Blessed Are You If … Part 1

John 13:1-17 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. And  supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 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. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 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.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 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.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 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? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 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. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in our sermon series through the gospel of John. As Rabbi and Master, Jesus gave tangible examples, that His disciples should do as He has done to them. A disciple is defined as (1) A learner; a scholar; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from another. (2) A follower; an adherent to the doctrines of another. Hence the constant attendants of Christ were called his disciples; and hence all Christians are called his disciples, as they profess to learn and receive his doctrines and precepts. A disciple of Jesus is a dedicated student and devoted follower of Christ. The demonstration of washing His disciple’s feet communicated four principles. First, it was practical because in those days people wore sandals and the dirt roads made their feet dusty and dirty. Though a person may be clean everywhere else, their feet needed to be cleaned when entering a home.

1 Corinthians 6:11 “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Secondly, Jesus wants His disciples to allow Him to wash their feet, purifying what is dirty in their life. Peter did not feel worthy to have his feet washed by Jesus because in that culture, the unbuckling, removing of sandals and the washing of guests feet was performed by the lowest ranking servant of the house. But, in reality, we cannot be blessed by Jesus until we have been washed clean by Jesus. This act foretold the cleansing of sin by the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:13-14, 22 says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no  emission.” We must see the grace of God and the peace from sin’s wrath through our loving Savior in this symbolism. Revelation 1:4-5 explains, “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on washing and being washed in the next post.

In Christ, Brian