Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. When we serve others, We're serving Christ. Imagine if Jesus walked into church. and said, I've got something I want someone to do, we'd all be there, wouldn't we? But the Lord is here.
When we're serving others, We're serving crashed, the homeless, the poor. The orphan, the prisoner, the widow. The lonely, the bereaved. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. This daily program is a media ministry of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Popular culture tells us that the most important thing to focus on is ourselves. We're encouraged to improve our self-image, to promote ourselves, and to put our own interests first. But today we'll discover that the most fulfilling way to live is by serving others. Here's Pastor John Monroe. In each of the encounters we've studied in John's Gospel, we see Jesus displaying his love and proclaiming the truth.
I ask you. Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus? Today, we're looking at a fascinating incident in the life of Jesus from the opening verses of John 13. I've called this message Serving Others. Here we see the Lord of glory as a man on earth, serving his disciples, who should, of course, have been serving him.
But their pride and self-importance meant That the disciples waited on someone to serve them. How do you feel about serving others? Do you view it as a chore or as a sign of weakness? Perhaps you feel a sense of obligation. Most of us love when people serve us, but we need to ask.
Am I willing to serve others? A young wife expecting twins is confined to bed. Her husband is very busy at work and Has a very little time to take care of his wife. or his home. A Christian woman takes over a meal, and as she does so and goes into the house, she notices that every cup, saucer, plate, bowl, fork, knife, has been used by the husband and the still unwashed in the kitchen sink.
She gets to work cleaning not only the dishes, but the kitchen. What you doing? She is washing feet. A committee needs to organise the upcoming Christian camp for teens. They're there to assign various responsibilities, and members of the team, the committee, quickly volunteer to organise the games, act as referees for the soccer games, lead devotions, be responsible for the music and so on.
And towards the end of the committee meeting, someone hesitantly mentions that someone on the committee will need to take responsibility for all of the sports equipment, particularly to make sure it's returned at the end of the day. and not left lying around. There's a long silence. I'm part of that committee and I'm part of that long silence. This is a much behind the scenes task.
Many of us on the committee quickly volunteered to do what we wanted to do. But after a long silence, a young man on the committee Coming from a very wealthy and a very privileged home, volunteers quietly to take on that menial responsibility. What's he going to do? He's going to wash feet. Today, in our series on John's Gospel, we come to John chapter 13, where the emphasis moves from our Lord's public ministry to his private ministry.
The first 12 chapters of John's Gospel that we've been studying has been called the Book of Signs. We have seen the seven signs, the seven miracles. The final chapters now have been called the Book of Glory.
Now Jesus is alone with his disciples. Outside is the crowd. The public signs are now over. He's alone with his disciples, and we will see him this morning doing something remarkable. He is washing.
their fit. Let me stop there. Do you know anything about washing feet? You you say, what do you mean, John, watching feet? I mean this.
Willingly serving others By doing menial tasks. that no one else wants to do. I would suggest that most of us are involved if we are followers of Jesus Christ in serving, but I'm not talking just about serving. I'm talking about humbling as we serve. I'm talking about washing feet.
willingly, not grudgingly, not because we're compelled to do it or because someone is putting guilt on us, but willingly serving others by doing menial tasks that no one else in the group wants to do. That's washing feet. The lesson this morning is a very simple one. That is simple to understand, very difficult to do in practice consistently. But it is this: be like Jesus.
Wash. Fit. I want to paint Five pictures. You're going to have to do the painting. I'm going to give you some of the tools.
The first Picture, if you open your Bibles to John chapter 13, is a picture of enduring love found in the first three verses of John chapter 13. John 13, then verse 1.
Now, before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, That he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who are in the world, he loved them. to the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand. and that he had come forth from God And was going back.
to God. Here is our first picture that I want you to paint in your mind: a picture of enduring love. We read here in verse one that Jesus knew that his hour has come That he should depart out of this world to the Father. We have seen this expression this hour several times before in John's Gospel. We read it in chapter two, verse four, at the feast of at the wedding of Cana of Galilee.
We saw it in chapter 7, verse 30. It occurs again in chapter 8, verse 20. At various times, John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus didn't do certain things because his hour had not yet come. We have learned that the religious establishment are conspiring to put Jesus to death. But they are powerless to do so because is our had not yet come.
But now when we come to John chapter thirteen, we read that his hour Had come. You say, What's the hour? It is his hour, it is the hour of his death. The hour Fixed by God from all of eternity. That hour, the hour when he should die, has now come.
And so, what we're going to read here in John chapter 13 takes place, very importantly, takes place in the shadow. of the cross. Jesus is just about to die. He's just about to be betrayed. He's just about to go on trial.
Now with that said, we read at the end of verse one that Jesus loved his disciples to the end. The NIV, which some of you have given interpretive translation. and says he now should show them the full extent of his love. An interpretation of the verse. It might mean that, but literally it is, as the old King James does, as the new American Standard has, as the English Standard Version has, translate that little.
Expression in Greek, I stalos unto the end. Jesus. John is saying, not only loved his disciples, he loved them to the end. He loved them not only to the end of his life, that's true. But he loves them utterly, he loves them fully, he loves them to the uttermost.
His love for these disciples, even though they're going to desert him, even though they're going to deny him, his love for these disciples has no limits. No limits. At all. He loves his disciples. to the end.
Not wonderful to know. Do you see this picture in your mind of enduring love? That no one ever loves you or loves me as Jesus loves us. One of the greatest of all human experiences is to be loved, is to love someone and to receive love. That's an incredible experience that we have in our marriage, in our relationships, and our friendships.
But this love is different. Jesus loves us to the end. Paul says that God demonstrates his love toward us. in that while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us. You see, this love that Jesus has for you is totally undeserved for you.
These disciples did not deserve to be loved by Jesus to the end. They were going to desert him. One was going to betray him. Peter was going to deny him. But this love has no limits, it has no end, it is incomparable.
It is from everlasting to everlasting. We are loved with an everlasting love. It is all of God's grace. He loves us to the end. Here is a picture of enduring love.
Love.
Now notice verse three. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, he had come to do the Father's will, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God. He had come from God, he's sent by his Father into this world, and he knew that the hour of his death is just around the corner.
So in the very shadow of his death, He's going to die. He's going to be raised from the dead and he's going to return to his Father. He's going back to heaven. Jesus then could face the worst that men could do because he knew the Father's plan of salvation. He knew he had come from God, he knew he was going back to God.
He knew his origin, he knew his mission, he knew his destiny. And he trusted, here's the point, he trusted in the Father's sovereign plan for his life. There's something we need to grasp, isn't it? What's going to help us As we go through life as followers of Jesus Christ, particularly when difficulties and hardships and disappointments and unexpected situations come into our life, by knowing a number of things. Number one, that God is in control.
Is that good to know? That take a big burden off your back. God is in control. And this God, secondly, who is in control, has a plan for my life. Yes, he has a plan for his Savior, a specific, a unique plan, but God has a plan for your life and for mine.
And I am reminded this morning with these opening verses of John chapter 13 in this first picture that we are painting in our minds. That the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have a special plan for us. And that plan is one of enduring love. He loves us. To the end.
You may think because of unexpected difficulties in your life that God doesn't love you and want to assure you on the authority of the Word of God. that you are greatly loved. And an understanding that God is in control, an understanding that God has a purpose for your life, and an understanding that we are loved with this enduring love gives us a strength and a peace. as we face the challenges of life. Here's our first picture then, our Saviour's enduring love.
Our second picture A picture of humble service, verse four. He rose from supper. Laid aside his garments, and taking a towel, he girded himself, and then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet. and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. You know that picture in your mind, enduring love?
Keep it there.
Next to it, picture number two, a picture of humble service. Jesus. Takes the place of a slave. Here in the upper room, The disciples and their Lord, Jesus Christ, are enjoying an evening meal. They eat rather differently from most of us.
They rest on a low table with their left elbows on the table, their feet away from the table, and eating. With their right hands, their right hand stretching out, reaching for food. And in that position, Jesus Gets up. He takes off clothes, his robe, he lays aside his clothes. He takes a towel.
puts it round him, girds himself. pours water into a basin. and then begins to wash. the disciples' feet. In that culture, people wore sandals.
As they walked, Enough cars and bicycles. If you wanted to get from A to B, they walked not on paved roads as we do, not on nice sidewalks, but on dirty roads, mud roads, sandy roads. Inevitably, their feet would get dirty and sweaty. Etiquette dictated. that when guests arrived, their feet were washed.
That was normally done by the Gentile slaves. Feet washing was the most menial of tasks. Who wants to wash dirty, sweaty feet? I certainly don't want to do that. Do you?
as a task for the slave. If there's not a slave is a task for the woman. It's a task for children. It's certainly not for a task for self-important disciples who are following this rabbi. None of them.
Is going to wash feet. That's not their job. That's someone else's job. Do you see this picture? To their utter astonishment.
Jesus stoops to wash their feet. He's not only dressed as a slave, he is a slave. I often think that the angels in heaven must have been staggered. These perfect seraphim and cherubim. who serve God and who worship God.
and who don't look on him directly. They must have been staggered as they looked down. In utter amazement at the eternal Son of the eternal God, the Lord of glory. What's he doing? stooping and washing the dirty feet of proud selfish, sinful man.
Girded to serve, the Lord of glory stands. The basin and the towel in his hands, pours out the water, bondman-like, and then he stoops to wash the feet. of fallen men, The myriad hosts of heaven downward gaze upon this scene in reverend amaze To see the one they served with veiled face girded to serve. among a fallen race. Did you see this this morning?
A picture of humble Service. What is Jesus doing? Among other things, He is enacting His incarnation. What is the incarnation? It's the theological word which describes Christmas, the becoming flesh, God becoming flesh.
John has already talked about it in his prologue. John 1 verse 14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. It's what we celebrate at Christmas, that God becomes man. and now in front of them. Here is an enactment.
Here is a drama. in visible form of the great truth of the incarnation. If you have your Bible there, turn to Philippians 2, verses 5 and 8, where Paul. talks about this incarnation. And we'll see the parallel with John chapter 13.
Philippians two verses five through eight. Verse 5, have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself. Poured out himself. taking the form of a bondservant The Greek word doulos, a slave.
and being made in the likeness of man. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Look back at John chapter 13, verses 5 and 6. The Lord. John says, rose from supper just as he rose from the throne of glory in coming into the world.
He laid aside his garments just as he lays aside his glory when he comes into this world and empties himself. He takes a towel just as he took the appearance of a man, God becoming man. He girded himself just as he took the form of a slave, coming as one to serve. He poured water into the basin just as he is going to pour out his blood for the washing away of the sin of the world. He washes the disciples' feet just as he cleanses us from From all of our sin.
Do you ever ask yourself what God is like? This is what God. is like It is a God when He comes to this world. He who is the Creator, He who owns everything, when He comes to this world, He comes not to be served, but to serve. Would you rather serve or be served?
Most of us would say, Well, we'd rather be served. Of course, in a church setting we would say we'd rather serve. But in our hearts we would rather be served. But Jesus said in a wonderful statement in Mark chapter 10, verse 45, which probably summarizes the book of Mark, he says, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served. But to serve And to give his life a ransom for many, Jesus is saying, when I, the Son of Man, when I came, I didn't come to be served.
I came to serve. In fact, I came to give my life a ransom. For many, this is what God is like. Here is love on its knees. Here is love in action.
Here is the heart of God revealed in humble service. Our second picture. Jesus is washing. Fit. Here's your third picture, a picture of spiritual cleansing.
Verses six through ten. A picture of enduring love, a picture of humble service. Third, a picture of spiritual cleansing. And so he came to Simon Peter, and He said to him, Lord, Do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter.
Peter said to him, Never shall you 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. Jesus washes the feet. Of all of the disciples. He goes from disciple to disciple with the basin. And the towel.
How humbling for each of these men. I wonder what was going through their minds. to have their feet washed. By the Lord. and their master.
The Gospels tell us that earlier they had been arguing As to who was the greatest. Thank you. Who's going to get the best position in the kingdom of God? Who's going to be the top dog? Who who's going to call the shots?
Who's really the greatest among The disciples? And now the one indisputably who is the greatest, God Himself, God incarnate. is washing their feet. God incarnate doing what slaves do, washes. Fit.
Peter here, as we read, didn't want his feet washed. He doesn't understand the spiritual significance of what Jesus is doing. But Jesus makes it very clear to Peter. Peter, if I don't wash your feet, You have no part of me. Peter then wants not only his feet washed, but his hands.
and his head.
Now we must make this contrast as Jesus does here between bathing and Feet washing. In that culture, before you went to visit someone. You would have a bath. Still a good thing to do. Right.
And uh so here you are, you're all cleaned up. Looking good. and uh you start walking to visit your friends. But as you get there Your feet. are now dirty.
and sweaty on the dirty roads. Coming into the host's home, And what you need is not another bath. But your feet certainly require Washing. And from these everyday realities, Jesus is teaching the disciples and so teaching us deep spiritual truth. The bathing, the having a bath, refers to the initial total cleansing of our sins when we come to Jesus Christ and trust Him.
For salvation. Jesus is going to go to the cross to To die for the sins of these disciples. Apart from Judas, They have all had this bath, this spiritual bath. They are all followers of true followers of Christ. They are all, we would say, saved people born again.
This bathing, having a bath Pictures are spiritual cleansing. for our sins. And this only occurs once. We are only saved once. were only born again once.
Paul refers to it in Titus 3 as the washing of regeneration. You don't need to be born again several times. No, only once when you come to Jesus Christ and call out to him for salvation. He comes and he cleanses us from all of our sins, and we're spiritually cleansed from head to toe. spiritually clean, righteous, ready now to meet their Saviour.
And if you have never come to the Savior, and if you've never been spiritually regenerated. Christ has no part. With you. We all need this spiritual bathing.
However, Those of us who have come to Christ, who have had the spiritual bath, as it were. Who have had all of our sins forgiven? What happens?
Well, as we follow the Saviour, as we've been doing this week, what has happened? We get dirty feet. will become contaminated. and defiled. By sin.
What's the answer to the Christian sinning to become resaved again? No. You're going to lose your salvation when you are spiritually contaminated. No, what you need is spiritually speaking to have your feet washed. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and a message titled Serving Others.
If you missed any of today's message or want to revisit any other lesson from our series called Encountering Jesus, you can find all of John's teaching online at theverdict.org. Where you'll be able to listen to each of these messages and get your free copy of the special resource we're currently offering. No matter where you're listening from today. We'd like to encourage you with a free booklet that will help you as you navigate difficult situations. like the loss of a loved one.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with his closing remarks for today's program.
Well What's your verdict? Don't you find this amazing? Here is a picture of what Almighty God is like. Here is awesome grace, incredible humility. And a convicting lesson for you.
And me. Did you help anyone today? Did you serve anyone? Don't be a taker. Don't sit back and let others do all of the work.
Follow the example of Jesus and serve others. And join me next time as we continue in John 13. and see the humility of Jesus in action. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
