Surprised By True Greatness

Judas is sitting near the Lord.

He's more than likely among the first. See, we tend to wash the feet of somebody who will wash ours back, not the Lord. He's going to wash the feet of Judas who betrays him. He's going to wash the feet of Peter who denies him. He's going to wash the feet of Thomas who doubts him. He's going to wash the feet of these men who will scatter from him in a matter of hours rather than stand with him.

He's washing their feet. We're about to witness the patience of Jesus, the love of Jesus for his own. What does true greatness really look like? Today, Stephen unpacks one of the most surprising moments in the life of Jesus and his disciples. During the Last Supper, the disciples argued about who was the greatest. Instead of rebuking them, Jesus gave them and us a stunning example of servant leadership. This message will challenge you to rethink how you define success and influence.

This powerful lesson could very well change how you lead and serve. Well, after three and a half years of personal tutoring and private instruction, after three and a half years of listening to hundreds of sermons and a trainload of illustrations on spiritual truths, the disciples are still miles away from an understanding of leadership, true greatness, genuine servant leadership. Now we find them and we've been studying together the events of the upper room with the Lord and you would think that the disciples are getting ready for the prom rather than persecution. They're enamored with their own reflection.

They're inflated with the world's definition of greatness. If you put the clues of the gospel accounts together, Luke's gospel records a rather surprising turn of events. I invite you back to chapter 22 if you're new with us today. An event is going to occur during the Last Supper, as we call it. We studied that, began to study it last Lord's Day. John's gospel says that Jesus actually interrupts dinner to model true greatness. He's going to respond evidently to a conversation that's been taking place during supper.

He's been, you know, can't help but listen. Luke records the conversation as embarrassing as it was, we're at verse 24. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Keep in mind the context.

The upper room. I can't help but think that this is one of the greatest proofs of inspiration of Scripture that we have. We would never include moments like these in the biographies of church leaders. We naturally tend to polish the halos of our heroes but not God. And by the way, can you imagine one of the disciples for the rest of his ministry having a record of this conversation? Within hours of the Lord's death you're arguing with the other men over who's the greatest. And now it's in the inspired record of Scripture.

Thank you, Luke. Have you ever accidentally made a phone call with your cell phone in your pocket and somebody on the other end, you know, just listens in on your conversation then they tell you about it later and your first question to them is, well, what did I say? A number of years ago I tripped in the garage. I broke my nose. I thought the doctor would, you know, be kind of quick. He'd sit me in a chair and, you know, straighten it, maybe have me bite down on a piece of bark, you know, like they do in the movies. But he told me it's going to require surgery and I'd be put under completely. So here I am on the operating table and the surgeon was a member of our church.

Don't get ahead of me here, okay? The anesthesiologist was a member of our church and they're going to put me under. I wondered how happy they were with me.

This is their chance. They pulled me through. Afterward I asked one of them, you know, did I say anything that would disqualify me from the pastorate? And they said, no.

And I said, thank God for that. Well, Luke has just recorded the most embarrassing thing for all of church history. And you might think it would disqualify them from effective ministry. I mean, in less than two months these are the leaders of the New Testament church. Instead, we're about to witness the patience of Jesus, the grace of Jesus, the love of Jesus for His own, and it's the same with you and me to this day.

Everything you say, everything you think is on record. But instead of throwing a society continues to teach us as we'll observe here and forgive us and shape us into a different definition of what it means to be a servant leader. So instead of a tongue-lashing that they would never forget, Jesus highlights the distinction between those who are considered great on earth and those who are considered great by heaven. Now, verse 25, and He said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves.

It's as if Jesus now says, let me give you men a pop quiz on true greatness, verse 27. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? And the world would say, well, yes. The guy with the menu, the guy with the expense account, I mean, he's definitely greater than the waitress or the waiter.

That's how the world thinks. Jesus adds here, but I am among you as the one who serves. I'm the waiter. History records that when the kings of the Gentiles, like Emperor Vespasian, returned to Rome after a military victory, Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, wrote that the crowd flocked to the streets and cheered him on, and they hailed him as their benefactor, the word Luke uses. In other words, you're so great.

How can we live without you? One historian wrote that the Emperor Tiberius had coins stamped when he ascended the throne, and under his image, it was written, deserving of adoration. That's how the world, you know, models greatness. Jesus is saying, listen, here's how greatness works.

As far as I'm concerned, it isn't defined by how many people serve you, but how many people you serve. So are they getting it? Are they connecting the dots?

Again, I can't help but think. I mean, in eight weeks, eight weeks, they're the leaders, and they can't pass this pop quiz. It looks like they're going to end up arguing over who's going to preach the first sermon on the day of Pentecost. When they miraculously speak in all of those different languages they've never learned, all the people who'd gathered on the day of Pentecost, they're going to regroup and argue over who had the most converts, whose language was the most miraculous, who baptized the most of the 3,000. Church isn't going to make it off the launching pad.

It's going to fizzle and die before it ever gets started. They are missing that distinctive characteristic which Jesus modeled. He had equal rights with the Father, but He didn't choose to clutch them. He humbled Himself and became a servant, a waiter.

Philippians 2. They're missing the obvious. They're not listening. They're sticking to their own plan. Something's got to happen. Don't you think? Something's got to get their attention. It's got to happen soon.

We've got less than eight weeks. Reminds me of the story of the young man whose cart had a standstill in the middle of a country road. The donkey had decided that he wouldn't go in any farther. He planted his hooves firmly, wouldn't move. The young owner shouted at the donkey, pulled on the rope, waved his arms, yelled and screamed. The donkey wouldn't take one more step forward. Eventually, an old farmer came walking down the road and immediately sized up the problem and asked the young man, do you want some help?

The young man said, I do, but I don't think you can do any better. I've been yelling at this donkey for an hour and he won't budge. The farmer nodded his head and just went over to the side of the road and picked up a big stick, came back and hit the donkey square between the eyes. And then in a very quiet voice, he said, now get, and the donkey moved.

The young man said, I don't understand. You know, when I yelled and screamed, he acted as if he didn't hear me and you said two words in a quiet voice and he moved. That's true, the farmer said, but first I got his attention. Let me tell you, the Lord is about to get their attention. And there is probably a subtle connection here between donkeys and disciples, although not very flattering to this day.

The Lord is going to take a proverbial two by four to their pride. Now, John's Gospel records that at this moment, the Lord got up from the table. He took off his outer tunic and wrapped himself with a towel and became their waiter.

And these days, roads are dusty. A large water pot was typically stationed near the entrance of the house. A household servant would arrive with a ladle and a towel and wash the dirty feet of the guests. Because we've already learned that people ate, you know, reclined on cushions or on mats on the floor, facing a low table, propping themselves up with an elbow. You know, if anybody's feet were dirty, everybody else would suffer for it. But there's no household servant here in the upper room. The waiter, so to speak, isn't anywhere in the picture. And don't miss the fact that none of the disciples are volunteering.

They're too busy arguing over their greatness. So John 13 tells us in verse 5 to the shock of the disciples that Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around him. Quietly, by the way, don't miss the fact Jesus doesn't stand up and make an announcement that he will now demonstrate the marks of true greatness.

Start taking notes. He didn't have to really. They're stunned. I believe you could have heard a pin drop here in the upper room.

Eyes turned down, I think cheeks flushed with shame. Their Lord, their leader, their King is now their waiter. The Son of God is washing their dirty feet. By the way, this would have included Judas Iscariot. According to the gospel accounts, he hasn't left the room yet. Well, how do you wash the feet of Judas Iscariot?

With sandpaper. You dry him off with a blowtorch. I'm obviously not Jesus, but at least you would put him last in line so by the time you get to him, the towel is ringing wet and the water is muddy. Judas is sitting near the Lord.

He's more than likely among the first. See, we tend to wash the feet of somebody who will wash ours back, not the Lord. He's going to wash the feet of Judas who betrays him. He's going to wash the feet of Peter who denies him. He's going to wash the feet of Thomas who doubts him. He's going to wash the feet of these men who will scatter from him in a matter of hours rather than stand with him. He's washing their feet. Now we are told in John's account that when the Lord arrives at Peter's feet, Peter pulls away and says in verse 8, you shall never wash my feet.

In the original language, Peter uses what we call a double negative. It's as if he says, Lord, there's absolutely no way in the world you will ever wash my feet. Jesus says to him, if I did not wash you, you have no share with me.

The word translated share refers to fellowship. The Lord is telling him, if I don't wash you, you can't have fellowship with me. Well, in that case, Peter says in verse 9, well, Lord, not only my feet but my hands and my head. Wash my hair while you're at it.

Give me the full treatment. Jesus says in verse 10, the one who's bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. In other words, this is a metaphor, Peter.

And you are clean, but not every one of you. Judas is there. So Jesus is referring to two kinds of baths. One is the bath of regeneration. That's salvation. This is where you're totally cleansed once and for all from the penalty of sin.

You only need this bath one time in your life. In fact, Paul will use the metaphor in Titus chapter 3 and verse 5, he saved us by the washing of regeneration. So you have the bath of regeneration. Then there's another bath we call the bath of restoration. This is restored fellowship.

That comes when the believer confesses daily sin. The bath of regeneration got you into the family of God. The bath of restoration keeps you in fellowship with God. Jesus says here in the upper room that not every one of these men have been bathed, that is, with the bath of regeneration.

But even those who've been bathed with regeneration need daily cleansing and restoration. So there's a warning here for the unbeliever like Judas, the pretender. It's possible to be in the upper room but not be in the family of God. It's possible today to be in church and not be a Christian. It's possible to have Christian friends and not be a friend of Christ. And you may be the only one that knows besides the Lord.

Judas submitted to a few things like having his feet washed here, but he never surrendered the most important things, his heart, his life to the Lord. So there's a warning here for the unbeliever. There's also a reminder here for the believer you can't have fellowship with Christ if you have dirty feet. In this context, dirty feet represents unconfessed sin that's broken fellowship.

Your feet are going to get dirty every day. So confessing, admitting your sin keeps you in daily fellowship with the Lord. What a great message the Lord delivers here by taking a servant's towel and a basin of water and washing 12 pairs of dirty feet. If I could pull two observations from this text, it would be these or many.

I'm going to narrow it down to two. First, serving the disciples was a stunning example of humility. He made it, by the way, clear in John 13 and verse 15 that he was giving them an example. He used the word example. So he isn't creating a foot-washing ordinance.

He's giving them an object lesson. Foot-washing was not a mandate. It was a model. It was an example in that day of humble service to others.

So how do you model this today? How do you wash people's feet today? Well, this is the father who understands that his life is more than a career, but loving his wife and his children is servant leadership. This is the mother faithfully serving her family in ways no one will ever see.

In fact, no one would ever know. This is the employee willing to roll up their sleeves when they show up for work and do tasks that nobody wants to do. It isn't anybody's job description, but he's going to mop the shop floor.

She's going to make a fresh cup of coffee for the staff to enjoy. This is the volunteer church, unseen, unheralded, but committed to the body of Christ, willing to wrap a towel around their waist. Jesus is saying this is the true test of genuine greatness. Years ago I came across this prose written by Ruth Caulkin entitled I Wonder in which she writes, you know, Lord, how I serve you with great emotion in the limelight. You know how eagerly I speak for you at a women's club. You know how I effervesce when I promote a fellowship group. You know my genuine enthusiasm at a Bible study, but how would I react if you pointed to a basin of water and asked me to wash the calloused feet of an old woman day after day and month after month in a room where nobody saw and nobody knew. That would be true greatness. Serving the disciples was a stunning example of the Lord's humility. There's one more observation here.

It's in the form of another surprise. Back to Luke's account in chapter 22, he writes in verse 28. Jesus says, you are those who have stayed with Me in My trials. And I assign to you as My Father assigned to Me a kingdom that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. The last thing I would imagine the Lord doing here is commending them, promising them anything. This is the shocking grace of the Lord toward them and, if we're honest, toward us who follow Him today. I love the way JC Rauh put it.

I just got to read it. He knew full well that within a few hours they were all going to forsake Him. But here we find Him graciously dwelling on that one good point in their conduct. They had stayed with Him up to that point in His trials. Jesus focused on this one act of faithfulness in spite of their many acts of faithlessness. Never had a master such poor, weak servants as we are and never had we such a gracious master. See, the disciples are going to look back on this event and they've got this embarrassing inspired eternal record of this conversation. Their pride, their ambition, they're arguing and they're going to see it. They're going to read this account later and they're going to see it and be horrified, no doubt, and embarrassed by how tragic and unsupportive it was of the Lord who's just hours away from His arrest.

And then they're going to read on and be reminded that the Lord didn't kick them out. He promised to make them kings. You got to be kidding me. You and I have been promised the same thing, to co-reign with Him in His coming kingdom.

Are you kidding? Anybody here feel deserving? With that, here's my second observation. Rewarding believers one day will be a shocking bestowal of honor. It's going to be shocking. Beloved, be prepared one day to be shocked. I want you one day to say, you know, Stephen was right. I am shocked, totally shocked to see him rewarded.

I mean to see me rewarded. That too. See, every honest Christian I meet, I don't know how it is with you, and I love the older believers too. If I ask them, how you doing in your walk with Christ, they're going to say, oh man, I'm not anywhere near what I ought to be. And you know, that's because we tend, and we should tend, to count our acts of faithlessness. It's going to be shocking one day to hear the Lord say, yeah, I know all about that. But there's this one thing, one act of faithfulness. Here's your throne.

Jesus tells the disciples here in this passage, I have a gift for you. It's coming kingdom. I have a privilege for you. You're going to eat and drink at my table.

I have a position for you. You're going to one day sit on a throne and co-reign. We're going to be shocked at the grace of Christ demonstrated by the honor that he will bestow upon his redeemed. And we're going to know that his gifts far, are far out of proportion to anything we ever did for him.

And he's going to shock us. He's going to say, you know, I saw that one thing. I saw that act of faithfulness. You might have noticed that we're not told in the record that Jesus had his feet washed that night. But I can't help but think that after this lesson was over, they all volunteered, crowded around their beloved Lord, and all took part.

We don't know for sure, but what we do know is that all of these, except Judas, will devote their lives to their dying breath, to modeling the marks of true greatness. They got it. They got it in the upper room. In fact, the Apostle Peter shapes a metaphor that I believe comes from this upper room experience.

In fact, he's the only one who coined it, used it. Years later, as an old man, Peter writes in 1 Peter 5, 5, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility. Put on the clothing of humility.

What's that? Well, that's an apron. That's a towel, the towel of a servant. Wrap that around yourself.

And the world will think, well, you're nobody to act like that. But it happens to be true greatness in the eyes of God. So, beloved, let's put on the apron wherever we are with whatever God has assigned us and let's demonstrate true greatness by serving others today. Jesus redefined leadership by taking up a towel and serving others.

That was Stephen Davy, and this is Wisdom for the Heart. Today's message is called Surprised by True Greatness. Would you like to receive occasional text messages or emails from Stephen? He sends updates and encouraging words to help strengthen your faith.

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