Service and Betrayal

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Service and Betrayal

John 13:12-17

12 So [oun] after [hote] he had washed [nipto] their [autos] feet [pous] , and [kai] had taken [lambano] his [autos] garments [himation] , and was set down [anapipto] again [palin] , he said [epo] unto them [autos] , Know ye [ginosko] what [tis] I have done [poieo] to you [humin] ?
13 Ye [humeis] call [phoneo] me [me] Master [didaskalos] and [kai] Lord [kurios] : and [kai] ye say [lego] well [kalos] ; for [gar] so I am [eimi] .
14 If [ei] I [ego] then [oun] , your Lord [kurios] and [kai] Master [didaskalos] , have washed [nipto] your [humon] feet [pous] ; ye [humeis] also [kai] ought [opheilo] to wash [nipto] one another's [allelon] feet [pous] .
15 For [gar] I have given [didomi] you [humin] an example [hupodeigma] , that [hina] ye [humeis] should do [poieo] as [kathos] [kai] I [ego] have done [poieo] to you [humin] .
16 Verily [amen] , verily [amen] , I say [lego] unto you [humin] , The servant [doulos] is [esti] not [ou] greater than [meizon] his [autos] lord [kurios] ; neither [oude] he that is sent [apostolos] greater than [meizon] he that sent [pempo] him [autos] .
17 If [ei] ye know [eido] these things [tauta] , happy [makarios] are ye [este] if [ean] ye do [poieo] them [autos] . KJV-Interlinear

12 And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined at the table again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? 13 'You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 'If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 'For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 'Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 'If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. NASB

Jesus had completed his demonstration, returned to His place at the table, put His coat back on, and resumed the place of teacher and instructor.

The washing of the feet has served its purpose to the degree that the apostles were already aware of the practice of washing from their knowledge of the various Levitical ceremonies (the washing away of sins and the washing for confession), but there was one more lesson to be taught.

That lesson is one of humility. Love is said to be the greatest of all characteristics that a person can have, but that type of love is tolerance for others. And this tolerance presumes that you will not presume yourself as better than others.

Here is Jesus, the God of the universe, who has removed His coat and has stooped to the level of servant to wash the feet of lowly mankind. How many of us would walk up to strangers or even friends and wash their feet? Probably none of us.

Here the washing is a demonstration of a pattern of mental attitude, and not the literal washing of feet. So Jesus asks the question, 'Do we understand?' And of course we all nod our little heads, 'Yes' While most of us haven't a clue, or we may understand but we won't apply the principle of the humility concept to our daily life.

First we need to understand that Jesus Christ controls history. That means that He placed us all in history at the perfect point in time which suits His purpose. Second, we need to understand that all that we are, and all we have is due to His grace policy toward us. None of us crafted our own genetics. None of us can take the credit for our IQ, for our athletic ability, our status in life whatever it might be.

Third, our day to day life is due to Gods grace in action toward us. He placed all those customers out there in the world for us, knowing that we would need a sale, or a customer, and He again placed all those people in history knowing that they would come along to buy from us, to shop at our stores, to interact with us in whatever manner you have interactions with people. God did not interfere with anyone's volition and right to decide, but He did know since eternity past just what everyone of us would need in life - socially, medically, economically, and so forth, and He provided for us all.

Now magnify that interaction by the many billions of people who have and will live in history and you have a pretty complicated plan which only God could carry out.

So whether we have and IQ of 2 or 200, whether we can run the fastest, jump the highest, or not at all, or whether we change diapers, sweep floors, or sip tea at the club, these things are not the real us.

What is in our soul is the real us. What you think is what you are. The content of your soul is either from the source of the world, or from the source of God in the form of His word. Our attitude toward life and others is shaped by the content of our soul. We should follow the pattern which God has demonstrated. He is the God of the universe and is able to perform things infinitely beyond our imagination. Yet He does not exalt Himself but He teaches us through service and humility.

We should not presume any form of superiority or even inferiority relative to other people. We have but to comply with Gods commands and with the patterns of life which He teaches us. There is no place for arrogance in life. There is no place for sour grapes in life.

You should rather consider your place in life with respect to what God has provided you, and how that relates to the three obligations we all have in life. That first responsibility is to God. We owe Him a hearing, to consider the truth of life and of history and how we fit in it. Second, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to our own soul, to learn Bible doctrine and to grow up spiritually. Only from a position of spiritual maturity will God use you to the fullest extent which He has designed for your life.

And third, you have a responsibility to others. You have a responsibility to get or support the getting of Bible teaching to others. You have a responsibility to be charitable to others. This is the devils world and there are many out there who are in need of help in various forms. Sitting back and presuming that someone else will take care of the problems is not an option. God evaluates you on your attitude and on your willingness to assist others. God knows your resources, and God provides you with everything necessary to help you fulfill your responsibilities He expects from you. We, each of us, have only but to objectively evaluate our situation and then comply with Gods will, or we can make up excuses and flunk Gods tests.

But remember the last verse in our passage for today, 'If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.'

First 'these things' is plural. The washing of the feet represents many things, among them is the adopting of an attitude of humility in life. From that point then we can all begin to learn because the barrier of arrogance and being unteachable is removed. We do not view ourselves as better than others when we have more. We do not view ourselves as cheated in life when we have less. We have exactly what God wishes us to have in life so that we can learn that 'things' in life are of no consequence. It is our spiritual life status which is of paramount importance, not the things we accumulate in life.

Also, if we are in a position to help others in any way (and there are many ways to help others), then we are expected to do so in order to give others an opportunity to advance in their spiritual lives.

This world and the things in it will go away, so they are of no importance. When eternity comes along, then if you comply with Gods will now, then you will enjoy a phenomenal eternity with all those 'beyond imagination' blessings which will be available to mature believers only (review our study in Rev. 1-3).