Saturday, June 01,
2013, 6:57 a.m. – When I woke this morning, the Lord Jesus put the song “My Jesus, My Savior” in my mind. Speak,
Lord, your words to my heart.
My Jesus, My Savior / Darlene Zschech
My Jesus, My Saviour,
Lord there is no one like you,
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love…
I read John 13:1-17 (NIV) for my quiet time
with the Lord Jesus: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013&version=NIV
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.
The
evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son
of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. 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.
He
came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus
replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.”
“No,”
said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then,
Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as
well!”
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.” For he knew who
was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
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. “You call
me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one
another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for
you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a
messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things,
you will be blessed if you do them.
A Foot Washing
A few years ago I participated in a foot washing while I was
on a mission trip with my husband’s company with whom he is employed. I do not
like to touch other people’s feet, but I was willing, so I first of all
observed other people doing the washing of feet. I observed how they
communicated with the people what they were doing and why they were doing it,
and how they presented the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, then I prayed and asked
the Lord Jesus to give me a scripture verse to use with the foot washing in
order to present the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he gave me 2 Co. 5:17: “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (or he is a new creature): “The
old has gone, the new is here!”
When we washed the people’s feet, we first of all removed
their old shoes and socks, then we washed their feet, and then we put new socks
and new shoes on their feet. So, through this exercise of the foot washing, the
Lord Jesus gave me a picture of our salvation. Jesus, by his Spirit, removes
our old lives of sin, then he cleanses us of sin, and then he gives us new
lives in Jesus Christ (see Eph. 4:17-24). This is the working of the Holy
Spirit, i.e. it is by grace we are saved, through faith, and this is not of our
own works, lest we should boast that we gained our own salvation through our
own good works (see Eph. 2:8-9). Yet, we are full participants in this process.
In other words, the people whose feet we washed had to show up, and they had to
be willing to give us their feet, to remove their old socks and shoes, to wash
their feet, and to put new socks and shoes on their feet, and then to walk in
their new shoes. And, that is the way it works with salvation, too (see Luke
9:23-25).
When we come to Jesus Christ by faith, we cooperate with the
Holy Spirit of God in removing (putting away) our old lives of sin, in
transforming us in heart and mind (a metamorphosis), and in putting on our new
lives in Christ Jesus, “created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24). And, then we walk in our new lives in the power
and working of the Holy Spirit within us who has cleansed us from sin, and who
has given us new lives in Christ Jesus. We willing die to our old lives of
living for sin and self, and we follow our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience
wherever he leads us (Luke 9:23-25).
To The End
“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them
to the end.” The NIV ’84 reads, “He now showed them the full extent of his
love.” Though literally the first translation is more accurate, the other is
certainly complimentary, because the fact that he showed his love to the death
is the same, in essence, as showing them the full extent of his love, which was
to go to the cross and to die, not only dying a physical and painful death, but
in taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. Oh, what agony that must
have been for him.
His imminent death was on his mind. He knew Judas was going
to betray him and hand him over to the authorities to the death. If you knew
you were about to die, and that there was not much time left, how would you
want to spend your final hours on this earth with those you love? What would
you want to pass on to them that is of critical importance that you want them
to learn for their own lives for after you are gone? What would you do or say
to prepare them for what lies ahead?
Unless I Wash You
Jesus, although he was God, and all things were under his
power, and he knew was returning to God, humbled himself and took on the role
of a servant, and he washed his disciples’ feet. Peter objected, but the Lord
told him that unless he washed him, he had no part with Jesus. This is
critically important here. Jesus was not speaking literally of washing Peter’s
feet so much as he was speaking metaphorically of a spiritual cleansing, i.e.
of a daily dying to sin and self. Why do I think that? Peter responded to the
Lord Jesus by telling the Lord that he could, then, wash his head and hands,
too, to which Jesus replied by saying that if you have had a bath, your whole
body is clean, so only your feet need washed. And, then he told Peter that he
was clean, but that not everyone was. He was speaking of Judas, who was going
to betray him.
So, what did Jesus mean by that? I believe Jesus was saying
that Peter, and perhaps the other disciples, too (excluding Judas), were
spiritually clean through their faith in Jesus Christ, so they didn’t need to
believe again, but they did need to have their daily walks cleansed, i.e. Jesus
said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his
cross DAILY and follow Christ (Luke 9:23-25). We learn in 1 John 1 that if we
walk in the light (Jesus/his word/truth), as he (God/Christ) is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his (God’s) Son,
purifies us from all sin. The Bible says we are saved, we are being saved, and
we will be saved. The Christian life is a process and a daily walk, and every
day we must choose to not sin and to obey Jesus. If we do not allow Jesus/The
Holy Spirit to purify us from all sin, then we have no part with Jesus. This
does not mean we will live in absolute perfection, but it does mean that this
is our understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus, and this is our plan
for daily living.
An Example
After Jesus finished washing the disciples’ feet, he asked them
if they understood what he had just done for them. For one, he had given them
an awesome picture of love, humility, and servanthood. Yet, what he
demonstrated was so much more, for he demonstrated the truth of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. This humble act symbolized the cleansing that was to come when he
humbled himself and willingly died on the cross for our sins and rose again,
conquering death, hell, Satan and sin so we could go free from slavery to sin
and free from eternal punishment in hell. Yet, the fact that he told Peter and
the other disciples that if their bodies were clean they didn’t need a bath,
but just their feet needed washed, symbolizes, to me, that daily walk with him,
i.e. that daily dying to self and sin and putting on Christ and his armor with
which to fight off Satan’s attacks, so we may live for Christ, and with which
to go forth with the gospel of Jesus Christ in telling others how they, too,
can be saved.
Follow Him / An
Original Work / February 21, 2013
Based off Luke 9:22-25
Jesus, Son of God,
Died for us on a
cross.
Anyone who would come
to Him
Must deny himself and
follow.
He must take up his
cross daily;
Die to sin and self each
day.
Father, God above,
Loved us so: gave His
Son.
If you want to save
your old life;
Keep on sinning,
follow your ways,
You will lose your
life forever;
Hope of heaven gone
away.
Spirit of our God
Gives us life in God’s
Son.
Nonetheless, if you die
to self;
Forsake your sin;
follow Jesus,
You will live with God
in heaven,
And forever praise His
name!
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