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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/larry-perkins/john-13/
If we look, please, at John chapter 13, the gospel of John chapter 13. It's good to see everyone that's come today. And we'll start reading at verse one. I'll be reading from the New King James Version.
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 her 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. That's all we'll read just for now.
I've been enjoying recently what's often called the upper room ministry of the Lord Jesus. His last words, his last teaching to the disciples, given on the night before he was crucified. You know, a person's last words are weighty.
I was present when my mother died, and I remember her last words to me. I find it interesting in chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16, the last words, the upper room ministry of the Lord Jesus, what he chooses to speak to his disciples about.
He knew he was gonna leave them, and he knew the challenges they were gonna face. And he's really fortifying them, helping them, teaching them to be able to carry on, even though he wouldn't be there with them physically.
I would suggest, brothers and sisters, what they needed to hear, what they needed to know, is no different than what we need to hear and know as well. You know, it's amazing, and it amazed the disciples, what the Lord Jesus did here when he washed their feet.
Now, I realize there are some groups that feel you should do this physically, and I read that even the Pope, apparently, actually washes people's feet. Why don't we do it? Aren't we supposed to take the Bible literally?
Well, yes, when you can. But to me, it's clear that Jesus isn't talking about literal feet washing. For example, in verse seven, Jesus tells them what he's doing now, they don't understand. These men might have been simple fishermen, but they weren't imbeciles.
They knew the Lord Jesus was washing their feet. And later on, down in verse 12, he says, do you know what I've done to you? Again, they knew he had washed their feet. But then, notice in verse 11, the Lord says, he knew who would betray him, therefore he said, you're not all clean.
He wasn't talking about they just had dirty feet. He was talking about Judas not being cleansed, not being saved. And to me, here's concrete evidence that Judas, although had great privilege, was not a believer.
So what is the spiritual significance of the feet washing? Now, the picture seems to be, back in this context, in this society, they didn't have indoor plumbing like we would, so suppose somebody had been invited to someone's house for supper.
You might take a bath before you go, but as you walk through the streets, the dusty streets wearing sandals, when you got to your friend's house for the meal, you wouldn't need another bath, but you would need your feet cleansed.
This is a little picture of what happens when a person is saved spiritually. When they're saved, they're washed in the blood of Christ, cleansed once and for all. But as we go through this life, through this world, the world has an effect upon us.
Shakespeare said, the world is too much with us. It defiles us. It affects us, and we need to be cleansed from this. The Lord helps us with this. He encourages, he's given us his word. We can confess our sin to him as believers and know that it's taken care of, but brother, sister, the Lord wants you and I to help one another with this.
You know, it's easier to point out the defilement in our brother or sister, gossip about it, saying, you know, look at what she did or what he said or, interesting. Many years ago, I was speaking on this passage in a different way, but a brother well-meaning afterward came to me and went up one side and down the other, and I don't know how many layers of skin he took off, but it was quite a few, but suggesting that the Lord didn't wash Judah's feet.
Well, I was a young believer, and I didn't know, and, but when I went back home and looked at this next section, we didn't get to that yet, but anyway, he meant well, but the way he went about it, you know, we can be well-meaning trying to help one another with what we perceive as things in their life that aren't right.
You know, I suppose you could try to wash somebody's feet with boiling water or ice water. You might not accomplish too much. You can also use sandpaper. I think that's what this brother used on me. Or you could say, look at those dirty feet and cut off the feet.
That'd solve the problem, wouldn't it? Brother, sister, the Lord Jesus, knowing he had a limited amount of time, his last words, teaching his own, he wanted them to take care of one another, to help one another.
Somebody told me a long time ago that the assembly is not so much an arena and gymnasium where the goal is who can score the most points. Assembly is more like a hospital. We've all got our wounds, sin wounds, and we ought to be trying to help one another.
You know, many of us, our walk isn't as clean as we'd like, our walk in this world. It would have been refreshing to have dusty feet washed back in these days. But how refreshing it is if somebody comes along and just helps you with the issues in your life, maybe that they can see, we all have our blind spots.
And maybe other people can see things that need to change in my life. I haven't seen it yet. But instead of being critical and maybe gossiping about it or trying to take a layer of skin off, you know, just come alongside and help.
You say, well, how can we do that? I would suggest there's many different ways we can help one another with the defilement of the world. Speaking may be one, inviting people to your home may be another, going for coffee and just fellowship.
Maybe the question we should be asking is, Lord, what can I do to help my brothers and sisters? I mean, we're all in this together. Shouldn't we be trying to help one another? Notice in verse 15, the Lord says, I've given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.
Doesn't the Lord deal graciously with you and me, with our shortcomings, with those things in our lives that the world has affected us, not for the better? The Lord is so gracious. He says, do as I have done to you.
But in verse 17, he says, if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I'm not telling you anything you don't know. It's one thing to know it, it's another thing to do it. May the Lord help us to be doers and just not hearers of the word of God.
But let's read on, verse 18. I do not speak concerning all of you. The Lord, of course, is a speaker here. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.
Now, I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am he. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.
When Jesus has said these things, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke.
Now, there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter, therefore, motioned to him to ask who it was of whom he spoke. Then leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, it is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now, after the piece of bread, Satan entered him.
Then Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. But no one at the table knew for what reason he had said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, buy those things we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor.
Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately, and it was night. What a contrast, the love of the Lord Jesus, his humility, washing his disciples' feet, and here's Judas betraying the Lord, the work of Satan.
I find it amazing that the disciples never suspected Judas. I mean, they, well, New King James says they were perplexed. You know, when the Lord says, one of you is gonna betray me. I mean, they'd been together for three years, basically 24 -7.
They didn't suspect Judas was living a double life. Now, as I mentioned, I don't believe Judas was saved, and I know Satan was directly influencing him, but it's possible for us to live a double life, too.
Pretending to be something that we're not, that we've been challenged in this already today to examine ourselves, but what a sad thing when a person who takes their place as a believer is living a double life and ultimately betrays the trust the Lord's people have in them.
I don't know if you've ever read any of the stories that have been written about spies, especially in the Cold War, Russian spies, spies from Great Britain, but interesting, just this past week, maybe you saw it in the news, a woman by the name of Linda Sun, Chinese, she had high positions in the government of the state of New York, but now it's alleged that she is a spy working for the Chinese Communist Party, and I doubt if they would have brought these things if they didn't have pretty concrete proof that it's accurate.
She was living a double life, pretending to be something she wasn't. Now, I know that none of us as believers were perfect. We would like to be more or less perfect, like the Lord Jesus, and we are, but do we not owe allegiance to the Lord Jesus?
Do we not owe it to other believers to not be living a double life? I know sin is powerful, but because we belong to him and because the Holy Spirit indwells us, we don't need to let sin have the power over us, that maybe it had at one time.
Judas didn't need his feet washed. He needed the once and for all cleansing that the Lord Jesus talked about. New King James calls it the bathe. That's a different word. I think many will know that in verse 10, when Jesus said to him, he who is washed is the King James, but it's a different word than all the other times here when we get the word wash, it's for the feet washing.
So it's different, the once and for all cleansing as opposed to the daily cleansing. And maybe I'm speaking, I hope not, but maybe I'm speaking to somebody here that you've taken your place as a Christian, but deep down, you know you're not.
Let me just say this now in the will of the Lord, the gospel will be preached in a little while, but being a Christian means trusting in the fact that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, he died for my sins.
It's the death of Christ that takes away sin, not his death plus anything else, Christ alone. The assurance of this comes, not so much that it changed life, although there should be a changed life, but it comes from the word of God.
These things are written that you may know that you have eternal life. God wants us to know for sure that we have eternal life. And I know for me, not having ever been to an assembly meeting until four years after I was saved, knowing nothing about eternal security, I struggled with this big time, having assurance.
And the devil could make mincemeat out of me. I mean, I wondered if I was saved or not, until by his grace, I just rested in what he said. The power of the word of God. You know, when the Lord Jesus was tempted in the wilderness three times, again, I'm saying things you know, but the Lord used the word of God to resist the devil.
It's written, it's written, it's written. But one more thing. Verse 30, having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And these words are so, I don't know. And it was night. It was night for Judas physically, but spiritually, how much more?
Brother, sister, when we turn our back on the Lord Jesus, it's always darkness. We're turning away from the one who is the light. And the devil may tempt us and encourage us to follow the darkness, but it's emptiness.
It may look appealing for a while, but there's no one like the Lord Jesus. There's nothing like the light. But let's read on. I want to read at least one more section here. I might not get through the whole chapter.
Verse 31. So when he had gone out, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, now the son of man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him immediately.
Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come. So now I say to you, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another.
As I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So the Lord tells him that he is going away, but he says, I'm giving you a new commandment that you love one another.
Why is this a new commandment? I mean, don't we have that in the Torah, in the law, in Leviticus? Love your neighbor as yourself? We do. So why is this new? Well, I would suggest one thing. There's a new standard here.
It isn't loving as we love ourselves, like Leviticus talks about, love your neighbor as yourself, but the Lord says, love one another as I have loved you. Talk about a high standard. I would suggest too that it's new in the sense of now that the spirit of God indwells, believers, we have a new power, enabling us to more the better to submit to this commandment.
But as I read this, and really this is at the beginning of the Lord's last words to his disciples, he's putting an importance on not only them taking care of one another, but here he says to love one another.
You know, we can just blow this off and it's possible for us to think, you know, we're doctrinally correct and we've got everything, our ducks in a row, and yet not submit to this basic, fundamental command of the Lord to love one another.
As I have loved you. The Lord knew that this would be critical in the days that lay ahead, at the formation of the church, of the beginning of assemblies, in the Roman Empire. You get different, just like today, different personalities.
How many faces we have here? I don't know, we're all different. Different backgrounds, different cultures, but to get along. It's no little thing. And often when there's difficulties in an assembly, it's often not doctrinal issues, but personality.
And then, in verse 35, notice, the Lord says, by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. It isn't our knowledge of doctrine. Now, I'm not minimizing the importance of doctrine.
It's critically important, but so is this, as far as testimony to the world. How often has that testimony been blown because of the way we don't get along? Something so simple, so fundamental, and yet so within our reach.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist here. And I'm not saying we don't love one another. Thank God we do. But the Lord wants it as I have loved you. Right at the beginning here, he says, he loved them to the end.
And when Gary was praying, he mentioned that. Having loved his own who are in the world, he's the example. He loved them to the end. I won't take time to read the last part of the chapter about Peter's denial.
Peter wasn't as spiritual as he thought he was. Peter says there in verse 37, he says, Lord, why can't I follow you now? I'll lay down my life for your sake. He meant well, but he didn't know his own flesh.
Have you ever denied the Lord? Likely we've all denied him in different ways, under less pressure than Peter was under. So interesting here, the Lord's teaching here to his own. It's in the shadow of Calvary.
He knows that in a little while, he's gonna be nailed to a cross. And yet he's not so much concerned about himself. He's concerned about them and how they're gonna treat one another. And what a contrast to Judas, his betrayal, Peter, his denial.
But just a word about Peter. Peter failed the Lord big time. Caused him tears, but Peter was restored. We've all had our failures. Thank God, God is a God of restoration. David there in Psalm 23, he restores my soul.
May the Lord help to restore our souls even today at this conference.