Alright, back to John 13. One verse could make up a sermon
with several parts here. I know you saw that as we read
it. And I remember I preach from this first verse one time, just
this one verse, having loved his own. He loved him unto the
end. But we're going to try to get
down through verse seventeen. Because I want to deal with this
subject of our Lord washing feet. All right, let's read. Let's
get right into it. The first verse. Now, before
the feast of the Passover, before the true Lamb of God would
be offered to God. We saw back in chapter 12 how
they already had the feast. His disciples did. They communed
with the Lamb himself. But the Lamb has got to go and
actually shed his blood, doesn't he? Except we eat his flesh and
drink his blood. So before the Lamb was to be
sacrificed, Christ the true Lamb, when Jesus knew that his hour
was come, that he should depart out of this world and go unto
the Father, when he knew Christ is the omniscient one, knows
all things. And the reason he knows all things
is because he sovereignly controls all things. Men and women who say that God,
in quoting Romans 8, whom he foreknew, he did predestinate,
they say that God looked down and just knew who was going to
accept him or who was going to believe. So he chose him. Well,
the foreknowledge of God is much more than that. And one preacher
one time said, for something to be certainly foreknown, it must certainly come to pass. And so for something certainly
to come to pass and God to know it beforehand, known unto God
are all his works from the beginning. For that to be so, he has to
be the one doing it. Right? He knew. Why did he know? Because
he was controlling all things. He knew where, we're going to
see that in a minute, he knew who he was, where he came from,
where he was going, what he was going to do. He knew, he's the omniscient
one. Now look at this line here, it says, he knew that his hour
was come, his finest hour, the hour of his enthronement on the
cross and the saving of his people, that he should depart, he knew
that he should depart out of this world unto the Father. Now I want you to notice with
me how he uses this term, this world. Look back at chapter 9. Chapter 9. This is significant. Every word in God's Word is significant. And it says, This world. Verse
39 of John 9. Jesus said, For judgment am I
come into this world. Now look at chapter 12. Chapter
12, verse 25. Got it? Chapter 12, verse 25, Christ
says, He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth
his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. Verse
31 of the same chapter. Now is the judgment of this world. And it says that he knew his
hour was come and he should depart out of this world. He says that,
Nancy, as if this is some terrible place to be, this world. Do you see that? You see, he
made the world. And when he made it, he said,
it's good, didn't it? But sin marred it. Man got in
it and destroyed it. And now it's become this world.
Do you see the significance there? Because of this world. He's leaving
this world to depart back to the Father, where he really wanted
to be. And so do God's people. That's where they want to be.
Out of this world. And with the Father. So he knew
that. And having loved his own. Having
loved his own. I love this verse. Having loved
his own, which are in the world, he loved them unto the end. Having loved, when did he begin loving? Well,
before the world began. Before the foundation of the
world, God loved his own. He set his love and his affection
on a certain people before the world began. Who are they? His
own. Having loved before the world
began. His own. Does God love everybody? No.
Who does He love? His own. You see that? That's particular love, isn't
it? That's electing love. His own. If you're in the world,
how long will He love them? To the end. When's that? Well, there is none. He said,
I'm the Alpha and the Omega. I'm the beginning and the end.
As long as He lasts, so will His love. That's what Jeremiah
31, 3 says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. So having loved his own, he loved
them to the end. See, you're not your own. You're
his own, bought with a price, and he loves you to the end,
his people. Verse 2, supper being ended. Now, which supper this is, we
don't know, because it doesn't give the account of the the Lord's
Supper here. It does in the other Gospels,
but that's really not important. The devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him. The devil and Judas did what
they wanted to do, didn't Didn't it? Judas did exactly
what his evil heart wanted to do. He was, the scripture says,
a thief from the beginning. He was in it for the money from
the beginning. Do you remember back in chapter
12? Yeah, the woman wiped his feet
and Judas Iscariot said, or the woman poured the ointment out
and Judas Iscariot said, we could have sold this and got a lot
of money out of it. This he said not because he cared for the
poor, but he was a thief. And he did exactly what he wanted
to do. Didn't he? And the devil did
exactly what he wanted to do. He worked in Judas. He assaulted Judas. He worked
and manipulated in Judas and did what he wanted to do. But
what did both of these fellows do? Whose will and purpose did
both of these fellows accomplish? They did what God determined
for to be done. Right? You see, God's in control,
sovereignly in control. Christ is in control. That's
the reason, at the very time, back over in verse, what is it? Verse 27,
he said, it's time, go do it. Nobody there knew what he was
talking about but him. Judas didn't even know. what you do, do it quickly. Christ
sent him to do it. That's our sovereign cry. And
though men cannot reconcile this, or understand this, or men take
things like this and say, well, you're making God the author
of sin. No, we're not. No, we're not. Though men can't
understand it, that's the way it is, because that's God. Because if anything or anyone
was outside of the divine control of God He wouldn't be God, would
he? Even devils. Isn't that right?
If there's something outside of God's control, he wouldn't
be God. He wouldn't be God. And God,
in his wisdom and power, he can let someone do what their nature
will do, and it will fulfill his purpose. That's how wise and powerful
he is. All right, let's go on. It says in verse 2, that the
devil put in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray
him. Jesus knew it. He knew that because he... I
want you to note this, too, along with that verse. Look back at
chapter... Let's see. Let me find it. Chapter 6. I
didn't write it down. Here it is. Chapter 6. Turn back
there. Chapter 6. It says that Judas
Iscariot was a son of perdition from the beginning. God chose him to be so. That's reprobation, isn't it,
Rick? That's as clear as you can see it. He chose twelve apostles. Verse 70, Christ said, Have not
I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He went around looking for his
apostles. He found eleven and a devil. He needed a devil. to do his
work. Isn't that right? I've chosen
you apostles, I've chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil,
and I've chosen you two to do what I need you to do. That's
sobering, isn't it? But it's so. That's predestination
and reprobation right there in one verse. All right, back to
the text, verse three. It says, that the Father had given all
things." Now here's the Holy Spirit confirming again that
Christ knows all things, and Jesus knowing, Jesus knew, Jesus
knowing, that all things were given into his hands. What about this verse, Stan?
All things were given into his hands. All things. The Father had given all things
into his hands. The whole work of salvation was
in his hands. The whole work of salvation right
here is his to perform. All of the people God had chosen
from the beginning are in his hands right now. It's all up
to him. If they're going to be saved,
he's going to be the one to do it. If they're going to make
it, he's going to have to do it. Right? If there's a work to be done
in salvation, he's going to have to work it right now. It's all
in his hands. You know, I pity the people whose
God has done all he can do and left the rest up to them.
Don't you? I pity them. I heard one old
preacher, one old fool, talking, saying, he said, you see, it's
like this. He said, life is like a football
game. And he says, Jesus takes the
football of life and runs with it 99 yards, and then he hands it to you. Isn't that blasphemy? Isn't that
awful? What would happen if that were the case? Here's that. Now, I tell you what, all we
like sheep have gone astray. Now, we go the other way. I've made it. And we go a way
that seems right. Well, look at all that in front
of us there. That looks like a better way to run. Ain't that right? Old fool, old
geezer, I hope he's dead now. Well, verse 3, it says, having
the Father given all things into his hand, the whole work of salvation,
I tell you what, our Christ, the Christ, says, knowing he
knew that it was all up to him to finish the work, to make our
salvation sure. So he did all that needed to
be done. He finished the work. Therefore there's nothing left
to be done. That's my Christ. And that's the good news, and
that's what makes the gospel, gospel. And life ain't no football
anyway. It ain't no game. It's serious. It's life or death. And Christ,
what he does is carry us, not a ball. He carries us. Like that
silly poem, you know, footprints in the sand. There's always only
been one set of footprints. Only one set of footprints. He
says, I carried you from the cradle to the grave. All right, so there's nothing
left to be done. And it says that he knew that he was come
from God and went to God. Now here he knows where he came
from and where he's going. We often say about an old fellow, he doesn't know where he's going.
He doesn't know where he's been or where he's going, or where
he was last. You know, we say that about somebody
just an out-and-out fool. Christ knew where he came from
and where he was going. And you know what? I know, too. I know who he is, where he came
from, and where he was going, and I know what he did. That's
what salvation is. Religion today doesn't know where
he came from or where he's going or what he did, or if he did
it or not. Preachers say he did it and he didn't do it. Yeah,
you know, he died for your sin, he paid for your sin, but he
didn't pay for your sin. They say, God loves you, you might
go to hell anyway. He loves you, but he's not going to love you.
Wrath is going to be poured on you. Well, he loves you and he
doesn't. Love me, love me not. You know, that's religion. They
love me, hope, love me not. Pick a flower, pull the petals.
That's about the extent. If you're lucky, you'll end up
in heaven. A little prayer, a little love, and a lot of luck. You
know, you'll get there. 100% Christ and you'll get there.
Sovereign love, you'll get there. Electing grace, you'll get there. If you know who it is that came
and why he came and where he is now, you'll get there. If
you knew what he did on Calvary's cross and that he actually did
what he came to do, you'll get there. This is eternal life,
that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent." What you and I were talking about. Let
me tell you this, what he just told me a while ago. He said,
Anna Michelle, how old was Anna? Five. He said she was out in
the yard with him the other day, and he was listening to the tapes,
and it says, out of the blue, and out of the mouth of this
babe, and Out of the blue, she said, Daddy, why did Jesus Christ
have to die? You know, I've never heard one
bullet in my life ask me that question. Have you? Think about it, Stan. Have you? Have you ever heard
a man or a woman on the job or anywhere ask your parents or
whoever, your family, have you ever heard them ask you that
question? Nancy? Anybody in here? Anybody ask
you that question? Margaret? Anybody work, interested? They don't know and they don't
care. their religion. That's what Christ
said to that woman at the whale, didn't he? He said, you don't
know what you worship. Didn't he? Claimed to worship
God, but he's not God at all. Not unless you let him. Isn't that pitiful? Teddy
the man, the woman who has a God like that. Oh, blessed is the
man, the woman who has a God like that. who knows where he came from
and why he came and what he did and where he is now. That's my
God. That's my Christ. That's my gospel.
Is that your gospel, Stan? Blessed art thou, Stan Bar-Anderson. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
it to you, but your Father which is in heaven. All right, read
on. Verse 4, it says, He rises from supper. What a verse. he riseth from supper, and laid
aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself."
This is the gospel, the gospel, the gospels in every line, isn't
it? Eternal spiritual truth. Christ riseth from supper. Christ
left the king's table. He was seated with the father
at the table at the marriage supper. That's been going on
a long time. The marriage supper. He rises from that table, laid
aside his garments, laid aside his glory, and took
a towel, an old towel. Now, it wasn't a canon royal,
you know, embroidered with gold. It was just an old towel, a body,
a brown paper bag. That's what the pearl of great
price was in, a brown paper bag. And when men saw it, they thought,
he's just a man. You've got to look on the inside,
don't you? Rather, he's got to show you
his glory. But he took a towel, flesh and
blood. He took upon himself the form
of a servant, the form of a man, flesh and blood, and girded himself. Why did he do that? To wash us. Look at verse five. After that, he poureth water
into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet. Now, people,
there has to be. The word is spirit. He said,
My word is spirit, didn't he, Debra? My word is spirit and
life. This is not just a story about him washing feet. This
is a story of redemption. And verse four talks about his
condescension. His incarnation. And verse 5
said, After that he poured water. What did Christ pour? What did
he pour out in order to wash his people? He poured out his
soul unto death. He poured out his blood and washed
his disciples. Washed away our sins. Right there
is the first picture. Unless your man sees that, the
rest of it has no significance anyway. Right? If a man doesn't
see the rest of it, he must see that, mustn't he? Lord out his
soul, his precious blood, and washed his people. Who? His own. Who's he washing here? Everybody
came along, anybody want, whosoever will? His own. That's who he
loved and that's who he washed. Right there, particular elect
in love and particular redemption in him. He washed his own. his disciples, his people. That's
the reason they called his name Jesus. He came to save his people,
his own, from their sin. And wiped them with a towel.
Look at this. He wiped them with a towel wherewith
he was girded. That's the robe of Christ's righteousness
that he covers us with, that he girded himself. This robe
that he worked out, this righteousness he worked out, he covered us
with. All right, so that's the first application. We must see
that. Right? If we didn't go on, that's all
we need to see. I mean, that's not all we need
to see, but that's certainly what we need to see most. All right? And those who know
the truth, that's what they see first when they read the Scripture.
Right? There are some who are ever learning
and never coming to a knowledge of the truth. There are some who read the Bible
and verses and things like this and don't see redemption in it.
Not you, your eyes have been anointed from the very mouth
of God himself. And what you see is he made your
eyes mud shot from that poor Joe. You know, every blind man
he heals, their eyes remain bloodshot. You see red and everything? Yep. Gods are. You must see the blood. All right. Let's go on. Now, let's look at this as a
lesson that he teaches us here. No greater humility than this
right here. Christ's incarnation and what he does here. Verses
four and five. Let's read them again. He rises from supper.
Here's what he does. Now picture the actual scene
here. Christ, they're sitting around
eating. And he rises from supper. He
gets up. They're all eating and drinking and talking among one
another and so forth. And he gets up. And whenever
the master gets up, they notice. And they probably get quiet.
And he doesn't take a step. Needlessly. And he rose up. And he laid aside
his gun. He started taking his clothes
off. Folks, I think he got completely
naked. He has no sin. There's no shame
there. Is there? When God made Adam,
he was naked. It said he laid aside his garments. This is a picture, once again,
of his incarnation, and Christ totally took off his glory and
covered himself with rags of human flesh. But anyway, he laid
aside his garments, took off his clothes, and by this time
these men, what is he? and took a towel and girded himself,
a big cotton throw or whatever it was, and girded himself, and
after that he poured water in a basin. And starting down at
the foot of the table, started there, there might have been
a bar column he was sitting down there, and he took that basin
and began to wash old Bart's feet. And they're silent. And they went from old Bartholomew
over to Thomas and began to wash old Thomas's feet. And nobody
said a word. And then he got to Peter. Peter, look at verse 6. Then
cometh he to Simon Peter. He's got to say something. Peter's
just got to say something. Everybody in here, you probably
feel like a Peter, don't you? Peter's got to say something.
He says, verse 6, Lord, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Do you wash my feet? Now, Peter said this, I believe,
in true amazement. He was dismayed at this. He should
have been, shouldn't he? He should have been. He thought,
Lord, get up from there, my faith. Remember when Peter, on that
boat, when he saw the Lord's power and glory, he said, Oh,
I'm too sinful for you to even be in the same room with. And
here he is at his feet. The one before whom angels bow
and kiss his royal feet came down and washed the stinking
feet of old, no good fishermen. And that's what Peter realized
there. Lord, get up. Don't do this. Don't condescend. Don't stoop so low. Look what the Lord said. The
Lord said to him, verse 7, Jesus said, What I do thou knowest
not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. I believe Peter did learn this
lesson. It was over in, and I was going
to have you turn, but time is running out. Over in 1 Peter,
he began to write his epistle. He did. Christ said that you'll
know later on. And when he began to write this
he knew. And it talked about he humbled himself. Christ humbled
himself and he said therefore humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God. And he said above all have faith
and charity among yourselves. He learned, he learned. Christ when he reviled, reviled
not again. Just on and on he went talking
about the the majestic one who came down
to become a servant. He learned. Peter learned it. But what Christ says now, here's
the key to it. Christ says in verse 8, Thou
shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me. If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me." Right there's the gospel too, isn't it? It
doesn't say, if you're not washed, you won't go to heaven. He says, if I wash thee not,
you have no part with me. Every word is significant in
it. If I, who does the washing? That's where those songs go wrong,
Joe, isn't it? Wash ye in the blood. Wash ye. If I wash you not, unless Christ
washes you, you won't be washed. Unless Christ saves you, you
won't be saved. Unless Christ washes you in his
blood, you will remain in our sin. And look at this line. He
says, Unless I, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Unless Christ makes us holy,
Unless Christ imputes his righteousness, unless Christ puts away our sin,
unless Christ justifies us by his blood, we have no part. What is salvation really? What
is salvation? It's to be found in him, isn't
it? With him. When Christ stands
before God as our substitute, we must be with him. He's going
to say, He's with me. To be with Him. Right? He is our part. Acceptance is
in Christ. We have no... Reservation in heaven, because
we're good boys and girls. Christ has one of those. He bought
every one of those reservations, and he has one now. He said,
no, he gets one, he gets one, he gets one. He's with me. He's with me. He has a part here. I go to prepare
a place for you. He said, unless I do it, you
have no part with me. And what is heaven? He doesn't
say anything about heaven. Heaven is to be with him, isn't it? All right, let's read on. Simon
Peter said unto him, Well, not my feet, only my head, and my
hands, and my body all over. Lord, give me a bath. He's close,
isn't he? Peter's close. Old Peter. I like old Peter. We give him
a hard time, don't we? He was sincere. Verse 10, Jesus said, He that's
washed, he does not save to wash his feet. He's clean everywhere. If you've been washed, you don't
need to be washed again. Take that to your Catholic friends. who crucify him afresh every
Sunday morning with the mass. They say that wine turns into
the blood, bread turns into the body, they crucify him over again.
And when you take it, you partake of the cleansing blood of Christ. Oh, Jesus, when Christ entered
into the Holy Hole at once. having obtained eternal redemption,
sat down." Now, the priestess sat down. I wish those fellows
would, too. Don't you? The great high priest is seated,
and I wish they would, too. I wish they'd follow his feet
and bow to him and see it's finished. He did it all. And he that's
washed doesn't need to be washed again. save his feet. Look at this.
Don't you wish the Lord say this to you? He's talking to Peter
here. Look at verse 10. He says, You are clean. He said that right to Peter. You know, it's going to be a
few hours later, John, that Peter is going to doubt it, and we
will, too, unless the Lord has said this. Right? Lot. We would have never thought
Lot had any lot or part in the matter, unless the Lord said,
That just man. Just? Well, he's a sinner. That's
who he justifies. Peter, one of your own? Well,
he's a denier. That's who he came to save. Your claim. Isn't that wonderful? Peter should have jumped and
skipped and hollered right there, didn't he? But not all. Well, the Lord tempers things,
doesn't he? Not all of you. And neither is everybody in this
room. And you ought to be saved with
Peter, verse 9, the Lord. Wash me. You sung that song a
while ago. Did you mean it? Wash me and I'll be whiter. Did you mean that, young people?
Did you mean it? You're clean. Some of you are
clean, but not all. And they'd wash him, ask him
to wash you. Well, read on. It says, He knew
who should betray, and therefore said he, ye are not all clean.
So after he'd washed their feet, verse 12, and taken his garments,
and sat down again. Right there is his ascension
back to glory, isn't it, John? You see that? After he'd washed
their feet and taken his garments, he took back his rightful, glorified
body and went and sat down. And then he begins to teach.
He sends the Holy Spirit to teach. Now do you know what I did? Isn't
that wonderful? Now do you know what I did? And
he begins to instruct us through the Holy Spirit. Well, he does
his disciples here. Read on. And he says, He says, verse 13, You call me
master and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I, then,
your Lord and master, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another's feet. Now, he said you need your feet
washed. He said we're clean everywhere.
Save your feet. You need your feet washed. What
does that mean? Well, we need daily cleansing. We need daily sanctification,
purification. We need like the priest of old
who always washed before they went in and so forth. What is
it that God washes his people with now? Their feet. What is it? Same thing he used
here. What was it? Water. Where does
it say that? Rick, do you remember where it
says that? That's exactly right, Ephesians 5. We learned this
verse together. Over in Ephesians 5, which speaks
of God's word, be in the water. And you might want to mark it
in your body. Yes, in your body. in your Bible, your body of divinity. Verse 25 and 26, Husbands, love
your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself
for it, that he might sanctify. Set it apart. and cleanse it,
purify it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might
present it to himself a glorious church daily. Now, we walk through this world
and we pick up dirt, don't we? Oh, how we accumulate the dirt
of this world, don't we? So, how do we wash? Do the work. Do the work. Do
the work. The priest made a morning and
evening sacrifice. He washed before and after it
and before the evening. So we need it in the morning
and evening. Before and after. Before, during, and after. All
right, so that's it. That's the work. And he tells
us here in verses 12 and following, if I, your master, And Lord,
what a verse that is. You call me Master and Lord,
I am. For I am. I love that. He is Master. He is Lord. If
I then, Lord and Master, have washed your feet, condescended,
humbled myself, become a servant, you also ought to wash one another's
feet. My, my, if the Master of the
house waits tables, washes dishes and feet. How much
more should the hired help? Read on. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, verse fifteen, I have given unto you an example that
you should do as I have done unto you. I've given you an example. All right, so what should we
do? Let us all take our sheep and wash one another's feet. No. That is unless you need your
feet washed. Do you need your feet washed? I don't. I'm wearing socks, a
clean pair of socks, and worn shoes all day long. I don't need
my feet washed. But there might be something
else I need. Right? You know, the Lord never... I
want you to turn, you've got to turn to this, all right? Colossians
3, Colossians chapter 3. The Lord never did anything for
show. never. Colossians 2, I mean. The Lord
never did anything as a show of humility. That's what he said
about the Pharisee in Matthew 23. He said the Pharisee, all
that they do, they do to what? The sin of man. The Lord's not teaching us to
go through this ceremony so you'll show your humility. That's hypocrisy,
isn't it? That's doing what you do to be
seen, to have your reward, to everybody know how religious
you are and how obedient you are to God. That's not it at
all, is it? Oh, no. Our Lord never did anything
except what needed to be done. If He did something, it was a
need. Look at this in Colossians 2,
verse Verse 22 and 23, "...all are to perish
with the using," he talks about touch not, taste not, handle
not, "...after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things
have indeed a show," he's speaking sarcastically, "...a show of
wisdom in will, worship, and humility." A show. a show. What they do, they do
to be seen of men. Now some people actually do this
now, today. Some men and women, well, I don't
know, do the women do it? I know the men do it. They actually
take, everybody takes their shoes off and washes one another's
feet. Well, how religious. I'm impressed. God sure isn't
impressed. We say they're ignorant, that's
what Christ told them to do. They don't see, he never revealed
to them what he meant, what he was saying here. They would not,
they wouldn't dare go through the motions of religion. Drawing,
that's drawing near with your lip, or with your feet, when
your heart is far from it. These, this was a day in time
when, when the disciples wore sandals,
everybody wore sandals. Some of them may have gone barefoot.
Fishermen did. Fishermen didn't have a good
pair of top-siders to walk around on that slick wood deck. They
took their shoes off. They either went barefooted or
wore sandals, and they were living in a hot, dry, arid, desert country. Margaret, they couldn't walk
out the door without getting their feet filthy dirty. Right? filthy dirty. And after a while,
because they were always walking and going, they didn't bother
to wash their feet. And it was a custom back then,
a show, but it was a, well it was, it was proof of charity
and hospitality and love and you were glad to see somebody
when they came in the house and they had one of their servants
Wash your feet. Oh, it felt good. You ever had
your feet washed? Some of you ladies, you ever
get pedicured, don't you? Oh, come on, you do too. Somebody
in here does. You have, surely. Well, some
women do get these pedicures, you know. You're ashamed to admit
it's what it is. But you ever had your feet rubbed?
Your husband ever rubbed your feet? Let me ask you that. Your
wife ever rubbed your feet? Somebody. Everybody too sanctimonious
in here? And have you ever rubbed your
wife's feet? All right, there's a down-and-down. Okay, there's a servant. Husband,
love your wives as Christ loved the church. Rub their feet. Does
it feel good, Jan? Oh, what a luxury. What a luxury. What a good thing. If your feet
need it, too, it really is good. And if you bunions, you're killing
you. They need it, don't they? If
your feet are hot and dirty and dusty, we all came in here, it'd
be a good thing to wash one another's feet, wouldn't it? But they're
not. We'd just be embarrassed, wouldn't
we, to take our shoes off. And I tell you what we all, you
know what we'd all do before we left the house? We'd come home. We'd wash our
feet. Everyone, we'd go get a pedicure. Wouldn't we? There's no doubt
about it. Don't want you to see my dirty
feet. Put perfume all over them. That's... Christ is telling us if there's
a need, if there's a need, look for it. Find it. Condescend,
no matter how many of the tasks. It's no condescension. That's
not condescension. It's condescension when he came and did that. It's
not for us. We're one worm serving another
worm. If there's a need, meet it. There are legitimate needs
of the body, and meet that need. Meet that need. And there's two
men in the list. All right, let's go on. So our
Lord's not telling us, literally, to wash one another's feet, unless
your feet need washing. You know, if I'm laying in a
hospital bed, And you come over, and I'm incapacitated,
and you wash my feet. That'd be a good thing, wouldn't
it? That'd be a good thing, wouldn't
it? If there's a need, you see. But
don't do it to show how humble you are. That's an abomination
to God. We'll read on, and I'll quit.
He says, Verily the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither
is he that is sent greater than he that sent him." If you know
these things, if you know these things, all right, now we know
them, don't we? We've been taught. We know. Are you convinced of this? Joe,
are you convinced? and you convince, you know, don't
you, in your head. If you've been paying attention,
you know what you're saying, don't you? You convince. Happy are you if you do them. To receive a blessing is good. To get your feet rubbed is nice. But there's a better blessing
than rubbing his feet. It's your turn today. Our Lord
said truly it's more blessed to give than to receive. Didn't he, Nancy? When have you
been most blessed, Nancy? When somebody's given you a gift
or when the Lord's enabled you to give something. Very seldom
have you been really enabled to give a gift out of a heart
that just really wants to give it and just, and sacrificially. But when you do, who gets the
blessing? Huh? It's so. It's truly more blessed. Greater joy is had by the giver
than the recipient. If you want the peace, you say,
I'd love to have the peace and joy and faith of Christ. Do what he did. Do what he did. Want the blessings
of the Word? Be a doer of the Word. I need
that. I need that verse 17. If I need
one verse, I sure need that one. Don't you? Happy are you if you
do it. If you do it. So that's what
our Lord is teaching us there. He's showing us first the gospel,
His incarnation, His substitution, our salvation in His blood. And then He's teaching us a lesson,
how that we ought to seek the needs of one another and meet
them. And we'll be the blessing. We'll get the blessing. All right,
let's stand. Our Heavenly Father, how we thank
you for this Word, your Word, the Word which sanctifies us
and washes us. Oh, Lord, we do need washing.
Like Peter, we do need our heads washed, our minds washed from
filth, our feet, our bodies washed with pure water. The Word of
God. Oh, Lord, wash us in, within,
and without. We thank You that we are washed
by the blood of Christ from our sins, and our iniquities are
gone in the eyes of God. But our sin is ever before us.
So, therefore, take the water of the Word and purge us daily. Make us forget these things and
cleanse us, wash us. cleanse us so that we might bear
something of Christ's blessed image, and, Lord, enable us to
do what you told us to do and thereby receive a greater blessing. O Lord, let us be happy in the
doing of what you've said. In Christ's name we've met together
for his glory and honor and the worship of him. Amen.