How do you picture God?
As you can tell, the
picture on the screen portrays Jesus washing the feet of several world leaders,
as well as one other conspicuous character.
In 2007, a group of Adventists hired Lars Justinen to paint this
picture, that you see. And they had
contracts with several malls in Seattle to hang these posters for advertising a
Bible conference. But no sooner had the posters gone up than angry calls began
flooding the malls. Many people—mostly
Christians, it seems—were highly offended at the image of Jesus washing the
feet of a terrorist. There was such an
outcry that each of the malls decided to go back on their contract and take the
posters down. And then the Christian college that was hosting the event also
canceled their contract.
Does their reaction
illustrate how some American Christians might picture Jesus? The protesters simply could not believe that
Jesus would wash Osama Bin Laden’s feet. And yet First John, chapter 2 and
verse 2 tells us that Jesus died “not only for our
sins, but for the sins of the whole world.” Could it be that many Christians want a Jesus who will defend
their country and hate their national enemies just as much as they do? Do they want a Jesus who will help their
country and culture to dominate every other country and culture of the world?
Why does that sound so
familiar?
Well, the gospels do
tell the story about a very similar group of people. I’d like to ask you to
imagine the story with me. Jesus and
His disciples had just walked the 2 miles from Bethany to Jerusalem to eat the
Passover meal. And I wonder what was
going through the disciples’ minds? I’m sure the excitement of Jesus’ triumphal
entry into Jerusalem not long before this was still very fresh. And the memory of Lazarus’ resurrection
before that was still driving their expectations of the kind of power that
Jesus could use for an earthly kingdom.
So this Passover may have felt more like a state occasion to them, an
inaugural celebration of the exciting things that they were expecting.
So they arrived at the
house and they greeted the owner. And
everything was ready for them, and somehow this clicked in their minds as they
arrived at the top of the stairs, positioning themselves to their own advantage
suddenly became very, very crucial.
Like squabbling roosters crowing for their territory, the disciples
scrambled into position around Jesus, each of them wanting the “chief seat” at
the feast. And all of that jockeying
for the best position only brought to the surface what was almost always
uppermost in their minds. The question,
“Who was the greatest among the disciples?”
It was so opposite
Jesus’ own attitude of unselfishness and serving others. Jesus’ whole life was
an illustration of His personal mission statement, “Not
to be served, but to serve” [Matt. 20:28]. The only problem was that the disciples had not learned that
lesson. And it was a special burden for Him. It hurt Him to think of it. It
grieved Him.
And yet so much to tell
His disciples before His death, but they could not bear it. And so as they
began eating the meal, it was a very strange, awkward, uneasy silence that they
all felt. Jesus didn’t say anything. He appeared to be waiting for
something.
If that wasn’t bad
enough, they had to sit down at the table with their dry, dirty and stinky
feet. No one came to wash their feet,
as was customary. The pitcher of water, the basin and the servants towel were
all there, but there was no servant.
One of the disciples should have stepped up to the responsibility, but
all of them were totally above that. They refused, wouldn’t even think of it.
Jesus waited, but when
none of them made a move, He rose from the table and took off His outer
garment. And to His disciples’ complete
surprise, He picked up the servant’s towel and wrapped it around Himself. They
were stunned, shocked. And without
saying much at all, Jesus picked up the basin and poured water into it. Then He
turned to Judas and began washing his feet. “Oh, Judas, Judas. Why are you going this route?
Why??” The love that Jesus had
for Judas, and at first Judas was moved by Jesus’ act of love, but then the more
that he thought of it, he began to be really offended at the thought of Christ
washing his feet or that of anyone else’s.
If Jesus could do that kind of thing, He could not be Israel’s king—He
was too humble, too loving, too gentle for that. There would be no hope of any worldly honor. And so Judas
determined to disown Jesus because he had in mind a different Messiah, a
different kingdom, and a different God.
In fact, the God that
Jesus portrayed was very different.
Very much so. He does not live for
Himself. He created the world. He
upholds everything. He constantly serves His creatures. He makes His sun to
rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
He has a different kingdom than many anticipate.
So Jesus gave them an
example that they would never forget. Ashamed?
Oh yes! Humbled? Definitely.
They got the message. They got the picture. After Jesus finished washing their feet, He sat back down, with a
lot to say.
In John, chapter 13,
verses 12 and onward, Jesus said to His disciples. “Do you know what I have done to you? You
call me Teacher and Lord and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. For I
have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
And then in Luke,
chapter 22, verses 25 through 27, Jesus also said this, at that very
occasion. “The
kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over
them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest
among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves. For who
is the greater, one who reclines at the table or one who serves? Is it not the
one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”
There are really only
two kingdoms.
There is the kingdom of
power and domination over someone else; of pride, selfishness and
competitiveness. Those are the things
that Judas believed in.
And there is the kingdom
of Jesus’ unselfish love and of serving one another, not caring for position
over someone else; the kind of kingdom that leads us to let go of prominence,
and to follow Jesus’ example.
Which kingdom do you
want?
Today, as we, in this
service, wash each other’s feet, may I suggest that what we talk about while
we’re doing it, or what we think about, is to reflect on what it would be like
for us to be there in that experience, and to imagine what it would be like for
Jesus to wash our very own feet.
Let’s separate at this
time.
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First Corinthians 11,
verse 23 through 26 says, “For I have received from the
Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night
in which He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it
and said, ‘Take eat, this is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup
after supper, saying, ‘This is the new covenant in My blood. Do this as often as you drink it in
remembrance of Me. For as often as you
eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He
comes.’" Let us kneel for
the prayer.
Dear God, as we
contemplate the ultimate sacrifice of Your Son, we stand in awe of Your love
and wisdom that devised this plan in eternity past. With our mental capacity, we are unable to grasp how and why a
God of a perfect universe would come to this sinful world to die for our sins,
but we thank You that You made a way for us to be saved. As we partake of these symbols this morning,
we rededicate our lives and we ask for power to do away with the sin that put
You on that cruel cross. Lord, empty us
of self and place a burning desire in our hearts for a closer walk with
Thee. Strengthen us spiritually. Give us love for one another and make us
bold disciples to proclaim the good news that there is an empty tomb, and that
You are coming back very soon. We are
homesick for Heaven Lord, and we are longing to meet you face to face. May we all be there on that glorious day is
my prayer, amen.
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Jesus took the bread and
He gave thanks for that which symbolized His sacrifice, and He said, “This is
My body, given for you. Do this in
remembrance of Me.”
And He took the cup
after the supper saying, “This is the blood of the new covenant,” and by these
emblems of the bread and the wine to symbolize fully taking in all that Jesus
has done for us.
On your way out, there
will be an offering for those who are needy, which will go into our church’s
assistance fund. Also the Scripture
says the disciples sang a hymn and then they went out. We invite you to open your hymnals to number
577.
Hymn of Praise: #17, Lord of All Being, Throned Afar Scripture: John 13:1 Hymn of Response: #577, In the Heart of Jesus
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McDonald Road Sermon transcribed by Steve Foster 4/9/09