Suffering Servant: Saving Sinners Forgiving Sin

Suffering Servant: Saving Sinners Forgiving Sin

Reading of the Word of God

John 13:3-11

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" 7  Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."  8  Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."  9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you."  11  For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."

Prayer
Father in our short time tonight, would you do a deep work in our lives. Ignite your word not through what I have to say but through what your Spirit will say to us. May it minister deep in our souls to every need that we know and don’t know. In Christ name amen.

Warm Up

A number of years ago the British author C.S. Lewis wrote a book he entitled Miracles. In the chapter called "The Grand Miracle," Lewis, described the incarnation of Christ: "In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity ... down to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created.

 "But He goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.”

When the Son of God came he stooped very low. He humbled himself. In todays passage we see the symbolism of his humility. We see him stoop and wash the feet of the disciples. Interestingly  this task wasn’t just for any servant-Some Jews insisted that this task should be reserved for the  lowliest of menial servants- namely- Gentile(non Jewish) slaves. 

·          This scene is a microcosm of the full meaning and reason why Jesus came to earth.

Jesus stooped. He lowered himself to do something no one else could. That is…To handle the complicated burden of our sin .And to bear the weight of its punishment.

Transition:

Now what I want us to focus on our time is not the foot washing itself and the meaning and symbolism of that because that is the common  message in this scene. What I want to focus on for a very short time tonight is the dialogue between Jesus and Peter

It’s a simple dialogue of two protests (of non other than Peter) and then an analogy from Jesus

Look with me. v 6

First Protest: Peter Misunderstood Jesus

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet?”  Jesus answered him “What I am doing you do not understand now but afterward you will understand.”

PICTURE:

Through all Jewish and Greco Roman sources there is never an instance of  a superior washing the feet of an inferior. We understand culturally why Peter exclaimed  do YOU wash MY feet.

·         The disciples were embarrassed to the point where they had an ackward silence. For Peter, well he had to object. While it was well motivated, he and the other disciples still couldn’t grasp the true course that Jesus was taking.

·         They saw him Messiah!  Here to establish a physical kingdom and rescue from all present authorities. And they were going to have rank and status to the point that just minutes earlier they were arguing about how that rank and file was going to go.

POINT: 

Peter knew Jesus was the superior to all of them.  It’s an indignant  do you- Mighty messiah and miracle worker- wash myfeet- me a  mere fisher men. Well motivated But totally ignorant of the prophecies of the  Suffering Servant. Peter protested out of ignorance

Behold my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you- his appearance was so marred, beyond human, semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind---  

Isaiah 52:13,14

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;…

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;…

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief…

Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors…

Is 53:3,5,7,10,12

PREACH:

·         Jesus knew that  Peter could not understand  how the Man he esteemed and exalted  came to be a servant. 

·         Jesus knew  that the disciples could not understand how the Man they worshipped was to fulfill these prophecies by experiencing suffering.  And thereby truly establishing the rescue and salvation of his people chosen from all over the earth regardless of rank, race and generation.

POINT:

Jesus said they will understand later- not about the footwashing but what the foot washing pointed to—it pointed to the cross. It pointed to his humiliation and suffering and death. .

 In other words Peter you will understand the symbolism of this moment later. You will understand what we are talking about “after all these things” happen and my Spirit is enlightening you to truth and understanding.

PRACTICAL: KEEP IN MIND

• THAT JESUS TELLS YOU THE SAME THING

As the saying goes hind site is 20/20. As followers of Christ we have a better understanding than Peter did at that moment. 

Yet when we are going through the darkness, through the tunnels, through the pain, through the misunderstanding…           we at times only have the same promise that we are to hold onto by faith  Sometimes it is Jesus telling us- “You don’t understand but you will after all these things. Submit by faith to what I am doing and my future grace for you will be in it!”

But just as Peter misunderstood Jesus he also…
Second Protest: Peter Misunderstood The Washing

Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me

Even when Jesus expects him to submit to the washing by faith, Peter still isn’t thinking about later, he’s talking about now
PICTURE:

But he is still not thinking anything higher than what is socially fitting.  Peter’s response is strong. NEVER!! “Never as long as long as the earth stands. You Jesus will not serve me.”

Oh Peter- yes he will

POINT:

Peter missed the fact that the full work of Jesus as Redeemer is done not with brute force and strength. It is done with a servants heart and life!

·        He missed the prophets prediction of the Suffering Servant. But he also missed the proclamations Jesus himself.

Look at  What Jesus himself said.

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”                                                                                                Matt 20:25-28

PREACH:

·        Jesus came to serve. How-  by giving his life as a ransom

·        What’s a ransom? A ransom was originally the price paid for the release of a slave. Jesus, then, is saying that he came into this world to give his life—that is, himself--  in exchange for many. He came to pay the price of sin. What’s the price of sin? Death

·        For the wages of sin is death…                          Romans 6:23a

·        The punishment of sin is death- death how? – through divine wrath that is  bringing justified punishment. The bible says all people are children of this wrath- we deserved it because we sin before a holy God and can never be good enough to overcome what we deserve on our own.

·        So Christ exchanged that. He paid our debt that is how he is our Substitute and How he Served His people. He served to redeem his people!

So Jesus answers Peter

If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.

·         If this conversation was really about cleaning stinky feet- Jesus would be rather overbearing here with this statement.

·         We get the privilege to understand this conversation in light of the rest of Scripture to know that he is talking spiritually here. He’s is using analogy to make a  higher point of spiritual truth.

PREACH

·         Bottomline- Jesus is saying I save you from this- or else you are not mine. I do it! I pay the price. I endure the cross on earth and the divine wrath of God through it. I save  you by serving you and suffering for you otherwise, Peter you are like Judas…THAT IS YOU WILL NOT BE MINE.

PRACTICAL:KEEP IN MIND

·         YOUR REDEMPTION ISN’T ABOUT YOU.  If God is not credited… worshipped… exalted… and glorified as not only the author of this grand Rescue plan but also the only one who could execute it to perfection literally. Than our worship is in vain. Because we are going to think it’s all about me!  These things happened in order to bring glory to God as He redeems his people. We are a part of His Story  not the other way around! He invites us into his story not the other way around. WE NEED TO GET THIS IN ORDER FOR OUR WORSHIP TO BE MEANINGFUL

Jesus even continues after Peter’s quick over zealous change in tone here where he says:

“Simon Peter said to him, “Lord not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Give Peter credit- he goes hard one way and hard the other.  He wants this share of inheritance –what ever it is that Jesus is referring to. He’s passionate to be linked in the blessing of Jesus.

But again misses the point  Stick with Jesus analogy…he is talking on a different level now- he’s talking spiritually

The Analogy of Jesus: Bathing Sinners, Washing Sin

 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except his feet, but is completely clean.

This is an unmistakable analogy.

POINT:

Bathing...Peter took an appropriate bath before he came. It was customary to bath before you started the Passover celebration.

He was basically clean, he didn't need his head and his hands, he didn't need to be literally doused. He had just accumulated dirt on his feet.

PICTURE

·         Bathing illustrates one kind of washing, one kind of forgiveness. It is the judicial forgiveness of a judge that takes the penalty of sin away. As a result your standing before God is- not just “not guilty”.  But  in Christ you are “righteous” The word for this Justification. Justification is the great Exchange.

I want you to hear a great preacher of our time give for you the definition of Justification and what that means for us..

MATT CHANDLER NAILS IT

PREACH

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace                                                 Ephesians 1:7

Look how he handles  those who trust His grace.                     

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.                   Ps 103:10–12

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

POINT:

So here in this analogy we see that when Jesus says he baths us… he’s saying he saves us.

But there is one more little phrase we need to understand in this analogy of Jesus. Jesus says

“The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except his feet,

• Jesus says those who are bathed need to wash just there feet. What does that mean?

POINT

• It means the once for all purchase of God’s forgiveness in your life needs a daily application

We are not to presume on God’s grace and therefore return to a habitual lifestyle of sinning. Rather we are to understand the daily confession of sins in terms of the Father’s forgiveness and fellowship. It is hard for us to at times to grasp that because perhaps our earthy fathers were a poor example of forgiveness and fellowship.  Yet that is what we are to do.

It is a matter of your growing in Christ and you need to be continually washed from the presence of sin and the power of sin. You don't need to be justified again, you just need to be being sanctified. And it is in that fatherly sense, it is in that sanctifying sense that Jesus tells us...Say to the Father...Father, forgive us our sins.

The Christian life is described as a walk… we walk by faith. With that imagery you can understand what Jesus said here--- He is forgiving sin. We are not totally free from the influence of sin in this world. Its presence is still all around us. So for us the promise of 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

is a statement of fact and trusting promise because of Jesus- Not because we are confessing and doing our part! We put our faith in him not our penance! And we walk with clean feet until we notice again the dirt in our lives and stop and wash again in the preaching of the gospel to ourselves and increase our worship of Him accordingly!

PRACTICAL: KEEP IN MIND

• YOU ARE BOTH JUST AND SINNER AT THE SAME TIME. That means we rest in the verdict of our Righteous Judge who declares us forgiven and righteous in Christ. No condemnation Rest in that worship him because of that celebrate the Lord’s Supper because of that.  It also means the we seek forgiveness of our Heavenly Father  to enjoy greater fellowship with him. And as he reveals sin to you, you see how much bigger the Cross gets as you lean heavier and heavier on it. And through it God makes you more like Jesus.

Let’s peek at the last bit of what Jesus said here then we are done:

And you are clean but not every one of you.” For he know who was going to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

• Of course this is about Judas. Judas so near the Savior but not one of his own. He was washed physically by Christ but not cleansed spiritually  by Christ. Judas was sooooo close. Near the Gospel yet never embraced the good news.

POINT:

There are some in here, where you have been close to the gospel but have never trusted in what Christ has done by turning away from your sin and turning toward Christ. Sin has separated you for too long and you know it. Today, God is saying, is the day of salvation- today is the day of redemption. Put your faith in Christ’s work on the cross- ALONE.Turn to Jeus repent of your sin and he will save you.

Let’s pray