January 19, 2025
Morning Service

1Co 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

            Paul made a very bold challenge to us, followed by an even bolder statement.  “Watch me and my life and do what you see me do as I strive to follow Jesus.”  Are you confident enough in your walk of faith that you would make that statement?  Very few of us are, including myself.  Jesus was Paul’s example to follow and He is our example as we will see today.  We must understand something about Jesus though.  He is perfect, has always been perfect and will always be perfect; perfection is one of His many character traits.  Paul, in imitating Christ, never reached Jesus’ level of perfection and neither will we.  Sin is one of our many character traits and it will always hinder us from reaching that goal.  We can never be perfect just like Jesus, but we can imitate Paul’s example for us on how to follow Jesus faithfully and successfully.  We must aim for perfection, doing the very best that we can do to follow our Lord’s example.  To do this we must get to know our Savior by entering into the scriptures, watching how Jesus acts, and listen to the lessons He is teaching us.  Today we look at an event that often gets overlooked, but in fact can have a huge impact on our journey to “imitate Christ.”

 To reset the timeline here in chapter 13, we are in the middle of Passion Week which begins with the Triumphal Entry and ends with Jesus resurrected from the grave.  Jesus knows His time is short and He is filling each moment with teaching that is vital to our growth like this one.  The scene is an intimate one with Jesus separating Himself from the crowds and sharing a meal with His disciples in the upper room.  He knows this is the last time they will all be together before His arrest that will set them all into chaos.  What is Jesus feeling in this moment?  He has invested three years into the lives of these men whom He loves very much.  What could He do to impact them in this moment to show His love to them?

 

Joh 13:1-2 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.  (2)  And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him,

            First as we start notice here in verse 2, “the devil” had put into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus.  No one is exempt from his temptation powers as we see here that even Judas, having saw all that he had over the last three years yields to his lies.  Though the devil is tempting him, he is a part of God’s plan in all of this as it has been prophesied in the Book of Psalms:

 

Psalms 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

            I think we all struggle with this about Judas.  We want to judge him for his actions, but we know God is using him in this moment to fulfill scripture.  He is the Potter and we are the clay.  Now to the heart of our lesson today.

 

John 13:3-5 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, (4) rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.  (5)  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

            Take note of what John is telling us in verse 3 (reread).  Jesus is aware that He is not just the Leader or Rabbi of this group, but He KNOWS He is the Son of God and has come for a purpose.  He left the comforts of heaven and became as one of us His creation.  He did not come as many thought as a conquering warrior to lead Israel to the defeat of the Romans, but as a Servant.  He has been very transparent about His mission as He declared in Matthew 20:

 

Mat 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  (26)  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  (27)  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

          The washing of a guest’s feet was a very common courtesy for a host to provide as with open sandals their feet always were in need of a cleaning.  This service was most often performed by the lowest of the servants.  Many looked at it as a very menial task that they themselves were above doing.  Actions speak louder than words.  Jesus was looking for a way to show the disciples how much He loved them and to set an example for them to demonstrate how they were to love each other and He found it in the washing of their feet.  Jesus demonstrates through His actions that there is no act of service that was below Him, as the Son of God, showing us to look upon service to others in the same way.  His actions display His words for us showing us what it means to become great in God’s eyes; to serve others.  To follow Jesus and imitate Him means our eyes cannot be on only ourselves, but we must have the heart of a servant (like Jesus) and look at ways to serve/love others that are in need.

            Peter now speaks out as he is looking at this act of servitude from the wrong direction.  He sees himself as unworthy to be served by his Master.

 

Joh 13:6-11 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"  (7)  Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."  (8)  Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."  (9)  Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!"  (10)  Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."  (11)  For He knew who would betray Him; therefore, He said, "You are not all clean."

            Peter was shocked to picture the One he had proclaimed to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” washing his feet.  I understand that, but Jesus here is proving a point through His actions.  He also shows the spiritual cleansing that this is representing.  As we walk through life we encounter a certain amount of defilement (the things we hear, see, say and sometimes do) and we need a “spiritual cleansing.” We are shown here that after we defile ourselves in some way, we don’t have to start over and be baptized again, but simply have our feet washed.  We do this by following the process of forgiveness given in I John.

 

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            This is the process Jesus is referring to as our “spiritual washing of our feet. “Jesus now summarizes this teaching for us revealing the impact He hopes His actions will take upon us.

 

John 13:12-20So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?  (13)  You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.  (14)  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  (15)  For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.  (16)  Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  (17)  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.  (18)  "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'HE WHO EATS BREAD WITH ME HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.'  (19)  Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.  (20)  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

            Jesus is our example to follow and if He stooped and washed our feet, we should be likewise willing to serve our brothers and sisters.  What does that mean now to us?  We can be hearers only and not apply this command to our lives OR we can be DOERS of the Word and live out imitating the servitude of our Lord.  How do I put that into practice?  Keep your ears and eyes open to those around you.  When you see an opportunity to serve, not matter how big or small, step out and do it.  Jesus said in verse 17:

 

“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” The blessing comes from your actions of serving.

            What would Jesus do?  What did Jesus do?  He came to serve and love others inviting them into the kingdom through His words and actions.  To imitate Jesus’ example, we must be willing to do the same;  humbly investing in others shining the Light of Jesus through the heart of servitude.  Not because you have to, but because you want to be more like Jesus.  WWYD, what will you do?