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BIG IDEA
HUMILITY IS NOT PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN BUT LIFTING OTHERS UP.
Good Morning!
It is good to see everyone this morning.
Last week we celebrated Easter and had a wonderful time together.
If you were out of town last week, good news, we paused our series and focused on how Christ's life, death, and resurrection have made it possible for people to be made whole again.
All of us are born separated from God, but because of Jesus, we have a way to be reunited with God, and that missing piece of our lives is restored.
Today we are picking up with chapter 5 which is entitled “Self-Giving”.
If you are reading along and know that this is the last chapter, don’t worry, we will have at least one more sermon in this series.
The last one will talk about how we accomplish all that we have discussed in this series.
More on that next week.
In this study, we’ve been talking about loving like Jesus - what that means and how to do it.
Frankly, I want to love like Jesus and so do you.
As I’ve mentioned each week, you may not even be part of a church, but something inside of you gravitates toward having a more loving marriage, family, and friendship relationships.
In fact, don’t we look for solutions in all the relationship challenges we face?
Who wouldn’t want to have a better marriage or a better environment at work or school?
I’d like to get along better with people that might even call me an enemy.
We’re in a series called LOVE LIKE THAT.
Each week I’ve been emphasizing what you already know: none of us have arrived yet.
We are all trying to figure it out, trying to get it right.
Largely because we know the stakes are so high.
All of us intuitively know that our actions, even our intentions can and do have a generational impact.
So, this is something we want to get right.
Our theme passage for the entire series is Ephesians 5:1-2
Loving like Jesus involves being mindful, being approachable, being grace-full, and being bold.
Today we’ll see it also includes being self-giving.
There are two passages I want to unpack today.
The first is from some of the last words and actions of Jesus before He goes to the cross to die for us.
It is the most incredible example and illustration of being self-giving you’ll find.
It’s found in John 13.
The second passage actually gives us a clear definition of humility and a way to make it part of our daily routine.
Let’s get started.
This is just moments… hours before Jesus dies on the cross.
HERE WE FIND THE PERFECT PICTURE OF SELF-GIVING!
HERE’S THE WHO…
We get a clear picture of the character of Jesus’ love beginning in the first verse.
Jesus knew this was it.
His hour had come.
Knowing all things, He was clearly aware that He had precious few hours left here before His death.
Final hours bring final words.
Those words tend to carry a great deal of weight.
When death is near, there’s no time for wasted words.
We all know this to be true.
You want to use what time is left to impact those that are closest to you.
The last words of David Cassidy, an American actor and singer known for The Partridge Family, were “So much wasted time.”
Surely a statement of regret and challenge to make the most of one’s life.
Last words can carry the weight of guilt and regret or can help lead others to a deeper understanding of life and challenge us to navigate it wisely.
We don't learn by discussing it.
It's discovered through actions of love.
Any of you in the room that have experienced a major illness or are close to someone that has, you know that a brush with death changes the way you live.
I can tell you from my personal life, things have become less valuable and experiences with the people I love take precedence.
When we are at the end or think we are near the end, the importance of our words and actions are brought into sharp focus.
I believe that this moment for Jesus was no different.
His friends, His companions, His disciples are with Him for one last Passover… one final supper.
After spending three years with His close band of brothers, it was time to say goodbye.
Over the course of time, they had learned so much.
Jesus had taught many things regarding the kingdom of God.
Some understood, and some didn’t.
But as the time of His “departure” approached, He saved some of His most significant teachings for the upper room and just for those closest to Him, His disciples.
Jesus is revealing new truths to His disciples.
He talks about His love for them and how it continues to the very end.
His public ministry is over and now, with the focused intensity of one sharing final words, He teaches us how to live in a self-giving way.
Pay close attention to how Jesus spends this time with his closest friends.
At this moment, Jesus puts all his focus on his disciples.
We are reminded that all power and authority are His.
It’s in this context that Jesus puts on a towel and washes His disciple’s feet.
Crazy.
This is shocking on multiple levels.
Jesus has spent three years publically and privately declaring through His words, actions, and miracles that He is in fact God in the flesh.
John records these examples in his gospel…
The Jews understood that Jesus was claiming to be God, and that’s the reason they sought to kill Him.
If they had misunderstood Him, all Jesus would have had to say is, “Sorry fellas, you misunderstood.
Let me clear this up.”
But, He didn’t.
They understood clearly.
Jesus was and is God in the flesh.
That’s what makes this demonstration of humility so shocking.
The God of Creation, the God who spoke all things into existence, would humble Himself by doing the lowly act of washing the feet of His disciples… an act reserved in the culture for servants or the lowest classes of people.
Consider the history and background.
Walking in sandals on the roads of first-century century Israel made it a constant and regular practice of washing your feet before a shared meal.
This was especially true because people didn’t normally sit in chairs at a table for a meal but reclined at a low table to eat and their feet were exposed.
When Jesus got up from the table to wash His disciple’s feet, He was doing work of the lowest of society.
The disciples must have been stunned by Jesus’ action that evening.
Even though they hadn’t fully understood the fullness of Jesus’ identity yet, they knew this was “below Him.”
As we look at His life, we say, “They shouldn’t have been surprised.”
After all, Matthew 20:28 says…
Jesus’ act of self-giving and humility was actually a foreshadowing of the ultimate act of humility and love He would express on the cross in just hours.
Jesus’ self-giving attitude was in direct contrast to that of the disciples, who had recently been arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God and who would sit on Jesus’ side.
(Luke 22:24)
John 13:6-7 says…
Peter’s statement clearly shows that he didn’t have a clue of what Jesus was doing.
Even Jesus tells Peter this time, you don’t know what I’m doing.
The implication is that there is more to Jesus washing feet than a hygiene issue.
There’s something more going on.
Peter doesn’t get it yet, but he will.
Here’s another indication Peter didn’t understand Jesus’ act of self-giving.
John 13:8-11 says…
Peter loved Jesus, no doubt.
So, when Jesus says this is necessary, he goes ALL IN.
I like the attitude, but he missed the point.
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