"The Lowest of the Low" John 13:3-17. Reed Redus, Associate Pastor First Baptist Church of Amarillo August 31, 2014

Transcription

1 "The Lowest of the Low" John 13:3-17 Reed Redus, Associate Pastor First Baptist Church of Amarillo August 31, 2014 Standing below the Hoover Dam, a beaver was bragging to his rabbit friend. Looking up at that great wall made of seven million tons of concrete, the beaver said, No, I didn t actually build it, but it was based on an idea of mine. 1 This morning, we will look together at a passage about humility. This story may be familiar to you, and it is full of gold. The Scriptures are timeless and always timely. May God speak to us today from His Word. If you would, turn with me to John s Gospel, the 13 th chapter. In circles of Christians, we can sometimes elevate foot washing to a prominent, ceremonial position. We might tend to proudly think, Because I am holy, I am going to wash your feet. Aren t I an advanced Christian? It's ironic that we can take this dirty job, and make ourselves feel more holy, more clean for doing it. But we need to remind ourselves that foot washing was dirty, nasty work. They wore open sandals. They walked on roads with animals, and there was no sanitation department, no massive street sweeping vehicles. And washing feet was not just dirty work, it was considered lowly work, slave labor humiliating! The kind of task that an entire culture looked down upon. To get a perspective on what foot washing really meant back then, Gerald Borchert, a respected NT scholar, looked at many different 1 st Century Jewish writings from outside the Bible. He summarizes this way: Foot washing was regarded as menial slave work, and as such, was primarily an assignment given to Gentile slaves and women. 2 So this is one of the most humiliating tasks there was. Think of India s caste system with its rigid levels of society, where the lowest of the low are the Untouchables, thought by their society to not be worthy of most jobs. The Wall St. Journal reported this week that some of the most serious human rights abuses in the world still happen with India s lowest caste, the Untouchables. 3 Now remember, also, that all the way back in the beginning of John s Gospel, John the Baptist is ministering, and as Jesus approaches, and the baptizer says, I am not worthy to untie 1 Charles Townes, winner of the Nobel Prize for work with lazers told that story. 2 Gerald L. Borchert, discussing Mekhilta on Exod 21:2 and Kethub 96 a. in vol. 25B, John 12 21, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), Available from: 1

2 his sandals. What is he saying? He's saying that touching feet is the lowest of low positions in our life, and yet compared to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, he was not even worthy of that low position. Foot washing was dirty, nasty, lowly, slave work, and, yet, our second truth this morning, and this one is big, is that God washes feet. Our text begins by letting us know that Jesus does not make this move out of desperation or by accident. This is intentional! Verse 3 says, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands got up, girded himself and took his towel. This means that Jesus realized the full extent of his power, realized the authority that God had given him, and Jesus acted in His full nature as God. I don t know about you, but when my mind conceives of what it means to be God, I naturally gravitate toward the big, the grand, the powerful. My mind is usually amazed that God could create a world with His voice, or destroy it. And rightfully so, God is grand and powerful, but He is also good. At the same time that God has all power, He has all humility. My mind just never thinks about God s humility, his meekness, first, if at all. But, in this scripture, we have the God of the universe doing the lowest of lowly tasks. It s hard to describe the stooping, the descending that is happening here. This would be akin to the President of the United States coming to your house, knocking on the door, and when you open it, there he is with all of his entourage of secret service and executive staff. And he says, Excuse me. May I, not my staff, but may I wash your commodes, your toilets? Can you imagine that? The president working in your bathroom? It feels repulsive, right? (Should I joke? Some might say, Oh yes, come on in; at least you re working today. ) That would never happen, but... The American Historian, George Lee, tells a story about Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator. 4 Shortly after Washington took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town, when a wealthy woman, of a different skin color, stopped him. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. He didn t have any pressing business at the moment, so Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. One of the servant s daughters recognized him immediately, and later on, revealed his identity to the lady. The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. She was mortified, but Mr. Washington smiled. "It's perfectly all right," he said. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor, especially when I get to do something for a friend." That s humility, but see even that doesn t adequately describe what Jesus has done. This is the God of the Universe acting like he s an Untouchable. 4 Our Daily Bread. 2

3 I think the only comparison that gets really close to this is another dirty, nasty job. In verse 10, Jesus says, You are clean, but not all of you. He just washed all of their toes; what s he talking about? Well, John tells us in the next verse, that this foot washing means much more than just clean feet. There is a different kind of dirt, called sin, and ultimately this is why He has come. But Judas does not believe. Jesus, taking off his outer garments, putting a towel around his waist and washing the muck off of His disciples is symbolic, it s a representation, of His entire ministry. The Son of God leaving Heaven, leaving perfection, leaving Trinitarian harmony, and coming to a world riddled with sin and strife, a dirty, nasty world. Patiently teaching us, patiently healing diseases, patiently loving even when His disciples wanted to fight the world, and His enemies wanted to kill him. And ultimately, Jesus bearing the wrath of God toward our sin on the cross. That is the dirtiest work! That is the nastiest work! 1 John 1:7 says, The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin, and by that blood, those who believe are made clean! Listen to how the NT describes believers in Jesus: clean, spotless, unsoiled, unblemished, new; and comparing to fabric: bright and clean, white and clean. Theologians use really big, multi-syllable, theological words to describe this: justification, sanctification, propitiation. But do you know what they all mean? You are clean! Forgiven! If the God of the universe has set out wash away sin, how clean are you? I mean to what degree are you clean? We took a team to Portland, Oregon, and Corvallis, Oregon, earlier this month. The team was serving and encouraging a new church called the Branch, a Baptist church plant of the North American Mission Board. We did a variety of tasks to hopefully help encourage them, help their roots to grow deep into their community. The team worked at schools that this church is serving and loving, just like we do at Margaret Wills Elementary here in Amarillo. We did relational evangelism on the college campus of Oregon State University, the biggest university in Oregon. The team loved on this church, worshipped with them, and ate with them. A member of the team had a great idea to give them a church-planter date night. We watched their kids one evening and bought their dinner. You would have thought it was Christmas morning! One of the first things they had us help with was to clean at a Home for victims of trafficking. The church has adopted a Christian faith-based rehabilitation home for those wanting to leave the skin-trafficking world. Women can come and live in this home and go through a complete Christian rehabilitation process for a year to a year-and-a-half. We met two of the young ladies who are presently going through the program. After we had the emphasis on trafficking here at First Baptist last year, it was a lot of fun to really put our hands to something. Two of our team, Preston Alarcon, a freshman at Amarillo High, and Bryan Houser, our Director of Missions here in Amarillo, were assigned to clean the van this center use. 3

4 And they got after it; I mean they washed and vacuumed every crevice of that thing. They asked me to pick up some Armor All so they could really do this job right. Now, I ask you, how would the quality of that wash job change, if they had asked my 5-year- old son and 4-year-old daughter to wash it? I know two things: (1) They would try; they are great kids. (2) The quality of the wash would go down drastically. Something would get done, just not much. A squirrel would run by, or playing in the water would just be too fun. Often the mess ends up bigger after they start cleaning! How would you classify the believer s cleanliness, the forgiveness of our sins, if the God of the Universe did the task? What was the quality of His work? If you are in Christ, there is no part of you that He forgot about when He cleaned you! There is no sin, past, present, or future that He left out! He doesn t make mistakes! He finishes His tasks with perfection! Philippians 1:6 I am confident of this that He would began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 5 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 6 We all have blemishes, sin, disobedience...dirt. A noted Washington monsignor was to be the guest of honor at a Washington D.C. banquet. 7 He was retiring after 25 years of service. A prominent senator knew the priest and was to give the celebration speech, but "things happen to important people," and he was unavoidably detained, so the toastmaster proceeded without him. In the absence of the senator, the microphone was passed around, and honor and after honor was heaped upon the priest. The, the cleric arose to give his acceptance. The old man smiled and said, The seal of the confessional can never be broken, but I will never forget when I first came to D.C. 25 years ago. I thought I had stumbled into a terrible place. The very first man to enter my confessional told me a hairraising tale of corruption and sin, the bribes he had taken, and a list of offenses so bad, nothing has compared since. I wanted out of D.C., but as time went on, I have grown to love this community and realized what a wonderful place it is." As he was speaking, the senator finally arrived. When the priest was finished, the senator went to the podium to say a few words. I ll never forget the first day our honored guest arrived at this parish. In fact, I had the privilege of being the first to go into the confessional. We all have dirt. The question becomes, what will we do with it? When Satan tempts you to despair... and he will! The Bible calls him the Accuser of the Brethren. The very nature of your enemy is to remind you how awful you are. You need to know this -- every person in this room is being tempted to believe he or she is a horrible person. 5 Phil. 1:6 NIV. 6 2 Cor NASB. 7 Michael Hodgin, 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking : Fresh, Timely, and Compelling Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Speakers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994). 4

5 When Satan tempts you to despair,... (and he will!) When he tells you of the guilt within,... (and he will!) "Upward we must look and see Christ there, who made an end of all our sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free! For God, the Just, is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me. Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless Righteousness..." The young Irish girl who wrote those words, nailed it! In fact she first entitled this hymn, not Before the Throne of God Above, but the Advocate. If you are a believer in Jesus, His work of humility on this earth and the cross and resurrection have made.you.clean! The believer has an Advocate, a Supporter, a Backer, a Washer, who has taken care of all our dirt. Do we listen to that accusing voice of fear and doubt? Or do we listen to our majestic King, who as a servant leader, placed Himself in the lowest of all positions? And, washed away a stain that would couldn t? (?????) You may be here or listening, and you know. You ve never become a Christian. You ve never had your sin washed away. I invite you today to ask Jesus to cleanse you. He will. 1. Foot washing was dirty, nasty work. 2. God washes feet. 3. And, finally, Jesus encourages these men, Go and do likewise Peter likes to get messy. He s always talking first, thinking later. I sort of like him for it. Look at how Peter nearly makes a mess of all this. In verses 6 & 8, his reaction to this humble, low position of Jesus is NO WAY. Jesus, you cannot serve me like a slave. Jesus gets serious and says, If I don t wash your feet, then you have no part with me. And, as often happens with Peter, he wished he hadn t spoken, and asks for a whole bath! What happens when we stop washing feet? I don t mean literally, but what happens when we start thinking there are tasks beneath us? Are there tasks too dirty for us? Jobs below our pay grade? Unions have their rules you know! This is what Peter was struggling with. He thought this task was above Jesus; Jesus was better than this. But if only he understood, the low position of God is not just for God, but the calling of every believer. Jesus throws this class system out of the window, and as God serves us, and then calls us to do the same. Let s read together. [Read John 13:13-17] Jesus lead us down a path of humility, and I feel so blessed for the many examples of walking this path. At FBC, I ve seen a head of Human Resources for a major corporation driving a van for English class. I ve seen the wealthiest among us getting smoke in their eyes to serve food to those who couldn t afford it. I ve seen both Dr. Batson and Dr. Barrett picking up the occasional piece of trash. There aren t too many because our housekeeping staff does such a wonderful job. This week, Howie laid down on his stomach with a pair of scissors to cut leftover strings off of the edges of some new carpet. 5

6 I was talking with a former FBC intern last week, who went to work as a Interim Children s Minister in another city, knowing that working with kids was not her heart s strongest desire and definitely not her strongest gift. All she knew was that her friends who were pastoring the church desperately needed help they could trust. She saw a need and just took care of it. She re-arranged her whole life to help. If we re looking, there are so many examples of Christ-likeness, too many to count. When we think of the tasks to which we are called I think God will place footwashing types of tasks in front of each of us. Low tasks. Humbling ones. The kind of jobs that when the boss starts assigning, 60% of the people slowly disappear out of the back of the room. Or when the clip-board comes out with the To Do List on it, no one makes eye contact. These kinds of tasks that we secretly hope the our spouse has already finished before we arrive home, and they're a part of each of our lives. If not, we re probably not on mission. What would happen if we hold Jesus humility in front of whatever low tasks we need to do? I need to show love to which neighbor? That "loud, never mows, tall weeds and grass neighbor? What would happen if we could just set in front of that the image of Jesus, doing untouchable work, washing my feet, bearing my sin, and asking me to do the same? Doesn t that empower us? Doesn t that drive Christian selflessness? Before He ever says, You also should do as I did to you, He made a stoop that none of us could imagine. There is a potent history of vigorous Can do people here at FBC, a deacon recently remarked to me. We have a legacy of this church setting its heart and mind to big tasks because of Christ s work and through His power. This year our church is about to begin celebrating 125 years. The border mission trip is celebrating 20 years of the current trip, and 45 years of going to the same location. When I take mission teams, I feel like I get to sit back and watch the fruit of this legacy of service and mission work. In China, that team of mostly non-teachers did what I think is one of the most intimidating tasks in the world -- they went into junior high schools for the sake of the Gospel. They taught like champions. Today, there are new believers from China to Hungary because of people who about all they know about teaching is that they we went to school. Our church taught Bible School to over 2,000 people here at First Baptist Church, at Margaret Wills, and at San Jacinto in the heat of summer. In Portland, that team washed miles of windows, painted on a hot playground, and set up an entire library. There were nuclear engineers, medical professionals, landscapers, students and pastors trying to remember the Dewey Decimal System! And the news of this passage, is WE RE NOT DONE YET!!! Until we ve breathed our last breath, our mission is a foot-washing mission! We are called to the lowly. We are compelled to the humble. Booker Washington s run-in with that woman, actually became a part of his legacy and teaching. To help the school become as financially independent as possible, 6

7 Washington decided to plant cotton. He hoped it would provide a steady source of income. Of course before any planting could be done, a large area of Alabama woods needed to be cleared. So, one day after class, Washington told everyone to pick up an ax and follow him into the woods. The students stared in silence and refused to move. Awkward! Finally, when they realized he was serious, one student informed the professor that they had come to Tuskegee to become better teachers, not better farmers. If they had wanted to be undignified farmers, they could have stayed home. And, thank you very much, they were going to sit right there. Quietly, but firmly, he told his students manual labor was beneath the dignity of no one; all work was good for the spirit and the school. The truth was that this was his plan to provide for their education. Then he picked up an ax and went outside. A few minutes later, the distant ax could be heard. Crack! Crack! Crack! Slowly, one student got up, picked up an ax, and headed outside. And then another. And then another. Our Lord has picked up a towel and poured water into a basin and gone about a task that no one else wanted to do. When he finished, I wonder if he was breathing hard? I wonder if he was sweating a little bit? Church Family, we have been served in some ways that we may never understand, and called to do likewise. What a task! Let s finish it together! 7