Oh, how merciful, how merciful Blessed Lord, how merciful Thou
art to me. Oh, how merciful, how merciful. Blessed Lord, how merciful Thou
art to me. Emma Holland requested that. I noticed Abby and Kelly singing
that. I hope you sing that the rest
of your life from your heart. I hope I do. John 13. John 13. This story is far more
than just a lesson in humility and service. This is much, much
more than a story of the Lord washing feet to show humility. The Lord never put on a show
of anything. It was genuine. They needed their
feet washed, and he did it. But this story illustrates the
gospel. The Lord himself illustrates
the gospel here. Now this takes place just a few
days before our Lord's crucifixion. And as you know, everything our
Lord did and said led to that point. From the cradle and all
his life, his face was set like a flint to go to Calvary. That's why he came. to save his
people from their sins, and everything he did and said is related to
that. Our Lord is on his way to Calvary,
and this is the gospel right here. Look at verse 1. Now, before
the Feast of the Passover, the Passover Feast, where the Passover
itself took place right around the crucifixion of our Lord.
That's fitting, isn't it? Because He is the Passover Lamb. He is our Passover. And it says
in verse 1, He knew that His hour was come. For this cause,
He said, came I unto this hour, that He should depart out of
this world unto the Father. He who was with the Father in
the beginning. Never the Father's delight. He
who is from above. He's not of this world. But he came into this world to
save his people out of this world. That's why he came. And when
he finishes that, he goes back to the Father where he came from. Returns to the Father. And it
says in verse 1, Having loved his own which were in the world,
and he said later, they're not of this world. But having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. having loved his own." Now, all
men are liars who tell everyone that God loves you and that Jesus
loves you. That is not in God's Word anywhere,
is it? But God does love some, bless
God, and God does love many, amazingly. He does love, and
He knows whom He loves. The foundation of God standeth
sure. The Lord knoweth them that are
hid. And those that He loves, He has
always loved. For whom He did foreknow. That means love before the world
began. Before they were born. For whom He did foreknow. He
loved them before the world began. And those whom He loved, He loves
them savingly. He came to save His own. He laid
down His life for His own, those the Father gave Him, for His
sheep, given Him by the Father. And He loves them eternally. True love never fails, does it?
Well, this is perfect love. His love is perfect love, saving
love, eternal love, having loved His own before the world began. And he loves them savingly, and
he loves them to the end. I have loved thee, he said of
his people, with an everlasting love. And therefore, with loving
kindness, I have gone to save you. Greater love hath no man
than this. And this, as we said, is that
perfect love which casts out fear of being cast out. You'll
never stop loving those you love. Now look, in the face of this
love, there's betrayal. Look at verse 2. Love and betrayal. A supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son
to betray him. John wrote later, Behold what
manner of love. Behold what love. Greater love
hath no man than this. But on the other hand, greater
wickedness hath no man than this. Behold what love of our Lord. Behold what wickedness is in
man. And I thought about this. People
don't just miss Christ. as they would a train, or a bus,
or an appointment. I've used that term before. People
selling. They're selling for something.
And that's what Judas did. I don't know. For money, or the world, or Esau,
a bowl of beans. Now look at this. Look what the
Lord knew. Jesus knowing that the Father
had given all things into His hands and that He was come from
God and went to God. This is what gave Him perfect
peace and resolve. It's the same with us. What He
knew, who He was, what He came to do, and that He would indeed
do it and finish the work and go back. weren't finished. It gave him perfect peace. And so it will to us, knowing
this same thing. Verse 3, knowing that the Father
had given all things into his hand. Pity the people whose God
hath no hands. Blessed are the people whose God has hands and all things
are in them. Blessed are your ears. You've
heard that. Blessed is your heart. You believe that. You've received
that by His grace. You know and believe that all
things are in the hands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All things. All authority. All power is given
unto Him over all flesh. And not just flesh, but all principalities
and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world. Here
at your wickedness in high places, they belong to Him. And they
do His bidding. Now that will give you peace.
All judgment committed unto Him. He's the judge of the earth.
And He'll do right. especially by his people. And
all blessings are in his hands, and all his people are in his
hands, and all things are in his hands. Our souls, our families,
our finances, all things are in his hands. Do you hear me? All things. The Lord, knowing
this, could go to his death with perfect peace and perfect He lived by faith, didn't he,
as a man, knowing that the Father would raise him. All things are in his hand. We
sang that song. My times are in thy hands, my
God. I wish them there. Don't you? Don't you? Now, after the Holy
Spirit records this, he records these blessed words and thoughts
of our Lord. That the Lord knows all things
and all things were in His hands and He was come from God and
went to God. He knew where He came from and
where He was going and what He was out to do. And then the Lord
gets up and does something. You see, this is all connected.
The Lord is going to illustrate what we just read. He's going
to illustrate who he is, where he came from, why he came, and
what he did by washing feet. This is amazing. Look at it with
me. Look at verse 4. Read verses 4 and 5. It says,
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took
a towel. That's a linen cloth. 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." It says he rises
from suffering. No doubt the Lord held the chief
seat, the central seat. He was the center of attention.
He deserves to be, doesn't he? Anyone deserved a cheap seat.
It's the cheap shepherd, isn't it? Well, he no doubt held that
center of attention. The disciples, I'm sure, made
way for him to have that place where they could surround him.
But then he rises after they ate supper together. He rises
from the table. And I know all eyes were on him
whenever the Lord did something. Whenever the Lord rose and was
about to go somewhere, they knew. But they didn't know what he
was going to do. They knew it would be something special. He arises from the table and
he takes off his clothes. I believe he was naked. But he's not ashamed. What's he got to be ashamed of? He takes off his clothes, and
they wonder, what is he doing? And then he takes some, well,
a plain white cloth, clean white cloth, and girds himself, wraps
himself up in this cloth, and then he takes a pitcher of water,
and pours it out into a large basin, large enough for them
to put their feet in. And then he stoops down at the
first disciple's chair and begins to wash their stinking feet. Now, what a thing for the Lord
and Master That's what he is. He said, you call me Master and
Lord, and you say, well, so I am. What a thing for the Lord and
Master to do. To strip his clothes off. And to wash their stinking feet. What a thing for a king to wear. A towel. Well, you know, this is really
nothing. compared to what this represents. The Lord doesn't
abase Himself here, really. Not like He really did and what
this represents. See if I can make good on that.
See, He who was with the Father, seated on the throne of glory. We're talking about the center
of attention. We're talking about the chief seed. We're talking
about the throne of heaven itself, where the angels, where the Father
said, let all the angels adore Him. Where all the celestial
beings, the cherubs, the seraphs, every being in heaven cried out,
holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. And His train filled
the temple, and the whole earth is filled with His glory. He
who sat on the throne of glory. who sits on the circle of the
earth, equal with the Father, got up one day. In the fullness
of time, got up. The angel stopped. What's he
doing? What's he doing? Took off his
royal robes. Laid it aside to be assumed later,
to be put back on later. Laid his royal robes aside, took
off his crown of glory, his royal diadem, the song we sing. Took
off his crown of glory to be replaced with one of thorns. Took off those royal robes, laid
them aside, stripped himself to come down to this cesspool
called planet earth to wash filthy sinners. That's condescension. This was
nothing. It wasn't condescension at all
to him. It's not condescension to wash someone's feet that you
love. Is it? You parents. Well, whoever. Those of you who cared for a
loved one, an invalid. Is it condescension to wash them,
to wipe them, to care for them? Oh no, that's love. And what
this represents is far more than just a lesson in humility and
service. This represents where our Lord
came from and why He came and what He did when He got here.
And that which He poured out in that basin represents His
own precious blood. If we're not washed in it, we
have no part with it. No part. See, this is the gospel. Think a bit now. Think a bit.
Think of what was going through the disciple's mind when he got
up and disrobed before them all. I really got very to believe
he was naked. But he was unashamed. Totally
unashamed. Maybe they were ashamed for him.
They need not be. You know, when Adam, the first
Adam was created, Adam and Eve, they were naked, weren't they?
But they were unashamed. Why? They had no sin. They had no sin. They had nothing
to be ashamed of. Fitted. Through the pure, all things
are pure. Nakedness. Beautiful. God says beautiful.
But when sin permeated their being, then they began to be
full of lust and temptation and so forth. And when they sinned,
they became aware that they were naked and they were what? Ashamed. And they needed a covering. But
the second Adam, the Lord of glory came down here and stripped
himself once and was stripped by men twice, but without shame. Hebrews 12 says, who for the
joy set before him despised the shame, thought nothing of it.
To hang naked. He had nothing to be ashamed
of. Nothing to be ashamed of. He
had no sin. And I thought about this. This
is proof of this reprobate time we live in when men and women
are mostly naked all the time without shame. And as the Scripture
says, they rather glory in it. What should be their shame, they
glory in. But this man, what would be our
shame was his glory. Did you get that? What would
be our shame to be stripped naked before others was his glory,
John. He could stand there without shame. And he was stripped. You know why he was stripped,
don't you? You know why he stripped himself? To be made in the likeness
of sinful flesh. And he was stripped on Calvary's
tree because he is our righteousness and we wear his robe. They took
off his seamless robe and they did not rend it. Because that
robe shall not be rend. It's perfect. Perfect righteousness.
And he put that on his people. He imputed that and covered his
people with that righteousness. He himself was stripped naked.
It says he girded himself, verse 4, took a towel and girded himself. A plain, ordinary white linen
cloth. I looked it up. The only time
the word towel is used in Scripture. The only time. And it's a large
white linen cloth which It's what the priests wore as their
undergarments. But this white linen cloth was
a towel, and it was a common cloth. Towel. You have common
towels in your house, don't you? Our Lord was made in the likeness
of the common man, but sinful flesh, but without sin. White. He was pure and clean. This towel
that he robed himself in was not a thing of beauty. Not like
the towels you ladies put in your bathrooms that are not for
use, you know? That you dare not wipe your hands
on them? This was an old, common, ordinary, but clean and white
towel. Not a thing of beauty, Scripture
says, when we see Him. The prophecy of the Christ to
come, there will be no form or comeliness when we see Him. There's
no beauty about it. Nothing extraordinary. It wasn't
outward. Beauty wasn't outward. Like that
tabernacle of old, he was robed in a brown skin, but all his
beauty was inward-looking. A towel is a thing of service,
isn't it? Towel is always, nearly always
associated with what? Washing. The Lord didn't need
a body, did he? Before he dwelt, when he dwelt
with the Father, he didn't need a body of flesh and blood, did
he? But he assumed one, didn't he? He said, A body hast thou
prepared me. Why? Blood to shed, a body to eat. Water came out of his side also
to sanctify. The Word made flesh. Well, look
at verses 6 and following. Look at verse 12. It went on
down there. It said, After he had washed their feet, he took
his garments. After he did what he came to do. After he finished
washing them, he took those garments that he was wearing and put them
back on. You see, this all represents
what our Lord did for His people. He came down here to wash his
people from their sins, and he did just that. He put away their sins by the
sacrifice of himself. No one helped him do this. You
notice that he did all the washing. He did the pouring. He did the
drying. He did it all. And when he finished
it, he put his robes back on. Job done. And then he said in verse 12,
Know ye what I've done to you? Do you know what I've done to
you? Well, yes and no. They knew he had humbled himself,
didn't they? But not really. They didn't realize where he'd
come from. Nor do we. I stood here and tried to explain
where the Lord came from, but I've never seen that I'm just telling you what the
book said. But I haven't seen it either. Someday I'll see it.
I didn't come close. I heard Brother Charles Pennington
preach this passage once. He's the first one I heard bring
it out in this way. It's a great blessing. But after
he's preached it, and after I've preached it, the half still hasn't
been told where the Lord came from and what He did. No, we don't really know what
he's done to us. Someday we'll know, even as we've
been known. But he said in verse 7, Thou
shalt know what I do. Thou knowest not now, but thou
shalt know hereafter, and so shall we. Well, old Simon Peter,
bless his heart. Simon Peter is watching this. Simon Peter watches the Lord
get up, unclothe himself. and wrap himself in that towel,
and then pour that water in that basin, and then begin, whoever
was first, begin with Matthew, and then go to Thomas, and then
to Bartholomew, and James, and John, and Jude. And the Lord came to Simon Peter,
to his feet. And he can't take any longer. And I know how he feels. Simon Peter said in verse 6,
Lord, are you going to wash my feet? I believe he pulled his feet
back. John the Baptist one time said,
he who is coming, who is before me is preferred before me, and
I am not worthy. John, the greatest man born of
woman, said, one of the greatest, I am not worthy to untie his
shoes. And he is going to wash my feet,
Peter thought. Peter knew who he was. He called
him Lord. All who know him call him what he is, Lord. Not merely
Jesus. Lord and Master. Peter knew who
He was, and Peter knew who He was. Peter one time, when he
found out who the Lord was, he said, Oh Lord, get away from
me. I'm a sinful man. You know everything
about me. You know how filthy I am. You're not going to wash my face. No way. You ever felt like that? That's
the way we ought to feel when we come in here every time. We're
not worthy to hear this Gospel. None of us, beginning with me.
We ought to feel that way every time we come in. This is what
the Lord is doing, hopefully, for us right now, is washing
our feet, refreshing us. And every time we come in here,
the Lord is taking the water of His Word, which speaks of
Christ, the only thing that really washes and refreshes, and is
washing our stinking feet that have been in this world. And
we come in here to be washed, but yet, Brother Henry, we think,
I'm not worthy. I need it, but I'm not worthy. You know how Peter felt, don't
you? Wouldn't the gospel be so much
more precious to us if we approached it in that way? But verse 8,
Peter said, You'll never wash my feet. And the Lord answered
him and said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me. If I wash thee not. Salvation is of the Lord, isn't
it? He did all the washing, did the drying. He didn't ask for
help. What he started, he finished.
He says, if I wash the dots, you have no part with me. If
Christ doesn't die for us, put away our sin, there is no remission
of our sin. Without the shedding of blood,
and it's not just any blood, not the blood of bulls and goats,
it's impossible to put away sin. But with the precious blood of
the Lamb, without spot and blemish, the Lord Jesus Christ, there
is remission of sin. But not without it. There is
no more sacrifice for sin. There is no other sacrifice for
sin. But the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that and that alone
cleanses us from all unrighteousness. If I wash thee not. You have no part with me. What's that part with Him? Acceptance
with the Father. Entrance into glory. Seated with
Him. You are not accepted with the
Father if I wash thee not. That's the principal meaning
here, isn't it? That's it. Well, look at what
Peter said. Okay, Lord. Not my feet only. But my hands, my hands aren't
clean. Who shall ascend unto the hill
of the Lord? He that hath what? Clean hands. Perfect beings. Who can say that? One man. No, don't just wash my feet,
wash my hands, wash my head. Clean thoughts. Who shall ascend
unto the hill of the Lord? The Lord looks on the heart.
The Lord knows the thoughts of man. Peter knew that. He said, Lord, don't just wash
my feet. Here's what Peter said. Wash
me throughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. Purge
me with hyssop and I shall be clean. For my loins are filled
with a loathsome disease. Lord, wash me throughly. The
Lord said, you are clean. Now look at this, for your blessing,
for your comfort. Verse 10, the Lord said, He that
is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. He's clean everywhere. And He pointed right at Peter,
Tammy. He's talking to Simon Peter,
old Simon, who knew he was a sinner through and through. Pointed
right at him and said, You are clean. Not all. The Lord knew who he
had cleansed and who he came to die for and who he didn't.
He said, you're clean. All you need is your feet washed. You need daily refreshing. You
need daily cleansing with the water of His Word. And that's
not just the Bible. Christ crucified. You don't leave
the cross for sanctification. Out of Christ's side came blood
and water. The thing that actually cleanses
us, sanctifies us, is seeing Him who died for us. Behold,
in what manner of love? That's what the law won't do.
The law won't do it. The strength of sin is the law.
Sanctification is looking to Christ. That's where cleansing
comes from. Well, Peter didn't feel clean,
did he? But he was two ways. Two ways. Look over John 15. Two ways. The Lord said, You're clean.
Peter didn't feel like it. He just said, Wash my hands.
Wash my head. Wash my heart. Wash me all over. He said, You're clean. Two ways. that Peter was clean, and all
of God's people are clean. Number one, because Christ said
so. Because He said so. And don't
you call common what He's planned. We just looked at that. Look
at it. Look at John 15, verse 3. Now you are clean through the
word I've spoken unto you. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Meaning, I say he's clean. Dare somebody say anything about
it. The devil says, but, but, but, but, but. I say he's clean. Your own conscience convicts
you, but, but, but, but. I say, you're clean. Pharisee and the publican. All
men said the Pharisee was clean. All men said the publican was
not. What did Christ say? I say, that's all that matters,
that the publican is justified and the Pharisee is damned. The woman caught in the act of
adultery, brought at the feet of Christ. Moses says, the law
says she's to be stoned. What do you say? Christ said,
to whom all judgment is committed to, Christ said, free! The rest
of you are guilty as charged. Who is he that condemned her?
Now you're clean, because I said so. And they're clean because, why
are you shouting, preacher? We'll shout someday, all of us,
when we realize fully what He's done to us. What He has done
to us, Sammy. What He has done to us. Not he and me. Not me and the
preacher. Not me and my prayers and my mother. He has done to
us. What has He done to us? Cleansed
us. Washed us from our sins in His
own blood. You don't know now. You don't
fully realize now. You can't appreciate what I've
done to you now. You will hereafter. And you will
shout Unto Him. Unto Him. Unto Him. Be like a
nobody else there, but Him. And we're clean because Jesus
Christ's blood was shed. That's why. Because he shed his
precious blood. Because God said, the scripture
says, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died. Payment's been made. Oh boy. Now that's the gospel
isn't it? And I would be greatly Remiss
if I didn't show you some other things here we can learn from
this, though. But my job as a preacher and
the job of every preacher is like that pole that held that
serpent of brass up. It's a plain, ordinary wooden
pole. It's fit for nothing but the
burning unless it sets forth and holds up the Lord Jesus Christ
for sin-bitten sinners That's all we're about. And every time
you come in here, if I do not set forth Christ for you to see,
for you to look to, you will not be saved. Everyone in here
doesn't know the Lord. This is the way to look to Him. And it's also how we're cleansed,
how we're sanctified. By looking to Him, we're saved. By looking at Him, we're conformed
to His precedence. That's the only way. That's the
only way. Look at it. Here's some things
we can learn from this. In verses 12 and following, after
he'd washed their feet, he took his garments and sat down again
and said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? You call
me Master and Lord. You say, well, I want to say
well, don't you? I want to give the Lord the honor
that He's due, the respect that He's due. I want to call Him
by His rightful name. I want to fear His name. And
I want to make mention that His name is exalted. And I want to
honor His name. So He said, you call Me Lord
and Master. I said, that's what I'm going to call you. How about
you? And you do well. I am. If I then,
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another's feet. I've given you an example, he
said, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither
is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. The Lord came to do what? Not
to be served. He said the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, to serve. What's our
purpose? Not to serve ourselves. To serve
others. And we're not greater than He. Oh my. This really was condescension.
For him. See, to condescend, you have
to be high. Don't you? I mean, for you to
stoop low, you have to be high. Don't you? If you start out low, you can't condescend. If you're
a worm, what are you going to stoop to do?
You follow me? We're worms. Anything we do,
Hannah, we don't stoop to do anything. It's not beneath us. There's nothing beneath us. Everything
was beneath him. Because he was high. But he became low. We're low.
And look at what he said. He said, happy are you if you
know these things. Happy are you if you do them.
You want to be happy? You know why
people are mostly unhappy? Psalm 1, you remember that study? Blessed is the man. Happy is
the man that walk not in the counsel of the young God, that
stood not in the way of sinners and so forth. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. Happy, unaffected, totally unaffected
by anything and everyone in this world. Didn't listen to anything
or anybody. You'd be happy if you didn't
listen to anybody. If nothing bothered you, you'd be always
happy, wouldn't you? Anything anybody said. You'd
be happy. He was. Except when he took our
sorrow on his head. But he said, happy are you if
you do these things. The Lord said, who never said
anything as a figure of speech, but there's great depth and wisdom
in what he said, happy are you if you do these things. Not just
hear them, but you're blessed in the doing of these things. Alright, what have we learned
here? What do we learn from the Lord here, okay? Let's review. A good teacher always reviews,
okay? I'm going to ask you questions,
and I want you to write them down. I'm inclined to do that.
What are the lessons we learn from Him? All right? Number one
is great love. Greater love, greater condescension
The only one truly who condescended as He did. And that's love. We learn that salvation is of
the Lord. All of it. From start to finish. What He
started, He finished. And sat down. Worked it out. We learn that unless we're washed,
we have no part with Him. We have no acceptance with God.
No remission of our sins. We learn, he said, that our feet
need washing. Your souls don't need washing,
but your feet do. Your feet do. That which touches
the earth. And his word is what cleanses
us. The washing of water by his word cleanses us, mind, soul,
and body. The only thing. The only thing that soothes and
comforts. And the Lord set an example here of service to others. That if we love the brethren,
it's not condescension at all. As we said, washing our stinking
feet was nothing to him who came into this world to be made sick. Washing feet. And nothing is too lowly for
us worms. And if we love those If those
we love have a need, and you know, there's people that practice
this all the time, don't they? There's people that go through
this. The Lord did not tell us to observe
this as some kind of show or ritual of humility. That's all
it is, a vain show of humility. The Lord didn't do this for show.
He did this because they needed their feet washed. Their feet
were dirty. And back then, you wore sandals
in a hot desert climate, and your feet got filthy and hot
and sandy. This is one of the most refreshing
things you could have done. You women get these pedicures,
don't you? Anybody? Get these pedicures. And they tell me that it's one
of the most pleasant things you could have done. Your feet rubbed
and taken care of. Is it? Well, this was very refreshing
to the disciples. They needed it. Their feet were
hot and dirty. We don't have sandals on. We
don't need our feet washed. There are other things we need.
There are other things we need that
we can do, see a need and meet it. And nothing is beneath us.
If we love those, if we have loved our brethren, nothing should
be too low for us at all, but happy. I thought about this. Happy are you if you do them.
The Lord may not have whistled while he worked, but I bet he hummed to him. Washing
their stinking feet. Humming a psalm or something.
He's happy. This just makes him happy to
do this. For the joy that's set before him. Wash feet. Yeah. It's a wonderful thing to have
happen. It's a wonderful thing to do. It's a blessing to give,
to serve, and to be served. Okay, stand with me. Our Lord, thank you so much for
coming to this earth and doing what you did for the likes of
us. We feel like Simon Peter Bold. We're not worthy for you
to stoop so low, but we're so thankful you did. And we do not
really know what you've done for us or to us. We do not yet
know. Someday we will know, as we've
been known. But until then, Lord, keep showing
us. Keep revealing to us. magnifying your love and your
so great salvation to us. This is the thing we should be
truly amazed at all times. And Lord, we're thankful that
all things are in your hands, that we are in your hands. Cause
us to realize that, to know that, and to rest there. Thank you
for your people. I ask that this word might be
effectual to them, for them, for your glory, for your honor.
In Christ's name we've met here. Amen. I saw you singing. That was nice. Thank you. I'm glad. I'm glad. I'm glad.