JOHN
13:1-17
Life at Boiling Point - Serving
When
the temperature of water is raised to billing point, great power is released through
steam - enough to power 180 years ago, the first steam engine, locomotion weighing
80 tons with 553 passengers at a speed of eight miles an hour. Enough power this
morning to launch jets from aircraft carriers in the gulf - the power of boiling
water. In this short series called, ‘living life at boiling point’ we are reflecting
on how to raise our spiritual temperature to 100 degrees centigrade so that God’s
supernatural power is released in and through us for His glory. We began by examining
the way Jesus uses this analogy to evaluate the spiritual temperature of the Church
in Laodicea. We saw how Jesus described them like their water supply, neither
hot nor cold but lukewarm. We considered the importance of Sunday services for
raising our spiritual temperature. Then we considered the importance of being
in a small group meeting regularly for bible study, worship, prayer and fellowship.
Today we want to consider a third element that will help us to raise our spiritual
temperature - serving. Please turn with me to John 13.
In the very first verse it says "Having loved his own … Jesus now showed them the full extent of his love." (John 13:1).
1. The Full Extent of Loving Service 13:1-5
Jesus
often acted before he spoke. Jesus got up from the meal in the same way he had
got up from his eternal throne. He took off his outer clothing as he had laid
aside his eternal glory and took the form of a servant and wrapped a towel round
his waist. Jesus, bent over a bowl of water and removed the dirt from the feet
of his friends. In the silence of that room the careful, deliberate washing lasted
a long time. The breathing of the kneeling man became heavier as the minutes passed,
and his hair fell over his forehead. Imagine the scene, Christ was at work, on
the same level as the dogs gnawing on the lamb bones and scraps of food under
the table, interrupting their own Passover meal to marvel at the man on all fours
like themselves. He chose to begin saving us from below. In the final frame he
would dominate us from above, raised, fixed to the cross. But the first scene
was this one: crouching like a foreign slave over our toes, over our un-poetic
nails, over those unattractive odours. Jesus permitted himself the royal joy
of self-humiliation. According to the Jewish "Midrash Mekicta" commenting
on Exodus 21:2 "Foot washing" was not even required of a Hebrew slave,
it was the task of a foreign slave. The Lord of glory was on his hands and knees
cleaning his disciple’s feet because none of them was willing to stoop as low
as a foreign slave. So the Lord of glory became a servant. John Stott says,
"For me there is no clearer or more compelling evidence of the deity of
Jesus than the extraordinary paradox between his lofty claims and his lowly conduct."
Someone once said, “It is possible to give without loving but impossible to love
without giving.” Service is an act of loving.
A response to the One who
demonstrated his love by serving. On Thursday evening it was my privilege to attend
a celebration at Lambeth Palace. I shook hands with the new archbishop, there
were many other Bishops present and guests from all around the world. All there
to honour a frail and bowed 90 year old gentleman who had them all in awe. Kenneth
Cragg is the leading scholar in the world today on Islam and the relationship
between Christianity and Islam. He has written 30 books, all of them classics.
His words are so distilled you have to read each sentence several times to have
any hope of understanding its meaning. After the Archbishop and various Bishops
had expressed their appreciation, Kenneth spoke with humility and erudition about
his love of the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that was breathtaking. He summed up
his long life, his academic studies, his contribution to our understanding of
Islam and interfaith relations in one sentence - “Confronted by the love of Christ,
we have no choice.” We have no choice. No choice but to serve the one who in loving
service gave his life to set us free, forgave our sins, gave us eternal life.
The apostle Paul put it like this in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “For Christ’s love compels
us.” Compels us. My first question to you this morning then is this: “Do you feel
compelled to serve? Are you serving Christ in some way in and through his church?”
If not, is it perhaps because you have yet to comprehend the depth of his loving
service on the cross for you? The full extent of loving service = slavery (1-5),
leads us to the primary purpose of loving service, (6-11).
2. The Primary Purpose of Loving Service 13:6-11
Read
13:8. Why wash their feet and not their hands or faces? Think about your feet
for a moment. Our feet are not usually regarded as the most beautiful part of
our bodies. At the level Jesus chose to
minister to his disciples, there was no friendship or agreeable relationship,
no eye to eye communication, just a sense of embarrassment and self consciousness.
Feet are miles away from our smiles, they are rough skinned wild dumb animals.
Looking at our feet makes it hard to believe in the human soul. They remind us
that life is transitory. Perhaps that's why we feel a kind of instinctive modesty
at having to expose them. As Peter said, "You'll never wash my feet, no way."
So emphatic was Peter, he uses a double negative - "no, never..." Perhaps
it was the fisherman's zealous determination not to be done a service that made
him cry out in protest. Maybe it was the humiliation that he did not offer Jesus
this simple act of hospitality himself.
I can only think of two people
who ever wanted to wash my feet. My mother and father. They wanted to get me
clean regularly. Why? because they loved me. This was what Jesus is communicating
so graphically here. Through surrendering our pride to the hands of Christ, by
identifying him bent over the bowl scrubbing us clean like little children, that
is how our salvation comes. "If I don't wash you", said Jesus,
"you have no part of me." What ever it was for Peter, his feet
exposed both his independent pride and his need of Jesus ministry. Peter would
rather wash the feet of Jesus than let Jesus wash his feet. Peter would rather
die for Jesus than let Jesus die for him. And that was the lesson he was beginning
to learn. At its most fundamental then,
this story is speaking about receiving the salvation which Jesus offers. There
can be no substitute. As the beautiful Easter hymn puts it:
"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride."
The
person who has not yet learnt to count in this way cannot cope with this humiliating
Christ. Do not be surprised when some friends and family make excuses when you
invite them to a special service or church based event. They
like to pretend they don't need a wash, they're clean enough already. “I know
I don’t go to Church but…” But what? We can do nothing for Jesus until we have
been washed by Jesus. Read 13:9-10. Its important to understand what Jesus
is saying to Peter. We must not question the Lord's will or work, or try to change
it. He knows what He is doing. Peter had a difficult time accepting Christ's
ministry to him because Peter was not yet ready to minister to the others. It
takes humility and grace to serve others, and the first step is to allow our pride
to be humiliated to the point that we repent and are broken.
Let me ask you, have you allowed Jesus to wash not just your feet but your soul? The invitation is here, the choice is yours. Choose while you have the choice. Just remember what Jesus said to Peter, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." (John 13:8). The ultimate purpose of all our acts of loving service as a church must be to lead people to salvation. We are not primarily a club or a charity or a political party. We are a community of slaves serving a loving Lord by bringing others into that saving relationship also. We should evaluate all our activities by this criteria. The full extent of loving service = slavery. The primary purpose of loving service = salvation
3. The Ultimate Proof of Loving Service 13:12-17
Read 13:12-15. "I have given you an example." Luigi Santucci, the Italian mystic once said,
"If I had to chose some relic of the passion I wouldn't pick up a scourge or a spear but that round bowl of dirty water. To go round the world with that receptacle under my arm, looking only at people's feet; and for each one I'd tie a towel round me, bend down, and never raise my eyes higher than their ankles, so as not to distinguish friends from enemies....and all in silence, until they understood."
To the unbeliever such an attitude may sound like slavery. Yet to serve the Servant King is not bondage but perfect freedom. Bondage and freedom. In Christ the world sees only bondage, we see in Christ perfect freedom. Without Christ, the world thinks it is free but is in reality in bondage. The King of the Universe wrapped a towel around his waist and washed his disciples feet, even the two that belonged to his betrayer. "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done." Lets look at these verses in a little more detail.
3.1 The Mandate for Loving Service (13:13-14)
Read 13:13-14. If we call Jesus our teacher and Lord we have no choice. Is Jesus your teacher and Lord? Then loving service is not an option. The only question is where and when. We are mandated to serve one another - by washing one another’s feet, one another’s wounds, one another’s sins, one another’s fears. The mandate for loving service.
3.2 The Model for Loving Service (13:15-16)
Read 13:15-16. An example. Jesus is our example. Supreme example. A Christian not engaged in practical acts of loving service on a regular basis is saying in effect that he or she is greater than Jesus. If sacrificial service is beneath you, so is Jesus. Jesus has given us the benchmark for loving service and it can only be done by stripping off our outer garment of pride and getting on our knees. The mandate of loving service. The model of loving service, and,
3.3 The Motive of Loving Service (13:17)
Read
13:17. The purpose of loving service is to bring a blessing. A blessing to one
another. If we are ever to touch the people around us in any lasting, transfiguring
way, it will only be by sharing the humble, sacrificial love with which Jesus
loves us. Praying for them, sharing Christ with them, loving them, serving them.
This is how to experience life at boiling point. For as we serve one another as
Christ has served us, our lives are transformed and the power of Christ is revealed.
The full extent of loving service = Christ’s slavery. The primary purpose of
loving service = other’s salvation. The ultimate proof of loving service = our
submission. Now lets get practical. As you came into our building this morning,
who was it that washed your feet? Who? Did you notice as they washed your feet?
How many times have your feet, or the feet of those you love, been washed already
this morning? Or are being washed?
Or
will be washed before you leave? Someone served you as you entered the building.
One or more of the ushers… the welcomers…
the flower team… gardening team… admin team who put the news sheet together for
you… the buildings team… the cleaning team… the leader of this service… the Readers
who read God’s word… the prayer who will intercede for you… the crčche looking
after your baby, Chipmunks your pre-school toddlers, the Scrambler leaders, Climbers,
Explorers, Pathfinders, the cup assistants, the PA team, the musicians, the treasurers
who will count the collection after the service, the refreshments team, the prayer
team, the Wardens who will check the windows and lock up. These are some of the
people who washed your feet this morning. They are wearing their towel around
their necks - it says “here to serve”. And they are. What about you?
Esther is putting the list of team members together for May-August in the next
week or so. Which team or teams will you join? In your news sheet is a leaflet
summarizing the 20 essential teams we have at Christ Church. There are many more
like our mission team. Pretend the leaflet has your name on it. That it is personally
addressed to you. If God has spoken to you this morning about the full extent
of Christ’s loving service, of the primary purpose of loving service to bring
people to Christ, and the ultimate proof of loving service and God is asking you
to respond, please don’t put it off.
Simply return your slip and we will help you to serve. In doing so we will raise
the spiritual temperature of Christ Church. We don’t call these teams ‘volunteers’
because we are not volunteers. Most of those who already serve don’t want or expect
praise or the limelight, and those who do, shouldn’t. They know they are only
responding to the loving service of Jesus. They are ultimately serving Jesus humbly
and quietly but intentionally.
You know what saddens me most in ministry?
Its when someone takes a dislike for something we are doing in the church, and
writes me a letter resigning from one or more of our service teams. I haven’t
yet done so but I feel like returning it with a simple cover note. “I think you
have addressed this to the wrong person. I think you meant to give it to Jesus.”
For that is what they are doing. Someone once asked Corrie ten Boom if she had
a hard time serving and staying humble. This was her reply: "When Jesus
rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving
palm branches and throwing garments on the road and singing praises, do you think
that for one moment it even entered the head of that donkey that any of it was
for him?" She smiled and went on, "If I can be the donkey on which Jesus
Christ rides in His glory, I give Him all the praise and all the honour."
Lets give Him all the praise and all honour we can not with our words but with
our actions - by loving, sacrificial service. Lets pray.