on page 1145 in the Pew Bibles, and I'll read the verses 1 through 17. Occasionally when I say I will read the verses 1 through 17, I think to myself, you'll do that, Van Eyck, if God lets you do that. And I do mean that, God willing. He could take me in between the time I announced the passage and read it, I understand that. So John 13, beginning at verse one. 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. During supper, when the devil had 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 hand and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and, taking a towel, 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 wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward 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 except 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 was why he said, not all of you are clean. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, do you understand what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Thus far. the reading of God's word. The church of the Middle Ages between the years 500 and 1500 AD wasn't really that faithful of a church, but it still was the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church in the early years of the Middle Ages struggled mightily to shine the gospel of the light of the glory of God into the midst of the darkness of paganism. But it wasn't always successful in doing so. In fact, most often it wasn't. But there were certain men and women in the church that stand out, men and women who were stellar Christians and who stand out particularly as they are seen against the backdrop of so much of the darkness of the church in those days. It isn't often that I draw inspiration from the popes of the Roman Catholic Church, but I'm sure you will agree that Pope Gregory I, is one such man who is admirable and worthy of imitation in many ways. Pope Gregory, of course, wasn't always a pope. He was a descendant of one of the richest and most powerful families of Rome, and he served for a long time as an administrative official in Rome, and he served with distinction. He dressed in silk robes glittering with gems and ruled Rome at the height of its confusion. And then at the height of his power and the height of his wealth, Gregory resigned his office, sold his land and homes, and gave his money to the poor and the church. He built a monastery and entered that monastery, not as the abbot, as the leader of the monastery, but as a simple monk. Gregory was a sincere and devout man of God who cared for the poor, and he had a burning passion to see the gospel of Christ conquer the pagans in Britain. And after the Pope died, In 589, in a great plague, Gregory was elected as Pope. He declined the office, but the people insisted. They seized him, carried him through the streets of Rome to St. Peter's Church, and consecrated him Pope on September 30, 590 A.D. Even though he was called the Pope, He was pressured to call himself the universal bishop, but he resisted that kind of title because he didn't think that one leader in the church should be supreme over other leaders. He refused the proud and vain title of universal bishop and preferred to call himself Servus Servorum Dei, that is the servant of the servants of God. And that to me seems like an excellent title for those who hold leadership in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is beyond doubt that serving in the office of Christ Church is an exquisite privilege and the highest of honors that could be afforded to man. Whether you serve as a minister, or as a deacon or as an elder in the church of Christ. But it is a good thing to remember that all leadership, leadership that honors God and that glorifies Christ is leadership that exemplifies this title, a servant of the servants of God. In fact, as we shall see this morning from John 13, the verses one through 17, that is the title that ought to characterize all of God's people, because that was the title that characterized none other than our Lord Jesus Christ himself. And so behind all of our names, there ought to be this designation, John van Eyck, SSG, Servant of the Servants of God. And behind your name, whether you're an officer of the church or in whatever capacity you exist as a Christian believer in the Lord Jesus, that ought to be our titles, SSG. And so although the sermon this morning is going to focus particularly on the offices of the church, this title is valid for all of us in whatever relationships we find ourselves, whether as friends, as Brothers and sisters in the church of Jesus Christ, as husbands towards wives, as wives towards husbands, as parents towards children, as children towards their parents and children towards one another, our lives ought to be characterized by this designation. I am so-and-so, SSG, servants of the servants of God. The story that we read is, of course, the great illustration of this. Jesus, nearing the end of his ministry on earth, is sitting at a meal with his disciples. Just as the meal was being served, Jesus got up from where he was sitting, took off his outer garments, donned the uniform of a servant by wrapping a towel around his waist. He pours water into a basin and then goes around the table kneeling and washing his disciples' feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around his waist. And when he had finished his service, he re-robed, went back to where he was sitting at the table, and asked his disciples if they understood what he was doing. Your Lord and teacher, he says, have washed your feet. You ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you. And if you do to others what I have done for you, know this, Jesus says, that you will be blessed. Now, I think it's important at the outset of this sermon to remember that what Jesus is doing here is not only an illustration of his service to us, but it is a forerunner of the ultimate service that he's going to render to his people in just a few days time from this episode. when our Lord Jesus, the great servant of the servants of God, gave himself to death, to the death of the cross. But let's look at this passage and notice a number of things that will direct our service to one another as a servant of the servants of God. First, I want you to notice that in verse one, John tells us that Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father. Now, if you know the gospel of John at all, you know that periodically throughout John's gospel, the phrase the hour is repeated. The hour had not yet come. They tried to kill him, but they could not because his hour had not yet come. But now John is saying his hour had arrived. What is that hour? Well, that hour refers to the death, the hands of men and his bearing their sins and his bearing the judgment of God. Here is the hour that Jesus came into this world for, to give his life as a ransom for many. And now John tells us that Jesus is about to cross the threshold into his awful death. And as he is about to cross that threshold, we see him washing his disciples' feet. I think we would be right to think that his mind was on the coming agony that he would experience. It would be wrong for us to think that the torment that he experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane when his sweat became like blood started the moment he entered the Garden of Gethsemane. No, it was an experience that he had throughout his life and it ramps up for sure as he comes nearer and nearer to the cross. The sheer horror of the cross intensifies as Jesus contemplates drinking the cup of the wrath of God. It increases the closer he comes to the cross. And although it is true that Jesus commits himself to going to the cross, as John reminds us in the previous chapter, it is also true that Jesus' commitment to the cross did not preclude dread. No man feared death as this man did, wrote Martin Luther. Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed. John tells us that at this point in Jesus' life, Satan had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him. And Jesus knew, John tells us, who was to betray him. And so this is roiling through his head. One of my own disciples, he who shared bread with me, is about to betray me. And he knew. that he would be falsely accused. He knew that man would scorn him, that he would be ridiculed and mocked and bear indescribable pain at the hands of men in his crucifixion. He was troubled by the fact that his father whom he had loved and served unstintingly throughout his whole ministry, that this father was now going to pour out upon him his wrath. He was keenly aware that soon he would be in outer darkness where that cry of dereliction would tear from his heart and lips. My God, my God, why are you forsaking me? So as Jesus is thinking about the cross because he knew that his hour had come, no one would excuse our Lord Jesus if he were preoccupied with the thoughts of his upcoming upheaval and if he did not even notice that his disciples' feet were dirty. And yet the wonder of it is, that he actually did see his disciples' dirty feet, that he donned the uniform of a slave and served them. Can you imagine this with all that weighing heavily upon his heart and mind? Because isn't it true that so often we think that our sorrows and our difficulties and our distressful situation that they're an excuse for us not to serve each other. And the truth of the matter is that no one would fault you for that. If you're having a difficult time, we don't expect you to serve. But here is the great lesson of our Lord, that we are to be a servant of the servants of God. In our weakness and in our tears, and in our busyness and in our distress, we are to be available to others because service is rarely convenient. It never suits us. It always comes at a bad time. Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, washed his disciples' feet. Notice, secondly, that in the midst of his troubled spirit, John describes for us Jesus' love. 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. or he showed them the full extent of his love. Let me ask you a question. Why did Jesus come to earth? Well, it's because he loved his father. Absolutely. It is my joy to do your will, oh my God. But why else did Jesus come to earth? What else motivated him? Well, it's because he loved the people he came to save. Jesus' ministry flowed out of love. He loved his own who were in the world. The Apostle John is at pains to remind us of that, or perhaps better said, the Lord Jesus is at pains to remind his own disciples about that, about his great affection for them. He says to them in John 13, verse 34, as I have loved you, so you ought also to love one another. Or John 15 verse 13, greater love has no one than this, that he laid down his life for his friends. So that Jesus is reminding his people countless times that the reason I'm here on earth is because I love you. And the reason I'm going to the cross is because I love you, I care for you, You are the apple of my eye. And that's a reminder to us that all God honoring service flows out of love. And this is a word for those who are in leadership or who will become leaders again in Christ's church. Some of you might be serving because you felt called to do that by the church and you think, well, I have an obligation to do so. If the church calls me, how can I say, No, but listen to this, service must flow, not out of duty, but must flow out of love. It should be your joy and your delight to serve the people of God. Love for them should compel you. Family visits should not be made simply because that's what's expected of elders in the church. No, you are there because you want to be there. You love your people, the people that God has given to you. And the difference will be noted. John Piper tells the story numerous times. He says, imagine you go to the hospital and someone's lying in the bed and looking up at you and saying, oh, pastor, it's so lovely for you to be here. Thank you so much for coming. And the pastor says, well, it's my duty. It's what I get paid to do. Of course I have to be here. Well, that would take the person aback, wouldn't it? Because duty doesn't commend yourself to someone. And so he says, a better answer is, you know, there's no place I'd rather be right now than with you. I love being here because I love you. That is the service that commends yourself to the person. Those whom we serve should know that we would not wish to do anything else than serve them at this very moment. Ministry flows from love. And notice that John describes Jesus' love as a love to the end. It can be taken two ways. It can be taken love to the end. That is, he was unwavering in his love. Or it can mean love to the full extent, as the NIV translates it. And that too is legitimate. And I think John probably means both. So Jesus loves them to the end. That means that his love for his disciples did not waver. He did not love them for a little while and then stop loving them when they became difficult. He loved them to the very end. And unless you take that too insignificantly, remember, that they weren't the most lovable people. They misunderstood Jesus, horribly, his disciples. They were slow to understand his mission. They were self-centered. When Jesus tells them that he has to be suffering and go to the cross, what can they think about except who among them is the greatest? And as Jesus' crisis intensifies, their actions worsen. They would deny him. And in his hour of deepest need, when he is arrested by the leaders, they all forsook him and fled. They disappointed him severely. They lost faith in him. And yet he loved them to the end. He knew the worst about them. and yet he loved them to the end. That is his service to us as well, that he knows you, he knows me, he knows how fickle we are, how frail, how we wander, how cold our hearts are, how we become so often enamored with other things, and yet he loves us to the end. He knows the worst about us and gives us his best. And that's the kind of love we need to show as leaders in the church. It should come as no surprise to you that it's not always easy to serve others precisely because of all the faults and blemishes there are. There are grumblers, there are complainers, people who always see the negative points. There are people who are harsh and unkind, who are spiritually lazy, who are self-centered, who don't think about what their actions cost you, but who only think about their own pleasure. There are people who are obstinate. Some are ungrateful, unappreciative, always finding fault. It's easy to serve the ones who appreciate it, who welcome your counsel, who are grateful for your ministry in the church, who are delighted when you come to their homes for family visits. And thankfully, God in his grace has blessed Trinity Church with those kinds of people. Some of you are a joy and delight to our hearts. And your affection for us is noted as we return and report on family visits. And often we'll say that that visit did more good to me than I did to them. Thankfully, some of you make your elders' work a joy. and your deacon's work a pleasure, but that's not everybody. In fact, in the church of Jesus Christ, we might even be called to serve some of those who aren't actually really servants of God, who only have the name of being a disciple of Jesus. Remember that Jesus washed even Judas' feet. But in our imitation of Christ, we are called to love unswervingly, the unlovable, the unattractive, and to love them to the end. Now that's true, of course, not just of church leaders, it's true of all of us. But it's especially true of church leaders, as they imitate the Lord Jesus Christ and set an example for the flock. We love others to the end. It means that love must be intensive, that we are to show them the full extent of our love. That's what Jesus did. He loved them to the extreme. He already knew from the beginning what his love for his people would cost him. He knew the weight of sin that he was to bear. He knew that he would become sin and be dealt with as sin, and he knew that he would be forsaken by the Father, that he would be damned by God. He knew that his love for his people would be costly, and yet he went to the cross for our sakes. He took the judgment of God that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing. He bled and died to take away my sins. He showed us the full extent of his love. And there's not an elder or deacon or minister in all the world who will be able to show that kind of love. It is a love inexpressible, unrepeatable, unimitational. It is a love of indescribable, a script of indescribable glory. But this much is true, that love for others is costly. It costs time, time from the family, time from work. I remember speaking at a conference once and some members of the church had written a card and everyone signed it. It was for my wife. Thank you, Lucy. for giving up your husband to serve us this weekend. And that's the reality. It's not just the men who serve, but it's their wives who give themselves and their families who are without a father and husband at times. It places a strain on the family. As you show hospitality, as the elders described in 1 Timothy 3, you practice hospitality. the members of your district into your home, and that costs time and effort and energy, and it even costs money to feed more mouths. And then there's the emotional, the psychological cost, the wrenching disappointment when people turn away from the Lord, the weariness of walking alongside those who are either living in sin or who are going through hardship and disappointment, the sleepless nights, the sadness of serving in the church of Christ. As leaders in the church, you learn things about people that you never want to know about people because it's such a sadness and such a grief. It is costly. But that's what we're called to do. And we will never outgive the Lord Jesus. We will never be indebted or He will never be indebted to us. We are to love to the end, to show the full extent of love. There is blessing in costly service. So it must be out of love. Thirdly, notice what was going through our Savior's mind as He got up from the table. Verse three, 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 rose from supper. Jesus knew that is who he was. He had a profound sense of self-identity. He knew that he had come from God, that he was going to God. He knew that he was God. And you can see this in the way the meal proceeds, that Jesus isn't just a slave who comes into the room inconspicuously, washes the disciples' feet, and then takes off again. No, he's not that kind of a slave. He's first sits at the table with his disciples. And then as he sits at the table with his disciples, he stands up and he takes off his outer garments, dons the uniform of a slave, washes his disciples' feet. And then when he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he reminds them that he is their master and teacher. So there are echoes here of the regal power of our Lord Jesus Christ that's expressed in John 10. Just think about what Jesus did as he takes off his outer garments and then as he puts them on again. Think about that when you listen to this. Jesus says, John 10, for this reason, the father loves me because I laid down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down. Remember, he laid down his garments. I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. He put on his robe again. This charge I have received from my father. That is, Jesus serves with authority. He hasn't forgotten his place. He knows who He is and He serves as the Exalted One. Now what would you do if all power was yours and you were God? Well, I have my suspicions about what you would do because I know what my inclination would be, what I would be tempted to do. I know what we would do in our sinful state. We would demand that others serve us. Do you know who I am? I'm an elder in this church, I'm a deacon, and you better listen to me. We would demand that others serve us, that we would look out for our own interests, how others might serve our agenda. And the history of the church is scattered with stories of power abused. But what does Jesus do in the moment of profound self-awareness when he recognizes so clearly who he is? He serves. Serving others is at the very heart of what it means to be God. God is love, and love thinks always about the other. Love does not think. about oneself. And the interesting thing is, is that Peter gets this. He sees how this world has been turned upside down as Jesus comes to wash his feet. Peter says, you shall never wash my feet. This doesn't make sense at all. Why should you, our Lord and master, you who have the words of eternal life, how in all the world should you be washing our feet? It was simply incomprehensible to Peter. Peter ought to be washing his, not the other way around. And Peter repeatedly resists this service of his Lord and master. That's an insight into our hearts. As much as we might glory in the cross, the truth of the matter is that we actually don't, in our heart of hearts, don't want a God like that. We want a God whom we can serve, one who is in debt to us. We want to be self-saved men and women. We want to be self-washed so that we can enter heaven with pride. I did it on my own, but that's not how salvation works. It is God dying for the chief of sinners. Amazing love, how can this be, that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? For me, who is by nature repulsed by such self-denying love. It's true that Peter did not realize what Jesus was doing, It was true also that later he did later when Jesus not only washed his feet but served him to the end by dying on the cross for his sins. But even if we understand what Jesus love did that as the God man he died for our sins that doesn't mean that we aren't overwhelmed by the mystery of it all. And it doesn't mean that there isn't within us this instinctive response. No, you can't do that for me. I ought to serve you. The sheer wonder of God washing our feet should astonish us and leave us confused. And here is a profound example for us to imitate. If the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, then ought we not to do the same? Remember what the Apostle Peter says, I think he was possibly, probably thinking of this foot washing experience when he says to his readers that we are to humble ourselves before one another. And listen to what he says. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. Clothed yourselves. Think about this. Clothed yourselves all of you with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Clothed yourselves. He must have been thinking the Lord Jesus clothed himself with a towel. Clothed yourselves. with humility towards one another. That is, all of you be a servant of the servants of God. Now, Jesus says, now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet. Are we here at Trinity Church, a fellowship of foot washers, it's not likely that we'll actually be called to wash each other's feet. Though I remember, I was just saying this a few weeks ago, I remember one of my dearest professors who's had a profound impact upon my life, who is a world-renowned scholar and preacher, the author of many books. I remember being in a conference with him, and he saw that my shoe was dirty, and he took out his handkerchief, wet it, stooped down and buffed my shoe clean. It's astonishing. Are we willing to serve one another like that, regardless of whether others are deserving of it or undeserving? That is, if they're like us, despite the fact at times that it will be costly, just as Christ's service to us was costly. Will we do it in imitation of the Lord of glory, the one from whom and through whom all things were made, who for us and for our salvation became man? Well, if you know this love, this love of Jesus for his own, the love that has gone to the cross for your sins, if you know this servant, because you have trusted in him as your savior servant, then you will serve. The Holy Spirit will see to it that you become more and more like your elder brother, that his self-denying grace and kindness will be worked into your life. so that increasingly you will have self-denying kindness. I said that the title behind our name should be SSG, Servant of the Servants of God, but it really should be SSSG. That is that we are servants of the servant, the servant of the servants of God. that is that we ought to serve one another for Jesus sake for the glory of the one who served us. And you will be blessed if you do so. Let's pray. Oh, Lord, our father in heaven, how how marvelous is your grace? How indescribable a savior we have, what a glorious redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man who came to serve us. And we pray that all of us would meditate on that great love and devotion, and that we would long to be like him, that you by your Holy Spirit not only work that grace in our lives, but that we would long to have that grace in our lives, that we would be eager to serve, not because we must, but because we have the privilege of doing so, because the love of Christ constrains us. We pray that you would bless the elders and deacons who will be ordained and installed, that you would bless all the elders and deacons of this church, that you'd bless Reverend Alba and me with that kind of heart, we pray that you'd bless all of us as fathers and mothers, as husbands and wives, as children and parents, as fellow Christians, members of one body, that we would be a fellowship of foot washers, that those who come into contact with our church before they ever hear about the self-denying love of our Lord Jesus Christ that went to the cross for sinners. They would see that kind of love in our interactions with one another. Oh, forgive us for our pride, our self-centeredness, our arrogance, our grumbling, our complaining, our ingratitude. Oh, be merciful to us, oh Father, we pray. And may we count it all joy to belong to Christ and to imitate him. and we pray this in his precious name, amen. Let's sing together hymn number 350.