Supper At Simon's House

Q: What does the Bible say about foot washing?

Foot washing symbolizes humility and service among Christians, as exemplified by Jesus washing His disciples' feet. In John 13:1-17, foot washing is depicted as a profound act of humility by Jesus, who, as Lord and Master, chose to wash the feet of His disciples. This act is not merely a ceremonial practice but represents a deeper spiritual truth about serving one another in love. Jesus emphasized that if He, the sovereign Lord, took the position of a servant, His followers should also be willing to serve each other in humility. This act serves as an example rather than an ordinance, reminding Christians that true leadership in the kingdom of God is marked by servanthood and selflessness.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our Passover Lamb?

Jesus is our Passover Lamb, as He fulfilled the sacrificial system and bore our sins through His death. The concept of Jesus as our Passover Lamb is rooted in the fulfillment of Old Testament sacrificial practices that pointed to Him. In John 13 and throughout the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the Lamb without spot or blemish, echoing the requirements of the Passover sacrifice in Exodus 12. Just as the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt by the blood of the lamb, believers are delivered from sin and death through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. Paul affirms this in 1 Corinthians 5:7, stating that Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us. This signifies that through His blood, we are redeemed and reconciled to God.

Q: Why is humility important for Christians?

Humility is vital for Christians as it reflects the character of Christ and promotes service and unity within the Church. Humility is essential in the Christian life because it mirrors the heart of Christ, who demonstrated ultimate humility by washing His disciples' feet. In John 13, He teaches that no servant is greater than his master, indicating that if He serves in humility, His followers must also adopt the same attitude. Humility fosters genuine relationships among believers, as it breaks down barriers of pride and entitlement. In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul exhorts believers to do nothing out of selfish ambition but to consider others better than themselves, promoting a community where love and service flourish. In embracing humility, Christians display the love of Christ and embody the essence of the Gospel.

Now, I would like for you to
open your Bibles to the book of John chapter 13. John 13. Tonight, I'm going to
bring a message from Isaiah 42. If you want to prepare your heart
for the service study tonight you may read Isaiah 42. I'll be speaking tonight from
Isaiah chapter 42. Now, let's read the first 17
verses of John 13. John 13. Now, before the feast of the
Passover, When the Lord 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 to the end. And supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,
to betray him, And 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 pouredeth
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, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? And 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 teeth. And Jesus answered him, If I
wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. And Simon Peter saith
unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also wash my hands and my
head. And Jesus saith unto him, He
that is washed needeth not, save to wash his feet. But he's clean
everywhere, and you're clean, but not all of you. For he knew
who would betray him, and therefore said he, You're not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments
and was set down again, he said to them, Know ye what I've done
to you? You call me master and lord,
and you say, well, so I am. I am your master, I'm your lord.
If I then, your lord and master, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example not an ordinance, an example,
that you should do as I've done to you. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, truly, truly, I say unto you, the servant is not
greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than
he that sent him. Now, if you know these things, happy are you if you do them.
Now, I preach from this passage of scripture. several times,
lots of times. And I'll probably preach from
it several times more, because to me it's very meaningful, for
me personally and for you. And the second reason why I preach
from it several times and plan to preach from it this morning
is because I believe I have some understanding of what is taught
here. Now, let's go back to verse 1. It begins this way. Now, before
the feast of the Passover, the first thing mentioned here is
the Passover. This occurrence was two days
before the Passover. What happened here, this is important,
was two days before the Passover. But the Passover feast is mentioned,
and you're familiar with the Passover. Everybody is, aren't
you? The Passover feast is a memorial. It was instituted in Egypt as
a memorial of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt. When God came to
Moses, he said, I will pass through the land of Egypt tonight, and
I'll kill the firstborn in every home. Now, my people, Israel,
My people are to take a lamb, select a lamb, carefully select
a lamb, a lamb. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
as a sheep before his shearers is done, he opened not his mouth,
a lamb. A lamb, the firstling of the
flock, one of the best lambs, of the first year in the prime
of life, a lamb without spot or blemish. And put it up for
four days and observe it and make sure there's not anything
wrong with that lamb. And then you're to slay the lamb.
And you're to roast it with fire. And you're to eat the lamb, all
of it. If a household's not big enough
for a lamb, then two houses go together. But eat it all. Leave
none of it to the morning. Take the blood and put on the
doorpost. both sides in the lymph. And
when I see the blood, I'll pass over you." Now, Christ Jesus
knew that his hour was come to be our Passover. Christ, our Passover, the sacrifice
for us. And that occurrence in Egypt,
Israel was in Egypt, in bondage, in slavery, in darkness, helpless,
utterly, absolutely hopeless and helpless to be delivered
from that slavery. God must deliver them. And God
will deliver them through sacrifice. God will deliver them through
blood. God will deliver them through the innocent dying for
the guilty. And Christ is our Lamb, knowing
that his hour has come, that he should die as the Lamb of
God. He's the firstling. He's the
first fruits of them that slept. He's the first begotten from
the dead. He's the only begotten son of
God. He's a lamb without spot or blemish. He did no sin. There
was no guile found in him. He was without sin. He was observed
for 33 years on this earth, tested by God, tested by the law, tested
by men, tribe, harassed, despised, man of sorrows, acquainted with
greed, tested by Satan. And there was no fault found
in him. And he was taken to the cross, and there roasted. He cried, I thirst, burning with
fever and fire and judgment, soul and body, under the wrath
of God for our sin. And he died. And with his own
blood he went not into the holy place made with hands as the
high priest of old, but in heaven itself. And there on the mercy
seat of glory, he made an effectual, perfect atonement for all his
people. Having loved his own, he loved them to the end. It's
not our love for him that sent him to the cross, it's his love
for us. Having loved his own. Having
loved whom? The love of our Lord is infinite,
indescribable. everlasting, but it is particular. It is particular. It's unchangeable,
having loved his own. And I don't hesitate to preach
that to this world. If you don't want the love of
Christ, there's no reason for a person to complain if he doesn't
have it, is there? If you want the love of Christ,
it's yours. But if you're not interested in the love of Christ,
then don't complain if you don't have it. Having loved his own,
he loved them to the end. And supper being ended. Now what
supper is this? This is not the Lord's Supper.
I know that there's a lot of ritualism connected with, people
connect a lot of ritualism with the Lord's Supper. I read recently
about how the Pope washes certain cardinals' feet at the observance
of the Lord's Supper, and there are some churches that have the
Lord's Supper and have a foot washing. But the washing of the
disciples' feet didn't occur at the Passover. It was two days
before the Passover. This supper is not when they
met together to take the Passover. This supper was in Simon's house. Let me show you that. Turn back
to Matthew 26. Matthew chapter 26. You see, the Lord's table
is to be observed in simplicity, without calling attention to
ourselves. The attention, the interest, the worship, all is
on Christ. His body, His blood. Let nothing
interfere with that. This do in remembrance of me.
He took the bread and break it. and said, take, eat, this is
my body broken for you. He took the wine, poured it,
blessed it, said, take, drink, this is my blood shed for you.
And there's nothing else to be added to that. This doing remembrance
of me. We're not to adjourn then and
start washing feet and doing a lot of other things connected
with the Lord's table. It's a totally different supper.
Matthew 26. Matthew 26. It came to pass, verse 1, when
Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,
You know that after two days is the feast of the Passover,
two days from now, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assemble together the chief
priests and the scribes and the elders of the people under the
palace of the high priest, which is called Caiaphas. And they
consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him.
But they said, not on the feast day. They were planning all this
two days before the Passover. Not on the feast day, lest there
be an uproar among the people. Now, when Jesus was in Bethany,
in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman,
having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, poured it
on his head as he sat at meek. This is the supper we're reading
about in John 13. This is the supper. Read on down now, verse 14. Then one of the twelve, called
Judas Iscariot, left that supper and went to the chief priest
and said unto them, Now what will you give me, that I deliver
him unto you? And they covenanted with him
for thirty pieces of silver." This is where the Lord was in
Simon's house two days before the Passover, eating with his
disciples, when the woman came and anointed his head, and when
Judas Iscariot left there two days prior to the whole thing,
and went to the chief priest and made plans to betray our
Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 2. And this supper, this
supper in Simon's house, that's the title of this message, Supper
at Simon's. And supper being ended, they
finished eating. Not the Lord's table now. This
is not the Passover. This is two days before the Passover.
They were having a supper together. And supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son
to betray." This is when this whole thing was concocted and
purposed and planned. Judas is going to betray him
later. Jesus knowing that the Father
had given all things into his hands. Do you understand that?
Do I understand that fully? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb, but he's the sovereign Lamb. Our Lord Jesus Christ is
a Lamb that the Father has sent and put into the hands of wicked
men to do with as they please. But what they do to him, and
what they're pleased to do with him, and what their wicked hearts
devise, is what the Father decreed and determined before the foundation
of the world. In other words, he's the sovereign.
God has put all things into his hands. You see, he knows it's
time for him to die. He died the appointed Savior,
the appointed death, at the appointed time for the appointed people
in the appointed way. Nothing happened in the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ that he didn't know, that he didn't
design, that he didn't decree, that he didn't determine, that
he didn't purpose, that he didn't know was going to happen. When
Peter said, Lord, these others might lead you, but I won't,
he said, you're going to deny me three times. He knew these
things. See, all things are in his hands.
That's what it says back here in John chapter 3. It says the
Father loves the Son and hath given all things into his hands.
Just for a moment, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. Christ. Our Lord is never helpless. He
said, no man takes my life from me, I lay it down. Never look upon him as helpless. He's not helpless, he's determined. He's not helpless, he's submissive,
Tom. That's the word I'm looking for.
He's submissive to the Father. He knows what they're going to
do. He knows what they're going to say. In 1 Corinthians 15,
look at verse 24. Then cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule, all authority, all power. For
he must reign till he puts all enemies under his feet. And the
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death, for he hath put all
things under his feet. When he saith all things are
put under him, it is manifest that the Father is accepted,
which did put all things under him. Everything is under the
feet of Christ, under the control of Christ, under the dominion
of Christ, except his Father. That's what I'm saying. Verse
3 of John 13, go back to the text, Jesus knowing that the
Father had given him all things into his hands. That's the reason
when he hung that cross. And the thief next to him said,
Lord, you're not going to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
Lord, remember me. The Lord Jesus, acting as the
high priest, as the king, as the sovereign, as the ruler of
heaven and earth with all authority, gave him everlasting life, because
he purposed to give it to him. That was no accident. Everything
is designed by God, knowing that all things And knowing, verse
3, that he came from God and he was going back to God. Now
watch this, verse 4. He riseth, he riseth from supper,
and laid aside his garments. The men in those days wore an
undergarment, sort of a tight-fitting undergarment. Then they wore
robes. And our Lord wore a robe, a seamless robe, a robe for which
The soldiers gambled while he died, but he laid aside this
robe and he took a large towel, a huge towel, and wrapped it
around him. And then he went over and poured
water into a basin, and he brought it and began to wash the disciples'
feet and to wipe their feet with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Now, there was a custom in those days. that when you went to a
person's home, when you came in the door, there was a servant
there. It was the most lowly task, considered
to be the most lowly, lowly task, washing somebody's dirty feet. But when you came in before the
supper was served, you came into the house and you'd take off
your shoes, the servant would be waiting at the door with a
basin of water and you'd lay aside your shoes and you'd stand
there and put your feet into the water, into the basin of
water, and the servant would wash your feet carefully, and
then take them out of the water and take the towel he had around
him and dry them and take the other foot, and then you'd go
on and the next person would come in. Well, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Sovereign Lord and Master and King of heaven and
earth, King of kings, Lord of lords, After the supper was over,
he went over and got a towel, took off his robe and put that
towel around, came and knelt at John's feet and started washing
them. Then he went to James and he
went on down to Luke and washed his feet. Then he came to Peter. It says here in verse 6, he came
to Simon Peter and Peter said to him, Peter just pulled his
feet away from the Lord. The Lord reached for his feet,
he pulled them away. I know this is what happened, he just pulled
them away. And he said, Lord, do you wash my feet? Do you wash my feet? A servant does it fine, or maybe
one of these other fellows do it, but do you wash my feet?
You, the Lord of heaven and earth, wash the feet of a sinful man
like me. I understand What Peter's saying
here, I don't admire his questioning what the Lord's doing. I'd have
been totally shocked, wouldn't you? He was shocked. He was stunned. I don't admire
him for doing this, but I do understand. We were down in Mexico
last year, up at the ranch. And these people who have this
ranch have a huge coffee plantation. They have a coffee drying place
as big as this auditorium. It's as large as this auditorium. It's 80 feet long and 50, 60
feet wide where they dry coffee, right beside the house. The house
over here and the coffee, the place where they dry coffee.
Concrete slab, huge concrete slabs here. And we were sitting
on the porch one day, and I was down there during the dry season,
but once in a while it rained. And we were sitting on the porch,
and there was just two men out here drying this coffee. They
had it scattered all over, about an inch deep, half inch deep
to an inch, half inch deep, all over that place. Simple square yards of coffee
out drying, and it had been drying for a day or two. They'd take
it up at night, put it away and put it back out the next morning,
but it was out all day. We were sitting there, and we
looked over here, and the sky was black. I'm telling you black. rain was coming. And if it rains
on that coffee, it's just all start all over again. So we saw
those fellas frantically get their little homemade boards
where they start scooping it up, their brooms, just two of
them. And Milton, and I, Walter, Doris, and Betty, and Claudia,
six of us, and the lady who owns the the ranch, and she'd gone
out of her way to impress us in every way and take care of
us, and we were honored guests. She even flew a Kentucky flag
on the flagpole in our honor. Well, we looked out there, and
Milton said, boys, let's go. And even the girls, Doris, Betty,
Claudia, Milton, Walt, and I all got brooms and stuff, and she
was horrified. The lady of the house was horrified. She grabbed my broom out of my
hand. I couldn't speak Spanish, but I said, Carmelita, I'm going
to help. They've got to get this coffee up before it rains. And
we worked, and we got it all up before the Sprinkle King got
it in sacks and everything. Went down and sat down, and she
was just absolutely shocked. She couldn't believe. She couldn't. You remember that? She was stunned,
embarrassed. She read the face that her honored
guest from America should have to sweep coffee. And I understand
when our Lord came to Peter to wash his feet, he just was shocked.
He said, you're not going to wash my feet? And verse 7, the
Lord Jesus said, now Peter, what I do now, what I do, what I do,
you don't understand now. Oh, I wish, I wish I could get
that through this head right here. There's a whole lot. I
do not know that he was damned. I do not understand. I talked
about that in the Sunday school class this morning, about trials
and troubles and difficulties and whatever. The providence
of God, do you understand it? I believe it, I don't understand
it. You see, God moves in mysterious ways, mysterious ways, his wonders
to perform. He plants his footsteps on the
sea, he rides upon the stars. And what I do now, you don't
understand, Peter. You just don't understand now.
Now, he said, you shall. You'll know hereafter. And you
and I, there's a whole lot we don't know, there's a whole lot
we don't understand, but I'll tell you what we need to do.
Learn to walk in his revealed Word, and in his revealed will,
and take this race one foot, one step, one day at a time. trusting our Lord, believing
him, what he does is right, what he does is wise. It may not be
according to my plans, it may seem to me to be very foolish, but God's on the throne. And
I mean not only in our prosperity, but in our poverty, not only
in our health, but in our sickness, not only in life, but in death,
not only in happiness, but in loneliness, God's on the throne.
absolutely rainy. He sat there, here's the master
sitting there at the feet of a disciple about to wash them,
and Peter says, you washed my feet? He said, what I'm doing,
you don't understand, but you will. So why don't you just submit
and wait? Submit and wait. Well, old Peter, you know, he
just You know, he's like us. Verse 8, he said, you'll never
wash my feet. You'll never. Now he behaved
with humility before, didn't he? I admired his shop and his
humility. But now he's acting rashly now.
Acting foolish. Oh, so foolish. You'll never
wash my feet. And then our Lord said to him,
Peter, if I don't wash you, You have no part with me. If I don't wash you, you have
no part. Now, he didn't say here, if I don't wash your feet, you
have no part with me. He said, if I don't wash you,
you have no part with me. If I don't wash you. You see,
my friends, he meant here with the blood. There's two things
here. There's the washing of the feet
and there's the washing of the soul. You got to understand that. You got to understand that. Peter
said, you'll never wash my feet. Christ said, Peter, if I don't
wash you, if I don't wash you, you don't have any part. You're
not part of me. You're not part of the kingdom.
You're not part of the covenant. You're not part of the kingdom
of God. You're not part of the family of God. You have no part
with me in anything if I don't wash you. You see, there's a
washing of regeneration. and the cleansing of the blood
of Christ. I love the washing of the blood, washed in the blood
of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission. I don't mind preaching the blood.
It's the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. I don't mind preaching
the purifying and the washing and the cleansing by his precious
blood. So be it. That's our hope. our
foundation. Christ loved us and washed us
from our sins in his own blood. I've got to wash you. Wash you
from the sole of your feet to the top of your head. I've got
to wash you. Wash you in the blood. Are you
washed in the blood of the Lamb? If I don't wash you, you have
no part with me. Wash you. You know, Peter knew how to err,
but he knew how to repent. I thought he knew how to err,
but he knew how to repent. I see him so often speaking when
he ought not speak, but generally he apologized, didn't he? He knew how to repent. When Christ
reprimanded him, that's a sign of grace. That's a sign of grace. Here's a man, and he really doesn't
understand, and he speaks his peace, but when he's corrected,
he takes that correction. When he's rebuked, he takes that
rebuke. That's grace. It's the fellow that stays obstinate
and rebellious that's got no grace. It's not so much Peter's
always doing things he shouldn't do and saying things he shouldn't
say, but he always came back. He always repented, he always
was broken, he always, always came down and he said to, look
at verse 9, and he said, Lord, not my feet only, but wash my
hands and my head. Now if we're going to talk about
me not having any part with you, I'm stubborn, but I ain't that
stubborn. We're going to talk about me
not being in your kingdom. You know I love you, he said,
on another occasion. But our Lord said, if I don't
wash you, you have no part with me. And Peter said, well, don't
just wash my feet. My feet walk in iniquity, but wash my hands,
because my hands do things they shouldn't do, and wash my head,
because I think things I shouldn't think. Wash me, my head and my hands
and my feet. I think evil, I act in evil,
I walk in places I shouldn't walk. Now the thing that helped
me most on that is when I was down in the, I saw this personally
down in the Virgin Islands, they still have public baths. And
people, back in these days they had public baths were the thing,
that was it. Today we have three bedrooms
and two or three baths. But back in their homes, they
didn't have baths in their homes. They'd get a towel and their
sandals and their robe and they'd go down the street to the public
bath and they'd take a bath. Like when I was a kid, we used
to go to the creek and take a bath, take a bar of soap and go to
the creek with a towel. And then when they came home
from the bath and came in the house, they were clean. But their
feet were dirty. They'd walk from the bath to
the house. So they washed their feet. And this is what our Lord
said. He that's washed, he is washed clean. Only needs to wash his feet.
And that has to be done daily. We're walking through this world. Figuratively, our feet have to
do with our contact with this world. our contact with our own
sinful nature. And Christ has washed us on Calvary's
cross. He put away our sins. He died
for our sins. He made us accepted in the beloved. He justified us with the Father.
But he has to forgive me daily for my sins. I have to be chastened. I have to be taught. I have to
be forgiven. As he taught us to pray, Father,
forgive us our sins every day. And so I'm cleansed once for
all. But also, I'm daily forgiven,
aren't you? Ah, we're daily forgiven of our
sins. Now, read on. He that's washed, he needeth
not but to wash his feet. He's clean every whit. Boy, that's
a good word. Every whit. That means all over,
inside and out. Every whit. That's a word we
don't use now, but we're clean every whit. You're complete in
Christ. Sins are put away. Isn't that
good news? I don't have any sins. They're pardoned. They're forgiven.
They're put away. And you're clean, talking to these twelve
disciples. Now, he looks at all twelve of them. And so he's talking
about he's washing the feet of the disciples, having loved his
own, Charlie. He loved them. He's washing their
feet. He's not out on the street looking for volunteers to let
him wash their feet. He's washing the feet of his
disciples. And he said, you're all clean. In this sense, you're
cleansed with the blood. He hadn't even died yet, but
they were as good as cleansed. What Christ promises is as sure
as what Christ has done. Abraham was washed in the blood
of Christ 2,000 years before Christ came. And he said to these
disciples, you're all clean, but not all of you. Verse 11, For he knew who would
betray him, Therefore he said, that's why he said, you're not
all clean. Judas was not clean. Emphatically and plainly, Christ
didn't die for him. He wasn't washed. You know what
it says, Jim? You're not washed. Judas is not washed. He's not
clean. There were a lot of them who
were clean. There were a lot of them who were washed. He probably
washed Judas' feet, he was there. But what our Lord is saying to
these disciples, he said, Peter, if I don't wash you, you're not
having a part with me. All right, wash my head, my hands, my feet,
and everything. No, this is not the type of washing
I'm talking about. I'm talking about the blood.
He that's washed is washed, and he's cleaned everywhere by the
blood. I need only to wash his feet,
daily forgiveness. But you're not all clean. You know, thank God he has cleansed
us. Let's not dwell on for whom Christ
did not die, let's dwell on for whom Christ did die. But you're
washed. And that's our hope, that's our
confidence. Christ paid for our sin, we're washed. And he'll
daily, he'll daily wash our feet. So, verse 12, now let's get on
along here. So after he'd washed their feet,
he washed their feet, all of them. And he had taken his garments
and put his robe back on. He sat down again and he said
to them, Do you know what I've done to you? Well, of course they did. They
knew what, they didn't know why. They knew what, but they didn't
know why. So he's going to tell them why. He said, now you call me Master
and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. I am your Master,
I'm your Lord, I'm the King. There's no way, there's no way
that you can even estimate how high I am, how glorious I am. I'm the Master, Lord. You say,
well, so I am. You can't give Him too much glory.
And I do caution, I do caution, I caution myself and I caution
you about the name of the Lord. His name is so important. It's so important that we reverence
His name. And I don't mean as a form or
ritual, but I mean as an experience. I was listening to a preacher
on television last night and he kept just callously and callously
saying, My Lord, honey, don't you see what I'm saying? My Lord.
That's taking God's name in vain. I don't care how you spell it.
It's taking God's name in vain. His name. A name above every
name. And this is no problem now. Your
wife's name is precious to you. Your mother's name. The name of your son or daughter. or dear friend, you're my friend,
I'm not going to use your name as a byword, or use your name
as a swear word, or use your name in a derogatory manner. And the
same thing with our Lord Jesus Christ. Don't call him Jesus,
call him the Lord Jesus. He's Lord. You wouldn't call
President Bush George, would you? Maybe somebody would, but
it wouldn't be right. My dad, I never called my dad
John. I never could understand a young
man or a young woman calling their dad or mother by their
first name. That's no respect. There's some titles do this thing,
you know, of dad or mom or pop or something, you know. And the
Lord Jesus, He's the Lord. You call me master, call Him
master. You call me Lord, call him Lord."
He said, I am. I am. If I then, your master
and your Lord, have washed your feet, you realize what he's done? The condescension, the humility,
the Lord Jesus Christ laying aside his robe and down on his
knees in front of those disciples, washing their feet, the condescension,
the love, the humility. Well, he said, if I do that for
you, you ought to do the same thing for one another. How can
any of us entertain any thoughts of arrogance? Who are we? How can we have a
spirit of pride? and arrogance and haughtiness
in the face of such humility right here. That's what Christ
is showing his disciples. He's showing them that in the
family of God, in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, there's
no big and little. There's no important and less
important. There's no great and small. We're
brethren and sisters. We're family. We're all servants. You know that servant that sat
at the door washing the feet? If another servant back in the
kitchen came through and said, won't you wash mine too? He'd
say, okay, I don't mind. He doesn't feel any condescension
at all because they're both servants. And you and I, we don't condescend. Christ condescends, but we don't.
We just do what we ought to do. Our Lord Jesus Christ came down,
but to do a menial task and the task of a servant and to show
humility, we're not coming down at all. We're just what we are. Isn't that right? So that's why,
how can we show, how can we be selfish? How can we be self-centered? How can we be arrogant? How can
you not show submission? love and kindness and grace and
oneness and do the menial task. You know, a fellow said one time,
in most places everybody wants the flower but nobody wants to
sweep it. If I, your master, if I, your
Lord, have condescending, condescended in humility and love to take
the place of a servant and wash your feet, you ought to do the
same. I've given you an example. This
is not an ordinance. This is an example. It's just
an example. This is not a ritual. This is
not something you to perform. in the sense of finding acceptance
with God or to show your religion and show your humility. This
is an example for you to carry out in every aspect of life. It's not just washing. Actually,
we don't wash feet because everybody in here's feet's clean, I'm sure.
All of you. You wouldn't come out to church
with dirty feet, would you? You didn't walk here this morning
anyway. You rode in that automobile. There are other menial tasks
that we can perform that people do need. There are other services
to render. That's what he's talking about.
Share, giving, helping. Nothing in the kingdom of God
is beneath any of us. Actually, I think it's an honor
for us to do anything for one another. I feel honored to do
it instead of humble to do it. Verily I say unto you, the servant
is not greater than his Lord. He that has sinned is not greater
than he that sinned him. So if I've done this for you,
I'm just giving you an example, I'm showing you. If they hated
me, they'll hate you. If they persecute me, they'll
persecute you. If I've shown you this condescension
and humility and love, you ought also to do the same thing on
a daily basis in every way. It's not a matter of form, it's
experience. You know, the Apostle Paul kept
saying, I'm nothing. They said, oh, I'm of Peter,
I'm of Apollos, I'm of Paul. He said, no, no, brethren, we're
nothing. We're nothing. I'm not one whit
behind the Apostle Peter, but I'm nothing. We're nothing but
ministers by whom you hear the gospel, and you're nothing. Now watch verse 17. If you know
these things, now here's the switch. A lot of people read
this and they can, like I just read
it, I can give you an exposition on it. I've read it before. I
could, without a note, I could really close my Bible and give
you an exposition on this. Because I've read it so much
and studied it so much that I know what's said next, quote the whole
thing. That's not going to help me.
I'm going to have to know it in here, not here. It's the same thing with any
precious truth in this book. It's not knowing it here. I'm
a Calvinist. Well, that could be good news
or bad news. That's right. I know the truth. That could be good news or bad
news. It could be good news if you know it in here. It could
be bad news if you know it here, because he that knoweth to do
his master's will and doesn't do it shall be beaten with many
strikes. Isn't that right? So this is
what he's saying. If you know these things, if
you know, if you've experienced, if you've laid hold of with your
heart this condescension, this humility, this stripping, this
humbling, if you have become as a little child. If you don't,
you're not going into the kingdom of God. Well, I know men are
supposed to be. I know that too. He didn't say
if you know to become as a little child. He said you have to become
as one. If you know these things, you're
happy. Happy. You know who's happiest
in this congregation right here? I'll tell you who's happiest.
I'll tell you who the happiest person is, is the fervent. The
person who does things for others. He's the happiest person. Because
my Lord said, it's more blessed to give than to receive. He said the happiest guy is the
people, the guys who flock around and praise him and elevate him
and speak good of him and The guy that's got the most, oh no,
no, no, no, no. The guy that's always getting
the gift, no, no. The happy person is the person
giving, serving, helping, encouraging, comforting. That's plum happiness.
It is. It's just to give somebody a
boost. Boy, that's happy. Give somebody
a hand to go and meet a need. and know you've met the need
and to do it without fanfare, just to do it and have that joy
and happiness of knowing, not bragging about it at all, but
just knowing that God used you to help somebody along the way.
If you know these things now, happy are you if you do it.

Supper At Simon's House

What does the Bible say about foot washing?

How do we know Jesus is our Passover Lamb?

Why is humility important for Christians?

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Supper At Simon's House

What does the Bible say about foot washing?

How do we know Jesus is our Passover Lamb?

Why is humility important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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