Now before the
Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would
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, the devil having already put
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus,
knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had
come forth from God and was going back to God, *got up from supper, and
laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured
water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them
with the towel with which He was girded. John 13:1-5
This particular passage of
scripture was just before the Passover, the first meal eaten with the Lord’s
Supper. We get a very good look at the
true nature of Jesus in these verses.
This is a good model for us to model our lives after.
Jesus’ Love was a Constant Love - having loved His own who were in the
world, He loved them to the end. v.1
Constant love issues from character more than commitment. Christ’s character is to
love. His nature is to love. His love was a natural response. False,
forced love does nothing for fellowship.
People know the difference.
- Constant love creates trust. There is no fear in love; but perfect
love casts out fear. I John 1:8 Lack of love creates distrust and
insecurity which is fear. As love is expressed, it deepens and increases
creating more security. People are looking for a place to be
significant…recognized…loved. One
of the greatest supports of my life has been a loving, caring church.
- Constant love is a drawing
love. People feel they can always come to God and
feel loved and accepted (which are much the same thing) and should feel
that at the church. The church’s drawing power is a loving
fellowship. We all need to belong. Seekers
today will belong before they will believe. People must feel that church is relevant
to them. There must be room in our
hearts to accept differences as well as likenesses.
Jesus’ Love was a Selfless Love - During supper, the devil having
already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He
had come forth from God and was going back to God, John 13:2-3
Jesus was facing trial and
imminent death. At the moment He could
have had supreme pride He displayed powerful humility.
Self-Interest can keep you from serving like Jesus.
In John 13:1-17 Jesus taught His disciples a profound lesson about the importance of serving. The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them and in response Jesus began to wash their feet. The men were shocked, because the task of foot-washing was reserved for the lowliest of menial servants. Jesus used this powerful example to demonstrate the importance of humble service, and in verse 17 He says, “If you know all these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Clearly there is blessing in serving the Lord by selflessly serving others, as well as great joy.
It is so easy to get caught up in
our own lives and the busyness that consumes our days. We can easily say we don’t have the extra
time to take to serve in any capacity.
Not only are we not following God’s desire for us to serve others, but
we are missing the true blessing that we would receive from serving others.
Serving others flips life upside down for us.
Instead of seeking our own gain, we can find great freedom and
liberty. Real joy is found not in being
served, but in serving others.
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35
