Washing Dirty Feet
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INTRODUCTION
Should Christians wash one
anothers feet ? Isnt that what the
Lord Jesus commanded ?
John 13: 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For
I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
..
(1) The Task He
Performed
It is about 5
- 6 hours before the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. About 13-14 hours
before the Cross. And the Lord Jesus knows this
(a) Knowing
the hour of His death had come
(2) The Truths
He Emphasised
The apostles had just been arguing as to who would be the
greatest in the Lords Kingdom.
(Luke 22:24 ) So to teach them,(again !), the Lord
shows them, by example, that greatness in His kingdom depends upon humility,
and service to others.
John 13:16
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
And it was a lesson in Love
John 13: 1 Now
before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that
he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which
were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
For over
three years these disciples had been His constant companions. They had faced
opposition together. Even stoning. But they had stuck with Him. And He loved them to the highest degree. ( Amplified N.T.) And love demonstrates its
reality in service.
But should the church observe
this practice today ?
Some churches do. ( e.g. Seventh Day Adventists. )
However
. consider the
following
(a) It was a needful Jewish
custom in those days. Streets were unmade. On the way to a friends house for a
meal there was mud and dust and manure
to avoid ! Besides, people only wore sandals.
Foot-washing was a matter of hygiene and hospitality, not a religious
ceremony.
(b) The Lord Jesus specifically
spoke of His act as an example. ( John 13:15 For I have given you an example
It was not a command. It was an example in
humility and service.
(c) All four Gospels speak of
the institution of the Last Supper. Only John mentions foot-washing.
(d) It is not commanded in any
of the Epistles to churches. But
humility, service and love are !!
(e) When Paul gave the
Corinthian Church instructions concerning the Lords Supper, he does not
mention foot-washing. ( 1 Corinth. 11.)
(f) It is not mentioned in the
Book of Acts.
It was simply a custom in our
Lords day
and maybe in some
countries where roads are unmade, etc, it could still be practised as a matter
of courtesy. But not as a church ordinance.
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(3) The
Teaching He Concealed
That night Peter learned a
lesson he would never forget. His Master, the One he had called the Messiah ,
Son of the Living God, ( Matthew 16:16)
was kneeling like a common slave before him and washing his
feet. But writing his First Epistle
he recalled this incident and wrote that we are to put on the apron of
humility ( 1 Peter 5:5.Moffat Trans.) as we serve others.
But there was
another lesson Peter would not learn until later.
John 13:6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and
Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus
answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know
hereafter.
This teaching has to do with the difference between justification
and sanctification. These are important Biblical doctrines and not
only Peter but we need to be clear on them also. !!
John 13:7 Jesus
answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know
hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash
my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with
me. 9 Simon
Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to
wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean
The Lord Jesus is saying that it is one thing to be My
disciple
to be forgiven and have a clean heart, to be washed all over, so
to speak
but day by day we need to
come back to the Lord for the sins we have committed.
to have just our feet
washed. You do not need to be
converted all over again. You have made your decision to follow me. Jesus is
saying. But whilst that relationship
may not be broken, ( except by deliberate apostasy !) fellowship can be marred
by unconfessed sins.
Justification has to do with God declaring the
sinner to be righteous in His sight. It takes place when I trust the Lord Jesus
as my Saviour.
But Sanctification is an on-going, day-by-day experience
as I maintain that fellowship with Him.
I dont need another bath because Im already saved
but I do need my
daily walk to be cleansed.
Now read it again and see if you understand it as Peter
later did
John 13:10 Jesus saith
to him, He that is washed( i.e. had a bath ) needeth
not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean
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(4) The Prophecy He Enacted
John 13:4 He riseth from supper,
Like-wise , He had risen from the Throne of Glory to come
to this world of woe.
and laid
aside his garments;
He was found in fashion as a man. (Philippians 2:8) Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. (
C.Wesley )
and took a
towel,
He took upon Himself, not the role of a King or a Prince
but a servant.
and girded himself.
Voluntarily !!
5 After that he poureth water into a
bason,
And He did it that He might pour out His life blood to
cleanse those who trust in Him of their sin.
and began to wash the disciples' feet, and
to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
And the towel with which he was girded became stained with
their filth. He bare our
sins in His own body on the Tree. ( 1 Peter 2:24)
Thus it is
the foot-washing episode became a preview of what was about to transpire in a
few hours time.
CONCLUSION
In John 13:1-17 we see the Lord
Jesus as
* Teacher
of Humility,
love and service. ( 1 Peter 5:5)
* Slave
who came not to
be ministered unto but to minister .( Mark 10:45)
* Example
that we
should follow in His steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
* Redeemer
the One who
gave His life blood to save us from Hell.(1 Peter 2:24)
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2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put 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 was
come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from
supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash
the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him,
Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not
now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus
answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also
my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to
wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye
are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his
garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done
to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye
also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I
have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater
than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
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Soldiers Three
( Matthew 27) ( John 19) ( Mark 15)
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INTRODUCTION Around the cross there were to be seen
various groups of people
* The
Sorrowful
like Mary, His mother, and John , and those women who had ministered unto Him during His earthly
ministry.
* The Sadistic
who delighted to see the
spectacle of men dying in agony.
* The Satisfied
the gloating religious leaders
who thought this was the last they would ever hear of this trouble maker from
Nazareth.
* The Switched off
those who had no interest
in the crucifixion but simply passed by
wagging their heads. Matthew 27:39)
* The Shattered
those who had expected Jesus to
deliver the nation from the bondage of Rome.
* The Scornful
Those who mocked Him
Come
down from the cross and well believe you are the Son of God, they cried. (
Matthew 27:40) But as another has said,
We believe He was the Son of God because He stayed there !!
But let us focus our attention on three soldiers
and
see into which category you and I fit !
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(1) THE SOLDIER WHO DISPLAYED VIOLENT ANTAGONISM
John 19: 31Now
it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.
Because the Jews did not want the bodies left
on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked
Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies
taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and
broke the legs of the first man who had been
crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.
33But when they came to Jesus and
found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
A crucified person might linger on for two or three days
before death came. Breaking of the legs led to a strained heart and quick
death. And the Jews did not want
crucified men lingering on crosses throughout the forthcoming Passover
due to
commence in three hours.
But the Lord Jesus had already died
and there was no
need to break His legs. Thus was
fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy
.John 19: 36These things happened so that
the scripture would be fulfilled:
"Not one of his bones will be
broken," ( Psalm 34:20)
Had His legs been broken, it would have meant Jesus of
Nazareth was not the promised Messiah !!
More than that, an angry soldier plunges his spear into
the heart of the dead Saviour.
John 19: 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with
a spear, bringing a sudden flow
of blood and water. 35The man who
saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true.
He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so
that you also may believe
Maybe angry because he wanted Jesus to suffer more. Was
not Jesus the reason his leave had been cancelled ? Was not Jesus the reason
why Judea was a hot-bed of insurrection against Rome. Had he, one day, stood at
the rear of the crowd and heard Jesus condemn his life-style ?
He may have plunged his spear in anger into the body of
the Lord Jesus
but little did he know that he, to, was fulfilling Bible
prophecy.
John 19:37
as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have
pierced." (
Zechariah 12:10)
Had the Saviours side not been pierced, we
might well have questioned whether or not Jesus of Nazareth was who He claimed
to be.
.
There are still those antagonistic to the person and
teachings of the Lord Jesus. In Pagan
Rome hundreds of Christians faced the tyrants brandished steel , the
lions gory mane. During the Dark Ages
the Church of Rome was responsible for the martyrdom of tens of thousands who
refused to submit to the authority of the Pope. In countries like Africa and Indonesia today Christians face
persecution and death at the hands of
Islamic extremists.
Antagonism to Christ and His church is still a
very real fact.
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(2) THE SOLDIERS WHO WERE SADLY APATHETIC.
John 19: 23When
the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four
shares,
one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining.
This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to
bottom.
24"Let's not tear it," they said to one another.
"Let's decide by lot who will get it."
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
"They divided my garments among them and cast lots
for my clothing." (Psalm 22:18)
So this is what the soldiers did.
Again we see an Old Testament prophecy come to
fulfilment. Penned 1000 years previous, it now comes amazingly true.
The prophecy stated they would gamble for the Messiahs
vesture !
So it was, at the foot of the cross where a tragedy takes
place that causes the angels to weep, these soldiers simply play a game. They
gamble. The One on the centre cross means nothing to them.
And so it remains to this day. Multitudes sit down to eat, drink and be merry without a
thought for the Lord Jesus
or judgement to come. The Lords Day is turned
into a day of recreation, sport, entertainment, gambling.
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(3) THE SOLDIER WHO RENDERED HEART-FELT ADORATION.
This Centurion lifted not up an angry spear, or a dice to toss
but a believing heart.
Mark 15: 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his
last.
39And when the centurion,
who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his
cry and saw how he died, he said,
"Surely this
man was the Son of God!"
It is probable he had been with Jesus since early morn
that very day.
He had heard
Pilates questionings , seen the mockery of the servants
of Herod Antipas
, witnessed the scourging and the frenzy of the mob,
had led the
condemned trio to the place called Calvary ,
had seen
even ordered
his men to drive in the nails.
Yet whilst the
two crucified thieves cursed , this One on the
centre cross
prayed for the Romans ! Forgive them
.
He had seen many a criminal crucified
but never , never,
had he seen one like this !!
And a great
confession bursts from his lips
This was the Son of God !
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CONCLUSION
That night around a camp-fire the Roman soldiers recount the days
events. One cleans the blood from his spear and tells how glad he is that he
made sure that that Jesus was well and truly dead. Good riddance, he adds !
Another brags about the robe he won
and the days wage
he will get for it from a second-hand dealer.
And the Centurion sits alone and ponders . Was it really true ? But if Jesus was the
Son of God , how come hes dead. He was
there
he saw the tomb sealed and appointed his faithful men to stand
guard. Was He really the Son of God or
had his mind played tricks ?
Three days later he knew the answer,
The tomb was empty. His trusted guards assured him no
human had stolen the body or moved the stone.
Jesus had conquered death
and in so doing proved Himself to be the Son
of God. And that Centurion became one
of the first of a great multitude who acknowledged Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
Have you ?
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