Sovereign Servant! Creator Serves Creature!

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, screaming at his men, but making no attempt to help them. The rider asked why he would not help the men, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!" The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, the next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, send someone to contact to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again." It was none other than George Washington.[i]

One of Jesus first followers, the disciple Jesus loved, was named John. Years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, John sat down to write a memoir of his travels with Jesus. We have been studying John’s account over this summer, and have seen some remarkable events and heard some challenging teaching. Today, as we move to the 13^th chapter of John’s biography, the context changes dramatically. Up until this point, John has focused on the public ministry of Jesus. He never really addressed Jesus birth, Matthew and Luke had already done that, so John has for the past 12 chapters focused on Jesus’ ministry and His life in the public eye.

When we get to chapter 13, however, we begin an extensive period of private teaching that took place between Jesus and His 12 closest followers – His disciples. It was the last night He would spend with them before His death.

John begins the passage with an amazing statement that has captured my heart over the last several months. Verse one reads,

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

If you have a New International Version of the Bible, that last phrase is rendered, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.” The Greek phrase used by John means, technically, “to the end.” It doesn’t mean that “He loved them to the end of His life,” what it implies is that “He loved them to the end of Himself, to the uttermost.” We might say, “to the fullest degree,” or “to the max.” That’s why the NIV translates it “He showed them the full extent of His love.”

This verse is really an introduction to the entire final portion to John’s book. All that will follow in the next 9 chapters is this demonstration of the full extent of His love. The events that immediately follow, that we will examine this morning, are perhaps the most intimate and dramatic of them all. Let me read the account to you from John’s pen to your ears: [Read John 13:1-17]

What would you do if you knew you would die a violent death in about 12 hours? Would you want to be alone in prayer? Record some final thoughts? Would you spend time with those you loved? What would you want to emphasize? Would you share recipes or gardening tips or would you focus on what’s important?

Jesus, the Bible says, knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and so he took off his cloak put a towel around His waist and washed the dirty feet of His disciples. Who’s going to waste time on that when the end is so near? Jesus. Why? Because He wanted to show them how important it is to humbly serve one another.

Philippians 2:3-8 tells us that we should "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself..."

He humbled himself. Why? To demonstrate His love. Verse 1 says He now showed them the full extent of His love. Jesus by His actions showed us that nothing indicates love more clearly than humble service to others.

How do we most often try to show the extent of our love? We buy extravagant gifts, we adorn our loved one with rings and other jewelry. Some have their love written our across the sky, or they spray paint, “Bill loves Judy” on a railroad underpass. We do all sorts of things to try to convince our lover that we truly love them, but do those things really “demonstrate” the full extent of our love? Is purchasing our lover a bigger diamond demonstrating our love to the end of ourselves, or just to the end of our budget?

Jesus showed the depth of His love to the very end of Himself – to the fullest measure, and He did it not by giving of His substance, but by giving of Himself. A wise poet once said that love does not mean thinking of your lover more than yourself, it means not thinking of yourself at all. Jesus does some extraordinary demonstrating of His love to His disciples.

I want you to notice, if you will, that two of Jesus’ followers are singled out in this story. One I Judas, the other is Peter.

Judas, we are told, had already determined to betray Jesus. Verse 2 says that he had already yielded his heart to Satan’s promptings, and betrayed the Lord. Imagine how he must have felt as Jesus came and knelt at his feet and began to poor the cool water over them, washing away the dust and dirt of the road. Imagine the gentle touch of the creator of the universe on the feet of the man who had already set into motion the events that would lead to His death. How could he have sat there and allowed it to happen? How could he not have been broken by this act of humility and servitude?

The answer is obvious – Judas’ heart was hard. Knowing what we do about Judas, we can imagine that as Jesus washed his feet, Judas thoughts would have been ones of contempt. “How typical – this man should be leading a revolution against the Romans, and here He is washing feet! What a waste!” In his contempt, he allowed Jesus to wash his feet, but his heart was not moved.

The other person singled out by John was Peter. As Jesus moved from man to man, washing their feet, Peter watched in horror. When Jesus came to his feet, Peter withdrew them from His Master’s grasp. “You will never wash my feet!” Why would Peter say that? Because of pride. It is the type of pride that is shown when someone refuses needed assistance because they want to be able to say that they did the job themselves. He would much rather wash Jesus feet than allow Jesus to wash his. He would rather die for Jesus than to allow Jesus to die for him.[ii]

For Jesus, it was a demonstration of His love for them. It was a visible, living parable of what it means to truly love. Love is not extravagance. Love is not giving, while hoping to get in return. Love is humbly pouring oneself out in humility and service to the other.

Jesus continued this same lesson by taking bread and a cup and explaining further how His ultimate love was going to be demonstrated. John did not include the account of the Last Supper in his memoirs because it was already well known, and celebrated by the followers of Jesus by the time he wrote his memoirs. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that part of the story.

Once again Jesus showed His disciples the full extent of His love. His body would be broken, His blood shed – He loved to the end of Himself.

Within 12 hours of this meal, He would once again demonstrate the full extent of His love, by humbling Himself and becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

The full demonstration of God’s love is shown in the humility and obedience and selfless life of Jesus. He loves you so much that he is willing to lay aside the glory of heaven, wrap himself in humanity, and come and wash away the dirt of your life. His body was broken, and His blood shed for you. He died a cruel death because He would have rather died for you than to live forever without you.

But you could refuse it. Maybe your heart is hard, and as you hear of Jesus’ love for you, you respond with contempt, as Judas did. “Humpf! Things aren’t going the way I thought they’d go! I’m mad at God!” Judas allowed Jesus to pour the water over his feet, but he would not allow Jesus to cleanse his heart. He gathered with the true followers of Jesus, but did not follow himself. And you can reject His cleansing touch, too, even as He goes to the cross for you.

You could, like Peter, respond with pride. “I can make it on my own! I can earn my own way, thank you very much!” And by refusing to be cleansed by Him, you can have no part in Him. Here His warning today, don’t allow your self-sufficiency keep you from knowing the love of Jesus. Allow Him to cleanse away all the sin and guilt that separates you from God.

Humbly submit to Him, allow Him to gently and completely wash away the dirt and stain of your life – allow Him to demonstrate to you the full extent of His love.

[i] (Today in the Word, March 6, 1991.)