Washing Feet
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Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly;
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.
A true leader washes the feet of every sheep, cares for their concerns and is watchful to address the deeper concern.
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Be Faithful (5:1-4)
Their Ministry: Shepherd the Flock
Feeding, leading, encouraging, discipling, guarding
Takes the oversight and be the leader
Where would the flock be if the shiip led the shepherd or if every sheep were given his or her own way?
Their Motive: Not constraint, but consent
The shepherd must serve the Lord with a willing heart because he loves Christ and the flock, not simply because he has a job to do.
Must not serve for shameful gain (v.2), whether be for money, prestige, power or promotion.
Be eager to work “a ready mind”, not listless or lazy.
Their Manner: Leadership is not dictatorship
Leaders are overseers, not overlords!
The best way to get people to follow is to set the pace yourself. “The pastor does not demand respect; he commands it by the godly life he lives and by his sacrificial service.” -W. Weirsbe
Their Reward: Future, not today
Glory will be in the future heaven
Each undershepherd is to submit to the Chief Shepherd.
Be Humble (5:5-7)
Be subject to the elders (the spiritual leaders) (v.5) Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Be “clothed with humility” meaning be controlled by a humble spirit, be a servant. Jesus is refering to the night in the upper room when he put on a towel and washed the disciples feet (John 13:1-17).
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? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
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. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
The greatness of our Master is His humility. He was willing to humble himself before his own creation and wash our feet. Are we willing to cloth ourselves with the same humility that Jesus did? Are we willing to humble ourselves before one another and do the same? We throw away the favor of God when we refuse to humble ourselves before one another. Are we doing just as Jesus expects us to do?
If a person desires to be a leader, they have to be willing to do one thing, wash feet. A leader washes feet. The cultural equivalent, clean the toilet bowl or clean up the pooh in the backyard. Do the job nobody else wants to do. Meet the need that nobody else wants to meet. Be the Jesus that the world needs, not the devil that the world believes.
The opposite of being humble is being proud. To be proud is to be self-seeking, “It’s all about me.” Peter reminds his listeners, God resists the proud, the self-seeking; no favor of God will be received by those whose life is about the pursuit of themselves (v.5).
Why was Judas overcome by grief and death? Because he was finally overcome and conquered by his own selfishness. He traded the savior of the world for a mere thirty pieces of silver, six weeks wages, or a mere $216 USD, or $273.26 CAD. How much am I willing to trade Jesus for? How much can I be bought for? Even the apostle Peter could be bought, his price was safety. He denied knowing Jesus three times in order to save his skin from being crucified with Jesus. Having been restored, and forgiven by Jesus, the apostle Peter was martyred by Emperor Nero, upside down on a cross, at his request, because he deemed himself “unworthy to die as his Lord died” (Dr. Elmer Towns; How Did the Apostle Peter Die?; biblesprout.com).
Peter was a new man, a new creation, after His restoration by the Lord Jesus. He humbled himself under the hand of His lord and did His work. He believed that God would exalt him at the proper time. He also believed that it is not a waste to throw your concerns on Jesus because Jesus cares for you (v.7). Cares meaning, is of interest to, to concern oneself with. Jesus is interested in and concerned about you and me. On the night that the disciples thought they were going to die, in the storm at sea, the disciples asked Jesus, who was sound asleep, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (Mk 4:38). What was Jesus’ response? Did he just turn over and continue sleeping? Did he let the disciples ‘figure it out’?
Jesus response was to rebuke the wind, still the sea, and ask the disciples, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?” (Mk 4:39).
To the disciples, the storm was of real concern. Jesus answered and addressed their concern, as any good leader should. But then He also addressed His concern, the true issue, His chief interest: why were they fearful? why did they still lack faith in Him? A good leader will address the peoples concern, but also address the deeper concern. The Apostle Peter is saying to his readers: why are you fearful? why do you still lack faith in Christ? why do you question God’s concern for you and about you? He will exalt you at the proper time, if you humble yourselves, under His hand (v.6-7). It’s hard not to be self-seeking in the midst of a storm that is upon you. You want relief and you want safety. But the question to ask is, what does Jesus want in this storm? Humility will ask this question, pride will not.
The biggest issue concerning Covid, and the vaccines, that I see, as a Pastor and follower of Christ, why are we fearful? and are we lacking faith in Christ? And if we are, and I believe we are, in the last days, of which Jesus speaks about in Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation, why am I fearful? and why am I lacking faith in Christ? Do I not believe that Jesus cares for me and about me? There are many different storms, but they are all in the hands of Jesus. The fear is suffering, but the joy is God’s favor and exaltation upon us…because He cares about us!
The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Be Watchful (5:8-11)
Who better than Peter to address the issue of being watchful about the prowlings of Satan! Jesus warned Peter that Satan was after him, but he failed to heed the warning. ““Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:31-32) Have we fallen asleep to the schemes of Satan so he can go about his work (Mt. 13:25, 39)? The parable of the sower tells us that the enemy will sow weeds when we are not looking, being aware, or alert. Peter encourages the believers to be sober-minded, alert and resistant to Satan’s workings. Just as King David fell into sin, and relaxed his guard, when He should have been at battle with his men, Satan is waiting for us to relax our guard in our relationship with Jesus (2 Sam 11). We can fall into self-confidence, “I can handle it”, to selfishness, “It’s all about me”. It all comes about as a result of a wanning relationship with Christ.
Bible reading slips, prayer is mechanical, fellowship is an option, no longer of prime importance, faith treks non-existant, everything becomes about facts and proof (particularly of science) and what I think is good for me, not about what God thinks. As they say, it becomes a slippery slope once you get in the groove. Peter says be alert and resist (v.9)! Satan comes either as a serpent to deceive (Gen 3) or as a lion to devour. He is an accuser of falsity (1 Peter 2:12; 3:16; 4:4; 14), a liar and a killer (John 8:44). To be defeat one is to stand together. Together with whom? The community of believers. Phil 1:27-28
Philippians 1:27–28 (HCSB)
Just one thing: Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ....standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your deliverance —and this is from God.
How can you defeat Satan if you are not standing in community with other brothers and sisters of the faith? You cannot. A pack of wolves will always go after the lone sheep. They will also try to divide and conquer. Ignore gathering as the community of faith and you will attract the enemy! Resistance is always better together, never apart. You see this fact when you review the history of the World Wars.
Resist with faith. Do you believe that Jesus cares for you? Has not left you on your own? Counter Satan lies with God’s truth, just as Jesus did in the wilderness (Mt. 4). We are only as weak as our faith and trust in Christ. Build it up!
Remember, if you are being attacked, it is most likely others are as well. Trials and persecution was not just a promise for you, it is for every follower of Christ. We are not alone, but the enemy will try to convince you of this lie.
Sermon in a sentence: A true leader washes the feet of every sheep, cares for their concerns and is watchful to address the deeper concern.