Mis-Spent Power ...

We surround our ideas with the vacuum of space itself.  We insolate our opinions with a thick bubble of like-minded friends & followers and create distance between ourselves and those who may disagree.  There is no room for “different” to seep through.  In politics we think ourselves open-minded, but others see us a part of the fringe whether left or right.  Once viewed long enough this way, our gestures are anomalies that convince no one that we are as we view ourselves.  In our families, we are that “crazy uncle, or aunt” that everyone talks about but no one sees in the mirror.  No matter who we are, there is always a family member crazier than me.  And in church we have become the Pharisee or Sadducee we ridicule when we read their stories in the Bible.  We ask ourselves how they could have been so stupid, so stubborn, so wrong – and not have caught it.  We ask ourselves this, close the book, and fail to see us as we really are, through a different set of lenses, through a different perspective – because different has no entry door into who we are.

Case in point.  Matthew records a story of de-ja-vu.  It was only a few chapters ago in chapter twelve where the Pharisees and Sadducees (and us) came looking for Jesus to provide a sign to validate “who” He was and is.  The response offered was only the sign of Jonah.  The rebuke was that only an evil and adulterous generation goes looking for signs.  Ouch.  This was not a rebuke directed at the atheists or pagans of His day (though the logic still holds).  This was a rebuke directed at the church leadership of His day.  They, like us, had insolated their own opinions so well, that no sign of Jesus would have ever penetrated it to the point of a change of beliefs.  Now before you recoil at the idea of “us” being that stubborn, consider for a moment the denominational boundaries we embrace, and the wall it creates between ourselves and our fellow followers of Jesus Christ.  Name tags do more than differentiate us.  They create a “we are right” / “you are wrong” set of ideas where it comes to interpreting the Bible.  We all have the same set of facts, and same scriptural writings, but widely different views of what it means.

It is no different in life.  MSNBC, CNN, and Fox all report the same stories, but from widely different vantage points because they fundamentally hold widely different opinions about them.  An apple may be an apple, but it can be red or green, it can be small or large, it can be rotten full or worms and unfit to eat, or it can be a gorgeous work of perfection fit for baking in a pie like mom makes.  All of this, still looking at an apple, just from different viewpoints.  In church, we have decided exactly what the apple looks like.  Others of like mind join our spiritual social circle, and voila, a Christian church is born.  But Christian churches are not defined by their beliefs as much as they are by their differences of beliefs with other Christian churches.  Think about that.  Where we could have the Love of Christ so defining our lives, our actions, our responses, and our relationships that ALL our other beliefs are hardly even known – the opposite is true.  Our beliefs are known, our love isn’t.

Adventists are defined by their belief in keeping the Saturday Sabbath, the state of the dead, prophecy, and a trend towards vegetarianism if not an avoidance of unclean meats.  Mormons, who do believe strongly in our savior Jesus Christ, are defined by a history of multiple partner marriages, an entire world of beliefs about Jesus in the USA, and a widely different picture of the end of all things in heaven.  Catholics are defined by their Pope, by a history of persecution, by rituals of confession and communion and a preponderance of tradition still embracing Latin in traditional churches.  Baptists are defined by immersion of baptism, by traditions of hell and brim fire sermons, by forgiveness but in equal measures of condemnation for those who refuse to repent.  Here are four simple examples of large bodies of believers of Jesus Christ.  And instead of being known for the overpowering Love of Jesus Christ, in how we live, how we act, how we hold our familial relationships – we are known instead for the differences of our doctrines.  Would it not be better for others to see no distinguishable differences between us, because of the transformative power of Jesus in our lives, making us who He intended us to be, rather than clinging to the ideas we think important.

Instead what we do share, is a look towards heaven in our prayers, for God to take action, to solve problems … for ourselves and our families and those we love.  There is nothing wrong with praying for mom with the passionate love of her child.  It is simply where it comes to our enemies, or to those we hardly know, that passion nearly completely disappears.  We are lucky to “remember” to mention the prayer requests we hear in church, or are asked for on Facebook, or are asked for by friends at work.  We repeat the words, we might even muster a bit of concern, but then it’s done.  If it were us, or mom, or our child, our repetition would be often, and our passion high.  But for others, we are no stranger to “casual” in how we ask what we ask.  It is hard to manufacture feelings that simply are not there.  So in our private talks with God, we ask for a sign, for Him to validate “who” He is, by pouring out what we want in the lives of us and our families.  And if He has time left over, or blessing left over, perhaps He could answer some of these other requests we hear about as well.

The evil, and the adulterous, of our generation, are to be found in our mirrors – and this is not from a lack of belief in God (though some struggle).  It is not just from the sexual sins we wrestle with.  It is not just from our greed.  But it is instead a focus of our God’s attention forever on me first, then those I love, then those I can remember to ask for, then perhaps in a brief mention – my enemies.  We would mis-spend the power of our God, by reinforcing our own selfishness.  Something Jesus carefully avoided in the 40 days of temptation in the wilderness.  He would not spend His power on Himself.  He would not offer a sign to “prove” who He was.  He is God.  He does not need to prove it to anyone.  Pay better attention, and you will know exactly who He is.  For His love for you is hard to miss.  Back to the Case in Point from Matthew.

Matthew opens chapter sixteen of his gospel to the Hebrews in verse 1 saying … “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.”  When you see the word Pharisee or Sadducee, put your own name there.  Don’t read scripture as a history lesson, read it as an object lesson, not meant for your crazy uncle, or “other” people you know, but for you and only you.  Notice the word “tempting” Him.  This was not an earnest prayer spent on the behalf of someone else.  It was a temptation from Satan’s mouth, directed right out of the mouth of the church leadership of His day.  These were the folks who studied scripture night and day, who debated it, formed theories about it, and knew it better than anyone else.  They believed the Messiah would come to establish His Kingdom to reign forever and ever – the right belief, simply the wrong timing, the wrong visit.  Before that could happen, we would all need the blood of Lamb, to take away the sins of the world.  They knew those scriptures as well, and never believed for a minute they were becoming the vehicle of their fulfillment.

The best educated minds, the most devout, the church leaders bent of making sure Israel never broke the law again – got it wrong.  Because they insolated their opinions with so much ego, nothing new, nothing different, even the entirety of the Life of Christ, and the miracles He performed could not make a dent.  Jesus responds to this temptation picking up in verse 2 saying … “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. [verse 3] And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? [verse 4] A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.”

De-ja-vu.  The same request from church leadership, gets the same response and rebuke.  Jesus does actually take the time to point out that their ability to look into the sky and generally predict or assess the weather is based on what they have seen in the past.  Jesus has already performed so many miracles – not the least of which is freeing the human character from its desire to sin.  And yet they disregard all of these signs of the times, in favor of something else, something bigger, something meant just for me and only me.  But it will not come.  Not for the Pharisees of old, or for me.  Asking God to mis-spend His power on me, would only reinforce the selfishness I already struggle with – selfishness He is trying to free me from.  He already loves me.  He is already meeting my needs.  Now a prayer with passion for the salvation of my enemies, for God to help me find a way to witness through the persecution and injustice they are happy to inflict, for a way to reach them – that is one God is happier to answer.  It helps my enemy most of all, and me incidentally in the process, teaching me where my love should be poured out - on the greatest need.

But the lesson was not over yet.  Matthew continues the story picking in verse 5 saying … “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. [verse 6] Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”  Take heed.  Beware.  Be aware.  These are not the admonitions of something casual.  They are weather warnings to avoid the storm on the horizon.  It was not only Pharisees who in history thought it wise to “add” to the law, or introduce the traditions of men as being equal to the law.  Many a church leader has done that since and does it still.  The history of the Catholic church it littered with examples, and a belief that even changing laws is permitted by a power they alone have been granted – though no evidence in scripture exists for this.  Even in the days of Matthew writing this gospel, power struggles within the new Christian church were beginning to emerge.  Churches already taking pride in who founded them, or what human messenger they followed.  Already the leadership of the Roman church believing they had a natural right to exert leadership on a broader scale.  And where there is a struggle for power, there is introduced the same leaven the Pharisees introduced.

But the disciples took this literally as Matthew records picking up in verse 7 saying … “And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. [verse 8] Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? [verse 9] Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? [verse 10] Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? [verse 11] How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [verse 12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Jesus reminds His own disciples that they just misinterpreted what He said.  They, His disciples, got it wrong.  These were not perfect men, and though they may be on a journey towards perfection, they had not arrived.  They still believed some wrong things.  Wrong like the same beliefs the Pharisees held that the Messiah would free Israel from Roman oppression.  And now wrong, that the leaven of the Pharisees somehow had anything to do with forgetting to bring bread to feed them all.  The facts you have on hand today are not always the reference point to be used in interpreting scripture.  A good deal of prophecy has been misinterpreted this way.  Sometimes there is something more in the message.  Sometimes what is meant has a more profound meaning.  The disciples finally got it that the leaven of the Pharisees was the doctrine of the Pharisees.  Church leadership got it wrong, making church leadership quite dangerous.

But here is where the vacuum of space we put around our ideas rears its ugly head once more.  The disciples never seemed to question themselves about “which” doctrines the Pharisees got wrong.  Nor did they follow up with Jesus about that topic.  They all still believed that Jesus would throw off the yoke of Roman oppression.  They believed it so strongly they were already making plans about who would do what in the next Jesus Administration.  They “wanted” to believe that.  They did not want to let that belief go, even if it was wrong.  That belief gave them hope.  But it was mis-directed hope. 

It would have been mis-spent power.  Jesus came to conquer evil, all of evil, all of sin – that victory was far more important.  For without that, I would be doomed to be who I am.  With the victory of Jesus, He is able to re-create me into who He wants me to be, freeing me from my slavery to self-love, and self-obsession.  As I surrender to His victory, I can be remade through the power of that transformative love.  And this transformation was not just reserved for me, it was intended specifically for you.  It will be a unique transformation for us both, because we are unique.  But our Jesus is the same, His love is the same, and the results of His recreation will be as He intends it to be, for each of us, and for both of us.  Why ever trade that for a simple victory over Romans in a particular time in earth’s history.

But the opinions of the disciples were insolated by a group of like-minded friends & followers (just as thick as social media offers today) and were so protected that their worlds would have to shatter to let the “new” in, the “different” in.  It would destroy what they all believed in this moment, to accept the Truth of what Jesus had to offer.  Church leadership can get it wrong.  Even when that is the Church leadership of old, or the person standing in the mirror.  How will we begin to allow the Truth to mold, reverse, and change our thinking?  Will it take a shattering of our world to accomplish this?  Are there beliefs we hold to so tightly because we do not want to let them go in favor of the Truth?  Are we so firm in our doctrines, that not even Love can break through?  It sure looks that way from an outside perspective sometimes.  To an outsider, we sure look a lot like that crazy uncle – not because we love like a banshee – but because of our crazy ideas are based in doctrines we refuse to even begin to consider could be wrong.  How sad our doctrines still out-shadow our Love instead of enhancing them.

 

Misplaced Priorities ...

A magician uses the art of distraction to make the illusion more realistic.  A beautiful assistant, or magic words said at an opportune time, are all meant to draw the eye and allow other actions to remain as concealed as possible.  This is done by intent.  But what happens when the focus is meant to be on one thing, but is drawn to something else no matter what you do?  How frustrating is it, to try to explain something to a friend, and have the friend focused on what you are wearing, or the bird outside the window, anything but on what you are saying?  Imagine the patience of Christ, to attempt to explain to us how salvation works, and have us focused on anything but that topic.  An excellent example of this phenomenon was relayed by Peter to John Mark in his gospel chapter eight.  Most Bible’s rightly classify the first section of verses with the header “the Feeding of the Four Thousand”.  This would be an excellent summation.  It also has the benefit of keeping the event distinct from the prior feeding of the Five Thousand (though both events only seem to count the adult males in the crowd, the women, children, and old folks make greatly inflate the total number of people at both events).

As we begin to read, we expect to see a story about a miraculous feeding of at least Four Thousand men, plus women and children.  Our attention is rightly focused there, as that is exactly what Peter will describe.  But there is far more buried in these verses.  There are several points that are concealed here if anyone just takes the time to look.  We will give these verses a second look and discover perhaps the greatest frustration of Jesus Christ while here on earth working in ministry to save us all.  Peter begins by recalling the facts of this event in verse 1 recounting to John Mark and saying … “In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, [verse 2] I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:”  It is right here.  In the first 2 verses of this section.  Yes, having a large multitude gathering around Jesus is nothing new.  His fame is widespread no matter how He may attempt to conceal the fullness of who He is.  People want to do more than be healed, they want to hear Him speak.  And of course the compassion of Christ to sympathize with our human weaknesses is ever present, so wanting to feed this crowd is not new either.

But the biggest mis-direct, the biggest illusion of these verses, is the focus on the food.  Peter is recalling a gospel, a letter of good news to the readers of his day.  What is completely absent in the story he is relaying, is … “what” Jesus had been saying or preaching for the last 3 days!!  Imagine the sermon it must have been to so captivate the multitude of this size, that no one even thought of food up till now when it was time to go home.  This crowd had fasted almost without knowing it.  This crowd has been so captivated by what Jesus said, that they literally forgot about hunger, and stayed there riveted to listening to Jesus.  They may have slept at night, but there was no thought of supper, or of breakfast when they awoke, they only craved to hear the words that came out of Jesus’ mouth.  And you and I have NONE of them recorded here.  Instead, we are treated to a story of miraculous physical feeding, and completely MISS the 3-day sermon that was so good, no one thought of feeding themselves.  They came to the edge of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus gave them a tutorial on the mission of salvation, but our story remains on the food.

John Mark continues recording the words of Christ to this situation in verse 3 saying … “And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.”  Many of these listeners did not go home during the 3-day sermon because home was a long journey off.  Jesus knew if He released this crowd without feeding them first, they could be overcome by their natural human weakness, and may not make it home again.  From the perspective of Christ this was not just a casual need the crowd had developed it was a critical one.  But despite it all, despite the sermon that so moved a crowd that it would forget its own hunger; and despite the miracles Jesus had performed before, and the miracles the disciples had joined Him in, they still thought of solutions only in human context.  So they respond in verse 4 saying … “And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?”.

Where is the Denny’s out here?  Where is the iHOP?  How do you (Jesus) think you are going to feed a crowd this size, in this place?  Or in other words, you are talking non-sense.  The crowd is just going to have to gut-it-out, go home, and fix food when they get there.  They all knew this would be the case.  They made their decision to stay and listen to Christ without bringing sufficient food with them.  It is their collective fault they are hungry now.  If hunger were so important, they could have simply gone home, and re-located Christ at another time, in another venue.  But here we go again.  The sermon Christ was preaching about was so revolutionary, so radical, so filled with the love of the Father God … that not one of the crowd made the choice to let food or bodily needs supersede listening to Jesus.  What on earth did Jesus say?  Don’t you want to know?  Have you ever been to church and heard a sermon so good, you would be willing to stay there for 3 days to hear more?  Why is Peter telling us about the food, instead of the content of the sermon?

Jesus, as always, does not see human limitations to solve human problems.  He responds in verse 5 saying … “And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. [verse 6] And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.”  Jesus feeds this crowd because He knows their needs, way better than they know them themselves.  But there is more, as there usually always is.  The story continues in verse 7 saying … “And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. [verse 8] So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.”  The bread this crowd ate, could have been all there was, it would have met the basic need.  But Jesus does not just meet our basic needs, He goes well beyond that, and satisfies us as no other love could.  He offers fish to the crowd as well.  And when the meal is ended, Peter recalls how not a single person was still hungry, and left overs were collected throughout the multitude (presumably for the poor as the last event happened).

This section of verses concludes with the logistical details.  John Mark transcribes beginning in verse 9 saying … “And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. [verse 10] And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.”  The crowd was large, and right after this event concludes, Jesus takes his boat to a far corner of the seashore near a place called Dalmanutha.  But the sequence of events is not over yet.  On arrival in the new venue, the Pharisees come to tempt Him, as did Satan in the wilderness, to use His power on something that would benefit Himself.  They intimate, that if Jesus will perform a miracle, they will believe He is the Messiah and the Son of God. 

This is in effect a trade.  You perform, and I will believe.  It is a very similar claim that atheists make with glee today.  If a 50’ Jesus appears at the Superbowl on the 50 yard line, and performs a miracle, “then” the atheist will believe.  But in reality, it is an empty promise.  No miracle, would be believed, because the choice to believe has already been discarded.  A 50’ Jesus would be attributed to special effects in the video control room, or mass hysteria based on a release of hallucinogenic drugs to the crowd if witnessed in person.  The beneficiary of the miracle, would be said to have nothing wrong with them in the first place, and like a beautiful assistant for the magician, just a pawn in the deception offered.  Any miraculous event would be simply explained away using science no matter how absurd the premise must be.  For this is what already happens with the origins of life, and the complexity of our design.  How would another miracle ever trump that one?  The Pharisees had no intention of believing or holding up their end of the solicitation.  And Jesus had no intention of violating the principles of “who” He is, by using His power for a shortcut, or benefiting Himself.

John Mark records the interchange in verse 11 saying … “And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. [verse 12] And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. [verse 13] And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.”  Now keep in mind, Peter has just gone through the trouble of telling us about a miracle of feeding the Four Thousand.  Jesus “could” have simply pointed to what He had already done, and said for the Pharisees to take their evidence of a sign from those actions.  But He does not.  Instead He declares that there will be “no sign” for this generation and then He left this area.  The miracles did not stop after this event.  So Jesus could not have been referring to Himself displaying supernatural acts of love to those in need.  No, this declaration had to have been for something else, for something deeper.  Perhaps, the great “sigh” that Jesus suffered in His Spirit, was due to the mis-direct of the Pharisees, and Peter, and You and I, always focusing on the food, and not the revival of our souls.  Perhaps His frustration, was that after a riveting 3-day sermon, that captivated the crowd, we have only the story of the feeding, not that salvation tutorial.

But there was still more to be learned from this experience.  John Mark continues transcribing the events continuing in verse 14 saying … “Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. [verse 15] And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. [verse 16] And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.”  This had to have been the final straw of frustration for Jesus Christ.  The leaven of the Pharisees, or the additional ideas that came from their interpretations of scriptures, had led them to believe they did not need a Messiah to be saved.  They especially did not need this Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ.  Being leaders in the “right” religion, and having the Bible in its current form, was still NOT enough for these men to be saved.  They were lost, because they rejected Jesus Christ who was right in front of them.  Their interpretations of scripture did not lead them to love others, it led them only to wish to retain power over others.  Are we different?

The leaven of Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who justified the taking of his brother Phillip’s wife, and while He was willing to embrace the message of John the Baptist, he fell short when the influence of his wife came into conflict with it.  Herod would rely upon the forgiveness, without wishing for the reformation that would change the behavior requiring forgiveness.  Herod, in a different way, would find himself having in common with the Pharisees, the conviction that he could save himself.  He too would not need this Messiah, or any Messiah.  He too, though considering himself a member of the “right” religion, and being a student of scriptures, would not find himself led to love others.  Instead he too, would wish only control over others.  Both groups would “leaven” the bread of salvation, by refusing to love others, or be changed into people who sought only this kind of love.  Yet the disciples missed the entire salvation perspective on this.  They saw only a missing quantity of physical bread.

Jesus responded in perhaps His most frustrated manner saying in verse 17 … “And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? [verse 18] Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? [verse 19] When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. [verse 20] And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. [verse 21] And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?”  These questions go unanswered in this gospel.  Peter recalls these events but does not record how Jesus answered these deeper questions.  Instead he leaves this rebuke as it stands in scripture.  But the rebuke is for us as well.  How do we read the entirety of the life of Christ, and still refuse to be changed into someone who loves others?  We have eyes, ears, and a basic understanding, but we allow ourselves to be misdirected to see the food, instead of the change.

We should be craving the sermon, the words of Christ, that would rivet us to stay at His side for three days and not even think about food.  It should be Jesus asking to feed us, because we forgot the need, rather than fitting Jesus into our schedule and never seeming to have as much time for Him as we do for the restaurants and home cooked meals we enjoy.  We think ourselves devout if we squeeze in a 2-minute prayer before we eat, especially when done in a public place, in front of an audience.  But to consider spending 72 hours at the side of Christ, engaged in loving others and making a difference in their lives with nothing to gain in our own, is a new concept for most of us.  Instead of public prayers of thanks for food we have not yet eaten, perhaps we should be inviting people to join us, that would be truly thankful, because they have not the means to do so on their own.  Then when we ask the Lord to bless our food, He will have already done so.  It is the change of heart we need.  When our hearts are changed by His so great love, living this way, will not be a stretch, it will be natural and normal.  Perhaps then, we can avoid our misplaced priorities …

 

Passion of the Christ - Communion (part one) ...

After opening his gospel with a prologue, and spending a great deal of time discussing at length all of the miraculous witnesses to the divinity of Christ; John now turns his attention to the fulfillment of the ministry of the Messiah.  Though miracles would still be a significant part of the completion of the mission of Jesus, the idea of the magnitude of His sacrifice warrants our undivided attention.  The time of His mission was nearly complete.  He would only be with them a short while now.  The immediacy and the priority of what He must share with His few faithful companions, His friends as He called them, was now of paramount importance.  These final hours would be the thing most prevalent in their minds as events were about to unfold.  So only the most important truths must be shared.  Everything else could wait, everything else could be discovered later, or revealed by the work of the Holy Spirit.  What He must share with His disciples now, had to be what was of utmost importance as time was nearly at an end.  Against this backdrop, Jesus begins by sharing the most important thing between God and man, He shares communion.

Communion is more than a tradition of the newly established Christian church.  It is fellowship between God and man.  As time is nearly out, Christ takes precious moments to “be” with His disciples.  As He used to enjoy His walks with Adam and Eve in the Garden at sunset, and even set aside an entire day to be “Holy” just to be with us; so now He takes out a moment to simply “be” with His disciples.  They will eat, drink, and commune together.  From the point of view of the disciples this is a celebration of the feast of Passover.  From the point of view of the Messiah, this is the last meal He will ever enjoy with His disciples.  With all the burden that must come upon Him in just a few short hours, He makes time to be with His disciples and speak, and do, what is most important to them.  John sets the stage for us, in his gospel account beginning in chapter 13.  It is the time for the feast of Passover, but John puts his emphasis on the truth of the character of Christ.

He opens in verse 1 saying … “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”  The love of Christ never wavered.  He loved all of His disciples right up to the end of His life.  That love was paramount.  That love was the reason why He had come to our world.  Jesus did not restrict His love to only those disciples He knew would be faithful to Him in all things.  If He had so restricted it; who would have been left to enjoy the meal with Him?  For all deserted Him in His time of greatest need.  Judas was at this dinner.  Judas enjoyed this meal with His Lord like John, Peter, and all the rest of them.  Jesus did not restrict His love to Judas even knowing what Judas was about to do.  Nor did He restrict His love from Peter knowing how Peter would deny Him openly.  Both dined.  Both enjoyed the company of their Lord.

But John, with the benefit of hindsight, writes now what he knows about that night.  He continues in verse 2 … “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;”  Judas had too long refused to be changed by the Messiah he spent his every waking moment with.  His greed and avarice, and thirst for power and prominence had never given way to the simplicity of humble service that the life of Christ exemplified.  That life was not the one Judas wanted.  Judas wanted the life of a great leader.  He wanted the power and fame that comes from a position of authority.  He was not alone in his ambitions.  Right up to these moments the disciples often jockeyed for position in who would be the next greatest leader in the kingdom of Christ.  Judas was no different in that respect, if perhaps only in that he was more ambitious and more secretive about his own desires.  What he was not; was transformed.  He lacked the humility to be transformed.  He was “happy” with who he was, and only wanted more of it, not less.  In that respect, does he sound like the person in the mirror who stares back at you every day?  Are you so comfortable with “who” you are, that you believe you need no transformation into something else, something more humble, something resembling more of servant and less of a king?

Christ had a knowledge of the thoughts and desires of His disciples.  He knew that what Judas wanted was not so different than any of the others, though only Judas was willing to betray His Lord to acquire it.  John continues in verse 3 by revealing what Jesus knew … “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;”  His death is nearly upon Him.  His mission is nearly complete.  So does He finally accept the glory and praise He is due?  Does He seek out the people to praise Him, for the act of sacrifice He is about to perform for them?  Wouldn’t we?  We seek praise for our accomplishments.  We seek adoration when we do something good for others, if only to remind us of how good we are.  Yet Christ makes no such moves.  Instead John continues with what He does with time so short, and burden so high.

John relays in verse 4 … “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. [verse 5] After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”  He served.  He took upon Himself the most humiliating duty of a servant and performed this act of humility on those who SHOULD have done it for Him.  Their feet were dirty.  Their feet were smelly.  They had no Dr. Scholls to reduce the smell, or orthodic shoes to protect their feet from the dirt, mud, and animal waste they must walk upon.  They had only sandals of rough leather to protect them from dusty, rocky roads.  They had no chance to bath regularly, or rub oils on their feet, or keep themselves well maintained.  Yet Christ who considered Himself willing, was willing to wash and dry the feet of these men.  All of them.  Judas included as well as Peter.  Jesus stooped to serve the one who would choose to be His enemy.  He did not restrict His love from Judas, nor did He refrain from serving one who would choose to do evil.  Every opportunity would be offered to all who were there, regardless of what they would choose to do with the opportunity and love He offered.

It was a stark contrast in the minds of those who were only moments before thinking to themselves what greatness would be theirs in the kingdom He was sure to establish.  Here was their King, serving them in the most debasing of ways, the most humiliating.  A King who served?  Who had ever heard of such a thing?  This was too much for Peter to accept.  Peter says in verse 6 … “Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? [verse 7] Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”  Peter had to question this.  Peter thought it his place to remind the Lord that servants do this kind of work, not Kings.  If he accepted Jesus performing this act of humility upon him, it was like admitting that his own pride had kept him from even considering doing this kind of work.  Not an easy pill to swallow.  Jesus however, tells Peter that while he may not understand this act right now, it will become clear to him later as to why He would do it.  Peter responds in verse 8 … “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. …”  Peter response is “forget it” Lord.  I am not going to allow you to humiliate yourself or me in doing this kind of work.  In effect, Peter was too proud to accept that.

But the words of Christ in response were overwhelming as Jesus responds continuing in verse 8 … “… Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”  Peter was blown away.  They were all just thinking about the establishment of the kingdom of Christ.  For him to have no part in it would be devastating.  Peter still does not understand why Christ would do this, but he will not risk becoming a power broker in the new anti-Roman kingdom Christ is surely about to setup.  So he quickly answers in verse 9 … “Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”  If this is about cleanliness perhaps, then go ahead and give me a full bath.  Whatever it takes to be the number one general, or number one secretary of state, or number one chief council, just go ahead and do it Lord.  Ironically Peter was really asking to be the number one servant, but he just could not comprehend that yet, as Christ had just told him.

Jesus responds to Peter’s overdoing-it by saying in verse 10 … “Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. [verse 11] For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.”  Obviously none of them had recently bathed, nor was Christ trying to say that a literal clean-up of our feet can take the place of proper bath when it comes to cleanliness.  However, being served in humility, is by definition humiliating.  We are cleansed by a power outside of ourselves.  That fact is humiliating.  To admit we are unable to cleanse ourselves is not something most Christians are comfortable with, let alone non-believers.  Christians like to think they can remove the sins from themselves by their power, or determination, or abundance of good works.  They like to think that at the worst case, they are in a partnership with God, where the Christian does his best work first, and only THEN does God do “His part”.  But none of this is true.  The disciples feet did not clean themselves, they were not allowed to participate in the cleansing.  They did not even necessarily want to be clean or at least want it enough to do it to themselves, let alone for others.  The act of cleansing their most exposed and dirty part was done solely by Christ.  They were clean only as they allowed Him to clean them.  They had NO partnership.  They did NONE of the work.  Christ did it all.  All they did, was let Him.

With time for Christ as short as it was, He takes time out to eat and socialize and commune with His closest followers.  And now with time growing even shorter, He serves them all in the most humble of ways, taking the part of the lowest slave to do work, none of them would even consider.  This is the heart of our God.  This is the level of service He will do for us if we but let Him.  He will cleanse us from the filth we have embraced like a patient parent who cleans up his baby from an accident in going to the bathroom all over themselves.  Sin is that distasteful to God, but He cleans us up from it because He loves us that much.  And in this act of humility, Judas participates.  He allows Christ to wash his own feet as well.  But his heart is unmoved by it.  We may allow Christ to clean us, but we do not remain clean if we do not choose to do so.  Judas was only growing more indignant that this purported King would so humiliate Himself and them.  And Jesus recognizes Judas resistance to being made clean by a force outside of himself.  Thus He offers out loud to all of them, the idea, that one has not accepted the cleaning He is offering.

Now because it was still a mystery in the minds of those He had just served, Christ must explain to them why He did what He did.  Jesus asks in verse 12 … “So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?”  Notice that it took Christ a minute to get his own clothing back on, and to sit back down at the table.  Notice too that no-one took the initiative to clean the feet of Christ with basin and towel.  Jesus continues in verse 13 … “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. [verse 14] If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. [verse 15] For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. [verse 16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. [verse 17] If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

First Jesus acknowledges that He is indeed their Lord and ours, the title is not lost on Him, or inaccurate in any way.  He is God after all.  For God to be willing to stoop to serve man, in the most humble of ways, should show us that we should not be reluctant to serve each other in equal humility.  Christ was not setting up a feet cleaning business, or stating the clean feet are the mark of His followers.  He was however plainly stating that no act of humble service from one to another is something we should think ourselves “above” doing.  Often we continue the tradition of feet washing in our churches in times of performing an ordinance of communion.  We follow the literal words of Christ, but lose the deeper meaning.  Washing another member of our churches feet, is a much different proposition today, when everyone is sure to have bathed and worn appropriate footwear for just such an event.  But to bring a member in need groceries without being asked, or even desired, is something we are more reluctant to do, as it might embarrass him or us in the process.  To take the initiative to serve another in tasks we consider unpleasant do not spring to mind.  We reserve our service for more convenient actions that require less of our time, and perhaps only more of our resources.  Digging a latrine in a mission is not considered “glory” work … by anyone other than God.  The message of Christ to us, is that when we love each other as He loved us, no act of service is beneath us.  No need should go un met if we can meet it.  And there is no room for pride in any part of the equation of love and service.

To wash each other’s feet in our day, can hardly breach the gulf of an entrenched pride that refuses to be made humble.  And there is ancestor who felt that same way.  One who had the benefit of the literal company of Christ, but would leave that very night to betray Him to His death.  Is it the path of Judas we follow?  Or is the path of our King, who put aside his garments, took basin and towel, and washed each of the feet of his disciples in the condition they were in?  There is nothing wrong with following the traditions and ordinance of humility our communion services offer.  But the heart of the transformed by Christ can hardly stop serving before or after such an event.  When the heart is transformed, it values love above all else, and must express that love in humble service meeting every need it can, in any way that it can.  We can choose to express our love to our parents, our siblings, our spouses, or our children.  Or we can love greater, by loving those we know less, and associate with more.  Or we can love greater still, by investing our time and energy on those who seek to call themselves our enemies, and desire nothing but our destruction.  To love those who would do us nothing but harm, is to love as Christ loved.  For He showed that same tender love to the eleven as He did to the twelfth (Judas).  Nothing was ever held back by Christ despite what we would choose to do with it.  The same is true today.  But communion was not over yet …