[0:00] Good evening everyone. A warm welcome to the service this evening and those who are visiting from different places, it's good to have you as well and you're especially welcome.
[0:11] ! It's good to have Neil Lachey with us from Alupo this evening, Mary's brother, known better as perhaps, and we look forward to the ministry of the word through him over the course of this weekend.
[0:25] After the service this evening there is a fellowship at the Mass and if you're able please come up and there's tea and coffee and cakes and that kind of thing. So there's an open invitation to the Mass after the service this evening. Tomorrow the service will be at 7 again which will be led by Neil and then on Sunday on the Lord's Day, usual times 11 and 6, we'll celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at 11 and then at the 6, service or after the 6 service we'll have a fellowship again in the church this time and Neil will share a little word of testimony which is news to him but he knows now.
[1:06] The last thing is to say that the session opened last night and if there are those who know the Lord, who are trusting the Lord but haven't yet come forward to profess faith in Jesus, please be encouraged to do so.
[1:24] It's an instruction, it's not an option, Jesus says that if we know him, if we are trusting him, we are to do this, we are to come to the table, take the bread, take the wine and remember his death until he comes.
[1:37] I say it often, if we know that if we know that we are great sinners and that Christ is our great saviour, we should come to profess faith in him. So the elders will meet just in the wee room on my left at the end of the service and if there are any who want to come for the first time, please do so.
[1:57] These I think are all the notes, so I'll hand over now to Neil, please. Thank you.
[2:30] Let's worship God together, singing to his praise. I think all your praises come up on the screen. We're going to sing from Psalm 100, the Scottish Psalter rendering off that psalm. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
[2:44] If you're able, please stand and let's sing together. All people that on earth sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
[3:13] Him said with worth his praise. For tell, come ye before him and rejoice.
[3:31] Know that the Lord is God in thee.
[3:43] Where the night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night of night O enter then his gates with praise, Approach with joy his courts unto, Praise Lord and bless his name always.
[4:43] All it is simply so to do, For why the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure, His truth at all times perfectly stood, And shall from its due its endure.
[5:34] Well folks, as we've sung, Shall we unite our hearts together and come before the Lord and pray.
[5:44] And so, Lord God, as we lift up our voices to you in praise and in adoration this evening, we pray that you would lift our hearts as we lift our eyes unto you, as we fix them on that which is of eternal value and eternal worth. Lord God, we give thanks that as we enter into your presence, we have that great promise of Christ himself that where two or more are gathered, there you will be also. And we crave your presence, Lord God. We ask that your Spirit may move amongst us this evening as we gather in worship, as we wait upon you in prayer, as we read from your Word living and active, that Word that speaks into the reality of our lives and our experiences, that Word which challenges and encourages, which convicts and inspires. Lord God, we thank you that your Word comes to us sharper than a double-edged sword that pierces between joint and marrow, your Word that cuts us to the quick at times, for it shows us like a mirror who we truly are. But it does not do so in order to humiliate us, but in order that we may be healed, in order that you might bring new life and new hope into our hearts which are wayward and which are prone towards sin, prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the Lord I love, as the hymn writer wrote. Your Word also exposes that in our lives which is at odds with the Christian faith, but again does not do so in order to humiliate us, but in order to clothe us with the unblemished righteousness of Jesus. That while you look, you see not the darkness of our own hearts and the waverness of our own minds, but you see us clothed, robed in righteousness, righteousness, because he who had no sin was made to be sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. And what a thought that is. Lord, as we gather this weekend and as we look forward to celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, that act of thanksgiving, that act of remembrance, as we give thanks for all that has been done for us, we pray, Lord God, that you would still our hearts, before you, that you would remind us that it is not of anything to do with us, but it is all of Christ.
[8:24] It's not about what we do, but it's about what has been done, that nothing in our hands we bring, but simply to the cross we cling. Lord, we thank you for the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus.
[8:41] Our good deeds are as filthy rags. We require your cleansing, Lord God, and we give thanks for the blood that has been shed in order that we might be clean. For we know that your word reminds us that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. But we thank you that the Savior's blood was built, that his body was broken, that his body was broken, in order that we may be redeemed and forgiven and reconciled and restored, adopted into your family as sons and daughters, ushered into your presence that we may come before the throne of grace with great confidence, not in ourselves, but the one in whose name we come, that name which is above every other name, that name on which one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. And so, Lord, we thank you that as we come together this evening, we have a great warrant to do so. We have great truth to direct us. We have the great promise of your presence. And so, Lord, we pray that you may encourage us in spirit and in truth and that we might worship in spirit and in truth. We look around, Lord God, at the world at large and we see oppression and cruelty and conflict and uncertainty and doubt and fear and exploitation. And as we lift our eyes to you, we find grace and mercy and peace and hope and everlasting kindness. Lord, that you are a God slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. And so, we pray that you would encourage our hearts with these things in the midst of a world that is beset by sin and that is so often overtaken by despair. Lord, we thank you that
[10:50] Christ brings light into the darkness, that he brings hope to dispel the despair. He brings meaning to lives that were once meaningless, wandering from one thing to the next. We thank you for the meaning that Christ brings, the fulfillment that he offers, the satisfaction that he gives, the fullness that is ours in him. And so, Lord, we pray that as we open your word tonight, that you would speak to our hearts, that you would encourage us as we walk with you. Those who have been on the narrow path for a long time, Lord, may you encourage us with a new nugget of truth. We thank you that every time we open your word, there is yet more to see, there is yet more to mine, there is yet more treasure to be found.
[11:43] We pray that would be no different this evening. We pray for those who have not yet professed faith in Jesus. Lord, those who know you and who love you but have struggled with the confidence to come and to say, yes, Lord Jesus, I am a Christian. I believe in my heart and I am willing to confess with my mouth because Jesus said, those who love me obey my commands. And so, Lord, we thank you for the command that you have given in the imperative to do this in remembrance of me. We pray that you would give confidence to the nervous believer, the uncertain believer, the doubtful believer, recognizing that each and every one of us have been there or perhaps are there at different times in our lives and experiences. But again, reminding ourselves it is not of us, but all of Christ.
[12:43] It's in his name we come. It's in his power we come. It's in the sufficiency of his salvation that we come. And we come as broken and needy sinners in need of the grace of the Savior in order that we might lean on him and live in him and through him all the days of our lives. And so, Lord, bless us.
[13:06] Bless our time together this evening. May it be profitable for us. May we store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. May we engage in that which will give heavenly dividend rather than chasing after the fleeting things of this world that will come to nothing. And so, bless us who before us.
[13:27] Forgive us our sins, we ask. In Jesus' name. Amen. Folks, we're going to continue by singing to God's praise this time from the hymn, There is a Fountain Filled with Blood Drawn from Emmanuel's Veins. If we're on the table, we'll stand and sing together.
[13:45] There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's Veins. And sinners plant beneath that blood whose soul in guilty sin. Si'n sinner's plant beneath that blood who saw their guilty sin. There is a fountain filled with love drawn from Emmanuel's grace And the sun is filled with love drawn from Emmanuel's grace And the sun is filled with love drawn from Emmanuel's grace And sinners, funds, redeem and funders, all their guilty state The dying thing rejoiced to see a fountain in this day
[14:51] And there may I ask my sins away Wash all my sins away Wash all my sins away And there may I ask my sins away And there may I ask my sins away Dear dying love, your precious blood shall never lose its power Till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more Be saved to sin no more Be saved to sin no more
[15:56] Till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more Dear sins I gave thy soul a scream Pure flowing wounds of God Redeeming love has been my theme And shall be till I die And shall be till I die And shall be till I die Redeeming love has been my theme And shall be till I die And in a nobler sweeter song I'll sing their power to sing
[17:01] When this poor listening slumbering tongue I'm silent in the grave Lie silent in the grave Lie silent in the grave Lie silent in the grave When this poor listening slumbering tongue Lie silent in the grave Well folks if you'd like to open your Bibles with me this evening To the New Testament And to John's Gospel And to John chapter 13 John chapter 13 This weekend we're going to root ourselves in John chapter 13 This is the great last supper chapter in the Bible It's part of the latter part of Jesus' earthly life
[18:03] And there is so much for us to consider within it It's a long chapter We're not going to read the whole chapter at the moment But we're going to work through the whole chapter Over the course of the weekend God willing with the Lord's help But this evening we're going to read John 13 And verses 1 to 17 together And the words are up on the screen as well If you've got them I'll read from the screen So I'll make sure it's the right one This is God's Word 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 hands 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
[19:04] Tied it round 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?
[19:21] Jesus answered him What I am doing you do not understand now But afterwards 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?
[20:12] 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 As I have done to you Truly Truly I say to you A servant is not greater Than his master Not as a messenger Greater than the one Who sent him If you know these things Blessed are you If you do them Amen May the Lord bless That reading of his word To us His word that will never Pass away Before we turn and look at that For a time We're again going to sing This time from the Scottish Psalter On Psalm 51 A Psalm of David A Psalm of That's Psalm 5 Not Psalm Psalm 51 I think We're reading Or That's not Psalm 51 Sorry
[21:16] Psalm 51 1 to 7 It was Is that possible? Yes Ah there we go Well that's 7 to 13 Well When I'm inserting that We'll just have a look This is a Psalm of David David Had lived an immoral life In many ways He was A man after the Lord's own heart And yet He stumbled And he faltered And it is a reminder To each and every one of us That we should take heed Lest we fall as well We are not immune From that And part of that Is what Jesus is doing Here in John chapter 13 As he washes His disciples feet And we'll come We'll come back to that This evening But here's David Recognizing his sin Confessing his sin Before the Lord And seeking the Lord's Forgiveness Out of a contrite heart And that's what we all Need to do Each and every day Isn't it?
[22:11] Because we're all sinners And Paul reminds us That we've all fallen short Of the glory of God And we require We are in need Of his forgiveness Each and every day The washing of our feet As it were So we're going to sing The verses of Mark 1 to 7 To God's praise After thy loving kindness Lord Have mercy upon me We'll stand if we're able Sing together After thy loving kindness After thy loving kindness Lord Have mercy upon me For thy compassion For thy compassion's grave Got out All mine iniquity Be cleansed from sin And thoroughly washed
[23:12] From my iniquity For my transgressions I confess My sin I never see Is thee Only Have I Sinned In thy Sight On their That when thou speakst thou mayst be just and clear in judging still.
[24:05] Before thy iniquity was formed the womb within, My mother also be conceived in guiltiness and sin.
[24:36] Behold thou when thee inward parts with truth delighted are, And wisdom thou shalt make me know within the hidden part.
[25:09] To thou with his up-springle me, I shall be friend's soul.
[25:24] Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.
[25:44] Folks, turn back with me to John's Gospel in chapter 13 this evening as we steady our thoughts there. Let's again just pray.
[25:56] And so, Lord Jesus, as we come now to consider your words, living and active, we pray that you would speak into our hearts, clear our thoughts of distraction, give us clarity of thought and mind and understanding, stir our hearts, encourage us by your grace, and in our faith may we proclaim you boldly each and every day, knowing that you are the one who has done that which is impossible for us.
[26:27] So bless your word we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. I often think of the 80s as not that long ago, but I'm looking around the room and I'm seeing quite a number of young people that are thinking, man, alive, the 80s are years ago.
[26:42] Well, I was a child of the 80s, and I'm sure some of you lived through the 80s as well, and you might remember Shalimar. Let's make this a night to remember.
[26:53] Great song. Well, here we have in John chapter 13, a night to remember, a night like no other night. Many of us have had similar experiences, I suppose, and we've had nights that we'll never forget.
[27:08] We've had days that will live long in our memory, for good and for bad reasons. Life-changing experiences. Well, here's Jesus with his disciples, and it is a decisive night in the course of his earthly ministry.
[27:25] It's really heading towards the climactic end of the mission that Jesus has been given by God the Father to fulfill. There's this crescendo.
[27:36] It's unknown to the disciples at this point, and we can pick that up, I think, as we go through the passage this evening. But here they are eating what would be their final meal together, the Last Supper as we know it.
[27:51] And this was a night that would change the course of history forever. You know, at every Passover, even yet today, the child will ask the parent, what makes this night different from all the other nights?
[28:07] That's actually written into the liturgy of the Passover meal. Well, of course, Passover signified a great night for the people of God.
[28:18] A reminder to them of the provision of God, the God who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. A God who had liberated his people from the slavery that they were under, the oppression that they experienced in Egypt, when the blood of the Lamb was painted on the doorposts and the lintels of their homes, and the angel of death passed over them.
[28:45] And the people gather together, and they eat this meal, they celebrate this Passover every year, to remember and to give thanks for what the Lord has done. And isn't that what we are engaged in this weekend?
[28:58] As we come together, and as we remember what the Lord has done for us, and we give thanks to Him for His gracious provision to us, that He has saved us, that He has drawn us to Himself, that He has given us new hearts and new hopes, that He's given us a new life.
[29:18] And that is worth giving thanks for, and His grace is worth remembering. And that's what we do when we come to the Lord's Supper. We'll gather here, God willing, on Sunday morning, and we'll take the elements, we'll take the bread, and we'll take the wine, and we will remember with thanksgiving, with gratitude in our hearts, all that has been wrought for us.
[29:44] Well, here in John 13, we've got the disciples enjoying a meal with Jesus. Not an uncommon thing for them. They'd spent the last three and a half years doing just this, reclining at the table with Jesus and eating with them.
[29:59] But this night, different to every other night. This night was so extraordinary that John, the writer of this gospel, views these chapters from chapter 13 right up to chapter 18 as so significant.
[30:17] And this is covering really just one night, a large portion of His gospel devoted to this time. We'll not get through all of it.
[30:28] We're only really going to look at John 13 over the course of the next couple of days. But go home and read through it and understand what is happening here.
[30:39] What we've got in these chapters is we've got what's known as the upper room discourse. So, it's teaching that Jesus is giving. It's discipleship that Jesus is offering to His people.
[30:51] And He gives them the information that they will need, some of which is unrecognized by them. They don't really get what He's saying at the start.
[31:02] But they get there in the end, as we know. So, this is a special night. We've all had special nights, but none so special as this.
[31:13] And I think there are a number of reasons why this night was so special. I think there's five of them, and we're going to look at them this evening with the Lord's help. Number one, this night was framed.
[31:26] It was framed. It was framed by a sense of timing. Timing. We are all creatures of time. We are bound by time, limited by time, bordered by time.
[31:38] And this meal is framed by a sense of timing. Here they have the Passover occurring, but at the very outset of that, Jesus says, the hour has come.
[31:55] Now, Passover was and continues to be a large festival, a feast. People would go up together to Jerusalem to attend Passover, to celebrate Passover together.
[32:08] If you lived further away, you wanted to be there. It was a pilgrimage that people would make because of the significance of what was happening.
[32:18] And you could be sure that Jerusalem would be crowded when the Passover was happening. Some of you, I'm sure, here are gearing up for lambing. And you might have a few lambs.
[32:28] You might have maybe lambs into double figures. Some of you may even have lambs into the hundreds. Well, Josephus, the historian, tells us that at one Passover season during this era, 256,000 lambs were slaughtered in the temple for Passover.
[32:51] Now, what was the ratio? The ratio was 10 people per lamb. Now, maths was never my strong point. But 256,000 lambs times whatever it was, that gives you a huge number of people in the city to celebrate Passover together.
[33:15] 10 times 256,000. After the lamb was slain, they would take the lamb home, this group of people. They would roast it.
[33:26] They would eat it. They would recline. And they would celebrate that moment in their people's history, that liberation from bondage, that freedom from oppression.
[33:37] And they would remember it. And they would give thanks to God for all that he had done for them. It's different for the disciples here, isn't it?
[33:49] They're not just celebrating the lamb that was killed in the temple, but they're eating with the lamb who will take away the sin of the world. That's how John recognized, or John the Baptist recognized Jesus right at the beginning of this gospel, wasn't it?
[34:05] And behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And here he is, and he says, his hour has come.
[34:16] Jesus knew that his hour had come. Six times in the gospel of John, this phrase comes up until this point. So, we can say that there is a significance to it. John often refers to the time.
[34:29] The first time we encounter it is at the marriage celebration in Cana of Galilee. You remember it? Jesus' mother says, they've run out of wine. Do something about it.
[34:41] Why don't you assert who you are? Tell them who you are. He says, woman, my time has not yet come. Later on in John, we see in chapters 7 and 8, Jesus is in Jerusalem.
[34:54] He's saying some controversial things, not unusual for Jesus. They try and grab him. They try and lay hold of him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.
[35:07] John chapter 12. Again, Jesus is in Jerusalem. It's Palm Sunday. He's arriving at the temple. The hour has come, he says, for the Son of Man to be glorified.
[35:21] A few minutes later, he says, now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, but for this very purpose, I came to this hour.
[35:34] So, all the way through his life and ministry, Jesus is talking about timing. He's talking about the time and his hour. And here he says his hour has come.
[35:45] There is a decisiveness to his statement here. He recognizes that the time has come, that he is about to be offered up as the Lamb who will be slain and who will save many, who will save all who come to him.
[36:05] That's why John devotes so much time to this single night, because of its huge impact at the time, but on history ever since.
[36:19] There are 89 chapters in total in the Synoptic Gospel. So, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, there are 89 chapters. 85 of those 89 chapters focus on the last three and a half years of Jesus' life.
[36:35] And of those 85 chapters, 29 of them focus on the last week of Jesus' life and ministry on earth. And 13 of these chapters deal with just the last 24-hour segment of Jesus' life and ministry.
[36:53] That is the main focus. There is a real thrust, a real stress laid on to these realities. 579 separate verses in all four Gospels zero in on this hour, on this moment, this time, this 24-hour period in Jesus' life where he offers himself as a sacrifice for sin.
[37:23] And that's why we come. That's why we spend time. That's why we devote our time to the Lord, to celebrating his hour, celebrating what was done for us, remembering the willingness with which he went to the cross.
[37:44] And that's why we celebrate communion, just as they celebrate Passover. Do this, Jesus said, in remembrance of me. For as often as you do this, take this bread and take this wine, you remember the Lord's death until he comes.
[38:02] So, we do that because we want to give thanks, but we also want to remember that Jesus has promised he will come back. I wonder, are we ready? I wonder, are we using our time well, the time allotted to us, the time that we are given?
[38:20] Tomorrow is not promised. We expect it. We assume it. But it's not necessarily going to be ours. And so, time is of such importance.
[38:32] This meeting, this meal was framed by time. But secondly, it was focused as well. It focused on a private gathering.
[38:43] It focused on a private gathering. Jesus knew that his hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the end.
[38:54] Now, Jesus is in the upper room here, right? And who's he with? He's with his disciples. He's with the twelve, those who would be regarded as his closest friends, his closest allies, his intimate inner circle.
[39:13] And that's something that we might just gloss over, but it's worth considering. It's worth considering as important because this isn't a public gathering.
[39:25] This isn't an evangelistic crusade. This isn't a public sermon being preached. This is a private meal. This is a private meeting with close friends that Jesus is sharing with behind closed doors.
[39:43] And what's he doing? He's training them. He's discipling them. You see that in the ensuing chapters. He's teaching them.
[39:55] The question that we might have is, well, why is he doing that? You know, he's about to leave the earth. He's about to die. He's about to give himself as a sacrifice for all.
[40:09] His disciples already know him. There'll be people out there who don't know him. People who need to know about him. There are crowds. There are multitudes of people who don't yet know him.
[40:21] So, why is he sequestered away with his disciples in private? It's a good question. There's also an answer for it. Because he's equipping them to fulfill that role, quite simply.
[40:35] He's equipping them to go out and to do that, to be his witnesses in Judea and Sumeria and to the ends of the earth, as he says in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8.
[40:48] He's giving them the necessary equipping to fulfill the mandate that he will give them. The Great Commission, indeed, that every one of us, if we are Christ's people, are called to.
[41:03] You remember when Jesus called his disciples first? Many of them were fishermen. And he went down by the shore and they were working. And he said to them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
[41:19] Good, you're awake. It's very warm. Good to know that you're awake. I will make you fishers of men. You're going to follow me and you're going to see me do it. And I'm going to give you an example.
[41:30] But I'm going to make you. I'm going to train you. I'm going to commission you to be fishers of men. You are going to go and do that. Matthew chapter 9. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing every disease and sickness.
[41:47] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
[41:59] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Familiar words for us. Who's he speaking to? He said to his disciples.
[42:11] So, you can imagine them saying, well, we better pray. Jesus has said we should pray. Let's pray that the Lord would send out more workers into the harvest field. And so, they pray. A couple of verses later, Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
[42:31] And then it gives the name of the twelve. And what does it say in verse five there? These twelve Jesus sent out. Guys, I need workers.
[42:42] We need people to go out and to reach the lost. They say, okay, let's pray about that. A couple of days later, Jesus comes and says, guess what? I'm sending you. You're the guys that I'm sending.
[42:55] Now, here's the principle. If we are Christian believers, if we've been saved, then we should be getting discipled and we are being sent.
[43:09] Who's called to ministry? Every hand in the room goes up if we are Christians. We're all called to ministry. We may not be called to pastoral preaching ministry, but we're all called to ministry.
[43:21] We're all called to serve. We're all called to give of our lives, to empty ourselves, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.
[43:32] No mention of ourselves within that. The Lord first, others second, humble yourselves, serve. We are called first to salvation, first and foremost to salvation, and then to service.
[43:47] That is the Christian believer. The disciples were called to follow Jesus. Why? That I may make you fishers of men. That I might equip you and enable you and commission you to go and to share this good news.
[44:06] And here Jesus is still teaching them. Here Jesus, right at the climax of his earthly ministry, is still taking the time to remove himself from the public eye and to spend meaningful time with his disciples, teaching them about what they should do.
[44:25] And not just teaching them, but showing them, and we're coming to that in just a moment, as to what they should do. Teach us to number our days aright that we might gain a heart of wisdom, Moses wrote in Psalm 90.
[44:40] We're not to just count time, but we're to make our time count. This meal was framed by a sense of timing.
[44:51] It was focused on a private gathering, and it featured, thirdly, an act of serving or service. Jesus serves his disciples.
[45:07] It says that he takes off. And immediately, where does your mind go? My mind immediately goes to Paul's writing in Philippians 2 there, doesn't it? Is it yours? Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.
[45:33] So he took off his heavenly glory, as it were, and he put on the human frame. He came into the dust of the world. He humbled himself, and being found in the human form, humbled himself by becoming obedient, even to the point of death, even death on a cross.
[45:52] Jesus emptying himself for others. And here at this meal, we see he takes off his garments, and he wraps a towel around his waist, and he washes their feet.
[46:08] He washes their feet. What's happening when all this is going on? Luke's actually quite helpful in this regard. He gives us a bit more information about the meal and what's happening.
[46:20] In Luke 22, you'll find a verse that says, then they began to argue among themselves, the disciples, as to who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom. There's a real contrast here, isn't there?
[46:32] You've got the disciples arguing, I'm going to be greater. No, no, I'm going to be greater. No, I'm going to be the best. All the while, Jesus is taking off his outer garments. He's kneeling, and he's washing their feet.
[46:43] The king of heaven, the Lord of glory. He's washing their feet. Who should have been washing feet?
[46:54] Not Jesus. They should have been washing his feet. But he loved them, and he wanted to show his love, and he wanted to love them to the end.
[47:05] And his love was giving, and his love was sacrificial. This Jesus, who the Lord had put all things under his power, Jesus who knew he was going back to the Lord in heaven, this is the Jesus that stoops to wash the feet of his disciples who are squabbling about who's going to be the greatest.
[47:30] The contrast, the irony is just fantastic, isn't it? Here's Jesus, all power, all dominion, all authority. Jesus who is comfortable and secure in his identity, who knows from where he has come and to where he is going, and therefore stoops to serve.
[47:53] What a great picture, isn't it? Is that a picture of our lives? Those of us who are children of God, redeemed by the grace of God, forgiven by the blood of Jesus, secure in our identity, we know where we are going, and therefore willing to serve, willing to get down on our knees and wash feet, because we know whose we are, and we know to where we are going.
[48:22] Having our identity in Christ Jesus transforms the way that we live. It's not about how great am I going to be, and how much am I going to make, and what am I going to amass, and how big is my house going to be, and how much is my name going to be known.
[48:40] None of these things matter. But will I get down on my knees like the Savior did, because I know who I am, and to whom I belong, and to where I am going, and therefore I am willing to wash their feet.
[48:54] If you know who you are, if you know who you are, you don't have to prove who you are to anyone else. I wonder this evening, do you know who you are?
[49:06] I wonder, do you know whose you are? When you know Jesus, you're at peace with your past, and you're secure in your present, and in your future, and it liberates you to do whatever you are called to do.
[49:26] Do you know who you are this evening? If you're a child of the King, and your future is secure, then no task is too menial.
[49:37] Our desire is to honor God by serving others, not by arguing about who is greater. So, it featured this act of service.
[49:51] Fourthly, it was an evening filled with meaning, filled with meaning. He loved them to the end. He's washing their feet because He cares about them.
[50:08] He's, in a sense, continuing to empty Himself, pour Himself out, divest Himself in His service of others.
[50:22] He comes, and He offers Himself wholly and fully for us. Not only does He wash their feet, but He has a towel around His waist, and He dries their feet.
[50:35] Just a reminder to us that when the Lord begins a work, He finishes a work. He brings it through completely to completion. But Peter, don't you love Peter?
[50:47] We all, I think we can all identify with Peter. Peter says what many of us are thinking, right? Peter says what we all think. You're not washing my feet.
[50:57] No, you can't wash my feet. If you're going to wash my feet, then you'll have to wash my hands and my head as well. But Jesus says, listen, Peter, you're missing the point.
[51:09] So often, Jesus said that to Peter in many ways, and many times says it to us as well. The point is, your whole body is not dirty, but your feet are.
[51:22] You've had a bath. You're clean, but you've been walking. And if you've ever been to Israel or the Middle East or even just a hot country and your holidays and your sandals and you go for a wander up a path and you come back and your feet are dusty and they're sticky and they're dirty and it feels good to wash your feet.
[51:45] And the point is that though the rest of their body was clean because they were walking through the dirt of life, their feet needed washed.
[51:55] They'd had a bath. Now, we could say we could liken bath to salvation. They were saved, but they needed their feet cleaned. Why?
[52:06] Because they were walking through life. We are all sinners. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
[52:17] Anyone who says they are without sin deceives themselves and the truth is not in them. Again and again, the Word reminds us of that, that we are weak and fallible people. James says, we stumble and we falter in many ways.
[52:30] We are sinful. We need our feet washed, not just once, but regularly. And that's what Jesus does. He cleans us head to toe, once salvation.
[52:42] We are saved once and for all. But we need that everyday cleansing of coming back to Him for forgiveness in the ways that we stumble.
[52:53] And if you're like me, and I know you are, then we need that. We need that so, so much. We need to have our feet washed regularly because we're walking through the dirtiness of life.
[53:08] We're covered in the grime and the muck of the world in which we live. We are clean. We are saved. We are secure. But our feet get dirty and they need to be cleaned.
[53:22] Are your feet clean? Will you allow Jesus to clean your feet? Will you allow Jesus to give you a bath? Have you had a bath?
[53:34] Are you clean? Have you been cleansed? Are you washed in the blood? Do you know that fountain that we sang of? Have you been cleansed and purified as David cried out to God for in Psalm 51?
[53:52] The only way to be clean is to be cleansed by Jesus. And that's in salvation, but we need that cleansing again and again because we stumble and we falter in many ways.
[54:05] Our time is gone, but the final thing that we see in this first part of this meal is it was fouled. It was fouled by sinful plotting.
[54:17] It was a meal that was fouled. Verse 2, the evening meal was in progress and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
[54:28] Why do we want to end with that, you see? Why do we want to include, why is it even included here? Well, I think it just gives us that wonderful contrast, doesn't it?
[54:41] Here's an act of sacrifice by Christ in contrast to an act of selfishness by Judas. Here's Jesus and here's Judas and the contrast is stark.
[54:59] Here's Jesus who thought of everybody but himself and here's Judas who thought of no one but himself. Here's Jesus whose motto was give and here's Judas whose motto was take.
[55:18] And they're shown side by side to give us that stark contrast. And the question is to who are we most like?
[55:30] Who are we most like? Like Jesus who emptied himself and gave of himself and served willingly, sacrificially, graciously.
[55:41] Why? Because he knew who he was and to whom he belonged and to where he was going. Or are we like Judas grumpy what a waste when people do things for the Lord.
[55:55] I want for myself greedy, self-seeking, selfish. Jesus and Judas. Jesus was humbled.
[56:07] We've read that in Philippians 2. What's it say in Isaiah 14 of Satan? How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, sun of the dawn. You have been cast down to the earth. You who once laid low the nations.
[56:19] You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mount of the assembly on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
[56:33] I will ascend. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. See the difference? Jesus says, I'm going to come down from heaven.
[56:46] I'm going to leave my home of glory, and I'm going to enter into the dust of humanity, and I'm going to serve selflessly. The evil one, he says, I'm going up there, and I'm going to be higher, and I'm going to be greater, and I'm going to rule.
[57:06] You know, we're never more like Jesus than when we serve, when we're willing to serve people, and we're never more like the evil one when we refuse to serve and just want the glory for ourselves.
[57:22] That's the contrast that we have here at this meal. We all have power, great power within us, and as Spider-Man said, with great power comes great responsibility.
[57:39] We can use our power for great good, and we can use it for great destruction, regardless of where we are, who we are, or what we're doing. We have the power to use it for the Lord and for the good of those whom we know, or for a destructive purpose.
[57:56] The question is, what will we lend our power to? The composer, and I close with this, the composer, Leonard Bernstein, was once asked, what's the hardest instrument to play in an orchestra?
[58:11] And he said, without wavering, second fiddle. Second fiddle, it's the hardest instrument to play because I can get the first violinist all day long.
[58:24] I'll get people who will volunteer for the position. They want to be number one. They want to be the first position. But for me to find somebody who will play second violin with as much enthusiasm, or second French horn, or second flottist, it's very difficult, he said.
[58:41] But you see, without the seconds, there is no harmony. Without the seconds, there is no harmony.
[58:53] Without the person who's willing to be second, there is no harmony. We will never be the greatest because there is one who is enthroned on high and he is great and we are not.
[59:06] But we're called to play with him in order that there might be a beautiful harmony, in order that people may see it and enjoy it, that people might be served.
[59:18] This is a meal that we are given a glimpse into that is framed by time. And it is a meal that is private and it's featuring the service of Jesus and it's filled with meaning.
[59:35] And there is plotting going on but he comes to nothing and the Lord it rains. Jesus had all of the power in the universe. He knew who he was.
[59:49] He knew to whom he belonged. He knew where he was going and it transformed how he lived on earth. I wonder, do you know to whom you belong?
[60:01] Are you secure in where you're going? And is it transforming the way that you live on earth? Let's pray. Lord God, our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word.
[60:16] We thank you for its truth and for its power and for its challenge and for its encouragement. Lord, we pray that we too would be those who would find our identity in Christ and finding our identity in Christ that we would be transformed to serve as he did willingly, selflessly, sacrificially to the glory of your name.
[60:43] Amen.