what people like us should be doing

· The others do not deserve these actions

The Motive of Jesus

In verse one we read these important words, “He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. “

What majestic words these are! Even though Jesus knew His disciples still didn’t really understand; even though he knew they were going to run away, and one was even going to sell Him out to the Romans, He still loved them. And what’s more, that love wasn’t going to stop, it was going to have its most powerful expression in the cross.

Jesus called every one of His disciples because he saw something in these people that others overlooked. In the world’s eyes, they were unremarkable. They were not powerful or exemplary by the world’s standards. But Jesus knew how special they could become. He believed in them when others didn’t even notice them.

This is a picture of the relationship we have with Christ. Jesus calls us to follow Him not because of our reputation, but often despite that reputation! He calls us because He knows what we were made to be. He knows what He can and will do through us. And because of this, His death on the cross was for us just as it was for His followers at the time.

He loves us to the very end. It is not a conditional love. In other words, He doesn’t love us only if we do everything right. In John 6 he told his followers that “no one can snatch us out of His hands.” Paul echoed that sentiment in Romans 8 when he asked, “What shall separate us from the love of God?” The answer of course, is “Nothing!” In Philippians 1:6 Paul reiterates the same message: “He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion in Christ Jesus.” To guarantee this, He gives everyone who believes and follows Him the Holy Spirit, who is a “deposit that guarantees our inheritance.”

This is hard for us to grasp because we have never been loved like this before. We have been loved by parents or by our spouse, but the love of Christ for those who receive and follow Him is that parental love taken to a much higher level. He knows all of our weaknesses and failures (we have all successfully hidden many of those from our parents) yet sees past them to our potential. He knows not only what we are good at doing . . . He knows the good He built into our design. He is committed to helping us grow in grace, truth, and holiness.

It's kind of like many of the electronic gadgets of today (cell phones, iPad, computer programs, remotes). We may be able to do what we need to do, but there is so much more those things are able to do. We only scratch the surface of their potential. We are like those gadgets . . . we only see what we are currently doing. Only God sees our true potential.

The Cleansing of Jesus

4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

The dusty feet from wearing sandals meant feet were usually washed off before sitting down to a meal. In the gospel of Luke, we are told the disciples argued over who was the greatest. Is it possible the discussion began with the question: “Who should do the foot-washing.” What Jesus did next was quite startling.

To the humiliation of all the disciples, Jesus got out the water and washed the feet of the others. He had something He wanted to teach them.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When Jesus got to Peter, Peter was certainly trying to honor the Lord. He understood Christ was much greater than He and therefore he should be washing the Lord’s feet, not the other way around.

Jesus however wants Peter to submit to Him. Peter resisted. Jesus said unless he washed Peter’s feet he would not be clean. Unless we are we are “washed” by Jesus; unless our sin is cleansed by Him, we can never be clean and therefore we will never be acceptable before God. Other ways of getting clean are insufficient.

Some people say every religious belief system is pursuing the same thing. Even some Christians will tell you that the Christian God and the god of Islam, Allah, are the same God. They are not. Islam and Christianity proclaim two very different gods and two opposite ways of salvation.

Likewise, our secular society seems to believe that as long as you are doing your best, you will live beyond the grave. Others say, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else, you are godly. Some Christians are fine with these teachings. It sounds generous, kind, and tolerant to others, but the Christian gospel and the gospel of good works are contradictory. Just as the Allah and the God of the Bible are different. They affirm opposite truths. It is like saying black and white are the same color, or the sky and the earth are the same things.

Peter, of course, is the apostle of excess. He wants to follow the Lord completely. His heart is in the right place. Peter says, if I need to be cleansed by you to belong to you then wash all of me. I can’t imagine Jesus not smiling at this point. I think Jesus knows Peter is just being Peter. I picture Him almost deadpanning the next words: “Peter, people who are clean do not need a bath, they just need to wash their feet.”

Peter is like those Christians who are constantly moving from one extreme to the other. Jesus wants us to be steady in our faithfulness. He asks us to do what He tells us to do. He doesn’t ask us to do more and doesn’t want us to do less. Being a faithful disciple means doing what He tells us to do.

But Jesus adds one more line in here. He said almost every one of the disciples was clean. This is an illusion to Judas. Don’t miss something here. This footwashing took place before Jesus told the disciples someone was going to betray him. It was before Judas left the group. This means. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas. Not only did Jesus love the disciples in a general sense to the end; He also loved Judas to the end. The one who would be betrayed, knowingly washed the feet of the one who would betray Him.

Jesus calls us to be kind, even to those who are not kind to us. He calls us to serve and to love even those who do not appreciate or return your love. He calls us to relate with forgiveness and grace even to those you know are going to hurt you. It is a command that goes against everything we have been taught in the world. Jesus did not give up on love. Max Lucado observes about those tough to relate to,

What they said and what they did are two different things. Oh, maybe they didn’t leave you alone at the cross, but maybe they left you alone with the bills . . .

or your question

or your illness.

Or maybe you were just left at the altar,

or in the cold,

holding the bag.

Vows forgotten. Contract abandoned.

Logic says: “Put up your fists.”

Jesus says: “Fill up the basin.”

Logic says: “Bloody his nose.”

Jesus says: “Wash his feet.”

Logic says: “She doesn’t deserve it.”

Jesus says: “You’re right, but you don’t, either.”[1]

He continues

Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you?

If so, go one more time to the room. Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. Can you see him? Can you hear the water splash? Can you hear him shuffle on the floor to the next person? Good. Keep that image.

John 13:12 says, “When he had finished washing their feet …”

Please note, he finished washing their feet. That means he left no one out. Why is that important? Because that also means he washed the feet of Judas. Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer. He gave his traitor equal attention. In just a few hours Judas’s feet would guide the Roman guard to Jesus. But at this moment they are caressed by Christ.

That’s not to say it was easy for Jesus.

That’s not to say it is easy for you.

That is to say that God will never call you to do what he hasn’t already done.

The Lesson from Jesus

The real pay-off or lesson of the passage is found in verses 12-17.

12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

The world evaluates a person’s status, but the Lord looks at our service. Jesus calls us to follow his example rather than the example of the world. William Barclay writes,

The world is full of people who are standing on their dignity when they ought to be kneeling at the feet of their brethren. In every sphere of life desire for prominence and unwillingness to take a subordinate place wreck the scheme of things. A player is one day omitted from the team and refuses to play any more. An aspiring politician is passed over for some office to which he thought he had a right and refuses to accept any subordinate office. A member of a choir is not given a solo and will not sing any more. In any society it may happen that someone is given a quite unintentional slight and either explodes in anger or broods in sulkiness for days afterwards. When we are tempted to think of our dignity, our prestige, our rights, let us see again the picture of the Son of God, with a towel, kneeling at his disciples’ feet.[2]

This is radical stuff. Jesus gives us a completely different methodology than the approach of the world around us. The world’s ways are not working! Max finishes his thought

When I was a teenager I was deeply affected by a little gospel tract that was a comic book. It was called something like “Holy Joe.” It was the story of a Christian soldier in boot camp who knelt beside his bed every night to pray. The other soldiers in the barracks hurled insults at him and threw their boots at him, but he kept praying until after the others had fallen asleep. In the morning, when those soldiers woke up, they found their boots polished and shined right next to theirs beds.

They continued to give the Christian soldier a hard time and every morning the boots were shined and put in their place. Fewer and fewer boots were thrown and one by one soldiers asked the Christian soldier about this faith of his. He didn’t preach to them. He showed them love by serving them. They saw a humble servant and discovered that you can’t fight with someone who serves like that.

As we read through the book of Acts and some of the letters of the apostles, we discover the disciples remembered the example of Jesus. They served and gave of themselves. It was not always easy. At times, they were treated shamefully. Those men may have been considered wimps by the world around them. But history records that these men were used by God to change the world.

We are living in a confused time. Values have been turned upside down. People are looking for a reason to be critical of each other. People are stocking up with weapons to stand their ground. But there is one weapon more powerful than all the others, it is the love that results from the grace of God in a human life. This grace leads us to serve others rather than attack them. It produces forgiveness rather than bitterness. It zeros in on the value and potential of a person rather than their blemishes, failures and faults. Many will shrug the words of Jesus off as nonsense. However, this love extended to us, and the resultant desire to serve and reach out to others is still just as powerful to change the world as it has ever been. And if you are tuned in to what is going on in our world you know this is a change we desperately need.

[1] Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder : Hearing God through the Storm (Dallas, TX: Word Pub., 1995), 35. [2] William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of John, vol. 2, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975), 139–140.