Donna Wooten had her hip replaced
this week, and she's at home recovering. Hi, Donna. Hi, Claire
and Annie, if you're watching. I know they are. I've entitled this message, The
Need of My Feet Being Washed. verse 1 of John chapter 13. 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, He knew He had just
over 24 hours left 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 the 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 a towel
wherewith he was girded." I would imagine that they were
all sitting there in stunned silence as they watched the Lord
doing this to them. A note of interest, just a few
minutes before they were having an argument among themselves
over which of them would be the greatest. That foolishness was
going on even then. You can read about it in Luke's
account right before this last supper. And after this argument,
they see him who is. Gravest is not a proper description,
infinitely more than that. They see him unrobe himself. I think this
pictures his incarnation when he took off the robes of splendor
and glory and came to this earth and he girds himself with a towel
and he fills a basin with water and he takes their feet, the
feet of the disciples who had just been arguing which of them
would be the greatest. He performs the act of the most
menial servant. Now this was the lowest place
you could get. The lowest servant in a household
that people would come to visit. This servant would wash their
feet. Probably the people didn't even
think that much about it. Maybe they didn't even look at
him. They just waited for their feet to get washed from this
servant. This was a Gentile servant that
would do this, not a Jewish servant, a Gentile servant. And the Lord
of glory takes upon himself the most menial task. of washing their dirty feet. What condescension that He, the
Creator, the Son of God, the Lord of glory, would wash their
dirty feet. Of this I'm sure The Lord didn't
look at it as an act of condescension. We would. He didn't. If I would have been doing that,
I would be thinking, look how humble I am. Wouldn't this world
be a greater place if there were more people like me that were
willing to be servant? Oh, my humility. People need
to imitate me. Lord never thought anything like
that. You know, the scripture says with regard to the Son of
God, in his own description of himself, he said, I am meek. and lowly in heart." How ugly
pride is. The Son of God describes his
own character is that of being meek before God, lowly, humble
of heart. That's the Son of God. He does what he does. He lays
aside his garments, the robe of his splendor. I think picturing
the incarnation when he left heaven to come here and humble
himself as a man. He girds himself with a large
towel. and took a basin of water and
put the dirty feet of his disciples in that basin. And he washed
their feet and he dried them. Once again, no one said anything. They were shocked and didn't
know what to say at this time. As they had the Lord of glory,
washing their dirty feet. Now, who's the first person that
you would guess that would say something? You know, don't even
have to say it. Peter. Peter's got something
to say. Peter always has something to
say. Verse six, then cometh he to
Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash
my feet? I don't get this. I think this
was very similar to John the Baptist's response to the Lord
coming up and saying, I want you to baptize me. John says,
I need to be baptized of thee. You're coming to me for this?
Lord, You're washing my feet? I don't get this. Verse seven, Jesus answered and
said unto him, what I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt
know hereafter. Now the Lord means much more
than this being an act of humbling myself to wash your feet. He
said, matter of fact, Peter saw that right now. He said, you're
going to understand this later. You don't understand it right
now, but you'll understand it later. Verse eight, Peter saith
unto him, thou shalt never wash my feet. I'm far too humble for this to
take place. I'm not going to let this take place. Jesus answered him. Now, we're going to hear the
gospel in very powerful words in this next statement. The gospel
is not preached more clearly anywhere in the Bible than this
statement. He said to Peter, after Peter
gives his objection, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. I don't think I've ever seen
the gospel more powerfully declared than that statement he made to
Peter. Think about what he says. If
I wash you not, you have no part with me. You have no connection with me. If I wash you not, you had nothing
to do with that covenant that was made before the foundation
of the world. Remember, David said in 2 Samuel
23, verse five, right before he died, although my house be
not so with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant
ordered in all things and sure. Now the Lord is saying, if I
don't wash you, You weren't included in that covenant. If I wash you not, you have no
part in my obedience. You see what he did when he walked
upon this earth was he did as a representative, as a substitute,
as an us, he did it for somebody. When John the Baptist said, Why
are you asking me to baptize you? Do you remember how the
Lord responded? Suffer to be so now for thus
it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Now, what the
Lord did when he kept God's law, he did it for somebody. He fulfilled
all righteousness for somebody. But the Lord says to Peter, if
I wash you not, it wasn't for you. You're on your own. You stand before God on your
own without a righteousness. If I wash you not, you have no
share in the benefits of my death. Now, the death of Christ, he
came to die. Do you realize that and understand
that? That was his purpose in coming. He came to die. Why?
Why would he come to die? S-I-N, sin. The only way sin
can be put away is by his sin-atoning death. You know a word that's
used quite often in the Old Testament with regard to the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ? It is an atoning death. Atonement is the word. Now, here's
a real easy way to understand what the word atonement means.
Just spell it out, at-one-ment. At-one-ment. You see, God had
a reason to be separated from us, our sin, but he reconciled
us by the blood of the cross and made us one. Everybody he
died for. This is what his death accomplished. You see, his death wasn't making
salvation possible if you do your part. There's no real gospel
in that because you can't do anything. I can't do anything.
The gospel is that Christ actually accomplished my salvation by
his death. And he made me one with himself
at one. I love the way Moses and Elijah
spoke to the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. They spake
of the deceased, the death, which he should accomplish. Do you
hear that? His death accomplished something. Now, you look at somebody dead. Accomplishment seems like a defeat,
doesn't it? Well, but what about all the
stuff they did? Well, here's where it left it, dead. When
the Lord died, it was an accomplishment. And the Lord says to Peter, if
I wash you not, you have no part in the accomplishments of my
death. If I wash you not, you have no
part in my resurrection. The Scripture says He was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Now, this
is what the Lord did in being raised from the dead. He satisfied
God. That's why God raised Him from
the dead. He was completely satisfied with what He did and He's satisfied
with everybody He did it for. That's the accomplishments of
His resurrection, justification. Now, the Lord says to Peter,
when Peter said, you'll never wash me, If I wash you not, you'll
have no part in my resurrection. If I wash you not, you'll have
no part in my ascension. You know, when he ascended back
to heaven as the Lord of hosts, open wide ye gates, Psalm 24,
the ascension Psalm, the Lord saying, you don't have any part
in that. You weren't with me when I was
raised from the dead. If I wash you not, you have no
part in my intercession. You know, John chapter 17, verse
9, just in this same message that's going on, we'll get to
that in the weeks to come. But the Lord said, I pray for
them. In his great high priesthood prayer for his people, he said,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you have given me. If I don't wash you, you
have no part in me representing you before the Father right now.
And I'm coming again. The Lord's gonna return. Can't
you say, if you're a believer, here's what you think. Come,
Lord Jesus. If you're an unbeliever, you
don't really want that because it's not good, but if you're
a believer, come, Lord Jesus. The Lord says to Peter, when
he says, you'll never wash me if I wash you, you'll have no
part in my return. You'll be one of those people
saying, rocks and hills fall on us and cover us from the face
of him that sits on the throne and the wrath of the lamb. You'll
have no part with me unless I wash you. Now, here's my question. What is the one singular requirement
of having a part with Christ? No more important question than
that. What is the one singular requirement of having a part
with Christ? Him washing you. Him. washing you. Now unto him that washed us from
our sins in his own blood and made us kings and priests to
God, my only hope of having a part with him is that he washed me. Now this is what David prays
for in Psalm 51 when he says, purge me with hyssop. and I shall
be clean. What is hyssop? It was the branch
that was dipped in the blood and put over the door posts.
When God passed through Israel that night, and he said, when
I see the blood, I will pass over you. Purge me with hyssop,
that branch that put the blood over the door, and I shall be
clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. My need is for him to wash me. Verse 8, Peter said unto him,
Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me. Now, I love Simon Peter's
response. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord,
Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Wash me all
over. When he, Peter gives an appropriate
response that day. Verse 10, Jesus saith to him,
he that is washed. Now that's what I need to be
washed. Wash from my sins. Wash from
my filthiness. He that is washed. That's who
I want to be, don't you? He that is washed needeth not
save to wash his feet. is clean every wit
and you are clean but not all." Now hear what's being said, he
that is washed is clean every wit. You know what that means? That means if he washed you right
now, present tense, you are all together clean, pure, holy, without
sin. His blood has washed all your
sin away. It's gone. Clean ever with. You don't need to be washed again,
but there is something that needs to be washed. Your feet. Your
feet. You get your feet dirty every
day, don't you? As you walk in this world, you
defile your feet with your sin. Your sin. Your sin. Every day you get your feet dirty. Now, you're clean, every whit,
and that statement is in the perfect tense, perfectly completed,
never to be repeated. You are clean. I don't feel clean. I realize that. The only proof
you have that you are clean is his resurrection. You see, when
he was raised from the dead, you were declared to be justified,
clean, without sin before God. That's the standing of every
believer. But you also find every day you
get your feet dirty. He washed you. Hebrews 1.3 says, when he had
by himself purged, washed away, made not to be our sins. And I love the way it says he
did it by himself. He had no help from you in this.
He didn't ask you if you wanted to be washed, he washed you.
He didn't even ask you if you need to be washed, he washed
you. You didn't participate, you didn't help, you were washed,
if you want to call that participation, you were washed, but you didn't
help. He did it by himself. He didn't have his father helping
him. He said, why won't you help me? Why are you so far from me in
the words of my roaring? He said that in Psalm 22. He
had no help from his father. He did this by himself. He purged. Oh, he got the job
done. Absolutely clean, clean every
wit. but you still have these things
called your feet that get dirty every single day, and I find
that I need my feet washed every day. I sin every day, and I hate myself
for it every day, and I despise myself for it every day, and
he washes my feet every day. He never says, well, you've gone
too far this time. You've committed that sin again.
There's a limit. No, that's never said. He washes my feet willingly,
gloriously, every single day. day. Are we not taught to pray
every day, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. We're taught
to pray that every day. Why? Because you sin every day.
I've actually had somebody say to me, if the Lord's already
forgiven our sins, why do we have to confess them every day?
Because you commit them every day. That's why. And He washes our
feet every day. Turn with me to 1 John 1 for
just a moment. Hold your finger there. Verse 5, this then is the message which we have heard of him and
declare unto you." Picture John saying this to you
right now. This is it. This is what we've heard from
him and we're declaring to you. This is the message. That God
is light. And in him is no darkness at
all. If we say, That we have fellowship with
him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. I have fellowship with him and
yet I walk in the darkness of salvation by works and man's
religious superstition. My claims of fellowship are a
lie. They're not the truth. Verse seven, but if we walk in
the light, the light of the gospel, the light of how God justifies
sinners through the work of his son, the light of how all sin
is blotted out by what he did. If we walk in the light as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. We're not trying
to outdo each other. There's no competition involved.
Not trying to show how godly we are and how we've progressed. No, there's true fellowship.
Fellows in the same ship, saved by the grace of God, saved by
the blood of Christ. That's what fellowship is. Fellows
in the same ship. We really believe the gospel
is our standing before God. Jesus Christ is our standing
before God. Fellows in the same ship. If
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth
us. Present, tense, active. I need it right now. That's what
the foot washing is. It's the present cleansing of
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ right now. Now, I need it now,
and I have it now. He continues to wash my feet. Now, I was washed, but there is a
daily walk. And it's a daily walk with Him. Every day I walk by faith. Every
day I get my feet dirty. And every day as I confess my
sin, I agree with what he says about my sin. And this is so
important. You don't understand your sin.
I don't understand my sin. Not really. We don't understand
how evil it is, but we agree with what he says about it. That's
all I need to do. I'm a complete agreement with
what he says about my sin. Well, he is faithful and just
to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We have a daily walk. Christ
is our life every day. And if he's not, we were never
washed in the first place. If he's not, don't say anything
about being washed. I'm looking at him right now.
He's my life right now. He's my Lord right now. And He washes our feet every
day, willingly, graciously. He never says, no more. This is the last straw. No. Don't
you find this is true? He washes your feet every single
day, every moment of every day, every hour in every way. He continues to wash by feet. Verse 10, John 13. Jesus saith to him, he that is
washed needeth not save to wash his feet. His feet need to be
washed, his daily walk, but still he's clean every whit. And you
are clean, but not all, not all. For he knew who should betray
him, therefore said he, You're not all clean. Judas was never
cleansed. Judas was never saved. Judas
never looked to Christ. As a matter of fact, look what
he says down in verse 18. I speak not of you all. I know
whom I've chosen. but that the scripture may be
fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel
against me." See, Judas was never clean and Judas never had his
feet washed. He said, you're clean, but not
all. So after, verse 12, so after
they had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was
set down again, he said unto them, know ye what I've done to you? I don't believe they did. I don't
think they understood the impact of what had just taken place.
Know ye what I've done to you. And isn't that the gospel? It's
what He has done to us. That's it. That's it. It's what He has done to us. Know ye what I've done to you.
Verse 13. You call me master and Lord. And you say, well, for so I am. Now, not one time did the disciples
ever come up to the Lord Jesus cry and address him as Jesus,
not once. Now, when they spake of him to
others, they may have said, Jesus said this, or Jesus did that.
That's done in the scriptures. But coming to him personally,
not once did they ever call him Jesus. They called him master
and Lord. That's who he is. He's the master. He's the teacher. He's the Lord. We don't come into him in bold
familiarity as far as irreverent. He's the master. We know that.
He's the master. Don't ever, when you come into
the Lord's presence, don't say, Jesus, I want you. No. He's the
master. He's the Lord, and the Lord said,
you say well in speaking of me this way, for so I am. That is
who I am. The master and the Lord, the
Lord of creation. I'm the one who created the universe.
I'm the Lord of providence. I control everything that's taking
place. Right now, I am absolute Lord of all in absolute control. I'm the Lord of salvation. Salvation
is in my hand. It's up to me as to who is going
to be saved. It's not up to you. It's up to
me. His Lordship. And we bow down to that. And
we're glad it's that way because if it wasn't that way, nobody
would be saved. Understand that. This is the
door of mercy open wide for anybody who needs His mercy. You call
me Master and Lord. You say, well, for so am I. Verse 14. Your Lord and Master have washed
your feet. You also ought to wash one another's
feet. Now remember what this foot washing
is. It's him washing your dirty feet every day. Feet that you've got dirty. You've stepped into the mud. It's your fault. Everything about
it was wrong. You got your feet dirty. What'd
the Lord do? He washed your feet. All the time. Nonstop. Now, the fact that I've washed
your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet. Not
be self-righteous jerks. Look what they've done. Look
at the mess they've made. Look at what they've done. Look
at how they've fallen. Look how they've dirtied and
soiled themselves. No. The way the Lord washed your
feet, you wash theirs. Don't get some kind of high and
mighty attitude. Look what they've done. No. You wash their feet. as the Lord has washed your feet. Verse 15, for I have given you an example. Now, this thing of foot washing
there, Churches who make this an ordinance. Everybody gets
together and takes their shoes off and washes one another's
feet. And I mean, I wouldn't say don't do that. I mean, but
that's not the point. This is not like baptism or the
Lord's table. This is talking about something
to be practiced nonstop between the brethren. Not being morally
superior and looking down your nose at the mess your brothers
made. He's just like you. Your brother
gets his feet dirty every day just like you do. Your brother
hates himself for getting his feet dirty just like you do.
What's the Lord do with you? He washes your feet. You do the
same with your brother. I've given you an example. You
wash your feet, I mean you wash his feet with the gospel. You
wash his feet. I've given you this example. Has the Lord ever said to you,
you sin too greatly this time? No more. No. He hadn't done that. He hadn't
done that. Aren't you thankful? He hadn't
done that. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the servant's not greater than his Lord. You're the servant,
I'm the Lord. Neither is he that is sent greater
than him that sent him. If I do this, you do it. And then the Lord ends with this
statement. If you know these things, do
you know that what Christ accomplished makes you clean every wit? Do you understand that you're
standing before God is because He washed you? No other reason. He washed you. He didn't ask
you if you weren't washed. He washed you. You weren't even
born when He did it. He washed you. He washed away
your sins by His own blood. Do you understand that every
day you get your feet dirty, filthy, soiled? Do you understand that every
day the Lord of glory washes your feet? Don't think about
anybody else right now. Just think about your own dirty
feet. The Lord washes your dirty feet every single day. Don't you know that your brother
is no different than you? And you're no different than
him. You know that, don't you? Now if you know these things,
happy are you if you do them. Now that word happy, we're gonna
look at this down the road in a few weeks, but the word happy
is the word that is most often translated blessed. If you do
these things, you know why? Because he's blessed you to do
them. You can't say, well, I've figured this out. No, this is
his blessing. But I like the translation here.
Happy, happy. If you know these things, happy
are you if you do them. Let me tell you who a happy man
is. A foot washer. Now, if you're above that, you're
always going to be unhappy, mad, critical. Something's going to
be wrong. But if you're a foot washer,
you've taken the place of the lowest. You can't go down when
you're at the bottom already. And you are so blessed to be
able to wash your brother's feet in the gospel. If you know these
things, happy are you if you do them. I pray that the Lord
makes us all a bunch of happy people. Let's pray. Lord, we stand amazed at the
continual grace you give us. in washing our feet. Lord, they
need wash. We're so thankful that you continue
to wash our feet. We're so thankful for the sacrifice
of your son that made us clean every wit. And Lord, we ask in
Christ's name for supernatural, omnipotent grace to wash one
another's feet all the time. Bless this message for Christ's
sake, in his name we pray.