BY AL BUCHANAN
I’d like to begin the sermon today by asking you to turn to John chapter 4. A statement we’re going to be reading here that Jesus the Christ made that is significant and one we need to take note of. John 4 and in verse 23, He states,
John 4:23. “But the hour is
coming, and now is [He said],
So with His presence on the earth, changes were going to begin for those who worship God.
John 4:23. “But the hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Now I’d like for us to turn right now—hold your place here and—turn to Mark chapter 7, Mark 7. Jesus Christ is addressing certain individuals here who were practicing a worship of God. And I’d like to take note of what He says to them. Mark 7 verse 1.
Mark 7:1. Then the Pharisees
and some of the scribes came together to Him [to Christ], having come from
Or in a ceremonial way according to that which was prescribed by certain ones.
Mark 7:3b. holding [it
said.] the tradition of the elders.
So it was common practice by the Pharisees and all of the Jews to follow these traditions of the elders, it says.
And then verse 4.
Mark 7:4. When they come from the marketplace,
they do not eat unless they wash. And
there are many other things which they have received and hold, like washing of cups, pitchers, copper
vessels, and couches.
So they had many things, many hoops that they had to jump through in this process.
Verse 5,
Mark 7:5. Then the Pharisees
and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the
tradition of the elders,
So very obviously they were not following these practices, these traditions of the elders.
Mark 7:5b. but [they] eat
bread with unwashed hands?”
In this procedure that was required.
Mark 7:6. He answered and
said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
And this is from Isaiah.
Mark 7:6b. ‘This people
honors Me with their lips, but their
heart is far from Me.
So they had a form of worship of God. They honored God with their lips, but He said their heart was far from Him.
Mark 7:7. And in vain they
worship Me,
So this was the very Being who was speaking to them then who inspired these words to be written and He said,
Mark 7:7. And in vain they
worship Me, teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men.’
So back here in John 4, He is saying that “The hour is now coming and now is, when the true worshipers”. So there would be those who would be worshiping God in a manner that Christ described as being true.
John 4:23b. when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
Now it’s interesting the way this word “truth” is defined. It’s probably aletheia, a-l-e-t-h-e-i-a, in the Greek. And it means truth as the unveiled reality. The unveiled reality! Truth as opposite to falsehood, error, and insincerity and the last definition of this is truth as opposite to types, emblems, or shadows.
So this is—we are to worship God in reality. Now the very One, who was speaking to them here in saying these words, was the reality of what much of the Old Testament prophesied. Those prophecies that predicted the Messiah to come, that the Christ would come, that a Savior would come, He was the reality of that in their presence at that time. And He goes on to say,
John
He is seeking such to worship Him.
Now hold your place there again and turn to Matthew 5, Matthew chapter 5. And we read this not too long back. I want to read it again here today. Matthew 5 verse 17. Christ again speaking,
Matthew 5:17. “Do not think
that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
So He was here now present on the earth fulfilling certain things.
Verse 18,
Matthew 5:18. “For
assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle
will by no means pass from the law
So nothing’s going to change regarding the commandments given. But there is going to be a need for individuals to rise to a higher level in their obedience to the law as He goes on to show here.
Matthew 5:18b. [But there’s
not going to be anything] pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
So everything is going to be fulfilled. All the prophecies in the Old Testament are going to be fulfilled. All of the types, emblems, and shadows will have their fulfillment. There will be the reality of what those types, emblems, and shadows pictured. Now everything is going to be fulfilled.
And there’s an example just across the page and I want to go over and read that over on Matthew 4 and verse 12. It’s across the page in my Bible. It may not be in yours. But Matthew 4 verse 12,
Matthew 4:12. Now when Jesus
heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to
So here is one of those prophecies being fulfilled right then as He Himself was fulfilling it.
Verse 15,
Matthew 4:15. “The
Verse 16,
Matthew 4:16. The people who
sat in darkness [saw] a great light,
He was fulfilling this now. He is the Light. Going on in this verse,
Matthew 4:16b. and upon
those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
So He was fulfilling this. He was the Light.
We read not too long back in John 1—let’s go there. Continue to hold your place in John 4, but John 1, it states very familiar words. John 1 verse 1.
John 1:1. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) He was in the beginning with God. 3) All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made.
4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
So He came as this Light that those sitting in the shadow of death saw.
Verse 5,
John 1:5. And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend
And actually this is katalambano in the Greek. And it means “to apprehend.” And so those in the darkness did not apprehend. They did not take hold of it is what that means. To apprehend, to seize, to lay hold of, they didn’t do that. And obviously the implication is for those who have ears to hear that they are to take hold of it when they have the opportunity.
Verse 6,
John 1:6. There was a man
sent from God whose name was John.
This is speaking of John the Baptist.
John 1:7. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8) He was not that Light [John wasn’t.], but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Then verse 9.
John 1:9. That was the true
Light which gives light to every man [who comes] into the world.
So eventually every human being is going to be exposed to this Light, either in this life or in a life to come. They’re going to be exposed to this Light. That’s one of the responsibilities this Being has is to be a Light to every human being who comes into the world. It clearly says here.
So back in John 4 again, John chapter 4,
John 4:23. “But the hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
And so He’s wanting individuals who latch on to that Light and worship Him as He is instructing.
Now I want to go back and I’m sorry there. I didn’t tell you to hold on to Matthew 5. I want to go back there. Matthew 5 and continue here in what is said. Matthew 5 continue back past there verse 18 to verse 19.
Matthew 5:19. “Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so,
shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.
Then verse 20,
Matthew 5:20. “For I say to
you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no
means enter the kingdom of heaven.
So our righteousness, the righteousness that’s expected of us, is a righteousness that is to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the scribes. When He said they were worshiping God in vain, it was empty. It did not have the meaning to it that we should have as we worship this God that we heard about in the sermonette.
Now I want to go to Philippians 3. Continue to hold your place in Matthew and John. Sorry about that. Philippians 3. Now we’ve been spending some time in Philippians 3. I want to go back there as we begin this sermon. Philippians 3 and in verse 3, where the apostle Paul states this:
Philippians 3:3. For we are
the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit,
“We are the circumcision.” He was a Jew as he’s going to go ahead and say here. He was practicing the very same thing that Christ criticized there in Mark 7. “For we are the circumcision though now who are worshiping God in the Spirit.” Christ said, “You got to worship Him in Spirit and truth.” So Paul said he was now worshiping this God in the Spirit.
Philippians 3:3b. rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Verse 4,
Philippians 3:4. Though I
also might have confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more
so: 5) Circumcised the eighth day, of
the stock of
So he was one who was practicing the very thing that Christ criticized and said that they were worshiping God in vain. He had been there. He had done that. He was in the midst of it. He was practicing it.
Then verse 6,
Philippians 3:6. Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless. 7) But what things were gain
to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8) [But] indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,
So much he had to abandon and put behind him as he began to worship this God in Spirit and truth.
Philippians 3:8b. for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may
gain Christ
So notice what his attitude is to his past practice.
And then verse 9,
Philippians 3:9. And be
found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
Now he’s going to talk about this “righteousness” that Christ was talking about back there in Matthew 5.
Philippians 3:9b. not having
my own righteousness
Which was the righteousness Christ said, “You’ve got to exceed. You’ve got to go beyond.”
Philippians 3:9b. not having
my own righteousness, which is from
the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ,
We just heard about faith.
Philippians 3:9 cont. the
righteousness which is from God by faith;
So a righteousness that comes from God! And this righteousness that Paul is talking about here is a righteousness that’s on another level from what most people think of concerning righteousness. A righteousness which is from God! And it comes from God by faith. And this is a subject all of itself and would probably take a series to discuss what is expected of us in this righteousness.
But that’s what Christ is talking about back here in Matthew 5. So let’s go back there again, Matthew 5 verse 20.
Matthew 5:20. “For I say to
you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Then verse 21.
Matthew 5:21. “You have
heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever
murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22) “But I say to you
So now He’s bringing this to a higher level.
Matthew 5:22. [I’m saying to
you] that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger
of the judgment.
So it’s what’s in the heart. It’s what’s coming from the heart.
Then down in verse 27,
Matthew 5:27. “You have
heard that is was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28) “But I say to you that whoever looks at a
woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
So you see this obedience to the law rises to a whole different level. Now we’re to keep the spirit of the law. And so we are to worship God in Spirit and truth.
Now go back to John 4 again. John 4 and in verse 23 and 24 this time,
John 4:23. “But the hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24) “God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Now as we noted in the announcement, two weeks from this
coming Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, we will have the privilege of worshiping
God on two very special evenings. Two
very special nights, you might say, or two special evenings. The first, of course is the Passover. The second is the Night to be Observed. These two nights are to be kept in distinctly
different ways. But in both cases we are
to be worshiping God in spirit and truth.
So if you want a title to this message, it is Worshiping God In Spirit And Truth.
It will be Part I of only two
parts. Two weeks from today we will
attempt to complete this. Worshiping God In Spirit And Truth.
Now let’s go to Luke 22, Luke chapter 22. Luke 22 and verse 1,
Luke 22:1. Now the Feast of
Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
So the entire Feast of Unleavened Bread was called Passover. We see this over and over again in the Scriptures that it came to be that way. Actually what is being referred to here is the Spring Festival Season that was approaching. That’s what he was talking about. As we are right now looking forward to the Passover, the Night to be Observed, the Days of Unleavened Bread that’s coming. That season was coming.
Luke 22:1. Now the Feast of
Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
Then down in verse 7,
Luke 22:7. Then came the Day
of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
Okay, so the time had not arrived. The season was approaching back up in verse 1. Now we’re at the point in time when the Passover lamb was to be killed.
Luke 22:7. Then came the
Day of Unleavened Bread [the Day of that season], when the Passover must be
killed.
In verse 8,
Luke 22:8. And He [Christ]
sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may
eat.”
So it was the time when the Passover was to be killed and as the margin has it “sacrificed.” It was a time when the Passover was to be sacrificed.
Now this particular Passover was unique. It was different from any Passover in the past. It was different from any Passover that has occurred since. It was unique. There had never been a Passover like this before, because you see the Reality was now present. The Reality of what the Passover lamb represented was an emblem and a shadow of was now present on the earth with them. And it was time for the sacrifice of the Reality. It was time for the Reality to be sacrificed. And so they’re at that time.
Then in verse 14. So Peter and John were sent to make preparation and then in verse 13, let’s go there.
Luke 22:13. So they went and
found it just as He
And He gave them specific instructions.
Luke 22:13b. and they
prepared the Passover.
So they prepared the Passover for Him.
Then verse 14,
Luke 22:14. And when the hour
had come,
So when the hour had come,
Luke 22:14b. He sat down
[with] the twelve apostles [only].
Now as we’ve talked about so many times in the past, I’ll repeat it today because I know there’s several listening that may not have heard this before. At least this is my view and it’s not cast in stone or anything like that. But I believe that those twelve who were present with Him represented all of us in the sense that what He said to them that evening applies to all of us. Virtually everything that He said that evening to the twelve applies to all of the firstfruits, whenever they would live from that point forward. So He sat down with them.
Now there is probably at least ten times that many of disciples were present, were about a hundred and twenty on the Day of Pentecost that gathered. So there were probably many more disciples, but He sat down with twelve. And He had some very significant things to say to those twelve.
Here in verse 15,
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them,
This was one of the things that He said to them.
Luke 22:15b. “With fervent desire I have desired to eat
this Passover with you before I suffer;
So He was about to surrender Himself later that evening into
the hands of those who would carry out the sacrifice, who would crucify Him
eventually. But He would go through a
process starting at about
Now it’s interesting. I don’t know if it can be nailed down exactly when He surrendered Himself into their control. I think it was at precisely the same time as the Passover occurred in Exodus 12.
Now I just want to make a point here. There’s a lot—every year at this time there’s question about when the original Passover lamb was killed whether it was at the beginning of the fourteenth or whether it was at the end of the fourteenth. And I will admit that just going by the words that are given there it’s difficult to tell whether it’s the beginning or the end, because you have the same words talking about the beginning of a day as well as talking about the end of a day in another place. So it’s kind of hard to tell when it is.
But God didn’t leave us in question here at all. It’s actually so simple a small child can understand. When you understand when the Passover occurred, the Passover did not occur when the lamb was killed in Exodus 12. That was not the Passover. It did not occur then. If you read in Exodus 12 later in that chapter, this same Being said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The lamb had already been killed. The blood was put on the lintel and two side posts of the door. And He said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
The Passover occurred on the fourteenth. Leviticus 23 makes that very clear. It was on the fourteenth that the Passover
was observed. It was the fifteenth that
the First Day of Unleavened Bread was observed.
The Passover occurred at
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them, “With fervent desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
He was going to begin suffering, I think, at the same time
that the death angel passed over in Exodus 12.
At the time of the Passover, He surrendered Himself into the control of
those who would render the sacrifice, who would carry out the sacrifice. He became, in other words, our Passover at
When He surrendered Himself into their control, He became our Passover. And when God sees His blood, He passes over us. As the firstborn were given life, they were given permission to continue to live. They were given the right to continue to live as a result of the blood of that lamb. We are given the right to continue to live. We’re given the right for eternal life. We’re given the opportunity to live forever as a result of the Reality’s blood that applies in our case.
But here He desired deeply and this “fervent desire” means to set one’s heart upon, to have a longing for. He had a deep desire to eat this meal with them before He began the process that would lead to His crucifixion. He wanted this last opportunity to sit there with them because there was something very special about sitting and eating this meal.
In verse 16, notice!
Luke 22:16. “For I say to
you, I will no longer eat of it
He’s no longer going to eat the Passover,
Luke 22:16b. until it is
fulfilled in the
The sitting and eating together with them would have
fulfillment. Again this is something
that will have fulfillment. And it won’t
be fulfilled until the
Notice over in verse 29 of Luke 22, He said to them,
Luke 22:29. “And I bestow
upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me. 30) “That you
may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the
twelve tribes of
So this will have fulfillment. This sitting and eating and drinking together
will have fulfillment in the
Now an interesting thing that He says here,
Luke 22:16b. I will no
longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the
Now, if Jesus Christ is in us, He goes where we go. He participates in what we participate
in. He does what we do in that sense. He’s present in us. Where we go, He goes. And He said, “I’m not going to eat this
anymore until it’s fulfilled in the
The disciples were no longer to eat this meal the way they were eating it that night from that point forward. He was going to change how this Passover was to be kept. He was going to show them how they were to keep this night and worship God in it in spirit and truth.
Now I want to go to John chapter 13. I’m going to pick up the story there. And there’s a couple of points that I’m going to make there at the beginning of John 13. John 13 verse 1,
John 13:1. Now before the
feast of the Passover,
And note how this is worded!
John 13:1. Now before the
feast of the Passover,
And I’m going to come back to that in a minute. I want to continue on here right now. We’ll come back and discuss that in just a moment.
John 13:1. 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,
So this is at a point in time where the full impact of the significance of the time was settling down upon Him. This was the time. Now it had arrived. He was going to be the fulfillment of what not only the Passover lamb pictured but all of the sacrifices that pointed to Him. He was going to fulfill all of those. And the reality was settling down upon Him. It was time.
And it says,
John 13:1b. having loved His
own
Having loved His own! Those whom His Father had chosen and given to Him for His own at that time. There were already some who had already been given to Him. They hadn’t received the Holy Spirit yet. They wouldn’t receive the Holy Spirit for some time. He’s going to tell Peter down here, “What I’m doing now, you don’t understand now, but you’ll understand it later.” There were things that they could not grasp at this time. Nonetheless the Father had already given them to Him as He describes in John 17. It clearly states, “I’ve manifested Your name to those whom You’ve given to Me.” So they’re already given to Him. So He loved His own.
And it goes on to say,
John 13:1 cont. who were in
the world,
Mr. Coulter read there in John 17 we’re still in the world. He’s not. We are.
John 13:1 cont. He loved
them to the end.
And this “loved them to the end” should be rendered probably “to the fullest extent.” That’s what this means. He loved them to the fullest extent. And I guess if there are such things as understatements in the Scripture, this perhaps would be one example of an understatement that He loved His own and He loved them to the fullest extent. How do you describe in words that love that He had and His willingness to demonstrate that love? I think it’s not describable with English words. At least I am incapable of describing this kind of love. It’s at that level that is beyond describing.
There are a few Scriptures—hold your place there—and we’ll
just read a few of the Scriptures. John
John 3:16. “For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
And so it wasn’t just Jesus as the Christ here on the earth that had this level of love, but His Father demonstrated an incredible level of love in sending His Son to this earth to be the sacrifice. And those of you who are parents you probably can appreciate to some level at least that perhaps the Father’s love was even greater than the Son’s in His willingness to sacrifice His own Son.
It’s one thing for a human being to suffer. It’s one thing for a human being to put himself into a situation where he suffers or she suffers. It’s a totally different thing to put your child there where he or she could suffer. It’s a totally different perspective. It’s a totally different level that you’ve got to arrive at to be able to do that. How many times have we said, “I wish I could take your place,” a parent to a child? “I wish I could go through this instead of you.” Now how many times have you heard people say that? And it’s one thing for an individual to do something. It’s another thing for you to place your child in that position.
In 1 John 3:16, this is interesting that John
1 John 3:16. By this we know
love,
Now I would like to rephrase this a little bit by saying, “By this we can begin to appreciate love.” To fully know it I’m not sure that we can at this time. I’m not sure that we can arrive at that level of full knowledge of love, of this kind of love that these Beings have. But by this we can at least begin to appreciate love
1 John 3:16b. because He
laid down His life for us.
If we can fully get our minds around the sacrifice that He made, His willingness to lay His life down, as I’ve mentioned before, I think that laying of His life down began when He was made flesh and continued throughout His life that He was laying His life down for us. And in a very real sense He continues to do that as He provides service for us on an ongoing basis as our High Priest right now. Many services He provides in the capacity He is in right now. So He continues to in the sense of giving His time to us, He continues to lay His life down.
It goes on and I’m going to come back to this later. But it goes on to say here,
1 John
That’s why I say that the laying of His life down involved His whole experience in the human flesh, because it’s not expected of us to lay our lives down in crucifixion as He did. It’s not expected of us, not required of us. As a matter of fact, nobody else could do what He did in that sense. Nobody else could provide that service that He provided. Only He could. But we’re all to lay our lives down. So as He served, as He laid His life down throughout His life, we are to do the same for the brethren. And again we’re going to come back to that.
In John 15 verse 13, let’s read that here. John 15 verse 13 where it says,
John 15:13. “Greater love
has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
There is no greater demonstration of love than that to lay down one’s life for friends.
Back in John 13, John 13 and in the first part again. I said I was going to come back to this. It states,
John 13:1. Now before
the feast of the Passover,
Now if we were saying this, we would say, “before the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” “Before the feast of the Passover,” before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, The New English Version, for those of you who have The New English Version, it renders this correctly where it says,
John 13:1. It was now the
day before the feast of the Passover,
It was the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Companion Bible brings this out
very clearly. For those of you—by the
way, for anybody who does not know, The Companion Bible has it accurate
as to when the crucifixion occurred, the day of the week that it occurred, and
when the resurrection occurred. They
have it correct that He was in the grave the full three days as He said He
would. So they have that right. They even go so far in their commentary here
as to say that this occurred on Tuesday evening as the fourteenth began. So it’s very clear what is being said here
when you understand what these words mean.
John 13:1. Now before the
feast of the Passover,
So actually what we’ve got here is, as it shows down in verse 2, that “And supper being ended,” which is poorly rendered here in The New King James. And there’s several places, several sources you can go to here and find that it had not ended. That it had possibly already been served. The Clarke’s Commentary says, “While supper was preparing.” And The Companion Bible brings out that “Supper having been served.”
So they had not begun the meal. In other words, He was about to engage in
something that was done commonly at that time prior to meals. And so He was going to do that here. And so it was at that time. So what we’re doing, we’re arriving at
exactly the same point that we left Luke 22.
At the very same time when He’s about to sit down and eat with them Luke
22, He’s doing the same thing here.
As it says down in verse 3, I think it is—no, I’m sorry, verse 4—that He arose from supper. So they were seated and the meal was either already provided for them or it was about to be. So it was at that time.
John 13:2. [During supper or
as supper is being served], the devil having already put it into the heart of
Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son to betray
Him, 3) Jesus, knowing that the Father
had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was
going to God,
So He obviously was fully aware of the magnitude of the moment at this point. He fully was coming to grips with who He was and what the responsibility was that He was going to have to follow through on. He knew in detail. He had inspired words in the Old Testament describing in detail what He was going to go through. And so He understood. And the magnitude of that was—He was fully aware of at this time.
Then in verse 4,
John 13:4. [He] Rose from
supper and laid aside His garments, [He] took a towel and [He] girded Himself.
Now verse 5, it goes on to say,
John 13:5. 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.
Now clearly He was assuming the role here of a servant and assuming the task of a servant in that day. Actually it was the lowest task of a servant in that day. In other words, usually there’s an elevation of responsibility within any group of people and the servants there, the lowest of the servants would be the ones that would receive this responsibility of washing the feet of guests prior to a meal.
So in doing so, He was beginning to instruct the twelve as to how Passover was to be observed from that point forward. He was beginning to show them how that they were to worship God in Spirit and truth on this very special evening. He was showing us how we are to worship God in Spirit and truth on this evening. Specifically He would instruct them to do three things. He was actually simplifying this down to three things. Three things that had incredibly important meaning! This was the first of the three. He instructed them to follow His example, to wash each other’s feet like He was washing theirs. He would later take a piece of unleavened bread and ask them to take it and eat that it represented His body that He was giving for them. And then they were to take a small glass of wine that He said represented His blood that He was going to shed for them. So three things He instructs us to do on this very special evening. But once again incredibly important meaning!
Now verse 6,
John 13:6. Then He came to Simon
Peter.
Now it says in verse 5 He had begun the process of washing the disciples’ feet.
John 13:6. Then He came to
Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
Now I would ask all of us if we can to put ourselves into Peter’s position here this evening and in our minds participate in this exchange that goes on between Peter and the Christ here. What takes place in this exchange is very important for us to understand. It has great meaning.
Verse 7,
John 13:7. Jesus answered
and said to him,
Very important statement here!
John 13:7b. “What I am doing
[to] you [you] do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Now following our baptism and at our first Passover, this statement would certainly apply to us. We went there that first time and we sat down and participated in this. We probably weren’t fully aware at all of the significance of what we were doing. As a matter of fact, we’re probably on that first occasion more concerned about “Am I going to do this right? Am I going to mess up? Am I going to do something wrong?” Or something like that. “Am I going to be embarrassed by this?” And probably a lot of things like that were going on in our minds at that time. We weren’t focused, I don’t think, to a depth that we should have been as to what meaning there is in this. But as each year passes, these symbols, all three of these things, should take on greater and greater meaning.
Now once again, clearly He was placing Himself in the role of a servant here. He was placing Himself in the role of a servant. And He said,
John 13:7b. “What I am doing
[to] you [you] do not understand now,
Now this was a common practice in the day. We need to take note of this. This was common practice. This was not unusual. This was something that was done commonly. There wore sandals. They would bathe themselves before going to dinner someplace. But they would walk on dusty roads to get there. So it was common practice for a servant to be provided to wash the feet of guests prior to a meal. So He was placing Himself in this role of a servant.
Now they understood that. It wasn’t that Peter didn’t understand that. He understood that really well because we’re going to see from his reaction he understood that. He understood that Jesus was placing Himself in this role of a servant doing what the lowest of servants would typically do. He understood that fully.
But what Jesus is saying here is, “You don’t understand. You don’t understand the meaning of what it is I’m doing.”
Now let’s notice—hold your place there—and let’s go to Luke 22 again and in verse 27. Luke 22 verse 27.
Luke 22:27. “For who is greater [Christ said], he who sits at
the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
So He came to this earth to be a servant and to provide service to others.
In Philippians chapter 2, let’s go there. Philippians chapter 2 and in verse 5, the apostle Paul describing an attitude of mind that Christ had and it’s one that we should have. Philippians 2 verse 5.
Philippians 2:5. Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Or this attitude of mind, this intent of mind, ever how you want to put it. What was in His heart.
Philippians 2:5. Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6) Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal
with God,
But verse 7,
Philippians 2:7. But made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a [servant] and coming in the likeness
of men.
So He “emptied Himself” as the margin has it. He emptied Himself of His privileges as God, with God. In the beginning was God. He was with Him at that time. He emptied Himself of the privileges that He had as God and He came to this earth and became flesh, flesh and blood human being, in order to be a servant.
Philippians 2:7. But made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a [doulos]
In the Greek, which means “slave,” one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another. So He became a slave. He took the form of a slave. And so He came as a servant.
Now it seems to me that evening as He rose from supper, laid aside His garments that He was symbolically showing what He was doing on a much bigger scale. He was doing a physical act showing what He was doing on a much bigger scale as a servant in providing a service.
Then verse 8,
Philippians 2:8. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient
“He humbled Himself.” Now we have understood that in this act that He’s doing in washing their feet that He is teaching us humility. That we are to humble ourselves. And, Brethren, if that’s the only thing we take away from this that we’re to humble ourselves, that would be incredibly important to us! Because it is so important that we learn humility and if we can just learn that and nothing else from His example here, it would be incredibly important that we learn the need for humility. None of us are ever going to please God if we can’t humble ourselves, if we can’t become humble before Him and submit to Him and become subject to Him. If we can’t humble ourselves to the point where we can serve others as a servant, we’re not going to be fulfilling what He expects of us.
Philippians 2:8. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and [He] became obedient to the point of death,
That service that He provided went all the way to the ultimate sacrifice of Him giving His life. That He allowed Himself to be sacrificed.
Philippians 2:8b. even to
the death of the cross.
Or “of the death of the stake.” He completely provided Himself or made Himself available as a servant.
I believe, Brethren, His washing of their feet that evening was symbolic of a far greater act of service than just physically washing their feet. His experience in this human flesh was entirely an act of service. It was about to culminate that evening. That night it was going to begin. It was going to begin just a few short hours after that. He was going to surrender Himself into the hands of those who would crucify Him. And so He was going to fulfill completely the incredible act as a servant.
Back in chapter 13 verse 8,
John 13:8. Peter said to
Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
This is clearly a statement demonstrating the fact that Peter understood full well what He was doing physically. The act that He was providing physically, he understood that.
Remember Peter understood that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. He had already stated that. He stated that in Matthew 16 verse 16. He understood and there Christ told him it was the Father who made him to be able to understand that. And so the Father revealed to Peter at this point in time who this Being was. He was the Christ, the Son of the living God.
He also clearly understood what Jesus was literally doing was far below that. In his mind, there’s no way. This is the Christ, the Son of the living God and “You’re going to wash my feet?” He fully understood that this was just not right from his perspective. It shouldn’t be. This Being should not be washing his feet. And he could not bring himself to allow this to happen. And so he’s saying, “You’ll never wash my feet!”
But it goes on to say,
John 13:8b. Jesus answered
him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
“If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me!”
This word “part” is meros in the Greek. It means a part, to share, to receive one’s portion, a part due or assigned to one.
Jesus Christ and the Being who became His Father established an incredible plan whereby others could have a part with Them. He was here on the earth to provide a service that would make it possible for others to have a part with Them. But we have to allow that to happen.
Now from the way this is worded, “If I don’t wash you, Peter, you have no part with Me.” We can’t do what He did. We can’t provide the service He provides, but we do have the choice to make to accept it, to allow it to apply on our behalf. We have the choice. Do we accept it? Do we permit it? Or do we not? Do we allow Him to wash us or we do not?
In 1 Corinthians 1 verse 9—please don’t turn there—there it says we are “called into a fellowship with Jesus Christ.” This word “fellowship” means virtually the same thing as this Greek word here for “part.” It means the share which one has in anything, participation, a part.
So again, from the beginning this was the plan for certain ones to be called into a fellowship with Him to have a part. We need to take this very personally. If He doesn’t wash us, we have no part. If the twelve truly represented us that evening, as I believe they did, then this applies to each one of us. Again, I ask you to try to put yourself in Peter’s position in this exchange. But Christ said, “If I don’t wash you, you don’t have a part with Me. If you don’t let Me wash you, you don’t have any part with Me.”
Clearly this had to involve more than the physical act of washing the feet. It had to involve more than that. It was symbolic of something far more than that. Each one of us, in a very personal way, need to accept and allow His service to apply to us. We must accept this sacrifice on our behalf. That’s what we’re doing at baptism, that we’re accepting Him as our personal Savior. He becomes our personal Savior. That sacrifice applies to us. If we accept His service, then we can have a part. We can’t have a part without it. We have to accept His complete service that He provides for us.
Verse 9, “Simon Peter”—notice Peter’s reaction once he heard this.
John 13:9. Simon Peter said
to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my
hands and my head!”
In other words, “Wash me entirely.” And once he heard that, he got the point. He got the point. “Okay, then wash me entirely. Whatever You say.” Isn’t that a beautiful response? “Whatever You say, Lord. Whatever You say, my Master. Whatever You say, I’m willing.”
John 13:10. 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.”
And it goes on to say in verse 11,
John 13:11. For He knew who
would betray Him; therefore he said, “You are not all clean.”
Now we can spend some time talking about verses 10 and 11, but I don’t want to. I want to go ahead here today with verse 12.
John 13:12. So when He had
washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do
you know [do you understand] what I have done to you? [Do you understand this?] 13) “You call Me Teacher and Lord,
“You call Me Master,” as The King James Version has it, “and Lord. You call Me the ultimate Teacher. And you call Me Kurios, Master, Owner, Ruler. You call Me this.”
John 13:13b. [and] so I am.
They were saying correctly. He was their Teacher. He was their Lord. And He was teaching them something very important. And He said in verse 14,
John 13:14. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
The students are to learn from the Master. And the students are to learn what the Master was teaching. As He was submitting Himself to be a servant to them and providing great service to them, He is saying, “You ought to do the same.”
Now remember what we read there in 1 John 3 verse 16. I’m going to go back. You don’t need to go there. We’ve already read it once, but let me go there so I don’t misquote it. 1 John 3 verse 16.
1 John 3:16. By this we know
love, because He laid down His life for us.
And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
So, as I believe, He was symbolically showing that He was a servant and willing to serve and was willing to humble Himself in service that we ought to do the same. We are to be willing to humble ourselves to become a servant as well. Remember what He said in Matthew 25 about “What you’ve done to the least of these My brethren, you’ve done it to Me”? That we are to provide service for one another. We are to become servants of one another.
Notice in Matthew 20. You can—I may come back to John 13. I’m not sure, but let’s go to Matthew 20, Matthew chapter 20 and verse 25.
Matthew 20:25. But Jesus
called them to Himself and said,
Speaking to His disciples here, primarily the twelve.
Matthew 20:25b. “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 [Among you!]; but whoever desires to
become great among you, let him be your servant.
Now remember on this very same evening, remember they were having a discussion among themselves who was the greatest. The very same evening! And, Brethren, we need to be careful that we don’t go to this service with thoughts in our mind similar to that where we elevate ourselves in our own minds to be greater than another, unwilling to become subject to the point of washing one another’s feet. There have been instances where individuals have intentionally positioned themselves in the line going to foot washing so they would not be coupled up with certain individuals because they didn’t want to wash their feet. We should be going to this service willing to wash anybody’s feet. It doesn’t matter who it is. Philippians 2, earlier in that chapter, it says that we ought to become in our own mind lowest among others. We are to view ourselves as the least not the greatest.
But He said,
Matthew 20:26b. [anyone who]
desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
“Let him be your servant.” This is diakonos in the Greek here. It means a minister, an attendant. It can mean a waiter, one who waits on another. It can be a servant.
Matthew 20:27. “And whoever
desires to be first among you, let him be your [doulos]—
Philippians 2 said that’s what Christ became, our doulos. Become a doulos.
Matthew 20:28. “Just as the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
So that’s what He was teaching us.
In 1 John 1—I don’t have time to go there and expound this but—in 1 John 1 verses 1 through 6 and then 1 John 2:8 through 10, you can go there and read that if you would like later. There John is describing how that he had rubbed elbows with this Being. He had shared time with Him and He had learned about Him. And he was sharing that with others. And he was sharing with others so that they could have a “fellowship” with Him. So they could fellowship. They could have a part, even now in a fellowship. And he said,
1 John 1:5b. truly our
fellowship is with the Father and
with His Son
And he went on to say that we can’t have fellowship with God if we don’t love our brother. Makes it very clear! But he said, “If you are in the light as the Father is Light” that we would have fellowship and that Christ’s blood would cleanse us of our sins. Read it! It’s there. We’re to have this fellowship. We’re to have a part now! But that part now is to be a servant.
To first of all have love for one another. He gave the command that we’re to love one another as He loved us. As the example He set of being willing to be a servant, we are to be a servant for one another. We are to be willing to serve, willing to kneel down and become a servant.
Let me go to Philippians 2 and read that. I think it’s important. Philippians 2 and in verse 2. I referred to this earlier. I want to actually read it here. Chapter 2 Philippians verse 1,
Philippians 2:1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2) Fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having
the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind. 3) Let nothing be done
through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
others better than himself.
This is the attitude we should go to Passover with and it’s an attitude that we should maintain throughout the year.
Philippians 2:4. Let each of
you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others.
In 1 Peter 5, I’ll finish there. And again, we’re going to continue this next time, but I wanted to get to this point today. 1 Peter chapter 5, 1 Peter 5 verse 1.
1 Peter 5:1. The elders who
are among you, I exhort,
Now is the very same being who had that exchange with Christ there that evening.
1 Peter 5:1. The elders who are
among you, I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of
Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2) Shepherd the flock of God which is
among you, serving as overseers, not by [constraint] but willingly, not
for dishonest gain but eagerly; 4) Nor
as being lords over those entrusted to you, but [as Christ was] being
examples to the flock;
And so the elders, the ministry, are to set the example in this way.
Then in verse 4,
1 Peter 5:4. And when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away. 5) Likewise you younger people,
submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you
So he’s going to involve every one of us whether an elder or not.
1 Peter 5:5b. all of you be submissive to one another, and be
clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but [He] gives grace
to the humble.” 6) Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
I said I was going to finish there, but I want to go back to John 13 and read the remainder of His instruction there, just a couple of verses and we’ll finish with that. John 13 and in verse 12, let’s begin in verse 12.
John 13:12. So 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, [happy] are you if you do them.
Transcribed by kb