Passion Week of Christ (Part 7)
God of the Towel - John 13:1-17

From time to time, we are faced with the task of "saying good-bye" to a
congregation, some employees, or even our employee of many years. It is
never easy. (We’ve done it a number of times during the past few months
at this congregation, due to several families moving out of
state....we’ve missed them greatly!)

This chapter begins the first of five which record for us the "farewell
message" to His beloved disciples, climaxing with His prayer for them and
for us.

Jesus added a significant "action section" to His message when He washed
His disciples' feet. It was an object lesson they would never forget!

In the shadow of the cross, Jesus is not seated at the place of honor,
but assuming the lowly position of a servant. In this passage, we see
our Lord in a twofold relationship:

1. HUMILITY: HIS RELATIONSHIP TO HIS HEAVENLY FATHER (13:1-5)
We find our Lord now on Thursday, where He met in the Upper Room with His
disciples to observe the Passover. It's certain that Jesus knew He had
less than 15 hours to live!

The emphasis in verses 1-3 is on "what our Lord knew;" the emphasis in
verses 4-5 on "what our Lord did."

What our Lord knew:
Three things drove Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and to demonstrate
the royalty of service and ministry.

1. He knew "His hour" had come.
He was to die and His time was short. Whatever He hoped to teach His
disciples had to be taught now, for there would soon be no more time. He
was fully conscious of divine origin and divine destiny.

One writer said: "Divine love leaped over the boundaries of class
distinctions and made the Lord of Glory the servant of men. He was poor
and yet He was rich. Because Jesus knew who He was, where He came from,
what He had, and where He was going, He was complete master of the
situation."

    2.     He loved His own...His followers upon earth, those for
whom He was responsible. Therefore, He was compelled to zero in on them
and to do whatever was necessary to help them, no matter the cost. He was
compelled by love to wash their feet, no matter the humiliation and the
degree of abasement required.

3. He knew His enemy.
He knew the enemy was about to strike and betray Him. He had to act
before the enemy struck. The disciples had to be strengthened and
fortified, shown and taught immediately. Once the enemy struck, it would
be too late.

Judas is mentioned eight times in this gospel, more than in any of the
other gospels. Satan had entered into Judas (Luke 22:3), and now he would
give him the necessary thought to bring about the arrest and crucifixion
of the Son of God.

Jesus loved His disciples to the end, though they did not all love Him.
To the end, Jesus was trying to overcome evil with good. Jesus possessed
a love which would not be quenched by evil.

Note: the same facts should drive us to stick to our service, to be
faithful, laboring all the time, persisting and persevering.

And what Jesus knew helped determine what Jesus did.
The disciples must have been shocked when they saw their Master rise from
supper, lay aside His outer garments, wrap a towel around His waist, take
a basin of water and wash their feet.

Jewish servants did not wash their masters' feet, although Gentile slaves
might do it. It was a menial task, and yet Jesus did it! As a special
mark of affection, a host or hostess might wash a guest's feet, but it
was not standard operating procedure in most homes.

There are at least two reasons why Jesus chose this activity:
— Their feet were dirty.
The roads of Palestine were quite unsurfaced and uncleaned. In dry
weather they were inches deep in dust, and in wet weather they were
liquid mud. The shoes the ordinary people wore were sandals; and these
sandals were simply soles held on to the foot by a few straps.

They gave little protection against the dust or the mud of the roads. For
that reason there were always great waterpots at the door of the house;
and a servant was there with a towel to wash the soiled feet of the
guests as they came in.

— Their hearts were proud.
Jesus' disciples were ready to fight for a throne, but not for a towel.
Jesus knew there was a competitive spirit in the hearts of His disciples.

In fact, within a few minutes, the men were disputing over which of them
was the greatest (Luke 22:24-30)! He gave them an unforgettable lesson in
humility, and rebuked their selfishness and pride.

It is Christ's example of humility that Paul appeals to in his
exhortation to serve one another: Philippians 2:3-8: "Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better
than yourselves. {4} Each of you should look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of others. {5} Your attitude should
be the same as that of Christ Jesus: {6} Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, {7} but made
himself noth-ing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. {8} And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!"

* He got up from the meal--just as He'd left the throne of heaven
* He took off His outer garments--just as He'd divested Himself of
heaven's robes
* He wrapped a towel about His waist--just as He'd clothed Himself
with humanity
* He poured water in a bowl, got on His knees and began to wash
feet--just as he would pour out His life on the cross.

2. HOLINESS: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH SIMON PETER (13:6-11)
As Peter watched the Lord wash his friends' feet, he became more and more
disturbed and could not understand what He was doing.

Throughout the gospels, Peter has often spoken impulsively out of his
ignorance and had to be corrected by Jesus:
- he opposed Jesus going to the cross (Matt. 16:21-23)
- he tried to manage our Lord's affairs at the transfiguration (Matt.
17:1-8)
- he expressed the faith of the disciples (John 6:66-71) without
realizing that one was the traitor

This conversation between Jesus and Peter illustrated a principle deeper
than a mere argument over social standing. Peter's protest against
Jesus' washing his feet was prompted by shame, for he felt it was
unfitting that a Master should wash the feet of disciples.

"Peter had a difficult time accepting Christ's ministry to Him
because Peter was not yet ready to minister to the other disciples.
It takes humility and grace to serve others, but it also takes
humility and grace to allow others to serve us."


    "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me" (John 13:8).

    There is a deeper meaning to what Jesus was doing, a spiritual
meaning. A person has to be washed and cleansed by Jesus...
· before he can become a part of Jesus
· before he can serve Jesus.

    Another way to say the same thing: before a person can ever serve
Christ, he must be a part of Christ. However, before a person can become
a part of Christ, there is a critical prerequisite, an absolute
essential: a person must be washed and cleansed by Christ...this, of
course, takes place at baptism as our relationship to Christ is changed.

3. HAPPINESS: HIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE DISCIPLES (13:12-17)
"When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and
returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he
asked them. {13} "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for
that is what I am. {14} Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. {15} I have set you
an example that you should do as I have done for you. {16} I tell you the
truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater
than the one who sent him. {17} Now that you know these things, you will
be blessed if you do them."

Verse 17 is the key verse as we apply this marvelous example of Jesus.
The sequence is important: humbleness, holiness, then happiness.

Jesus asked the disciples if they understood what he had done, and though
they felt they did, it's more likely that they did not ... so he explains
it to them.

Jesus was their Master (Teacher) and Lord, so He had every right to
command their service. Instead, He served them!

He gave them an example of true Christian ministry: the servant (slave)
is not greater than his master; so if the master becomes the slave, where
does that put the slave? On the same level as the master!

By becoming a servant, our Lord didn’t push us down; He lifted us up!

Peter must have recalled this lesson on humility years later when he
wrote:
1 Peter 5:5-6: "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are
older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." {6}
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift
you up in due time."

Last modified: April 18, 2006