"No Servant Is Greater Than His Master"

John 13:1-17

Rev. Min J. Chung

(Sunday Worship, September 27, 1998)

 

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me `Teacher' and `Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:1-17).

 

I. IntroductionA. We are walking together with Peter, learning some lessons from Jesus

about everything, so we can get to 1 Peter. Even as we are studying about Peter, its not so much about Peter, as it is about the lessons hes learned. So, thats what we are keying on (the lessons hes learned).

B. John is the only one of the gospel writers who records Jesus washing of the disciples feet. Matthew, Mark, or Luke do not record this account . Instead they record the Lords Supper (the Passover), which pictures the cross. The Lords Supper is very important. But instead of including that event, John puts in the foot-washing. Its so important to John that he puts this account in place of the Passover. Why is it so important?

C. The context in Luke 22 say the that disciples were fighting constantly. James and Johns mother was saying things like, "My boys read the whole Torah when they were kids." She boasted about her kids. They came to Jesus and stated, "Put us at the right and left of You when You become a king." The other disciples were indignant and all of them began to argue. "I want to be in that position." "I am the #1 apostle."

D. A similar thing is going on in this text. Matthew says to Peter (this is not in this text, but Im speculating), "Youre uneducated. Im the educated one. Im the accountant. I majored in math. Im the smart one. I should be the one on the right." Peter responds, "Well, at least I didnt cheat." (Back

then, most tax collectors cheated.) They were arguing about who was the greatest.

E. We do similar things. Jesus is coming, and we are called to conquer the world, but instead we fight and argue.

F. Jesus was thinking about the cross and saving the world, being separated from the Father, while the disciples were bickering and arguing with each other. Jesus was going to the cross and the disciples were thinking about going to a throne.

G. The disciples were exalting themselves while Jesus was giving farewell messages. "You ought to deny yourselves, carry your cross, and follow me. You want to exalt yourself and put yourself on the throne. But thats not your job; its Mine. And I will do it, but it only comes through the cross." Hes giving a farewell message, but Hes not talking. Instead He does a skit. He gives an object lesson of what Hes going to do on the cross. They argue, the basin lies untouched, the towel lies on the floor unused, so Jesus picks up the towel and teaches the lesson.Hes trying to show that you need to humble yourselves and serve. Thats what a Christian means and is the way to change this world.

H. Well discuss three teachings on serving.II. Body

A. Serving Is Humbling Yourself1. The roads to Palestine were quite unsurfaced and uncleaned. In

dry weather they were inches deep in dust, and in wet weather they were liquid mud. The shoes the ordinary people wore were sandals (not boots); and these sandals were simply soles held on to the foot by a few straps. They gave little protection against the dust or the mud of the roads. For that reason there were always great waterpots at the door of the house, and a servant was there with a towel to wash the soiled feet of the guests as they came in. But it wasnt even the Jewish servants job. It was always given to the Gentile servants if they existed in the house. It was the lowest job anyone can do or think of. Jesus was being the lowest servant of the building. How can He do this? How can he serve like this? How can I be like this?

2. The key is humility€it had to do with his heart. His heart was humble. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

3. My translation is: "Are you tired? Relax, lie down, relax, let Me serve you, because Im gentle. Ill give you a massage; You want

some water? Ill get you some water." Why? Because Hes gentle and humble in heart. In order to serve, we must be humble.

4. The word humility means to stoop low. Thats exactly what Jesus is doing. He goes low and washes the disciples feet. Humility is one of the highest virtues. Many religions uphold the virtue of humility. Confucius said that humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.

5. In an orchestra, the hardest chair to fill is second violin. Its difficult to find people that good who will play second violin. Its difficult to play second fiddle. An Asian proverb says, "The branch with the most fruit bends the lowest." I think theres a lot of wisdom to that, when we have more spiritual fruit, and they are the lowest and humblest ones. Many people think that spiritual maturity is seen by spiritual gifts, but the Bible says maturity is shown not by your gifts, but by your fruit. The ones with the most fruit are the humblest ones. Humility is a good sign of spiritual maturity.

6. Here are three teachings about humility.a. Humility is strength.

1. Humility is not timidity or inferiority. Many people think that if someones timid, hes humble. Or if shes quiet, shes humble. No, rather, humility is the strength to withhold the natural inclination or desire to exalt yourself. Humble people dont want to exalt themselves. They do not focus on themselves. Everyone has a natural propensity to exalt themselves, and its hard to restrain that desire. Thats why we talk bad about others, because when they go low, we go high. Humility is strength to overcome that desire. When you sin, youre weak, because you cannot restrain your desires. As we grow in the Lord, we grow to restrain that desire. Humility is the strength to withhold those desires. We are too prone to fight for a throne, but not for a towel. Humility is strength.

b. Humility leads to happiness and joy.1. Many people say that humility leads to misery,

because youre losing something. But the Bible says differently. Look at v. 17, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Jesus is

saying that if you humble yourself and serve, it will lead to happiness and joy.

2. The world says, "How many people work for you?" God says, "For how many people do you work?" Thats a sign of greatness in the Scripture.

3. The most miserable people are proud people. When youre proud, you always want to exalt yourself, or at least not be degraded. When you always want to exalt yourself or just want to protect yourself, when even one person degrades you, it bothers you so much it consumes your heart and becomes hatred. When you see that person or even anyone who looks like that person, you get angry.

4. In Esther, Haman was like that. Everyone, millions of people were bowing down to him, but when one Jew, Mordecai, wouldnt bow down, he wanted to exterminate all the Jews. The most miserable people are proud people.

5. Sensitive people are the same way. If someone doesnt look at them and smile, they think, "He hates me. She hates me!" They are miserable. The application is not to smile at people and say hi, but dont be consumed with yourself. Humility leads to happiness and joy. We should esteem Christ and not ourselves.

c. Humility is necessary to be ministered to and to minister.

1. Humility is a key to ministry. As we look into Scripture, Peter says, "No, You shall never wash my feet!" when Jesus wants to minister to him, because at that moment he didnt want to be a humble beggar. He needed the humility to be ministered to.

2. Also, if you want to minister, to help others, you need humility. If you want to help, serve and teach others, you need to be learning yourself. In order to be constantly learning, you need to be humble. In the depth of your heart and soul, you need a teachable heart, which in turn increases humility.

3. When I see these people, they cant disciple other people. Why? Because they are unteachable. Most people dont like you or respect you if youre proud.

When we are humble and are ministered to by others, we can minister to others. A teachable heart can learn and grow. But when you dont learn you have nothing to give to others. Humble people draw others. People are attracted to humility. Theres beauty in humility. Only when you have a teachable heart, do you learn.

4. We gotta give one thing to Peter. He made many mistakes, but when Peter said, "No, You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus didnt say, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Maybe He was tired of rebuking Peter. Peter was ignorant but had a teachable heart. Thats hope for many of us. Jesus says, "Well, Peter, unless I wash your feet, you will have no part with Me." He wasignorant but teachable as well. The worst ones are those who are ignorant and unteachable. There are some like that. Please have a teachable heart. We can be ignorant, but we need a teachable heart€always learning, always listening, always trying to learn. Peter was like that, and he was a man used by God. If were like that, others will learn from us.

B. Serving Is Loving Others1. This incredible account of service started with v.1, Jesus is loving

them through this. "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." Hes doing this, giving this object lesson because Hes loving them. Whatever Hes doing in this text, its out of love. You can serve by loving others. What does that mean? We can see two principles about serving and loving.

a. You can serve by loving others as you sacrifice for them.

1. In verse 7, as Jesus is washing His disciples feet, He says, "You do not realize now what Im doing, but later youll understand." Its gonna make sense to you. What is He comparing this account to? Hes comparing foot-washing to the cross. Just as He washes the dirty feet of the disciples, Hell later wash the dirty souls of the people. Just as it

takessacrificial humility to wash feet, it takes sacrificial humility to go to the cross. Just as foot-washing is a selfless act, its aselfless act to go to the cross. Just as foot-washing is an act of love, the cross is an act of love.

2. Just as you give food to others, you can give your sacrifice to others. You can serve others by loving and serving and sacrificing. John, reflecting on this years later on, says in

3. 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

4. When you serve someone with a menial task, in a sense you are actually laying down your life for others. A similarity is Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. When you lust after someone, you have committed adultery. When you hatesomeone, you have committed murder. Its not the same degree of sin. Its the same kind of sin, the same root cause, the same direction of sin. Why is it murder when you hate something? Because it starts there. Its a root cause. When you commit murder, it starts with a little hate. When you commit adultery, it starts with lust. In the same way, it all starts with a selfless act, a little act of kindness. Its the same direction. When we start in the right direction, when we serve itll lead us to DIE FOR OTHERS. JESUS IS SAYING, YOU CANT DIE FOR A MAN WHOSE FOOT YOU CANT WASH. Im washing your dirty feet now, but later Ill wash your dirty souls. (Im washing your dirty soles, now, but later Ill wash your dirty souls.) So you can serve as you love and sacrifice for others.

b. You can serve by loving others as you forgive them.1. Peter says in verse 8, "No, you shall never wash my

feet." Jesus responds with, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." Jesus is talking about forgiveness. Notice it says, "Unless I wash you." It doesnt say, "Unless You wash yourself" or "Unless YOU wash me." He says, "Unless I wash you." Hes saying that your sins have to cleansed

from your heart. Hes talking about the cleansing of our souls, the forgiveness of our sins. In the same way that our souls are washed by the blood of the Lamb, our feet are washed by water. We cannot wash ourselves. He needs to wash us. Then Peter says, "Not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Thats just like Peter: "Wash everything!" What is Jesus saying afterwards in v. 10? "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean."

2. To explain this, look at Exodus 30. The Old Testament priests would take a bath when they were ordained. The bath is for ordination, for anointing as a priest. It was the only time they took this type of bath. But everyday they had to wash their hands and feet; it was required to be cleansed from their daily defilement. Then they could serve others and fellowship with the Lord.

3. Its the same principle here. A bath you take once for all, your feet you wash daily. Salvation is our bath, daily repentance is our daily foot-washing. I dont know when you were saved, when that moment was, but when you did that, when you truly trusted Christ alone for salvation, thats once for all€thats when you were saved. But 1 John 1:9 (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness) says that we need to confess our sins daily. Its not about salvation, but for our fellowship with the Lord. To serve Him, we need daily cleansing in our lives.

4. Jesus is saying, "I need to serve you by serving you, washing you and cleansing you." Thats what Jesus is teaching us. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." We need to be served by the Lord. Not only one moment, but everyday we need to be served. Every night, dont go to sleep without washing your hands and feet.

5. "At dinner, customarily people bathed in the privacy of their homes before attending a dinner engagement. But their feet would get dirty walking

through the dusty streets to the hosts home. When they arrived, what they needed was not a bath, but only a sponging off of their feet." Thats what God does for us. "Spiritually, God bathes us at conversion cleansing our scarlet sins white as snow. But walking through lifes dirty streets, we pick up some of the worlds grunge and grime. What we need in that case is not another bath€just cleansing." Serving is loving through sacrifice and forgiveness.

6. Theres something about loving. Theres something about serving that shows love. They are related. When you touch peoples feet, somehow you touch their hearts. Theres something about serving that has God-ordained power to touch their hearts. If you serve them, they feel your love.

7. I think there are 3 kinds of servants.a. Slaves. They are driven by fear.b. Hirelings. They are driven by wages.c. Sons. They are driven by love for the Father.

As believers of Jesus Christ, we are sons and daughters who have an endowment€power to love and to serve, and we are driven by our love for Jesus and love for others. I think thats what this text is talking about. When serve out of love, it opens the hearts of people. They feel the love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

C. Serving Is Exemplifying Christ1. Just so we might not miss the lesson, Jesus gives a little message

after the skit. (Its just like our Friday night.) He speaks and gives a skit. In verse 14, He says, "Now that I, Your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."

2. There are two lessons we can learn.a. Exemplary serving is a mandate.

1. Its a command; if you dont do it, you sin. "Now that I, Your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, " What do you expect him to say after this? "You should wash my feet." But rather He says, "You should wash others feet." Why is Jesus saying that? Hes saying, "Ive washed your feet, now you can wash my feet by washing one anothers feet." When

we serve others, we serve Jesus. WE SERVE THE LORD BY SERVING OTHERS. When you serve others, you should have that motive. The heart behind this, THE PERSPECTIVE IS THAT WHEN YOU SERVE THEM, YOU ARENT SERVING YOURSELF OR ANYBODY BUT JESUS. All through Scripture, when we serve, we serve Jesus. Its a mandate.

2. Consider our Mini-Olympics. It was great. I enjoyed it. The kids enjoyed it. But I was thinking, where should the most energy and effort have gone into? Out of all the things that went on that day, as a church and body of Christ, where should we have put the most effort and zeal? Well, lets first consider where it went. There was incredible zeal and energy, athleticism and evil desires to degrade others (forget about that), and so much intensity was coming out. Johnny was walking around the field, and people were flipping around, jumping up and down, screaming their heads off, trying to get just one point. Thats great. When I went to dinner, half the church was there at the Chinese restaurant, eating ravenously. Well, where should the most energy have gone? We should have put the most effort in the cleaning time. With the sound system we were using, everyone knew a Christian group was there. The whole campus knew we were there. The football fans passing by were asking, "What are these people doing?" Because the wind was there, all the garbage was on the other side of the campus. We should have put the most effort in serving others by cleaning up. Imagine if there were hundreds of Christians and not a single paper on the field, that would be a great witness, dont you think?

3. There are 2 tests to check the health of a church. There are two tests when we want to know, "Is this church healthy?"

a. How many people are at the prayer meetings?b. How many people are at the cleaning day?

4. They could be two of the most difficult things to do, yet they reveal the character and health of ones spiritual life.

5. Are you there at the prayer meetings? At the cleaning times? It reveals your maturity.

6. The church is where the people with the highest positions have the dirtiest hands. Only the church can be like that. Because NO SERVANT IS GREATER THAN HIS MASTER. AND OUR MASTER WAS A SERVANT! No servant is greater than his master, and our Masters hands are dirty.

7. The highest we can be is a servant. Our master is a servant. Its a line we cant go over. When you say, "I want to be like Jesus," it means you want be a servant.

b. Exemplary serving is enabled.1. V. 14 says, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher,

have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet." He does not leave us as orphans. When He gives us a toy, its always batteries included. I think Jesus also means that as Christians who have received the endowment of the Holy Spirit to do this, you have strength and power to wash one anothers feet. I have washed you, so NOW ITS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO IT. IF YOU DONT DO IT, ITS AN EXCUSE, ITS SIN. Its not lack of power or strength; its an excuse, because Ive given you all the blessings in Christ. When He commands us to do something, we must do it. We must serve.

2. Think about a set of feet. Being a right-brained person, I thought about feet€my feet, the disciples feet, dirty sandals, and finally the feet of Jesus on the cross. His feet were pierced so our feet can be washed. Sinless feet are to be pierced; sinful feet are to be washed.

3. Even before this text, in John 12, Mary comes and anoints Jesus feet (as yet unpierced) with an alabaster jar of oil, expensive perfume. How can our feet be washed, as we think of how the hallowed feet of Jesus, sinless feet which deserved worship, were

pierced? Mary anointed and worshiped Jesus feet so sinful feet can be washed. We are enabled and empowered as exemplified by Jesus. Sinless feet which deserve worship were pierced so that sinful feet can be washed. How can we receive washing of our feet? When we worship Jesus. Jesus we worship, others we serve. If we worship the Lord, we receive cleansing and enabling to wash the feet of others. In order to do that, we need to be humbled in our hearts; then Christ can be served.

3. Yesterday was our familys "Mens Night Out," and Joshua, Daniel and I went to Yen Ching. When we got there, half the church was there. Anyway, what happened that morning, Joshuas soccer team won 6-2 and he scored 4 goals. Well, its hard to be humble when youre 7 years old and you score 4 goals. Now, Im always trying to teach him about humility, so by now he knows how to at least pretend hes humble. (He still doesnt really know what humility means, so, previously he used to raise his hands in the air and shout, "I SCORED 4 GOALS!" but through the years hes been trying to learn and hes at the point where he thinks tone is the key so now he says quietly, "I scored 4 goals.") I wanted to test him so I asked, "Joshua, who do you think is the best person on your team?" He said, "Oh, maybe me." That wasnt the correct response. I told him that when someone asks him a question like that, he should say, "Well, the whole team played well." He thought about it and was a little ashamed and knew he failed the test so he said, "Well, Russell kicks farther than me so hes the best player. Yeah, yeah, thats what I think." I didnt want to teach him that humility meant you have to lie, so I emphasized once again that humility is about the team concept. Finally he said, "Well, this guy was dribbling really well and made a nice pass and I kicked it in." Thats right, you think about what other people did and you praise that! Well, later on, I found out that in the morning, when Mommy was picking him up from the game, Joshua had told her, "Daddy and Grandma (Miss Kim) must have been praying for me, because I scored four goals." Thats my boy! Thinking about the whole anecdote, I assessed two things; if we focus on God and others, and give credit 1) to others and 2) to the Lord, it can help us to be humble.

4. C.S. Lewis, when he was first started going to church, disliked the hymns; he considered them to be 5th-rate poems set to 6th-rate

music. I know some of you are like that. "I realized that the hymns (which were just 6th rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, then you realize that you arent fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit." I think thats it. Whatever we do, its a privilege. We are not worthy not only to sing hymns but to serve the Lord. The Lord was a servant, whose thongs we are not worthy to untie. Its a privilege to serve the Lord. Always give credit to the Lord; always be a servant to others. Be humble. Be servants of the Lord.

III. ConclusionA. As I was preparing this message, I was thinking, if this whole church

were filled with servants who would fight not for thrones, but basins and towels, what an awesome, God-glorifying church that would be! If there were those kinds of people, who fought for the towel in this church, in this world, no matter under what name, if the whole body of Christ were filled with those kinds of servants, whowouldnt want to come to church!? Everybody would want to come to church. Everyone wants to be served. If the whole body were filled with people who were loving, who didnt give credit to themselves, nor exalted themselves, who gave credit to the Lord, who gave credit to their friends, who loved and served, etc. who would want to get away from people like that? You wouldnt even have to bring them to church. They would run to church.

B. Thats what Jesus is saying, a church is a bunch of serving people loving and serving one another. Doing "dirtier" things to each other, smaller and smaller things to each other. Simple acts of kindness to each other. If that happens, watch out, we better close the door, because too many people would be coming in. Thats how the body of Christ ought to be. Lord, serve me. I need to be served. Im in a helpless situation. Empower me. Whatever we receive from the Lord, we give to others€a smile, a sentence of encouragement, having lunch with them, giving a little time, opening a door€we need to be servants to this world. The Son of Man came to serve not be served. What a privilege it is that we can serve and exemplify what Hes done for us on the cross, through our little acts of kindness. Lets pray and ask the Servant to serve us so we can be servants to others. Lets pray.

C. What a fantastic ministry that would be! It all starts with our hearts. We need the Holy Spirits power to restrain us from our desire to be exalted. We need Him to give us transformed desires to fight for the towel, not the throne. That church would be one that the gates of hell

would not prevail. Lets pray to the Lord, starting with our own hearts, Lord humble me. Help me so I can be a servant every moment of my life. Lets pray.