Christ- An Example of Humilty

Introduction

I. Today we are going to talk about Humility. How many of you think that you have true humility in your life?

b. For me to be transparent with you all this morning as your pastor- I have to admit that I have struggled with humility in my life.

and as I have been studying our passage for today I have come to realize that this sermon is for me. So sit back and enjoy a day off as I preach to myself.

NO- I believe the reality is that we all struggle with Humility in our lives when we compare our motives to the heart of Jesus.

As I reflected this week on humility in my life It didn't take me too long to remember a time when I just blew it.

In 2001 at the age of 23 I just finished at Iowa State University and decided I was going to go into Real estate. So I joined Remax Real Estate Group in Des Moines, I jumped in two feet first into the real estate business and I was on fire - I was selling houses right and left and was feeling pretty good about myself - Te average realtor in Iowa was selling 9 houses a year and after my 4th month I had already sold 14 houses and had a more on the way. In fact, at the end of my first year I had sold 36 homes for time the average. I was given the Rookie of the Year award from the Des Moines Area association of Realtors. But throughout that year- Every time I started to let my selfish pride creep in- God seemed to step in and remind me of my lack of humility in my life.

and so God in His sovereignty- used a few small things to keep humble in my life,

1st week at my new Job - My Car catching on Fire,

2 months later - I had the responsibility to do the dishes ion the break room, They were out of dishwasher soap so I used dish soap instead- the dishwasher over flowed and filled the entire break room and overflowed into the hallway.

3. And then the most humbly thing happened, my closest friends told me to stop talking about real estate because it was becoming an idol in my life.

a. I needed to remember what Humility really looks like

c. C.S Lewis said “Humility isn’t about thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”

d. Humility is not looking at your own interest and needs but looking at how you put other’s needs and wants above your own.

My life was all about Jason, and my success and I needed to be reminded that I no longer live for my own glory but for the glory of God.

e. In today’s passage we are going to see what true humility looks like through the life of a perfect example.

and we will see that true humility always points the glory of God the father.

Turn with me in your Bible’s to John chapter 13 and listen as I read the first 17 verses

John 13:1-17  “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 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.

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.”

12 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? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.

14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

16 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. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Chapter 13 is a turning point in the gospel of John - We are moving from Jesus’s ministry

it begins in verse by saying

“when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Jesus has been operating on a heavenly time clock. and up until this point He has repeatedly said “My hour has not yet come.” He said it to his mother before his first miracle of turning water into wine, and has repeated it throughout the last 3 years of his earthly ministry.

up until now Jesus ministry has been focused on proving his deity to the Jewish people through Signs, Miracles and sermons. But now in verse one of chapter 13 it says that Jesus knows his hour has now come, His purpose is about to be completely fulfilled.

and for the next 6 chapters in the gospel everything we see will bring us deeper into the shadow of the cross where the climax of the story of mankind we will be proclamed from the mouth of Jeuss when He cries out tot he father “IT IS FINISHED!.

Today, I want us to consider two points from our text in John 13

Christ gives us an example of Humble service

Christ gives us the ability to Serve humbly

Christ’s Example of humble service

look at our text again

John 13:1-5 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 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, 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 and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

Our text opens up with “ When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world and back to the father.”

Think about the maganatude of what this simple statement tells us about Jesus.

Remember how the apsotle John opens up this gospel story of Jesus.

John 1:1-5“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. 1:2 The Word was with God in the beginning. 1:3 All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. NET

Here we have Jesus Christ. the self existent Son of God, the one who spoke everything into existence. The one who has a throne reserved fro him, where all all creation will sing his praises.

If there was ever a man on this earth who should never have to humble himself and wash the feet of another it would have been Jesus.

But here is Jesus, Humbling himself before his own creation. WHY ? so that he could demonstrate for them what true humility must look like in order to serve others in a way that will bring God all the glory.

The disciples not knowing what is going on, must have been a little shocked when their Master quietly gets up from supper, takes off his outer garment and lays aside, then he walks over to a shelf and grabs a towel used for cleaning, and wraps it around His waist like he is about to help clean up, and as Jesus now bends down and pours water into a basin, I believe the discipels conversations began to stop and their attention started to turn to what is Jesus Doing.

And as they watch their Master, he quietly bends down and begins to humbly wash his own followers dirty feet.

This job was beneath a Jewish man. Even Jewish servants didn’t wash their masters’ feet. For a jewish man to bend down and wash the feet of another would have been one of the greatest acts of respect and love he could show.

It was a menial task, and one that was reserved for the lowly and yet Jesus the creator of all humbly did it so that He could teach his disciples to serve others humbly with their lives.!

Jesus wanted to give his disciples an unforgettable lesson that would stick with them for the rest of their lives.

I believe there are two things that we need to learn from the example ofChrist Humility in this story

No one is above serving others

if there was ever a man who shouldn’t have to serve others it would be the creator of the world.

If we are followers of jesus than we are not exempt from humbly serving others with our lives.

Look at what jesus says in verse 16

john 13:16 “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.”

Christ was not doing something outside of his character by serving his creation. Serving others is the character of Jesus. It’s who he is by nature

Matthew 20:28 Jesus said to his disciples “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

The heart of Christ is to serve others, but this nature of putting others first is in such contrast to the heart of mankind.

2 Timothy 3:2-4 “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”

If you wonder what Mankind’s heart really looks like, all you have to do is turn on the tv and you will see who we are by nature.

We are lovers of our self, lovers of our own wealth, lovers of our own pleasure and lovers of our own glory.

serving others in way that brings us nothing is not natural to mankind.

And it is only through The nature of Christ in us that we can serve others with a humble heart

And I believe that Jesus in our text this morning is saying to his disciples “If you are my followers than “none of you are above serving others."

The same is true for us today- If we claim to be followers of Jesus than we cannot say “ I am to good to serve others” I am too important to to humble myself before others.”

If you are in Christ - you are not above serving others humbly with your life.

The 2nd lesson we can learn from Jesus’s example of humble service is that no one is below being served.

Jesus didn’t just wash the feet of Peter the man who would become the pastor of the Jerusalem Church. He didn't just wash the feet of those who would die a Martyrs death proclaiming the name of Jesus as they died.

Jesus washed all twelve of those men’s feet including Thomas who would doubt his resurrection, and Judas Iscariot the man Who had been stealing the disciples money and who had already planned in his heart to betray Jesus and turn him over to be killed.

To be honest, I don’t know if I could have washed the feet of the man I knew was serving satan with his life. But thats what jesus did.

tells his followers in John 13:14-15 “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.”

If you are a follower of Christ, Jesus has given you the ultimate example to follow in how you serve others in the body of Christ. There is no one who is underserving of our service.

To serve in Humility like Christ means that we must put away our own prideful desires to humble do whatever it takes to build others up in Christ.

But to humbly serve like Christ also means that our service does not discriminate against anyone for anything.

THE second thing I want us to consider from this passage is that...

Jesus doesn’t just give us an example to follow But he is the one who gives us the ability toServe like Jesus .

Christ gives us the ability to Serve humbly

As Jesus is washing the feet of the discipels He comes to Peter and bends down to wash his feet, and good old peter Speaks up before he truly understands what is going on. Look with me at the conversation between jesus and Peter.

John 13:6-17 “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord do you wash my feet?”

Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

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.”

The point that Peter didn’t get was that unless Jesus humbled Himself as a servant , Unless Jesus was willing to humbly die in Peter’s place, Peter would have no ability to follow Him.

Christ’s becoming a humble servant of mankind wasn’t just an example for the disciples to follow But it was the one necessary ingredient for them to even have the ability to serve others like Christ just served them.

When Jesus humbled himself to serve the disciples He was pointing them to his ultimate act of Humble serve.

Look with me at Phil 2:5-8 where Paul is speaking of Christ Humility to the church

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

If Christ had not taken on the form of a servant and humbled himself before man to the point of death on a cross than we would have no ability to follow his example.

and this is why Jesus said to Peter in verse 7 of our text “ “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

Jesus is simply saying to Peter After the resurrection You finally will understand- because it is only through MY resurrection that you will have the ability to humbly serve like me.

Think about it.

Remember what Mankind’s heart really looks like?

We are lovers of our self, lovers of our own wealth, lovers of our own pleasure and lovers of our own glory.

serving others in a way that brings us nothing is not natural to mankind.

And it is only through the new life we receive through Jesus that can give us the ability to serve others Christ.

Lets bring it Home

REMEMBER what we said earlier- No one is too great to serve others and no one is too unworthy to be served.

Christ has not just given u the example to follow But he has given us the ability to serve others in way that will bring God all the glory from our lives.

Listen again to the words of Phil 2:5-8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

To serve like Christ means that we must empty ourselves of all of our own glory and in its place we must serve others in a way that points people to the cross.

When Christ served Others it was all to point people to the cross.

Why? Because it is only through the cross that mankind can be restored back to the father and when mankind is restored back to the father - he alone receives the glory.

We as a church are called to serve each other like Christ served us on that cross. We are called to humbly serve one another in a way that points all the glory to GOd.

The question I have for each of us today is this....

HOW are you serving the church like Christ served you?