Loved Them to the End

Will you let me be your servant; let me be as Christ to you?

Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant too.

That’s the problem. At least, it’s a problem Peter had. It felt improper, awkward, to Peter for Jesus to kneel and wash his right foot, his left foot, and dry them off with the towel.

You can probably relate: Anybody here have a lady’s maid or a valet help them get dressed this morning?

We’re used to doing our own buttons and putting on our own shoes. It feels too “up close and personal” to receive help washing and dressing.

When you’re shoe-shopping and a salesperson opens the laces and eases the shoe onto your foot, it’s oddly intimate, doesn’t it?

Jesus’ service for each of his disciples on the night he was betrayed was more intimate. He washed each of his disciples’ bare feet, then dried them on the towel around his waist. One after another all the disciples submitted to Jesus’ foot washing until Jesus got to Peter.

Peter objected, “No, you shall never wash my feet.”

Did you catch Jesus’ reply?

“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

So what’s this about? If washing feet is a sign, what does it point to?

One summer I worked for my Uncle’s drywall company. Being the new guy, I got certain jobs: washing tools, fetching coffee, and scraping drywall compound off the floor when we finished a job. Dirty tasks went to the new guy. That’s NOT why Jesus washed feet.

Jesus wasn’t the lowest and youngest. He was the Teacher, the disciples’ Lord & Master. Jesus served from a position of power and authority. John sets the stage:

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

John 13:3–4 (NIV)

It takes a big person to swallow their pride, humble themselves and volunteer for the jobs that nobody really wants to do.

That’s part of the example Jesus gives his disciples. Power is given to people for the sake of others. Serving others is the job of the mighty. Some leaders get it; others never seem to understand. I think all leaders wrestle with it.

Seeing Jesus wash his disciples’ feet is also a lesson about receiving help. Being washed by our Teacher and Lord strikes at our independence. It challenges the illusion of our self-sufficiency. Having Jesus kneel before each of his disciples and wash and dry one foot, then the other is a sign that Jesus’ disciples cannot be self-reliant. You’re invited – compelled – to rely on your Lord & Teacher.

Jesus does not mention of baptism as he washes his disciples’ feet and talks with them afterwards. But the symbolism of foot-washing and baptism overlap. Jesus overcomes Peter’s objections to having Jesus wash his feet by saying, “Unless I was you, you have no part with me.” Later, Jesus also says,

Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean.

John 13:10a (NIV)

Receiving the sign and seal of baptism is a confession that we want to be part of Jesus’ business. It’s a confession of faith in Jesus; a confession that we need to rely on Jesus; to count on his power as the one who came from God and returned to God. It’s an admission: we can’t do it ourselves.

I have never baptized anybody – man, woman, or child – who needed a bath. Every person I baptized was already scrubbed clean and dressed in good clothes. They prepared with special care that day to have God’s promises to be sealed to them with the water of baptism. Baptism assures the baptized of their part with Jesus.

Why is that so significant?

The cleansing water of baptism, like Jesus washing feet on the night he was betrayed, is a sign of everything that Jesus has done to serve, to save, to redeem his dearly loved people. Your Teacher and Lord has done the dirty work for you.

John hints at Jesus’ death and resurrection in the way he describes the events. John’s gospel was originally written in Greek. The translators are correct. In Greek, it says Jesus “took off his outer clothing.” But you could also translate it: “Jesus lay down his clothing.” It’s the same word Jesus uses in John 10,

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:11 (NIV)

Same deal with putting his clothes back on.

The Greek idiom for getting dressed is “take up your clothes.” It’s an echo of the words Jesus uses in John 10:

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

John 10:17 (NIV)

Do you think that Jesus’ actions of washing his disciples’ feet is related to his crucifixion and resurrection?

With all the awkwardness and discomfort of having their Teacher and Lord kneel before them and wash their feet, Jesus’ disciples can also rely on Jesus to cleanse them from sin and shame. In both cases your self-reliance and independence take a serious blow. It requires you to admit you need help. You need to allow Jesus to do it for you.

It’s a measure of Jesus’ love for his disciples – then and now – that he didhumble himself and became a servant. He became obedient to death – even death on a cross.

John tells us Jesus knew the hour had come. All the events and conversation at this meal take a long time for John to describe. So it’s easy for readers to miss the short timeframe. After the meal in which he washed his disciples’ feet, after sitting around talking and praying (John 13-17), Jesus and his disciples went to Gethsemane.

It’s the same night Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and beaten. The next day was Good Friday, when Jesus was mocked and crucified, taking your sin, your cross, your shame. Kneeling and washing their feet was just the beginning of what Jesus did for his disciples that night. Unless his followers accept Jesus’ service they have no part in Jesus.

For it is at the cross that Jesus endures the punishment for our sin. Our disobedience, our lack of trust, our stubborn independence that steers us to do things our own way instead of being guided by God’s instructions – that leads us to self-reliance instead of trusting reliance on God. Yet we live in a culture that values independence. People brag that they did it their way or that they pulled themselves up by their own boot straps.

In Jesus’ Kingdom, refusing God’s help, rejecting God’s guidance, or disobeying God’s instructions is identified as sin. It leads to death. There is nothing we do can remove our own guilt and shame before our Creator and Judge.

So God in his great love, came into his own creation, humbled himself and became human so that he could serve and rescue his people. But Jesus didn’t just lay down his life; he took it up again. On the 3rd day, Jesus rose from his tomb, demonstrating his victory over sin, victory over death, and victory over humankind’s stubborn rejection of God’s help.

By humbly receiving Jesus’ help, by submitting to the service Jesus offers, you receive forgiveness of sin. All your guilt can be washed away. You can rise up to live for Jesus. Isn’t that something you should say “yes” to?

Doesn’t it make you feel a little like Peter: “then Lord, not just me feet; wash all of me clean”? Let’s not go halfway on this. I’m all in!

But as your independence and self-sufficiency is washed away, so is your sinful pride. Once you’ve swallowed your pride to receive help, you’re invited to keep swallowing your pride and serve others.

Jesus has transformed our picture of what power and authority look like. If our Teacher and Lord lay down his jacket and serve his disciples, we too can serve our neighbours. Jesus gives clear instructions for his followers to imitate him:

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

John 13:14 (NIV)

I don’t think this is just about washing feet.

This might involve scrubbing someone’s floor or reading to them from their favorite books for an hour or two. It’s the kind of attitude that many in this congregation have embraced by parking at the far end of the parking lot, letting guests, seniors, and those with mobility issues take the best spots closest to the door.

Our service might call us to dig deeply into our love for our neighbour and be really generous.

Do you think you might be called to sacrifice everything out of love for your neighbour?

Would you need to lay down your life to express the life-giving gospel message to other people?

Peter gets lots of attention for objecting to have Jesus wash his feet. In the last chapter of John’s gospel, Peter also gets special attention from Jesus.

3X Jesus asks him, “Do you love me?”

3X Peter says, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

3X Jesus says, “Feed my sheep; feed my lambs.”

Peter is an apprentice to the Good Shepherd. Disciples in Jesus’ day made it their goal to become exactly like their Rabbi, their Teacher. Jesus invites Peter to be an under-shepherd, a teacher and leader LIKE Jesus was. Not just power and authority, but also Jesus-type willingness to serve others. Peter might even be called to lay down his life for the sheep.

If you are a disciple of Jesus, if you have been washed with the sign and seal of baptism, you have a share in Jesus’ mission. Not just in the salvation, but in becoming like your Teacher and Lord, laying down your jacket to humbly do the menial tasks of washing feet, and laying down your pride, your preferences, even your life for the sake of your neighbour and your Saviour.

How will you serve God and others this week?