A Lesson on Humility
17 March 2013 PM – John 13:1-20 – Scott Childs
Introduction: Humility is one of the most difficult qualities to cultivate because pride is rooted in the depths of each of our hearts. We all struggle with pride in varying degrees. The disciples were no exception.
John does not mention it, but Luke tells us that the disciples had just been arguing about which of them was the greatest (Lu 22:24). Jesus’ time to teach the twelve was running out. This would be his last evening with them. That evening he did something that shook them to the core as he taught them about humility.
Transition: This evening I want us to note the four roles Jesus took to teach this lesson.
I. The Loving Friend John 13:1-2
A. He loved to the end (1)
1. Jesus knew his hour was come. Many times in John’s gospel, he said his hour was not yet come, but how it had arrived. The cross was only hours away.
2. Jesus loved his followers this far and would love them to the very end. He knew that they could not be saved if he failed to go to the cross.
B. He loved his enemies (2)
1. Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, yet he loved him still.
2. He was never unkind towards Judas.
Loving the lovely and loveable is not very difficult, but loving the unlovely and those who hate us is a challenge. Compared with Christ’s perfection, we are all unlovely. Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. If Jesus could do it for us, we should do it for others.
II. The Humble Slave John 13:3-11
A. He knew his rightful position (3)
1. He knew the Father had given him all authority. He shared the divine power of the Almighty.
2. He came down to earth from God and would soon be going back to God. He was the King of Kings.
3. He rightly deserved to be treated as the Sovereign of the universe.
B. He chose a humble position
1. He laid aside his outer robe and fastened a linen towel under his belt. This was the manner of a slave. The Sovereign of the universe lowered himself to the position of a lowest slave.
2. That night the men were meeting in a secret room. Evidently, no servant was present to wash their feet. None of the proud disciples was willing to wash another’s feet. Therefore, they all reclined around the table with dirty feet from their travels. Jesus poured water into a dish and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
Humiliating tasks for us this might be cleaning the toilets, mopping the floor, coming to church early to set up chairs, giving a ride to a poor family, or picking up trash on the floor.
3. Peter, outspoken as he was, objected to Jesus washing his feet (6). Jesus assured him that later he would understand. Jesus explained briefly, but it would not be until after Christ’s resurrection that they would fully understand.
4. When Jesus insisted on washing his feet, Peter asked Jesus to wash his hands and head as well.
5. By his act of washing their feet, Jesus taught humility, but he also was giving them a spiritual lesson.
a) Their lives had been washed by his salvation. They did not need another spiritual bath. Jesus said they were all clean except for one (Judas).
b) However, walking in this sinful life, spiritually our feet get dirty and need daily washing.
Warren Wiersbe put it this way: “When God ‘bathes us all over’ in salvation, He brings about our union with Christ; and that is a settled relationship that cannot change. . . However, our communion with Christ depends on our keeping ourselvers ‘unspotted from the world’ (James 1:27). If we permit unconfessed sin in our lives, we hinder our walk with the Lord; and that is when we need to have our feet washed.”
III. The Divine Teacher John 13:12-17
A. He returned to his rightful position as Teacher
1. Jesus put his outer robe back on and sat down to teach the men.
2. He assured them that it was right to call him Master (Teacher) and Lord. Humility does not rob one of his true character. It exalts him.
Philippians 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
B. He challenged his disciples to follow his example
1. Since he, as their Teacher and Lord, washed their feet, they ought to do the same to each other.
This must have been a difficult pill to swallow since they had been arguing about who was the greatest.
2. They were his servants and the ones sent by him. They must remember that the servant is not greater than his lord or the sent one than his sender.
3. You ought to mark John 13:17 in your Bible. Jesus said, “Humility leads to happiness.”
While a few Christians claim that foot washing is a church ordinance that we ought to do today, it is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture and we believe Jesus was teaching that humility is the ordinance we ought to practice rather than foot washing. Humility is a Christian’s responsibility.
IV. The Omniscient Lord John 13:18-20
A. He knew who would betray him
1. Jesus did not address his lesson on humility to all of them. Judas was excluded because of his unbelief. He knew those he had chosen and that Judas, the betrayer, was among them.
2. Here Jesus quotes from Psalm 41:9.
Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
B. He encouraged his faithful followers
1. Jesus knew one of them would betray him and told them before it took place so they would believe he is the Messiah.
2. Jesus, perhaps looking ahead to them being his ambassadors, said, “Those that receive you, receive me and the Father.” In other words, we are in this together. Hang in there. Do not let the betrayal of one get you down.
3. It is amazing that right up to the very end, the eleven disciples never suspected that Judas was an unbeliever and a traitor. Jesus knew it from the beginning yet he treated Judas no differently than the others. Judas had no excuse. He chose to reject.
Warren Wiersbe comments; “Judas was exposed to the same spiritual privileges as the other disciples, yet they did him no good. The same sun that melts the ice only hardens the clay. In spite of all that our Lord said about money, and all of His warnings about covetousness, Judas continued to be a thief and steal from the treasury. In spite of all our Lord’s warnings about unbelief, Judas persisted in his rejection. Jesus even washed Judas’ feet! Yet his hard heart did not yield.”
Conclusion: This evening God has challenged us to love our enemies. He has commanded us willingly to do humiliating work to minister to others as he did. He promised us that humility leads to happiness.
On the other hand, Judas’ life is a reminder to us that salvation is not an automatic result of a good environment. It is a choice of the heart. For three years, Judas lived the life of a disciple in the very presence of the Lord himself, yet he was an unbeliever all the while. Salvation is not outward conformation but inward transformation.
Song: Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord – 337