Here we are just a few weeks before we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus together! Of course here, we celebrate the risen Jesus every day.
When someone becomes aware that their life is coming to an end, priorities quickly shift.
They want to make sure that their last wishes are clearly communicated and ensure that they will be carried out according to their will.
Family and friends that might live far away are called back home to spend precious time together. Their words hold more value in this season as no one is certain of when each conversation might be the last.
Unlike the uncertainty that we face in this season, Jesus knew with certainty all of the details of His death. He knew where and when and how He was going to give His life.
In those final days, what did Jesus choose to speak about? Who did He choose to spend time with? What was most important to Him?
This morning, we’re starting a new message series where we will answer these questions entitled, “Before I go.”
Three times, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus clearly predicting and warning of His upcoming death and resurrection:
Matthew 16:21
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 17:22-23
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
Matthew 20:17-19
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Try and place yourself in Jesus’ situation here. You know that you are about to die in a very public, humiliating, and excruciating way. You share that with those closest to you.
How do they respond?
They begin to argue and bicker over who among the twelve disciples are greatest! They begin to fight over positions of authority in the Kingdom!
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, wanted to be seated to the left and right of Jesus’ throne. These are the same two guys who wanted to call down fire from Heaven to destroy a Samaritan village because they didn’t welcome them. These same guys now wanted to share the power and authority of Jesus… Wow!
No one showed care or concern about Jesus and all that He was about to go through… They just cared about themselves.
Sadly, this still happens today. Too often, at a time when families should be joining together to comfort one another, they fight with one another.
They argue over final arrangements, about the care that their loved one is receiving, about who all is welcome to attend services, and especially about how the inheritance and belongings of the one who passed away are managed.
At a time when families need each other the most, they are all too often divided.
Jesus said that He was about to be spit on, mocked, flogged, and crucified and those closest to Him were more concerned about what they were going to get than what Jesus was going to endure.
The first time that Jesus warned them, Peter at least rebuked Him and wrongly declared that this would never happen to Him.
That time, Jesus told them:
Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
This time, Jesus responded with another similar reminder:
Matthew 20:25-28
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This Kingdom-concept of servant-leadership seems contradictory from a worldly perspective.
How does someone lead by serving? Don’t you lead by bossing everyone around and lording over them with the authority that they are given? Not in God’s Kingdom!
Someone is promoted and given more authority because of their willingness to lay down their lives in service to those around them. Jesus was given the title King of kings and Lord of lords and given all authority over all things because He was willing to lay His life down completely.
Sure, He gave His life on the cross, but He also lived His entire life in surrender to the will of the Heavenly Father. As we learned last week, He lived not as a slave in forced submission, but in complete freedom by chosen surrender.
Saving our lives by losing them, becoming great by serving all, being first by being last is servant-leadership in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus was given power and authority over all things from the Heavenly Father. Imagine that for a moment. You have power and authority over all things.
If you tell a raging storm to be still, it will instantly dissipate into tranquil peace. If you curse a fig tree, it will wither up and die. If you tell a dead man to come out of his grave, he’ll walk right out. If you say that someone’s sins are forgiven, they are forgiven. If you tell a cripple to get up and walk, they’ll jump and dance for joy.
What would you do with power and authority over all things?
Well, here is what Jesus did:
John 13:1-17
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, 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.” (repeat)
These words of Jesus are so powerful and we should often remind ourselves of them when we find ourselves confronted with uncertainty.
We should allow them to penetrate our hearts, minds, and souls so that our faith increases to an unshakable level! Things are bad now and they are about to get way worse, but they are going to end better than we could ever think, ask, or imagine!!!
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, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their 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 Very truly I tell you, 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.
Washing the feet of guests was one of the most humbling of tasks. People wore sandals on paths and roads shared with animals. Feet aren’t the cleanest of body parts to begin with, but then they were covered in mud and dust and poo.
When people sat down together to share a meal, they didn’t sit at a tall table with chairs as we often do now. It was a low table and feet were very close to their food. Jesus often reclined at tables meaning that He was essentially laying down while eating in a very relaxed manner. Washing feet was a dirty, but necessary task.
Luke 7:36-47
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
It’s easy for us to get caught up trying to figure out what God’s will is for our lives. We try to figure out a big and significant thing that we are supposed to be or supposed to do.
However, Jesus made it easy and clear. He set the example for us to follow as did this woman.
What is God’s will for your life? Serve.
Pour out your love and appreciation for Jesus and His forgiveness of your sins by serving the needs of those around you. It is worship of God and a pleasing perfume to Him.
Wherever you are at and whatever you are doing, keep an eye out to those around you and an ear open within you to the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself, “What can I do to help?”
Maybe it’s pushing back a shopping cart or helping get an item off of a shelf for someone at the grocery store. Maybe it’s sending an encouraging text or card.
Maybe it’s dropping off some food or sending some money to someone in need. Maybe it’s just showing up and visiting someone for a bit. Maybe it’s offering to pray for someone and then doing it right then and there out loud.
Stop and think about some of the times when you were most blessed by someone else.
What did they do?
What did they say?
Who could you do that same thing for?
These little things ARE the big things!
Before Jesus gave His life on the cross, He lay down His life in service and then said, “I have set the example for you. You should do for others as I have done for you. Now that you know, you will be blessed for doing it.”
Simple acts of service create common ground, break down barriers, and establish relationship. They should not be underestimated!
There’s no limit to what God can do in that atmosphere! You usher God’s very Presence into that person’s life through simple, humble acts of service. Washing feet! Serving!