Let's turn to the book of John,
chapter 13. John 13. Let's read the first 11 verses. John
13, verse 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. And supper being ended,
the devil having now put 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 was come from God and
went to God, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments,
and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth
water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet,
and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then
cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Does thou
wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto
him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt
never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him,
Lord, Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith
unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but
is clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray
him. Therefore said he, Ye are not
all clean. Now, this passage of Scripture
deals with this subject. How the Lord of glory daily maintains
His people while they are in this world, walking in this world,
dealing with the things in this world, though they're not of
this world. We're in a world with gross rebellion
against God. You know that. I'm telling you,
I've said before, there's a lot of things that
I don't have to deal with daily because of being here at this
church. by myself as a general rule here,
but so many have to be in the world. Kevin, you've got to deal
with things and mess and stuff. And you listen to stuff that
just... Things that affect you. Things
that cause you to think things. Attitudes. Just grieve, grieve, grieve. A lot. The Scripture says when
he was in Sodom, he was vexed daily with what he had to see,
what he had to hear, what he had to put up with. That's the
way we are. We're in this world. Now obviously,
based on what we just read, obviously there is a need of cleansing. that we have. And it's a daily
cleansing. And it's a cleansing that obviously
is beside or over and above or in addition to the washing of
the glorious believer in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
justified One time, Almighty God put away our guilt by the
shedding of His own blood and cleansed, cleansed. But obviously, there's something
that needs to be done daily, or our Lord would not have done
what He was doing. Now, there's four things that
I want us to very quickly consider about this passage. Four questions. Number one, who is the one that
does the washing? Number two, who are the ones
being washed? Number three, why do they need
washing? And number four, how are they
washed? Now, what our Lord was doing
here, obviously, was a representation It was a physical representation
of what he spiritually does all the time. All the time. Daily. Moment by moment. There was something that was
being done that we desperately need. Number one. Who does the washing? Verse two. Verse 1 says, Before
the Feast of the Passover, for your understanding, having looked
this up. This happened about two days
before the Passover. Before the Feast of the Passover.
Back in Matthew 26, if you want to go back and read it. About
two days before the Feast of the Passover. The Lord knew that
His hour was come. He knew that He was getting ready
to die. He knew that He was going to go to the cross. He was going
to depart out of this world unto the Father. And He loved His
own. which were in the world. He loved
them unto the end. Supper being ended, it appears
as though from the wording, from Matthew 26, they just ate supper. They just ate a regular supper.
The Lord's supper would not come until later on in this chapter. So they just ate supper. It was
a regular supper, it appears to be. Supper being ended, the
devil having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,
to betray the Lord. A fate sealed. The Lord Jesus, verse 3, knowing
that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he
was come from God and went to God, he riseth from supper, laid
aside his garments, took a towel, girded himself, after that he
poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded."
Now here's something that's needful for us to be reminded of. The
Scripture says that he, verse 1, having loved his own, which
were in the world, he loved them to the end. To the end of his
ministry? Yes. To the end of their life
in this world? Yes. But more than that, he loved
them, the Scripture says, in Jeremiah, with an everlasting
love. He loves His people. Almighty God never changes. Malachi 3 sets forth, I change
not. If the Lord loves any right now,
He's always loved them. There can be no shadow of turning
with the Lord. Almighty God who is holy, just,
good, perfect, all of the attributes, how can there be change in God. There can't be. I change not. That which He's purposed, He's
always purposed. That which He loves, He's always
loved. That which He hates, He's always hated. See, the problem
is that our ways are not His ways. Our thoughts are not His
thoughts. And Almighty God sets forth something and man disputes
it. Man argues with it. Well, who
is man? Man is a maggot. Who is a man? Grasshoppers. That's what Scripture
says. Nothing. God is true. He's having loved His own. He loved them to the end. And verse 4 says, "...he riseth."
Now this, again, look at the Scriptures. You remember what
we've said about ETH? He riseth from supper, laid aside
his garments, took a towel, girded himself, after that he poureth
water into a basin, and he began to wash the disciples' feet and
to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Now, I know that
there was a point in time when this happened. I know that in
time that happened. I know it did. During the ministry
of our Lord, when He, in His humiliation, when He humbled
Himself, the Word of God made flesh. God Himself is God. The Lord Jesus Christ
is God. He's God. I'm talking about God
that made the earth, God that rules and reigns in the army
of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth. himself. God who humbled himself. Washing feet was reserved for
the lowest. The lowest. That was the most
menial thing. That was the bottom servant. You know, come wash my feet.
Here's God. God Almighty. He who is more
exalted than I could ever say or think. God Himself who humbled
Himself. I've got Scripture on this. I hesitated
even to say it. I had to think back on the Scripture
to make sure I said it correct. When the Lord was talking about
John the Baptist, John the Baptist. He says, John the Baptist, no
greater. There was no greater born of
woman. Scripture says, no greater. In this world, born in Adam,
no greater than John the Baptist. But Scripture says, he that is
least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist.
You know who's the least in the kingdom of God? The Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. He who
made Himself the Servant. The Servant. I don't have the
ability to lower myself enough. I won't bow. I don't know how. I can't. I
don't know how. Here is the lowest. He made Himself
of no reputation. Think about it. He made himself
of no reputation. Somebody says, well, everybody's
got a reputation. I don't realize the humility
to bow before God, to make Himself the Servant of Jehovah, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Who does the washing? The Scripture says, He riseth
from supper, and he is ever rising. He laid aside his garments, and
took a towel, and girded himself then, and he poureth water, he
ever pours, into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded." There
were some things that were spoken of in those two verses that are
eternal. And there were some that happened in time. You see
that? He girdeth, He poureth. Who does
the pouring? He does. The Lord of glory Himself,
the one who ever washes the feet of His people. Number two, who
are the ones being washed? Well, the Scripture says in verse
5, after that, He poureth water into a basin and began to wash
the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel wherewith He
was girded. Who was He washing? Scripture
says He was washing the feet of His disciples. His own. The ones that He loved. His own that were given Him in
electing grace. The Father, the Scripture says,
gave His own unto it. The Father gave the Son, before
the foundation of the world, a bride. That's what He did.
He said He was betrothed to His bride everlastingly. It was not
good. It was the fulfillment right
there. Back in Genesis, when Adam was there by himself and
God said concerning Adam, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, Adam,
who aligned himself with Eve and would not let her suffer,
Eve was the first one to eat. She was beguiled. Adam did it
with his eyes wide open. The Lord Jesus Christ, with His
eyes wide open, made Himself, was made sin. He laid down His
life. But it was not good, the Scripture
says, that the man should be alone. And here's a marvelous
thing. God Almighty said it's not good
that the man, the man Christ Jesus, should be alone. Gave
Him a bride. The Father chose her. Gave her
to the Son. And the Son, in that eternal
covenant of grace, said, I'm going to answer for her. I'll
answer for her. I'll stand for her. I'll redeem
her. I'll cleanse her, and I'll cleanse
her daily. I'll wash her. And here's the
one He began to wash His disciples' feet, His own. Chosen for the
foundation of the world. These are the ones He's going
to lay down His life for. He's not going to shed His blood
for anybody's bride. The sheep. That's what he said.
John 10, 15. I lay down my life for the sheep. I'm telling you,
if the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life, He redeemed them. And the Spirit of God is going
to call them. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. John 6, 37. And him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast him out. What if he falters? I'll wash him. What if he slips? I'll wash him. What if he fails? He will. He will. Don't worry. He will. I'll wash him. I'll wash him daily. I'll cleanse
him. He's clean. I'll wash every spot from him
every day. His own bottom. Shed his own blood. I'll tell
you one thing, my friend. You go out and buy something. It's yours. You bought it and
paid for it, it's yours. You bought and paid for that,
you're going to have it. Thirdly, why do they need washing? Verse 6, Then cometh he to Simon
Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto
him, What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know
it hereafter." You know when he knew it? On the day of Pentecost,
when the Spirit of God taught him. And I'm telling you, a believer
right now, you understand this. You think about a believer knowing
what this washing is. We'll look at it in a second.
You know what it is. It's that daily cleansing of the washing
by the Word of God. The defilements of this life
that we pick up. We need forgiveness. We need
forgiveness. Can you imagine, Lord, do you
wash my feet? He said, if I don't wash your
feet, you don't have any part with me. Peter saith, Thou shalt
never wash my feet. If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord,
not my feet only, but also my hands, my head, my heart, my
life, everything. Jesus saith unto him, He that
is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every
whit. And ye are clean, but not all. The Lord came to Peter, and Peter
And I don't doubt this for a second. I'm sure that he affectionately
questioned what our Lord was doing, what our Lord's actions
were. I understand. But the Master, long-suffering,
merciful, kind, He told him, He said, Peter, you don't understand.
You don't understand what I'm showing you, but you will know.
after the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you're taught. It's going
to be brought back to your memory what I'm doing right here. At
that time, you're going to know, Peter, if I don't wash you right
now, you don't have any allotment with me. If I'm not cleansing
you daily, you have no part. There's nothing but division. If I'm not cleansing you, if
I'm not forgiving you, It's because I never knew you.
If I'm not forgiving you daily, it's because you have no portion.
If the Lord doesn't wash the feet of His people, their walk,
their attitude, their walking through this world, if He is
not forgiving, it's because we don't have any fellowship with
Him. No unity, no hope, no life. Why do the people of God need
daily cleansing? It's because we're picking up
the defilements. I know this. There are two natures in a believer. One that cannot do anything but
sin, and there's one that never sins. But I'm telling you, I'm
in this world, and as much as I understand When Paul the Apostle
says, there is in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no
good thing. I'm telling you, I'm in a body that I cannot get
separated from except I die. And this body, I have got the
worst attitude that you've ever seen. You say, no, you don't understand. I'm telling you, I can go off
that quick. Somebody says something to me and it just kind of hits
me wrong, and I'm telling you, I'll try to hide it as long as
I can. But I'm telling you, I pick up the defilements, and you do
too. You that know them, you do too.
I'm telling you, we continuously need to be cleansed, forgiven,
forgiven. So you'll understand what I'm
saying. Forgiven. And a believer knows it. You
know it as soon as, not always, but you know it a lot of times.
You know it. Fourthly, lastly, what is it
then? What is this washing? I know
who does it. I know why he does it. I know
to whom he does it. Here's my question. How is it
taking place? How does it take place? How are
the saints washed? Well, I know this, that there
is a washing. I know that there is a washing
that never needs to be repeated. I know there is. Verse 10, Jesus
said to him, he that is washed, he that is bathed completely
Here's what that first word, washed, here again, you know
a lot of times in English, there's a lot of words that are the same
word, but it doesn't mean the same thing. And you don't understand
it unless you look it up. He that is bathed completely
is what that first word, washed, means. Needeth not save to wash. That word, wash, I'm telling
you, I told you, I said, get you a strong concordance. You
look up these words. When you look them up, look up
that word and it will tell you where that path is. Go over there
and it's got a little number in the back. Go over there and
look it up. He that is bathed completely, he that is justified
by the blood of Christ. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. He that is bathed completely
never needs to be bathed in that sense again. He's clean. He that is washed needeth not
save to wet a certain part. That's what the second wash means.
He that is bathed completely needeth not save or accept to
wash a certain part, wash his feet, but is clean, is pure,
Every wit in all degrees. A believer is cleansed by the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Justified before God. But while
we're in this world, there's one part that needs to be washed
every day. His feet. His walk. His attitude. His thoughts. If there's a washing that believers
have that will never, it could never be by one offering. Hebrews 10.14 says, He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified, set apart by one offering. What's
the possibility that God's people are not cleansed by the blood
of Christ? What's the possibility that they're
not completely? None. They're completely cleansed. There's no possibility that they're
not. He that is washed is clean every
whit. God's people are purged from
all sin and meet or fit to be a partaker of the inheritance
of the saints in light. God's people are cleansed. The
saints standing before God, immutable, unchangeable, because they stand
in Christ. But, as sinners, we need to have our walk cleansed. I'm going to show you this, and
I'm going to close. How is it done? How? Turn to Ephesians 5, verses 6
and 27. And this is what's happening
right here. This is what's going on. How is this cleansing done? Ephesians 5, 26-27. I'll start with verse 25. 25, 26, 27. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church and gave Himself for it. That, or in order
to that, He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
the water by the word, that he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish." How are God's
people cleansed daily? How? by sitting unto the gospel, hearing the Word of the Lord,
as it is blessed to their heart by the Spirit of God. It is the Word of God, the washing
of the Word. This is the Word that tells me
what I am. I know what I am. How do I know? God's told me. Is there forgiveness
with the Lord? Absolutely. If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just. Faithful and just. He's put away
the debt of what we are in the person of His blessed Son. So
He's just. He's faithful and merciful and
compassionate and just. Justice. Justice. He forgives justly. That debt was paid for. That
sin was paid for. If we confess our sins, as I
said before, I don't understand all of them. I don't understand
all of them. I don't know the depth. But confessing
our sins means confessing what I am. I know what I am. How do I know? God's told me
in His Word. I hear the Word of the Lord. I'm taught by God's
Word. And here's the cleansing right
here as he's blessed to the heart of God's people by the Spirit
of God. His Word is a lamp unto my feet. His Word is a light unto my path. We're cleansed daily from the
defilements that we pick up. How are we cleansed? Lord, I'm
sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And I'm telling you, a believer,
you don't have to tell a believer to confess. God tells you. And
I'm telling you, that heart of that believer knows it. He knows
it. Lord, if you marked iniquity, who could stand before you? Lord,
if you didn't answer for me, Oh, how, how would I have any
hope? Lord, if you didn't teach me,
Lord, if you didn't sustain me, if you didn't keep me, Lord,
have mercy on me. Save me. I'm going to perish. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse
his way? Wherewith shall a young man cleanse
his way? How is a young man's walk cleansed? Psalm 119, by taking heed thereto
according to thy word. According to his word. Our Lord
ended his conversation with these words. You're clean, but not
all. For He knew who should betray
Him, therefore said He, You're not all clean." Now let me tell
you what happened. All of His disciples were there. All of them were there. He washed Judas' feet too. Just keep reading on and you're
going to find out Judas was there. He was there. Verse 30 of this
chapter is when the Lord told him, he said, go do what you've
got to do. He watched Judas. He said, you're
all clean, but not all of you. You're clean every whit, but
not all of you. Those that he cleanses daily,
forgives their sins as those he died for. Those he cleaned
every whit. What's the significance of Judas
having his feet washed? A man, a woman can sit under
the Word of God and can hear the Word of God preached. That
Word that by the Spirit of God's blessing cleanses God's people. Teaches them of what they are.
Teaches them their need of confession. Asking for forgiveness. Same
Word. But that Word can be heard just
like Judas' feet was washed just like Peter's. Same Lord. Same Word. But it didn't profit
Judas. Why? Not being mixed with faith. He heard it. He heard it. But if Almighty God doesn't bless
it, You can hear the Word of the Lord. How many people do
you think heard the Lord preach on the Mount? The sermon on the
Mount? How many was it profitable to?
Everyone that the Spirit of God blessed it to. Everyone. Judas had his feet and went and
did exactly what he wanted to do. He walked away. And the Scripture says in verse
30, and it was night, in His heart. Lord, bless these words
to my heart. Lord, I know that I must hear
the gospel. But Lord, if You don't bless
it to me, Lord, if You don't teach me, if You don't keep me,
if You don't show me of myself, I'm not going to hear. Lord,
give me ears to hear. You know the only person that
will ask for ears to hear? Those that have ears to hear.
That's the only ones that will ask. The only ones that ask for
eyes to see are those that have eyes to see. And the only ones
that will ask for forgiveness are those that the Lord has forgiven
and given life. Lord, cleanse me fresh. Wash
me. Lord, present me. Keep me for
Christ's sake.