how to best apply it as we follow Jesus Christ. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Paul and Lisa had lived in the same neighborhood for 13 years. And they got along great with their neighbors. They got to know them very well. They were roughly the same age. They had kids that were roughly the same age. And they got together a lot socially. They had backyard barbecues. They helped each other out when they needed help with yard work or somebody needed something heavy to be lifted. They would all come on over and give some help. They helped out with remodeling, DIY projects. And when someone would go on vacation, they would all be alerted to the fact that they were going to be gone. And they would kind of keep an eye on their house for them or water their plants and things like that. When one of their neighbors broke their ankle, Paul went over and cleared all the snow off their driveway before he went to work. They were that kind of neighbors. They had grown to really know each other very well and had become close friends. But Paul's work was taking him to Germany for a minimum of two years, so they were moving. And when the rest of the neighbors heard that Paul and Lisa were moving, they said, well, we have to do something. So they organized a party for them on their last night together. And so they went all out. They pulled in all the grills and they kind of met in the center of all their backyards and they had lawn chairs and yard games and the whole works. And after all the food was gone and after the ice cream had been eaten and the kids were playing into the night, the adults gathered around the fire pit. And they just started talking about all the good times they had had. They were reminiscing. Some of them told their other neighbors what they thought of them when they first moved in, what their first impression was. Others tried to outdo one another with funny stories that they remembered about Paul and Lisa. And they ended the whole night by telling them how much they loved them and how much they were going to miss them. Have you ever had to say goodbye to somebody like that? Maybe a close friend or maybe a group of friends like that. Maybe a family that's been visiting from across the country and they're there for a week or so, but eventually that last night together comes. Or maybe some co-workers that you've built strong relationships with over the years and you have to say goodbye. Somebody's retiring or somebody's moving on. It doesn't really matter if it's friends or family. I think regardless of who it is, we've all had that last night together feeling. Somebody's leaving and things are going to be different. That's just the way it happens. And there's this urge to observe that last night together, to mark it with something special. Maybe go out to eat or maybe something like this, maybe a backyard party. In John 13, we have an account of Jesus's last night together with his disciples. Jesus is leaving and things are going to be different. And one of the things Jesus does on his last night together with his disciples is wash their feet. And then he takes time to explain what that meant, what the foot washing was all about. And then he also tells them ahead of time that one of them is going to betray him, one of the 12. So we're gonna look at that, but I think the biggest takeaway from this passage might be what Jesus chooses not to do on his last night together with his disciples. So we want to start by taking a compass reading. We want to find out where we are in the Book of John. If you remember at the very beginning of the sermon series, we looked at an outline, a very simple four-part outline of the Gospel of John. Here it is. Prologue, chapter 1, verses 1 through 18, and then one of the big sections, Book of Signs. 119 through the end of chapter 12, and then the book of glory, chapter 13 through 20, and then finally the epilogue in 21. So you can see, we are turning on the hinge between the book of signs and the book of glory. We are at a turning point in the gospel of John. The book of signs, we've covered that. We've looked at all the signs that John selectively chose. and laid down to lead people to believe in Jesus Christ so that they would have life in his name. Now, the last half of the book of John, except for the epilogue, is going to be the book of glory. So this part of the book focuses on the approach to the cross, the cross, Jesus' death, resurrection, exaltation, that whole part of Jesus, the cross work that Jesus accomplishes is referred to in John as his glorification. For example, John 7.39. Now this he said about the spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 12.16, his disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had done to him. Likewise, John 12.23, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. And then John 12, excuse me, John 17.1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so the Son may glorify you. So that's where we are in the book of John. We are entering into the book of glory, and the reason it's called the book of glory is because everything that this part of the book focuses on is referred to as Jesus's glorification. So that's where we're at, and that's where we're headed. It begins with foot washing. Now before the feast of the Passover, so this is Thursday, we're there. The disciples are already in the upper room. John omits that part about going to find the room and saying you'll see somebody with a water jar and you ask him and just tell him I need it. All that is omitted. We're there, we are in the upper room. This is the day before the crucifixion. And it says, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the father, Jesus is leaving and things are going to be different and he knows it. And it says, having loved his own who were his or who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Jesus loved these imperfect, sinful men to the end, even though they were slow to understand even though they didn't get what he was saying all the time, even though they looked at the surface, physical, material world and weren't thinking about the spiritual meaning, even though they were about to scatter from him in the hour where he needed them the most, even though Peter was about to deny him three times, he still loved them. He still loved them because they were his. They were his sheep. And so he loved them to the end. Well, most of them were his sheep. We get to verse two. During supper when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. So Judas was not one of Christ's own. Judas was not among the sheep of Jesus. He belonged to the devil. And the devil had already put the desire in Judas to betray Jesus. Judas has never been a part of the the sheep of Jesus. We can look back to John 6, 70 and 71, Jesus answered them, did I not choose you? The 12, and yet one of you is a devil. Speaking of Judas, for he, one of the 12, is going to betray him. So Judas has never belonged to the sheep of Jesus. He's been part of the 12. He's been fellowshipping with the 12. He's been traveling with the 12, but he was not part of the 12 spiritually. He never belonged to Christ. Verse three says, 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. This verse seems to be here to show us just how far Jesus is stooping down to wash the feet of his disciples. Jesus knowing that all things were given into his hands later after the resurrection In Matthew 28, 18, Jesus is gonna say, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Jesus was fully God. He came down from the heavenly realm. He's going back to the heavenly realm. That Jesus is the one who stooped down and washed the feet of sinful men. This should have been beneath Jesus. This was beneath the disciples. Disciples did everything for their rabbi, for their teacher, except wash feet. Slaves washed feet. And yet here is the master washing his disciples' feet. And then we get these details in verse four and five to show us what happened. Jesus actually took off his outer clothes, tied a towel around his waist, poured out the water, washed their feet. Jesus did not figuratively wash their feet. This wasn't some kind of literary symbolism going on here. Jesus didn't, as the host of the meal, have a servant come out and wash their feet on his behalf. No. The Holy One of God actually took off his outer garments, stooped down, and washed the feet of his disciples. This is the equivalent of of a multi-billionaire CEO in his $10,000 custom-fitted suit on the top floor of a downtown office building in his 2,000-square-foot office, taking the elevator all the way down, walking out onto the street, putting rubber boots on, climbing down into the manhole, and cleaning raw sewage with his hands. Except it's even greater than that, because we're talking about Christ. He's even higher than anything we can think of. But here he is. Jesus makes his way around the table and comes to Peter. Lord, do you wash my feet? A literal kind of wooden translation would be, you of me? Do you wash my feet? Peter's shocked. He's stunned. Lord, what are you doing down here in the sewer? Get those rubber boots off. Get up off the floor. What are you doing? This is not right. Jesus answers by saying, what I'm doing, you do not understand now, but afterward, you will understand. He's saying, you don't get it right now. I know you don't get it. You're just gonna have to trust me. But Peter decides not to trust Jesus and instead becomes even more resistive. He says, you shall never wash my feet. In the original language, this is a double negative. It's kind of like the English equivalent of saying no, no. It's the strongest way possible to negate something. It's emphatic. In fact, it's hyper emphatic. And then that's followed by to the age, which could be translated as never, or the ESV says forever. So if you put that all together, a modern paraphrase would be like saying, No way, absolutely not, you will never wash my feet. That's what Peter's saying. If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. So Peter says, hard pass, no. Jesus says, well, you might want to rethink that. Now what does he mean by that? If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. The surface meaning is this. If you don't let me wash your feet right now, then you can't be one of my disciples and you're gonna have to leave the table. That's the surface meaning. That's not what he means. That's not what he's getting at. The spiritual meaning is there is no salvation unless I wash you. There is no spiritual union with Christ. There is no share in Christ. the spiritual benefits of Christ will not be applied to you unless I wash you. Or, to put it another way, unless your sins are washed away by me, you have no share in me. Peter's still keying in on that surface meaning. So we see him reverse his position. Well, in that case, Lord, not my feet, but also my hands and my head. I mean, if water washing gets me closer to you, let's go wash everything. I just want to be completely washed. I don't want to be separated at all. He's not getting it. So what Jesus does is he answers with a clarifying comment in the form of an illustration. So this is the illustration of someone who's taken a bath And in the first century, when someone went out, it was a very hospitable thing to do if you went to someone's house, or if you attended a feast, to have your feet washed. That was just kind of a custom. Jesus is saying, look, in that scenario, you don't have to be washed again, you're already clean. You don't need to be washed again. I don't need to wash you, Peter, because I have washed you already. Sometimes this verse is taken to mean that Jesus is teaching that believers are clean when they first come to Christ but then over time as they get their feet dirty and sin on a daily basis, they become unclean with God and so they need to have their feet washed. Otherwise, they're not gonna be clean. They're not gonna remain in this justified state before God. They're gonna fall from grace or from salvation because of their sin. That's not what Jesus is teaching. That's not it at all. We do confess our sins to God. Jesus teaches us to pray and ask for forgiveness. That's true, but that's not what he's saying. Jesus is not trying to make a symbolic connection between foot washing and daily confession of sin. That's not what he's doing. What he is telling Peter is this. The physical washing that I am doing to each one of you symbolically points to the spiritual washing that I perform on everyone who places their faith in me. You don't need to be spiritually washed again any more than you need to be saved again. That's a one-time, non-repeatable event. That's why he says, and you are clean. Not you will be clean, or you're clean right now, but if you get your feet dirty, then you won't be. He says, you are clean. Do we understand what Jesus is saying? Our salvation in Christ is secured by Christ. I don't know if you've ever made a house of cards or a tower out of playing cards. But the thing about that task is the closer you get to completing it, the closer you get to the highest card, or the tip of the house, or whatever you're building, the more stressful it becomes. Because this bottom part is all down here, and you've built everything up, and then the last card, all it would take would be one little flinch, one little hesitation, one little dropping of the card too hard, or not letting go soon enough, or if you sneeze, that would be the end of it. If you mess up just a little bit, then the whole thing comes crashing down. That is not salvation. That's not how it works. Once God saves you, there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. There is nothing you can do to knock down your salvation because you have not built it. Christ has saved you. It is a work that God alone performs on the hearts of his elect. God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, regenerates someone and calls them and saves them, and he takes it all the way from the beginning to the end. We call this monergism, or one work. That one work is God's work, as opposed to synergism, meaning working together. It's not that God does his part and we do our part. God does all of it. And because God does all of it, we cannot remove ourselves from that justified state. Once God calls someone into his kingdom, you can't leave the kingdom. It's because our salvation is not built on a house of cards. It's built on the rock, Jesus Christ. Big difference. Once a sheep, always a sheep. So if you're here this morning, and if you are in Christ, but if you've ever felt fears or doubts, Or if you have that persistent sin that seems to keep coming at you and you're at that place where you're thinking, you know what, maybe, maybe I have gotten too dirty. Maybe I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm not clean enough. Then you need to hear this, John 10, 27, 28, my sheep hear my voice. and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Our salvation in Christ is secured by Christ himself, the rock of salvation. It's not built on a house of cards. We're saved by grace, not works. We remain saved by grace and not works. So if you're in that position this morning, if you're feeling doubt, if you're feeling the spiritual attack in this area, these words of Christ are for you. You are clean. You cannot lose your salvation. Verse 10, but not every one of you. This is making the distinction between those who are his sheep and those who aren't. Judas is not. Judas can't lay claim to any of those promises to salvation. Judas experienced the outward physical washing, but he didn't experience the inward spiritual washing. And then John 11, just in case we're unclear on this, John includes this explanatory comment, it's Judas. Just so everybody knows, Judas is the one who's gonna betray him. John wants us to be clear on that. Well, verses 12 through 17, after completing the foot-washing task, Jesus got dressed, returned to his seat, and he asked his disciples, do you understand what I just did? Do you understand what's happening here? And then without waiting for response, he tells them. He says, this is an example of what you ought to do. If I, as your master and teacher, have served you in this low, common, menial manner, then you ought to wash one another's feet, ought to. Ought means you must do this, you're required to do this, you're commanded to do this. The sense is that just as someone would be legally obligated to pay back a debt that they owe to a bank, so you're obligated, you ought to, you're morally required, obligated to do this. And Jesus is not simply talking about literal foot washing. He says, I've given you an example, an example of serving one another. So the principle to be drawn is that followers of Christ are to serve one another, no matter who the brother or sister is, and be willing to serve no matter how low or how common or how menial that service may appear to them. It means as believers, serve one another, they ought to be willing to put the rubber boots on and go down into the sewer. There was a group of friends that were attending a national Christian conference, national Evangelical conference in one of the major cities down south. And they were trying to take the economical route, so they chose a hotel that was very far away from the actual convention center. And so they had to drive back and forth And they were getting ready to go back at noon. They thought they'd do a quick go back to the hotel. And so they were standing around talking about that. And another man who was not part of their group overheard that they were going to this hotel. And that was his hotel as well. So he interrupted and he said, hey, I couldn't help overhear you talking about going back to this hotel. I need to go to that hotel. Do you mind giving me a ride? And the first member of the group turned and looked at the man and immediately just kind of went like this. Because it was obvious from the man's dress that he wasn't running in the same socioeconomic circles as they were. His clothes were rumpled. They were frayed, kind of dirty. He had kind of a smell going on. He just kind of looked down. The other person went, well, I mean, we're talking about it. I'm not sure if we actually are going back right now. And then the one with the car said, oh, you mean this hotel? He said, yeah. He said, yeah, sure. We'll give you a ride. And so they walked out to the car and he said, why don't you sit up in front? These two weasels can sit in the back. And they drove to the hotel and they had a good conversation. They found out where he was from. They found out what church he attended. and then they parted ways and they got back into the room and the first two guys said, hey, thanks, that was a good call. Sorry, that's what we're supposed to do. When we see a brother or sister in need and we're in a position to serve someone, we don't let things like socioeconomic discrepancies or rank or position or titles, or anything else cause us to turn them away. Jesus outranks us all. And he stooped down and washed the feet of imperfect sinful men. So we also ought to serve one another. And verse 17 closes with a reminder that it's not good enough to know these things. His followers must actually do them. The last section is called giving his disciples a heads up. He again makes a distinction between those who belong to him and those who don't. I'm not speaking to all of you, Jesus says. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. So this is Jesus telling his disciples, I realize that I chose everyone, including Judas. I want you to know that I didn't make a mistake. I want you to know that when I chose the 12 of you, I knew This one was going to betray me. This didn't catch me by surprise. This wasn't an oops. I knew this was going to happen. That's why I chose him. And then he quotes Psalm 41.9, which was originally a psalm written by David about David, but like a lot of Old Testament verses, it has a Christological meaning. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. Judas, even though he was one of the 12, and he had ran with the 12, he had spent time with the 12, he moved around with the 12, he fellowshiped with the 12, he kept the money bag for the 12, he had his feet washed like the 12, even though he was among them, he was gonna betray Christ. In verse 19 and 20, he is encouraging his faithful disciples, and this is why we see why he's talking about this. He says, I'm telling you this ahead of time because when it happens, I want you to remember that I told you ahead of time and that I called it because I don't want you to get discouraged. These men are his chosen instruments to lead the apostolic church. They will be sent out to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit and they will build Christ's church. He needs them to stay strong. The last verse is another truly, truly statement. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me. and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Jesus is giving his disciples a heads up about the betrayal so that their faith will not waver, so that they will not doubt who Jesus is, so that they will not doubt who they are as his sent ones. This is very close to the post-resurrection commission. In John 20, 21, it says, as the father has sent me, even so I am sending you." So this is a preview of that post-resurrection commission, but he's reminding them of who they are and what is at stake. And he says, look, I'm telling you this ahead of time because when this unfolds, when this explodes, as soon as we start to set things in motion with the betrayal in the garden, when I get arrested, This is going to be Judas's doing, but this is all going to erupt into arrest, high priest, public trial, people shouting. It's going to end at the cross. I don't want you to become distraught. I don't want you to become distracted or discouraged. He's telling them, you are my sent ones. I'm sending you out in my name, in my authority, with my message to my people. You are gonna serve as the frontline, boots on the ground, contact point for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the world. And I need you to stay strong. I don't want you to get distracted by this or discouraged by this. I'm leaving you and you are gonna go forth in my name. I can't afford you to take your eyes off mission. Well, I said in the introduction that the biggest takeaway from this whole passage might be in what Jesus chose not to do on his last night together with his disciples. Because you would think that maybe by this time, after spending so much time of doing life together, living together, traveling together, staying in the same place, eating meal after meal, after all their experiences, you think, that Jesus might've focused a little bit more on that last night together celebration. You'd think like if it were one of us, you'd think that we might wanna have the urge to market or observe it with some kind of special time together, right? If it was us, maybe we'd say, you know, let's order some chicken and pasta and let's get that three gallon coffee maker going Maybe get a sheet cake from the bakery and just hang out tonight, you know? Just kick back on some lawn chairs around the fire pit. And we can almost envision what that would look like. Jesus calling him around saying, you know what? I love you guys so much. And we've been through some crazy experiences this last three years. We've seen it all. And I know it's been tough sometimes moving around, handling the crowds. And I know I've pushed you pretty hard. I've been constantly teaching you, constantly pushing you to your limits. I've been giving you parables. I've been challenging you. I get it. I've been asking questions, but you know what? Tonight is our last night together. And I think we can just have one night where we just hang out around the fire, maybe tell some stories, reminisce, and relax. But he didn't do that. That sounds pretty good actually, but he didn't do that. What did he do? More teaching, more training, more preparing, more equipping, more instruction, more correcting, more assigning, more commanding. He didn't let up. He just kept going. This was not a last night together, kick back around the fire pit. This was continuing on with exactly what he'd been doing for the last three years. This is Jesus's idea of a last night together celebration. So what does that tell us? I think it tells us that Jesus was not so much concerned about throwing a party and having a good time kickback with his closest friends that he loved the most on the last night together. And he was much more concerned with making sure that the men that he had chosen to lead his church were prepared. He wanted to make sure that these guys, his sent ones, were equipped to lead his church. That's what was important to Christ. He wanted them to know that their salvation was secure. You don't need to be washed again. I have washed you. You are clean. He wanted them to know what it looks like to serve one another, to put the rubber boots on and go down in the sewer, because they were going to be the head of the church. They would be tempted to lord it over those that were under them. Jesus says, no, you're gonna serve like I served you. And he wanted them to never doubt their calling or get distracted from the mission. So we are not apostles, but we are still his sent ones. Which one of these messages do you need to hear most this morning? Maybe you're struggling with doubts and fears about your lack of spiritual progress. about your sin. If so, your salvation is secure and it's secured by Christ himself. He has saved you. There is nothing you can do to unsave yourself. Your salvation does not rest on a house of cards that you built. It is resting on the rock of salvation, Jesus Christ. Be encouraged. Be assured that your salvation is secure. Maybe you're resisting some sort of service to a brother or a sister. You know, you don't have to put on the rubber boots and go down to the sewer for it to count as serving, but we do have to surrender any objections to service based on real or perceived rank or position or station or pay grade. We do have to surrender any misgivings we might have about something that looks beneath us. When was the last time you served a brother and sister in Christ? Or maybe your calling as a follower of Jesus Christ has become unclear. Maybe you've become too distracted by worldly concerns and you've been neglecting the church. You've been neglecting her mission. to go and make disciples. Maybe your relationship with service in Christ's church right now is summed up in one word, disengaged. If so, remember what is at stake. You are Christ's sent ones. You have been commanded to go in Christ's name, with Christ's message, in Christ's authority. You are the front line, boots on the ground, contact point between Jesus Christ and the lost. You are, we are, we all are. If you've been discouraged or distracted and taking your eyes off mission, know that Christ has his eyes on you and he's calling you off the bench and to get back in the game. Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this account of Christ and his last night together with his disciples. Help us to learn. what you need us to learn from it, and then help us to put it into practice. Father, the last thing we want is simply to hear this message and agree with it, and then do nothing. So Father, we trust you to do the work that's needed in our heart. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.