ASH WEDNESDAY February 13, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 13:1-17

ASH WEDNESDAY

February 13, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 13:1-17

“THE HUMBLE LAMB”

John 13:1-17 (NIV 1984) “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. ² The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” ¹⁰ 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.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. ¹² 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. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

This year in our Children’s Christmas service the Gospel was proclaimed using the Bible’s pictures of Jesus the lamb. John in his Gospel records John the Baptist’s proclamation about Jesus, “Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It’s fitting then for our special Lenten services to use portions of John’s Gospel to see the Lamb of God. In our reading today we see a humble lamb.

The Bible sometimes presents us with paradoxical pictures, oxymorons, to draw attention to important life changing truths. For instance in Revelation chapter seven we get these two. In verse 14 it describes believers in heaven as ones who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white. Really? You wash something in blood and it becomes pure and white? Ah, God draws our attention to the work of Jesus. And then later in verse 17 it says the Lamb at the center of the throne is the flock’s shepherd. What? A lamb is the Shepherd? Ah! Jesus is both sacrificial lamb and Good Shepherd at the same time. In our reading today we see another paradox, a living oxymoron. The King of kings and Lord of lords, the Master does the work of the lowest servant. What are we supposed to Ah Ah! Here?

Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His disciples. It’s what we call Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love… ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” We are supposed to Ah! The meaning of real love and how it’s shown. Real love takes care of real needs. In those times a real need was to have your feet cleaned. Mediterranean climate, dusty roads  equals dirty sweaty feet. Feet need to be cleaned. Do it yourself or if you wanted to be hospitable to your guests you have your servants do it. Who gets stuck with that? The lowest servant. Jesus. The humble lamb. What would He do to teach us? Clean our room? Clean our church? Fold our laundry? Scrub our toilets? Real love meets real needs.

          But the humble lamb went further.  “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” ¹⁰ 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.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.” Jesus here talks about cleaning hearts, not feet. Only Jesus is the Mr. Clean of sin. He looks ahead to what He would do the next day. The Lamb would be sacrificed to pay for the sins of the world. The humble lamb lovingly serves by meeting the needs of His people.

Including the need to be blessed. “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. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them. Do you know what things Jesus meant? There are some Christians who believe Jesus was specifically talking about feet washing and so they regularly wash each other’s feet. They miss the point of humble service, of showing love by doing what other’s need to be done rather than what a person wants to do. That’s a whole lot harder than washing someone’s feet.

          You know that. Think of how easy it is to schedule, plan and do the things you like to do. Think of how hard it can be sometimes to do what needs to be done. Think of the times you’ve dreamed of doing something great that would bring you great praise and the times you’ve grumbled about the little things that need to be done for the good of the family, the neighbor, the school, the church, a classmate. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus the humble lamb enables us. He humbly served even though that meant dying on the cross. That death paid for our sins of selfish service, of only doing what we want instead of what other’s need. Then the humble lamb rose. At our Baptism we were connected to Him. We too got a new life. It’s the part of you that see the humble lamb and says I want to be like that. I want to be like Jesus. So now we can follow the humble lamb in serving the needs of others. We can be the oxymoron, the paradox, future rulers of heaven who serve those on earth.

          No servant is greater than his master. No one here would even want to be greater than Jesus. It is enough for us to be like Him. Look the humble lamb who serves the needs of others. Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them. Amen.