Sermon Tone Analysis

Announcements

Bible Study & Prayer every Wednesday at 7pm.

We’re currently studying the book of psalms and we’d love to have you join us this Wednesday at 7pm.

Please be aware that we also provide a light dinner at 6pm, this week is broccoli-cheddar soup.

On Wednesday, November 24th (next week), we’ll have a Pre-Thanksgiving Love Feast in lieu of our Bible Study & Prayer time.

A love feast is a meal followed by the Lord’s Supper, which gives us time for fellowship, for thanksgiving, and for reflection as we take the Lord’s Supper together.

The food itself is taken care of, but we could use help with desserts.

And of course, expect to partake in the Lord’s Supper after dinner.

As always, let me remind you to continue worshiping the LORD through your giving.

To help you give, we have three ways for you to do so: (1) in-person giving can be done at the offering box at the entrance of the building.

This is where you can give with cash or check—if you write a check, please write it to “Grace & Peace,” and if you give cash and you’d like a receipt for your gift, please place it in an envelope with your name on it so we can properly attribute it to you.

If you’d prefer to give by debit, credit, or ACH transfers, you can do that by either (2) texting the number 84321 with your $[amount] or by (3) visiting www.graceandpeacepa.com

and selecting “Giving” in the menu bar.

Everything you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Call to Worship (Psalm 35:19-28)

Our Call to Worship this morning is the last ten verses of Psalm 35.

Remember Psalm 35 has been a series of laments by David concerning the unfair and unjust hatred that he’s faced from his enemies.

In this last section, David cries out for the LORD to deliver him from the wicked and to render justice against those who have wrongfully accused him.

David ends this psalm by praying that those who saw the vindication that he was requesting, to be joyful and praise the LORD for it.

Please stand and responsively read Psalm 35:19-28 with me; I’ll read the odd-numbered verses, please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Congregational Singing

Come Praise and Glorify

God the Uncreated One

Scripture Reading

Our Scripture Reading this morning is Philippians 2:1-13, which is from a letter that Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippians.

I’ve asked Stacey to read Scripture this morning, but before she comes up let me give just a little bit of background information.

The letter to the Philippians was written by Paul to thank the church for a gift, as well as to tell them the importance of contentedness in any situation (Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter).

Paul challenges the Philippian believers to be servants just like Jesus served mankind when he became a man to sacrifice himself for our sins.

This passage connects with our sermon this morning because in our text for the day, we see Jesus serving the disciples by washing their feet; and Jesus’ lesson for the disciples and for us is the same, that we ought to serve one another in all situations:

Sermon

Introduction

This morning’s sermon concerns an event that is probably very familiar to most of us.

Quite honestly, it comes at a good time because part of the passage speaks of the Lord’s Supper, which we’ll partake of together after the message; though, the passage itself isn’t really about the Lord’s Supper—it’s about an event that occurs during their supper together.

Again, this event is probably familiar to many of you, it’s an event that’s often mentioned particularly when speaking of leadership to the extent that we have whole business leadership strategies that have been derived from the event at hand, we typically refer to it as servant leadership.

We’re in John 13, which starts a series of teachings by Jesus that encapsulates his final week before his crucifixion.

This series of teachings starts in chapter 13 and goes to chapter 16, which leads us to Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer and his arrest in chapter 18.

This tells us that what Jesus is saying through these next few chapters are specific teachings that he’s directing towards his disciples, in particular, the twelve, which elevates the importance of these teachings.

Keep this in mind as we read John 13:1-20.

As we study this passage, we’re going to break it into two parts: (1) Vs. 1-11, is the Act of Washing the Disciples’ Feet—in the first section, we’ll see Jesus actually going and washing the disciples feet and we’ll see Peter objecting to Jesus washing his feet.

We’ll explore a bit about why Peter objected to the washing of his feet and Jesus’ response to that rejection.

(2) Vs.

12-20, is The Lesson concerning Feet Washing, which will explore Jesus’ own lesson that he teaches as part of the feet washing.

This passage will exhort us to serve one another because Jesus was willing to serve mankind.

Prayer for Illumination

The Act of Washing the Disciples’ Feet (1-11)

John 13 starts by giving us some details concerning the setting of this event.

We’re told that this is still “before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father.”

So, we’re still in that week before the crucifixion of Jesus and it’s clear that Jesus knows that his time is up, because the passage itself tells us that Jesus knew that his hour had come.

That emphasizes what Jesus does through the next few chapters because it’s sorta like a situation in which Jesus is expressing his final words over a series of chapters.

It’s in these last few chapters before Jesus’ death, that he explains what true leadership looks like, he teaches himself as the only way to Father as the way, truth, and life, and he promises the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Just looking at these different statements in that light, we realize the significance of what Jesus said and did far more than his own disciples did as they listened and experienced these events.

Jesus recognized that his earthly life was ending, which he of course knew because of his divinity, and these are the things that he chose to teach and to do before being taken and arrested.

In the week leading to Jesus’ death, he recognized that his time on earth was ending.

The Bible says, “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to [return] to the Father”

In Vs. 2-5, we’re told that Jesus knew that the devil had already put in the heart of Judas Iscariot the desire to betray him.

Again, that would be due to the divinity of Jesus and the fact that God is omniscient (all-knowing).

Jesus’ crucifixion, though clearly surprising to the disciples, wasn’t surprising to God whatsoever—God is never surprised.

Occasionally, particularly for new Christians, we can find ourselves surprised or shocked at the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and the way that those events occurred—with a rushed trial, with great torture and agony; in a way that seemed out of Jesus’ control and surprise to himself—but remember, Jesus knew of his crucifixion before anyone else did, it was planned for him to be killed the way that he was killed (we see it here because Jesus clearly knows that his death is coming, but we also see it in the prophetic works of Isaiah, who prophesied the torture and death of Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus).

Jesus knew what he was to experience and he knew the details of that event because Jesus is God and shares in the attributes of God—including his omniscience.

Jesus’ knowledge of Judas’ betrayal of him will come back into focus towards the end of this chapter, but before it does, John continues to tell us what Jesus determined to do during this supper:

John 13:3-5, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper.

He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

There are several things to note in these few verses, but I really want us to focus on two:

First, the statement concerning the Father giving Jesus all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God speaks of Jesus’ sovereignty, his divine nature, and his power.

We see Jesus’ power and sovereignty in the first phrase—that God had given all things into Jesus’ hands.

We see his divine nature in the second phrase, that he had come from God and was going back to God.

And reading these statements, it is then shocking that Jesus does what he’s about to do in Vs. 4-5.

That he “rose from supper.

He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.

I think even in our modern-day context, we can see how shocking this event would be, but consider this event from the first-century Jewish person’s mindset.

In the first-century feet washing was usually a service performed by servants, not by someone that’s necessarily equal in standing or higher in standing.

Jesus was considered a rabbi by the disciples, which means they didn’t consider themselves equal with him, they considered him of a higher standing then them.

The fact that feet washing was to be performed by servants further exacerbated the issue to the Jewish disciples’ minds.

Not to mention the fact that in the first-century, everyone wore sandals and they walked everywhere, which means that their feet were absolutely disgusting covered in the filth of dirt, mud, and whatever other waste that they’re walking in.

It’s no wonder that they disdained the idea of washing feet.

And considering that Jesus recognized who he was, that his time on earth was almost up, and that he realized that all his power and sovereignty are being returned to him, it should be completely shocking that Jesus does what he’s doing in these verses

The all-powerful, all-knowing, all-sovereign God is doing what man thought only servants should do.

The one who is about to sacrificially atone for all mankind is getting on his knees and doing the work that man thought only the least of the least should do.

Which explains Peter’s objection in Vs. 6, “6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.

And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.””

Jesus comes to wash Simon Peter’s feet and Jesus objects.

“Lord, do you wash my feet?”

The word Lord shows us that Simon considered Jesus to be above him; and he’s right to view Jesus in that way because Jesus is above him.

But Jesus insists that what he’s doing is something that Peter won’t understand immediately, but will understand afterwards.

The afterwards, would be when he explains the meaning behind the feet washing in Vs. 12-20, but Peter, still insists that Jesus shouldn’t wash his feet.

“You shall never wash my feet.”

Now before you think that Peter is just being obstinate and just rejecting Jesus, remember what we just learned about feet washing in the first century.

That feet washing was reserved for the least of the least to wipe clean feet that had been trudging through mud, dirt, and refuse.

Peter wasn’t being obstinate just to be obstinate, he was thinking in terms of Jesus being his teacher; and as his teacher, he shouldn’t be washing Peter’s feet, it should be the opposite.

Peter should be washing Jesus’ feet.

However, Jesus makes it clear that he has to wash Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me,” which causes Peter to respond with, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head.”

See, Peter isn’t outrightly rejecting Jesus’ feet washing, he’s rejecting Jesus’ feet washing based on his position in comparison to Jesus’.

Once Peter hears from Jesus that if he doesn’t have his feet washed, Peter has no part with Jesus, he immediately responds with “don’t just wash my feet, wash all of me.”

Peter’s heart is in the right place, he just doesn’t understand what’s happening; and Jesus continues by saying “Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.

And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”