Lesson 37

Lessons From A Servant

John 13:1-17

John has set before us the signs of the Son of God. Between John 13 -17, he sets before us secrets of the Son of God. The first twelve chapters were public, the next five are private; the first is full of controversies, the second full of confidences; in the first, Jesus reveals His person, in the second He reveals His passion.

Without any official announcement, John takes us into the upper room with Jesus. It is time for the Jews to celebrate the feast of the passover (v. 1) and so Jesus and the disciples secure a rented room in which to partake of the supper. This is to be Jesus' final passover - "his hour has come". Jesus is just a few hours from the cross and from "departing from this world unto the Father" (v. 1). Verse 1 tells us the facts but it also tells us the feelings. The fact that Jesus was about to depart did not an any way diminish Christ's love for His disciples. Having loved them, He continued to love them, even to the end.

Many things took place in that upper room. In verse 2, John sets the chronology for us. These words and events took place after the passover meal and the institution of what we call the Lord's Supper. It is also clear from the text that the plot through which Jesus would be arrested had already been put into place. Judas has already secretly met with met with the chief priests and made a deal with them to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). Judas is acting under the direction and control of the devil.

In verse 3, John moves from the facts and the feelings to the future. John speaks of the origin and destiny of the Lord Jesus. This verse enhances the astonishing condescension of Christ. Jesus is about to visually perform the duties of a slave and yet John reminds us that He had come from the Father and that He was returning to the Father.

The emphasis is first on what our Lord knew and then, beginning in verse 4, what our Lord did. Let's read what the Bible says down to verse 17. There are 5 lessons that Jesus taught us with His words and in His actions.

A Lesson In Humility, 13:4-5.

According to Luke 22:24, almost immediately after Jesus instituted His Supper the disciples began to quarrel about which one of them would be considered the greatest. They must have been shocked when they saw their Master rise from the supper, lay aside His outer garments, wrap a towel around His waist, take a basin of water and begin to wash their feet. This was not the work of a Master but that of a servant, a lowly and menial task.

There is a wonderful way in which John 13 corresponds to Paul's description of Christ's incarnation in Philippians 2:5-11.

Jesus demonstrated in a vivid way His own Incarnation. Jesus adopted a selfless posture and accepted a servant's place. The Sovereign Lord laid aside His glory and became a servant.

But He also gave to His disciples an unforgettable lesson in humility and by His actions rebuked their selfishness and pride. In verses 14-17, Jesus gives in verbal form an important lesson. We are to follow His example, to humble ourselves for the purpose serving others. We are "wash one another's feet". Gal 5:13 By love serve one another. 1 Pet 5:5-6 Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. James 4:6 Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

We today, just like the disciples that night, desperately need a lesson on humility. Churches are filled with a worldly spirit of competition and criticism as believers vie with one another to see who is the greatest, the smartest, the best, the biggest, the most successful. This can happen in youth groups, or classes. Jesus wants us to humbly serve one another.

A Lesson In Holiness, 13:6-11.

As Peter watched Jesus wash his friends' feet, he became more and more disturbed and could not understand what Jesus was doing. Peter often spoke to Jesus impulsively and ignorantly even contradicting the Lord (see Matthew 16:20-23; 26:31-35; Acts 10:13-14).

When Jesus came to Peter, He found him with his feet tucked up under himself. "Do you plan to wash my feet?" he asks in verse 6. Like a patient parent, Jesus says to Peter (verse 7) "You don't understand it all right now but you will some day." But that's not good enough for Peter. "You will never wash my feet!" he stubbornly promises in verse 8.

Jesus explains further, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me"(v. 8). The word "part" is not speaking of our union with Christ in salvation but of our communion with Christ, our daily walk with Him. We must, in the words of James 1:27, keep ourselves "unspotted from the world." Dirty feet, un-confessed sins, will hinder our daily walk with Christ.

Peter was such a man of extremes. In verse 8, he said, "You will never wash my feet." But in verse 9, he want Jesus to wash him completely - his feet, his hands, his head. "If I need to be washed to have communion with you, then wash everything," he is saying.

In verse 10, Jesus makes a distinction between salvation and confession. In Greek, there are two different words for "wash." One of the words means to wash a part of the body. It is the word used in verse 5, 6, 8, 12, 14. But the word translated "washed" in verse 10 means "to bathe the whole person; whereas 'wash' means to wet a part only" (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). When a sinner trusts the Savior he/she is "clean every whit", bathed all over. His sins are washed away and forgiven. See I Cor. 6:9-11; Titus 3:5; Revelation 1:5. However, as we walk in this world, it is easy to become defiled by sin. We do not need to be bathed all over (saved again).; we simply need to have that defilement cleansed away. We need our feet washed. God promises to cleanse us (I John 1:9) when we "confess our sins." And this constantly cleansing is essential to communion with Christ. This then is a lesson on holiness.

A Lesson In Helpfulness, 13:12-16.

Jesus has given us an example - not an ordinance, as some try to teach. It is not a command that we literally wash one another's feet. Washing one another's feet is symbolic that we should help each other to be holy. Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. We must pick each other up and we must hold each other up. Jesus teaches us to wash one another's feet and to help each other be holy.

A Lesson In Happiness, 13:17.

Our world is constantly in pursuit of happiness. Christ has an unusual course for happiness. Jesus says that humility, holiness and helpfulness lead to happiness. Is that what the world thinks? No. You've got to asset yourself and go for the gusto, they say. But Jesus says that happiness comes from humbling yourself and becoming a servant, from keeping your feet clean, from helping others be holy. Jesus says that we need to know these things and to do them. "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22).

A Lesson In Hypocrisy, 13:10b-11.

Jesus points out the difference between Peter and Judas. Peter needed his feet washed. Judas needed a bath (v. 10b-11).

Judas sat and listened to Jesus speak about humility and holiness and helpfulness and happiness but he was all along a pretender. According to verse 2, betraying Jesus has already entered the heart of Judas and he was just waiting for the opportunity. He was a hypocrite.

Judas was not humble, he was not willing to serve others. He was absorbed with self-interest. He was not holy, he was a devil from the beginning. He was not helpful, he was a thief. And he certainly was not happy, within 24 hours he will have committed suicide. But he was a hypocrite who pretended to be something that he wasn't. Don't be a hypocrite.