(sorry, we lost our video feed toward the end but the audio is OK!)
In part 1 of a study in "The Master's Model of Ministry" from John 13:1-17 we look at 3 crucial ministry principles contained in the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.
We observe from Jesus' teaching and example that:
1. Ministry is Guided by Discernment
2. Ministry is Motivated by Love
3. Ministry comes from a Position of Security
Discovering Jesus in the Gospel of John pt 31
The Master’s Model of Ministry part 1
John 13:1-17
20/03/2011
Introduction
- Our
- Profile of our cleaners Ian & Hans in the Chronicle
These people all prove the last point of this message which we will get to next week - ministry produces a blessing.
There are times when serving others doesn’t feel like a blessing, and we’ll talk about that later on, but the promise of Jesus and the example of Jesus is that ministry produces blessings for you and for those you serve.
It’s a great life principle, and it’s particularly appropriate given the youth service we have enjoyed so much today. If you can learn this principle while you’re young you will save yourself from a lot of dissatisfaction that comes from pursuing selfish gain – you will never gain enough! You will never have enough stuff, you will never get enough recognition, you will never have enough time to do what you want to do, you will never feel good enough about yourself….
But if you learn to find joy in serving others, you will have an abundance of joy in your life.
So let’s learn about this life of ministry from the Master Himself.
1. Ministry is Guided by Discernment
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.
The timing of this event – Jesus washing His disciples’ feet – is one of the things that makes the event so important and so powerful.
John simply tells us that it was “just before the Passover Feast” which was in the process of being served (v.2). We know that the meaning of the Passover feast was about to be fulfilled by the events of the next few days which we will be discussing in coming weeks. Jesus knew that His arrest, torture, crucifixion and resurrection were fast approaching and He is planning to once again explain these things to His disciples so they would know that none of these things were an accident but all were according to God’s plan for our salvation.
You could expect that knowing the horrors that were fast approaching Jesus would withdraw into Himself and concentrate on preparing Himself for what was coming. You would expect that He could even get frustrated that no-one among His disciples had taken the initiative to serve Him by washing His feet in readiness for the meal.
You see the task of washing the dust off a person’s feet was considered to be very demeaning in that society (as we might expect). If you were hosting people for a meal you should at least provide the water and towels, but a good host would also have someone to actually do the washing and drying of the guests’ feet. It was a task given to the lowest-ranking person in the household. Preferably it was done by a Gentile slave, because it was considered too demeaning a task even for Jewish servants.
There was a very famous incident that occurred several decades after this story, where a highly respected Jewish rabbi was effectively taken to court by his mother about this. She wanted to wash his feet before He went to the synagogue, but he thought it was not fitting for her to do so. She claimed it was an honour to do so and won the case! It’s a pretty funny story because the rabbi (Rabbi Ishmael) is considered one of the greatest scholars in Judaism and famous for his noble and kind character, yet he was taken to court by his own mum and was defeated by her argument!
If a Gentile slave was not around to do the job for a rabbi, it should have been done by the lowest ranked of his students – probably the youngest. Jesus had the right to expect that one of His disciples would have done this for Him, yet none had.
In the gospel of Luke we read of a conversation Jesus had with His disciples during the evening, most likely as the meal is being served. They all have dusty feet. One of them should wash Jesus’ feet at the very least, but who is the least among them who should take up that task?
Luke 22:24-30
24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
I can just imagine how this dispute might have started. “John, you’re the youngest. Wash Jesus’ feet, then we can all get on with washing our own”. John might have replied: “I’ve been with Jesus from the start, longer than you have Matthew. And I’m one of the guys always chosen for special tasks with Jesus. You do it.”
Jesus could have saved them from this trouble by simply filling the basin and washing His own feet. Then they could have happily followed by washing their own in turn. But He doesn’t do that.
25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel
Jesus knows that there’s a lesson that His disciples need to learn. They are going to be the leaders of the Church, but they will not be qualified to lead unless they know that leadership is service. If they continue in a worldly pattern of thinking they will not be able to lead in the Church.
As Jesus prepares to wash His disciples feet He is aware that His time with them is short, and He is aware of what they need from Him at that moment. He puts His own needs aside in order to minister to them according to their needs.
In the same way you and I need to be guided by discernment. We need to keep in mind that our time here is short – there is no time to waste. After the Apostle Peter wrote to believers about the Lord’s return in 1 Peter 1, he states this in verse 13: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action”
Unlike Jesus, we don’t know how much time we have before we go to be with the Father. So we need to be prepared for it to be any time. What would you say, what would you do for those around you in order to bless them if you knew your time was short? Maybe those are some things you need to say or do this week. Be discerning about the temporary nature of life in this world and the eternal nature of the life to come. Let that discernment prepare your minds for action.
Secondly be discerning about the needs of those around you so that your service and your speech might be well suited to their needs. On this occasion Jesus disciples needed to learn a vital life lesson about leadership, humility and the different-ness of God’s Kingdom to the world, so Jesus provided that for them. What do people around you need this week?
The prophecy of Isaiah 52&53 which talks about Jesus’ suffering for our sakes begins with the phrase “See, my servant will act wisely” (Is 52:13) and then goes on to describe what He would do for us. Ministry is guided by discernment.
2. Ministry is Motivated by Love
Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
Why did Jesus bother?
Why did He bother with teaching His disciples a lesson on leadership while He was in the middle of such a traumatic time personally?
Why did He bother with all the hard work of His earthly ministry?
Why did He bother going to the cross for us?
The opening words of John 3:16 echo in our minds: “For God so loved…”
Ministry is motivated by love.
What is love?
Faced with this question I did what almost everyone else does in our society – I googled it!
The answers that came in were very interesting but really all they proved was that our world is extremely confused on the subject! There is no consensus on what love really is.
Even if you do a study of the Greek word that is used here and find out what it meant to people at the time that John’s gospel was written, you will not really understand love in the way that Jesus loves and commands us to love.
What you need to do is study the way the Bible itself explains it.
When the Bible uses the Greek word “agape” to talk about love, it is describing not a feeling but an attitude of mind and a decision of the will. It is the choice to consider someone or something precious to you. God demonstrates it by choosing to consider us precious to Him, regardless of what we have done to offend Him and reject Him. This kind of love is not earned but given.
This kind of love is sacrificial, because it seeks the good of the those it loves rather than itself. It places the needs of others before its own.
The word used in this verse is a variation of “agape” – “agapao”. It’s a verb – a “doing” word. It points out that to choose to have an attitude of love is to choose to do something loving. Love is not passive, it is active. It always drives us to some kind of action.
If people say “I love this church”, what do they really mean? If they mean that they enjoy it because the music’s great, the teaching helpful, the people friendly and the whole thing really gives them a boost, then they are not really saying “I love this church”, rather that the church makes them feel good and they appreciate it.
If you say “I love this church” what you are really saying is that these people are precious to you, and as a result you long to serve them. That’s the real meaning of that phrase.
Jesus considers His disciples so precious that He wants to clean the muck from between their toes before they eat – not just so their meal will be more pleasant but so they can learn a vital life principle and pass it on to all those who will follow after them in the Church.
Later on in the evening Jesus says this to His disciples as we read in John 13:35-36
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This command was very real for them considering the way Jesus had demonstrated His love. It would become more significant when He gives an even greater demonstration of His love on the cross. That’s the way He wants us to love – to consider others so precious that we will give ourselves in service to them.
He’s not asking us to feel all warm and fuzzy about each other. Most of us are still annoyingly sinful and frustratingly different to each other. How we react to others is not the point. Our feelings toward them will eventually change once we make the decision to love and put that decision into practice.
How are you loving those around you? How are you loving this church family? Are you following the example and command of Jesus, or do you have a worldly idea of love that falls short of God’s standard and His character?
Remember that love is a fruit of God’s Spirit, that you cannot produce on your own. If you are struggling to love first immerse yourself in God’s love for you, and then let His Spirit cause that love to overflow to others.
Whenever I am struggling to love someone I remind myself of my own unloveliness and the fact that God still loves me. I think of all the people who by the grace of God really love me despite my faults, then it’s not so hard to do that for others.
Ministry is motivated by love. It’s an inevitable expression of love.
3. Ministry Comes from a Position of Security
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…
So we’re getting ready to eat, the disciples have had their dispute about who’s the greatest and Jesus has decided to show them His love for them by washing their feet – even the feet of Judas who was to betray Him. How can you serve someone who at that moment is in the process of causing you so much agony?
Verse 2 gives us one clue – it reminds us that Judas did not act on his own, rather he was prompted by Satan the father of lies. I’ve seen people do some truly horrible things in my lifetime, and the temptation is to be full of hate toward them and seek to punish them for their crimes.
Have you ever been hurt by someone? Betrayed?
We all have, right?
The Bible has a lot to say about how we are to respond, but one vital truth is mentioned here – remember who the real enemy is. It’s not those who hurt us, it’s the one who leads the rebellion against God and the war against God’s people. People who get caught up in Satan’s schemes are victims too. They are not on the pathway to abundant life. Even Christians who are heading for heaven sometimes fall for his traps and do things that hurt others. They are not the enemy – they’re our brothers and sisters. They need to be lovingly restored.
Reminding ourselves who the true enemy is also reminds us of the victory we have over him.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, that He had come from God and was returning to God. Nothing Satan could do would interfere in God’s good plan. In fact the evil intentions of Satan would actually work to fulfil the loving intentions of God. Satan’s apparent victory in having God the Son killed on a cross was actually his ultimate defeat as by His death Jesus delivered us from Satan’s power.
When you are secure in who you are in Christ, you find that you can love people and serve people without being consumed by bitterness and resentment, because nothing anyone can do is able to get in the way of God’s good plans for you. Satan is defeated. Anything that God allows in your life will only serve for your strengthening and His glory as long as you allow Him to do that work in you.
Are there people you struggle to love? Are there resentments in your heart toward others that make it impossible for you to long to serve them?
Remember your position in Christ. Remember that your accountability is to Him, not to others. Remember your security is in Him and no-one and nothing can overcome Him. Remember that your power to love the unlovely comes from Him.
