John, pt. 78 | John 13:1-15

The Humility and Condescension of Jesus Christ

If you will, at this time, take your copy of the Scriptures and turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 13, we will consider verses 1 through 15. The Gospel of John, chapter 13. Again, we'll consider verses 1 through 15.

And this is message number 78. Let me begin with prayer. O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for these people have not gathered to hear from me, but to hear from you through your word, the word by which you grow us in holiness, conform us into the image of your beloved Son, Jesus the Christ.

So, God, I ask that you remove me and at the same time use me, your manservant, your slave, to speak forth your word that we may feast at the feet of Zion. I ask that in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

All right, let's begin with the text. It's a long text, but in narrative, sometimes you have to take large portions of the Scripture. So, let's begin with that text. John, chapter 13, verses 1 through 15.

It says, Now before the feast of Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart and go out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper, and he laid aside his outward garments and taken a towel and he tied it around his waist.

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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord, do you wish to wash my feet?

Jesus answered him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterwards you will understand. 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.

Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash himself for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.

For he knew who was to betray him. That is why he said, Not all of you are clean. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments, he resumed his place and said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you?

You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for 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 just as I have done to you.

Our theme for this Lord's Day is the humility of Jesus Christ. The humility of Jesus Christ. Now here's my proposition. Here's what I'm aiming to prove to you today. Is that the love of God for the sheep of Christ is displayed in the humility of Jesus Christ.

What we are talking about here today is God condescending. The condescension of God. God coming down from heaven. God, the one who created all things, entering into his creation. That's what we're talking about today.

And in this narrative of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, I believe that God is going to clearly paint a picture of Jesus condescending. Jesus taking on flesh. And we will see this in the humility of Jesus on two levels.

Level one, the earthly level. Level two, the heavenly level. The earthly level is a picture of the heavenly level. This is how the book of John's been orchestrated for us. This is what God has been doing.

He's given us earthly things to understand heavenly things. So in our outline today, we're going to see this narrative play out in four sections. We're going to see a recap of last week. Maybe last week, the week before, I cannot remember exactly what week we're in now.

When you do expositional preaching, it all just blends together sometimes. So we're going to see the recap. We're going to see the supper, the service, and the command. So point number one, the recap.

The Hour Has Come for the Son of Man to Be Glorified

Point number two, the supper. Point number three, the service. And point number four, the command. And as we transition, Pastor, if you all please take off your shoes, Pastor Kyle's going to bring out the pill and water.

Oh, we're not going to do that? Well, if not, why not? That's the question, right? If not, why not? I mean, just real quick, let's look at verses 14 and 15 again. Jesus said, 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 just as I have done to you.

If not, why not? All right, we talk about positive commands, right? Commands that are not given in the 10 words, the 10 commandments. This is a positive command, right? On base surface, right? Surface level positive plus command.

If not, why not? If we're supposed to do this, we should do this, but if not, why not? I'm going to leave you there for a second. Point number one, the recap. Look with me at verse one. Now, before the feast of Passover, so real quick, they're entering into Passover.

We're days away, if not that day or the next day, the betrayal takes place. Jesus is going to be betrayed. He's going to be crucified, nailed hands and feet to a Roman cross. He's going to die. He's going to be buried.

And three days later, he's going to rise from the grave. This is how close to the end we are. However, we have quite a few chapters to go through that's going to walk this out. So half of the book of John deals with the three and a half years of his life.

The last half of the book of John deals with days or even a day of his life. So this is where we're at. Look again, now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

This verse is recalling what took place in the previous chapter when some of the Greeks were seeking Jesus, right? Like Jesus has been doing so many mighty wondrous works. Now he has caught the attention of the Greeks.

The Greeks come and they say, we want to see Jesus. I want you to see Jesus' respond one more time to this. Chapter 12, verse 23. Imagine if someone came to me or came to you and said they wanted to see the pastor and here's the response I'd tell you to tell them.

Jesus answered them, the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. They're wanting to see Jesus. Philip comes to Nathanael. Nathanael and Philip, I mean, Andrew, excuse me. Andrew, they go to Jesus and says, some Greeks want to see you.

Jesus responds by, the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. Glorified here is speaking of his glorification, him being raised from the dead. He says, the hour has come. So in short, he's going to expand out on this, for me to die, to be buried and to rise again from the dead.

But also what our text is touching on, that the hour has come for him to go back to be with the father, meaning he was previously with the father. He came down, it's time for his death, his burial, his resurrection and for him to ascend back to his father.

You say, how do you get all that from that verse? It's clearly there. Now, in order to be glorified again and raised from the dead, he first had to die. God had to die. But the Bible says that God can not die.

How is it, if Jesus is God, how is it that he is going to die? This is what's called the hypostatic union. That's just a theological, an intellectual theological word that means that Jesus is both God and man.

He's truly God and he's truly man. In order for Jesus to die, in order for God to die, God had to take on flesh. God had to become flesh. The infinite had to become finite. But in order for Jesus to live the life that we could not live, Jesus also had to be God.

Man cannot keep God's law and God cannot die. So therefore, in order for Jesus to live the life that we could not live, he had to be God. And in order for Jesus to take upon himself the punishment that we deserve, he had to be a man.

He says, my time has come. Right here in our text, he knows that it's time for him to depart out of this world and to be with the Father. And that is through, and I will add that it is through his death, as we're going to see, that Jesus shows how he loves us.

So look again in chapter 12, I want to point out something in verse 31 through 33. Jesus speaking concerning his death. He says, now the judgment of this world, excuse me, now is the judgment of this world.

So everybody's looking for some future judgment to come. Jesus right here in the text says now is, present tense, now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler who is Satan of this world will be cast out.

And when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Here's John's commentary. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. And I want you through Hebrews chapter two, right?

That God did not send an angel into this world to subdue, the Greek word there is to hypotasso, means to take control of. God did not send an angel into this world to take control of it. He sent his son, Jesus Christ.

And how does Jesus Christ take control of the world? Through his life, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And in that text, Hebrews chapter two, it tells you how Satan is cast out. We see it in Revelation chapter 20, it says that an angel comes down and cast as him, and cast as cast, whatever, cast as him, I can't ever say that word right, into a pit for a thousand years, right?

All right. Hebrews two tells you what that actually looks like. So Revelation, very symbolic. Hebrews two, very literal but spiritual at the same time. It says that Jesus Christ on that cross, when he died, he took the power of death from Satan.

And then in Revelation 20, it goes on to say that this took place so that Satan could not deceive the nations any longer, meaning that the gospel can go forth, that the world can receive the gospel, that nations outside of Judaism can come to Christ.

And we here today in America, Tallahoma, Tennessee, those of us who are Christians, we are beneficiaries of what took place that day when Jesus took the power of death from Satan. It says he loved them all the way to the cross, right?

Isn't that what it says? Look back at chapter 13, verse one. He says, and Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The end, therefore, being the cross. And that's not just his disciples, but it's also speaking of the elect. And it's not just the cross, but it's speaking now. If you are his, if you are a Christian, if you are in Christ, you are loved by Jesus Christ.

And it's not just speaking of the cross, although it is, like it's speaking of the cross. That when he was on that cross, you and I were in him. And some now and not yet, right? But even at the cross, you and I were loved by Jesus.

Jesus at that time knew who were his, it says so in the text. And that meaning in the past, right? Abraham was his. Jacob was his. David was his. And he knew who was his at that time. He's surrounded by his disciples.

And he knew that at least 11 of them were his. Judas was going to betray him. He knew who were his. And just at that same time, he also knew who were going to be his. Who were going to be his. And the present tense, which is talking about us, and however many more God brings to himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ as that gospel is being spread.

Says he loved us to the end of his life. And even now Jesus loves us. The language in our text is clear. Having loved his own. Are you his? Response? Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Again, speaking of the cross, speaking of him dying for their sins. Point number two. Check out verses two through four. Says this, during the supper, when the devil, right, had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus knowing that the father has given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, right?

Coming from God, condescending, going back to God, ascending, rose from supper, and he laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, he tied it around his waist. One of the things that I've been enjoying about this gospel is that in John's gospel, he fills in areas that other gospels leave out.

Without John's gospel, we would have never known about this event. I would have never had that moment in the beginning of our sermon when I told Pastor Cal to go get the pail of water, right? Like, that would have not existed, that moment, right?

We would have not known about this. We would have not known about some of the things that took place in Jesus's ministry outside the gospel of John. You know, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they record a lot of the same messages from different points of views.

But we've been seeing through John's gospel that there's other things that they have not mentioned. And even in some of the stories that they have mentioned, we got to see a fuller picture of it, or we used the Soptic gospels to give us a fuller picture of what John is talking about.

And again, if you have read this scripture, if you have read the Bible, or if you've been around in church and you've heard Bible stories, you know that at this last Passover, a commotion breaks out. And in two weeks from now, we'll go over that in detail.

But at this last Passover, Jesus Christ institutes the last, I mean, the Lord's Supper. I had that picture in my head, the last supper. But yeah, no. At the last Passover, Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper.

And when he does so, he makes a mention of who it is that is going to betray him. And it's Judas Iscariot. And this causes the commotion. Now, he doesn't make mention to his disciples. John here, giving us commentary, tells us who it is that's going to betray him.

But he doesn't blast him out by name, but he does point him out very clearly. Now, it's important that as we are about to walk through this, that we understand what's going to take place so that we can see how beautiful what's taken place, what is about to take place is.

We're about to see the King of Kings stoop down and do something that no king would ever do. And that is to wash the feet of their followers. Imagine a king stepping down from his throne and washing the feet of his servants, washing the feet of those who serve him.

That's what we're about to witness here. The act of foot washing was not something new to them. As a matter of fact, we now, and I know they then can trace foot washing back to Abraham. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 18.

Genesis chapter 18. We're going to read verses one through five. Genesis chapter 18. It says, and the Lord appeared to him, the him here is Abraham, by the oaks of Mamren. As he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, he lifted his eyes and he looked and behold, three men were standing in front of him.

When he saw them, he ran from the tent of the tent door to meet them and he bowed himself to the earth and said, oh Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree while I bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves and after that you may pass on since you have come to your servant.

So they said, do as you have said. All right, to understand this story here is that one of these three men was God, Yahweh. It goes on to explain to us, right? And the other two men, I would say are angels as the text will go on to explain to us but being sensitive to time, we cannot go into great detail and read all of that.

Now, what this text doesn't tell us is that Abraham washed the feet of Yahweh, that Abraham washed the feet of the two angels and nor should we assume that Abraham washed the feet of Yahweh or the two angels.

You see, Abraham had servants. He had servants and most likely, now it could have been Abraham but most likely when you trace this back, it would have been Abraham's servants to wash the feet of these three men, Yahweh and two angels.

Also, this is what's called a theophany, meaning that God appeared to Abraham as a man. However, we just read in our Old Testament scripture reading that as this covenant was being made with Abraham, as these animals were slaughtered, that instead of Abraham walking through the animals, it was a smoking pot and a flaming torch, a smoking pot and a flaming torch which is a theophany that it was God who walked among between the split animals.

Now, when you understand the New Testament, we understand that this theophany is actually a Christophany. So, it's not just that God appeared to Abraham but it's specifically speaking about Jesus Christ.

When you understand the New Testament, you understand that it was Jesus Christ who appeared to Abraham. Jesus said to the Jewish leaders that Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. When did Abraham see his day?

Well, how many times did God appear to Abraham? Every time God appeared to Abraham, Abraham rejoiced and he saw the day of Jesus. He saw the day of Jesus. And so, like if you turn with me real quick to John chapter one, and I know we've looked at this a lot and as long as it keeps mentioning it, we'll look at it a lot more.

But in John chapter one, verse 18 tells us that no one has ever seen the father. Now, as I'm about to read this, I want you to think about Adam and Eve. They walked with God. And tell me, and when you heard this story, that you were thinking the father.

Look at verse, look at this. Oh, I didn't even turn it there. Verse 18, John says, no one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the father's side has made him known. So, no one has ever seen the father.

The only God, you know, there's only one God, three persons, talking about the Trinity, one being, three persons. So, no one has ever seen God the father. The only God, God the son, who is at the father's side has made him known.

If you go back to verse one, it tells you in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Verse 14, the word became flesh that God has entered into time. And he has done so to reveal to us who the father is.

So, did Adam and Eve walk with God? Yes, but specifically, they walked with Jesus Christ. Did Abraham see God? Yes, but specifically, they saw Jesus Christ. Whenever someone saw God in the Old Testament, they saw Jesus.

And you have not that understanding outside of the New Testament. We saw this a couple of weeks ago in John chapter 12 concerning Isaiah. Isaiah says that he saw the Lord high and lifted up, that the train of his road filled the temples and above him were seraphims.

It says that each of them had six wings and with two wings, they would cover their face and with two wings, they covered their feet and with two wings, they flew and one would call to another and say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

It says that the whole earth is full of his glory. We come to find out that this glory is Jesus and that John tells us that Isaiah saw Jesus. And if you would have asked Isaiah, Isaiah, who did you see on that throne?

He would have said, I saw Yahweh high and lifted up. And John says, oh, Isaiah, that was Jesus. That was Jesus. Acts 2 .42 tells us that we devote ourselves to the teachings of the apostle. John was an apostle and John said, Isaiah saw Jesus.

He also says that no one has ever seen the Father. He says, no one's ever seen the Father, they saw Jesus. Jesus was high and lifted up and he had seraphims, these six winged beings calling to one another, reminding each other how holy, holy, holy Jesus is.

You know, that's what we do when we street preach. Red's really my only audience sometimes. Jake's there and whoever's there, like, you're really my only audience. Just talking about how holy, holy, holy Jesus is.

Call into one another, amen, brother. In Genesis 18, Abraham's servants wash the feet of Jesus. But in our text today, Jesus washes the feet of his servants. Abraham's servants washed Jesus' feet, but Jesus washes the feet of his servants.

Now, that doesn't give you a moment, right? That doesn't make you wanna cry. Doesn't bring cold chills on you. You have no pulse. Jesus says of John the Baptist that there's none greater born among woman.

There's no man greater than John the Baptist who was born among women. And John the Baptist says concerning Jesus that he is unworthy to untie his sandals. Look with me in John 1, verses 25 to 27. It says, they, speaking of some religious Jews that the Pharisees sent, you see that in verse 24, 25, they asked him, speaking of John the Baptist, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet?

John answered them, I baptize you with water. But among you, remember that prophecy Moses gave, among you is gonna rise one who's coming after me and when he comes, listen to him. He says, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie.

Now we know from Jewish history that feet washing was customary and that it would have been the servant's duty, the servant's duty to wash the feet of the master's guests. John the Baptist, concerning Jesus, says that he is unworthy to be a servant of Jesus.

There's never been a man born among women greater than John and he says that he is unworthy to fill that position, meaning he is unworthy to wash the feet of Jesus. He doesn't even see himself meeting the qualifications of a slave.

He says that he is unworthy to call himself a slave of Jesus. Did you imagine that? We don't think like that with our American minds. We don't think like that. Like something's not connected with our thoughts and with the times that we live here and as we read the scriptures, there's a disconnect.

We don't think like that. We see servants and slaves as something bad and negative. John says, I'm not even worthy to be a slave of the one who is coming. I'm not worthy to untie his sandals, much less wash the dirt from his feet.

I'm not worthy. Seraphims are calling to one another and reminding each other how holy, holy, holy he is and John the Baptist says, I'm unworthy to take the sandals off of his feet. Yet we today think we are, right?

Am I wrong? Am I lying? We don't think like they do. And in our text today, Jesus is about to do something that's going to shock everyone who is there and it begins with him standing up after supper, laying aside his garments, his outward garments and wrapping around himself a huge towel.

Now, a foot washing towel would be something like a blanket to us. It would be this, they would wrap, for most part, they would wrap it around and tie it around their waist so as it was going down the line, it would drag and follow them.

And when part of it, part of that towel would be wet that he would use to dip into the water to wash the feet and the other part of it that would hang there, he would use to dry their feet. Point number three, the service.

It's taken from verses five through 11, but let's begin reading verses five through eight. Then he, Jesus, poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet. And he wiped them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

And he came to Simon who said to him, Lord, do you wish to wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I'm about to do, you do not understand now, but afterwards you will understand. Peter said to him, listen, you shall never wash my feet.

Let's stop there. You shall never wash my feet. What should be clear to us as we read this, but so often is not, is that Peter is recognizing what Jesus is doing. He's recognizing that Jesus is doing something out of the ordinary.

And what is out of the ordinary is that the master is washing the feet of the servants. It's backwards. Peter sees himself in his proper position, servant, and he sees Jesus in his proper position, master, king, Lord, who removes his outer garment and wraps it around his waist to wash the feet of the servants.

Listen, do not miss Peter's response. Let's look at that again. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Peter sees his master, his earthly master, condescending, putting himself in the position of a servant, humbling himself and doing something that would be considered by others humiliating.

Other kings, other masters would never do this, afraid that it would bring shame upon them. They would never stoop so low to wash the feet of their servants. They would have been scared that they would have looked foolish.

No king, no rabbi, no master would have ever done such a thing. To wash the feet would mean to lose all self-respect. They would have been the laughingstock by other rabbis, masters, and kings. And Peter sees this.

He recognizes this. He is doing something that other lords are gonna laugh at. Peter does not quite understand yet. That's what he says. What I am doing, you do not understand because he doesn't understand that in order for the God-man to be standing in front of him, he first had to condescend, come down.

He had to descend out of his position, off of his throne. Turn with me to John 3 and look at verse 13. Jesus speaking. Says, no one has ascended, has gone up into heaven except he who descended. Speaking of himself.

And some of your versions may tag on, and is in heaven. Which I think should be there. John has been all about Jesus coming into time, the creator entering creation, the infinite becoming finite. This is something that John has been spouting out over and over and over, trying to get it in our thick American minds.

This shows that Peter understood the earthly and not the heavenly. Peter seeing him in his position as lord and master, stepping down to wash feet. Peter understood the earthly and not the heavenly and was disturbed by the earthly.

Again, the earthly meaning, Jesus laying aside his outer garments and wrapping himself in a huge towel to wash the feet of his disciples. The part that Peter was not understanding was the heavenly. Jesus laying aside his kingly robe and wrapping himself in human flesh to live and die in the place of his servants.

To wash away their sins. This is nothing more than a picture pointing us back to what Christ has done for us. Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus in his rightly position in heaven on a throne, high and lifted up, surrounded by seraphims reminding each other how holy he is, takes on flesh, removes his crown, removes his royal robe, and steps into time.

If Peter would have understood that at that moment, would Peter have responded the way that he did? So which is more condescending? Use that word in a bad way. Him washing feet or him wrapping himself in flesh?

We actually see Peter say something similar. Like as you read the Bible, you notice that Peter is really good at sticking his dirty foot in his mouth, right? He actually does something similar after the institution of the Lord's Supper.

And we see this in Matthew chapter 26. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 26. So this is during the Lord's Supper right after it was instituted. Verse 30, chapter six, verse 30 says this, when they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Peter said to him, right? So Peter's understanding what's going on here. Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

Peter said to him, even if I must die with, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And the disciples said the same. Now we know that Peter understood what Jesus is talking about. He mentions that even if I must die.

So when he's talking about the shepherd will be struck, the shepherd's gonna be struck, he knew that's talking about death. And that the sheep, which was in him and the other disciples were going to flee, he says, no, I'm not going nowhere, even if I must die with you.

And we all know what happens, right? And we'll get into it in weeks to come. Although Peter understood the words that came out of Jesus' mouth, Peter didn't quite understand the implications of what was involved.

Again, probably making us more like Peter than we care to admit. John chapter 12, verse 24 says this, truly, truly, Jesus speaking, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.

But if it dies, it bears much fruit, telling us that he must be crucified. He must be put into the earth as a seed and come out glorified. And the fruit thereof is our future death, burial and resurrection.

And if you're a Christian here today, on that last day when Jesus returns, the harvest will come forth. Those seeds that were put into the ground will sprout forth and you'll come out of the ground like Christ, glorified.

And my dear friends, if you could see your future self come out of that grave, it would be no different than one of those seraphims walking in here right now. You'd fall down and worship your future self.

That's how glorified you're going to be. That's how different you're going to be. That's how much like Christ you're going to be. We're going to be as he is, for we will see him as he is, the scripture tells us.

We could not ascend to heaven, so God descended to earth. And to that I say, oh, the humiliation of Jesus Christ. They were about to partake in the Passover, and yet there were no servants there to wash their feet.

And even though they probably was thinking the same thing as John the Baptist, that they are unworthy to wash their master's feet, they should have been fighting over that pill and water to wash the feet of their master.