The Rev. Herbert G. Hand
Faith Anglican Church
Maundy Thursday
March 20, 2008
Title:
Serving and Being Served
Text: John 13:1-15
I.
The War in Our Souls – Caesarea Philippi
Within
the soul of St. Peter:
There was a war going on.
A war between good and evil.
A war in the realm of his thoughts
and imaginations.
A war between submission to God
and submission to Satan.
In
Matthew chapter 16 Jesus asked his Apostles,
13...“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied,
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked.
“Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not
revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Matthew
16:13-17 (NIV)
Here
Peter was:
Open to the influence of his Heavenly Father.
He heard his Heavenly Father.
He accepted God’s Word.
He proclaimed God’s Word,
“[Jesus] You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.”
Almost
immediately, as Peter is coming down from his mountain top experience, as he is
coming down from his spiritual high, Jesus begins to explain the grim news of
his impending betrayal and death.
What did
Peter do?
22Peter took him aside and began to
rebuke him.
“Never, Lord!...This shall never
happen to you!”
Was Peter
listening to his Heavenly Father?
No!
In the
harshest and yet truest words possible,
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the
things of men.”
Matthew 16:22-23 (NIV)
Here
Peter was not only open to the influence of Satan, but he proclaimed the word
of Satan:
Jesus, don’t go to the cross.
The truth
is, I’m a lot like Peter:
There are times when I clearly hear the voice of our
Heavenly Father, and courageously do His will.
Sadly shamefully, at other times, I’m influenced by Satan.
The same
is true for you.
As we
draw closer to God through daily prayer, the study of His Holy Word, receiving
Jesus’ body and blood, and weekly worship:
We become less and less influence by Satan, and more and
more influence by God.
II.
The War in Our Souls – Foot Washing
On the
night of the Last Supper, again Peter had a war raging within his soul.
Allowing
Others to Wash Your Feet
When
Jesus attempted to wash Peter’s feet, Peter said,
8“No, you shall never wash my feet.”
John 13:8 (NIV)
Peter’s
flesh nature, that part which battles against the born again spirit,
Did not want to admit that he
needed any help.
Would rather be seen as the hero,
the one who helps and serves others.
He did not want to be seen as weak and needy.
Jesus
answered,
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
John
13:8 (NIV)
To follow Jesus, to be a true servant of Jesus, you must
submit to and accept the ministry of others.
You must allow others:
To wash your feet.
To serve you.
To help you.
To bear your burdens.
Washing
Other’s Feet
12When he had finished washing their
feet...Jesus said,
14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I
have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 13:12-15 (NIV)
In the
first century, washing someone’s feet was the most demeaning and disgusting job
imaginable. Washing feet was reserved for the lowest servant of a
household.
Those who
were wealthy enough to have shoes, generally wore
leather sandals. When traveling from town to town, often they would walk
barefoot to keep their shoes from wearing out.
http://books.google.com/books?id=hWkoFOvbWW4C&pg=PA295&lpg=PA295&dq=%22first+century%22+foot+wear+-twenty+bible&source=web&ots=-D9EP-lWlJ&sig=HBGUkAVdf5prbaGk_TW09wOJWmA&hl=en
They
would walk for hours through the mud and the manure.
In the
cities, there were no sewer systems. Human waste was simply thrown into
the street to be washed away by the rain.
When the
servant washed your feet, he or she was not just washing away dirt, they were washing away horse manure and human
excrement.
Jesus
said,
14...you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set
you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
In God’s
Church, in the community, and in your home,
“You also should wash one another’s feet.”
You should willingly take the less glorious tasks.
You should not seek roles which exalt you, but roles which
exalt others.
Don’t
think that the war in your soul is over. There’s no cease fire. The
war continues to rage on.
Satan
wants you to serve others, so others will think well of you, and you will think
highly of yourself.
God wants
you to serve others selflessly, with no thought for reward or renown.
The
Other Spurgeon
Several
years ago Pastor Stephen Cole was jogging in the forest near his home.
As he
jogged along, he thought about famous 19th century British preacher
Charles Spurgeon. Then he thought about Spurgeon’s father, John Spurgeon,
who was also a preacher, but not well known.
Both had
served the Lord faithfully, one became famous and one obscure.
The more
he thought about Charles and John Spurgeon, the more he realized what was
really important: faithfulness, not fame:
Faithfulness to the Lord.
Faithfulness to his family.
And faithfulness as a shepherd of
God's flock.
Pastor
Cole said,
“The Lord never says, ‘Well done, good and famous
servant,’ but he does say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’
If God makes me as famous as Charles Spurgeon, that's his
business. My business is to be as faithful as John Spurgeon.”
Steven J. Cole in
Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.
The same
must be true for you and me.
III.
Conclusion
Whether
you are serving others or being served, faithfulness, not fame must be our
goal.
Like St.
Peter, Satan will tempt you:
To reject the help of others.
And to seek the applause of
others.
Like St.
Peter, Jesus commands you:
To allow others to wash your feet,
to serve you.
And to serve others, expecting no
reward or renown.