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Book: John
 Print ( PC Only )
John 13:1-
I. "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that
His hour was come.
A. John tells us of four things that Jesus knew in this
paragraph.
1. He knew that His hour had come.
2. He knew that the Father had given all things in His
hands. vs.3
3. He knew that He had come from God and was going to
God. vs.3
4. He knew who it was who should betray Him. vs. 11
B. He knew that His hour had come.
1. His first reference to His hour was to his mother
when at the beginning of His public ministry He said
to her, "My hour has not yet come."
2. What hour is He referring to?
a. The hour He was to glorify the Father by His
death and resurrection.
b. The hour that He was to depart out of this
world unto the Father.
C. Jesus had such a keen sense of timing, God's timing.
1. This is an area where we often fail miserably.
a. We are so prone to get ahead of God. We are
so impatient and thus ready to rush into things
or try to move things along ahead of schedule.
b. We often lag behind God, we have other things
that we desire to do first, and are prone put
off the things of God until a more convenient
time.
c. We all need to pray that God will make us more
sensitive to His timing.
II. d His own, He loved them unto the end.
A. The interesting thing here to me is that John associates
the fact that Jesus knew all things with Jesus loved His
own.
1. Sometimes we are afraid to let people we admire
greatly to get to close to us for fear that if they
knew us better, they would not like us anymore.
2. That's one thing that you never need to worry about
Jesus. He knows you completely, even better than you
know yourself, yet He loves you to the end.
B. The Greek words eis telos is translated to the end, more
literally it is to perfection, or to completion. Another
translation has it, to the uttermost. Let me offer
another not translation, but interpretation. "
d His own He saw it through."
1. That is He went through the bitter experience of the
cross.
2. John tells us that Jesus prayed, "Father save Me
from this hour." in chapter 12.
3. The other gospel writers tell us that in the garden
Jesus prayed, "Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass from Me."
4. In a little while He will be telling His disciples
"Greater love has no man than this, that He lay down
his life for his friends."
5. d His own, He loved them to the
completion of the means for their salvation.
III. The supper is now over, and the devil has put into the heart
of Judas Iscariot to betray Him.
A. It was probably something that Judas had been mulling
over for a period of time. He knew that a reward had been
offered by the rulers if anyone would reveal to them the
whereabouts of Jesus.
1. It is possible that during the supper, the idea
gelled in his mind to do it.
2. It is not sinful to be tempted. Jesus was tempted
by Satan.
a. There comes a moment when in the heart the
conscious decision is made to yield to the
temptation.
b. James tells us that a man is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own lusts and enticed, and
when lusts has conceived it brings forth sin,
and sin when it is finished, brings forth
death.
3. There comes that moment of decision when one says "I
will do it."
IV. Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His
hands.
A. In Matthews gospel Jesus said, "All power is given to Me
in heaven and in earth."
1. Now that is a lot of power. Think of it, all of the
power in the Universe was given to Him.
2. If you were given that kind of power, what do you
think you would do with it?
3. I have found that there is a limit to the amount of
power that I can be trusted with.
a. My brother was into drag racing.
b. I discovered that I could not resist the
temptation to misuse power.
c. I just had 450 horses and I was trying to
blow everyone away.
B. What did Jesus do with it?
1. He got up from the table and laid aside His garments
and girded Himself with a towel and began to wash
the feet of His disciples.
2. John gives some details of the method. He poured
water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples
feet, and to wipe them with the towel.
3. Girding yourself with a towel was to take the mark
of a slave.
4. Washing their feet was to perform the actions of a
slave.
C. John here inserts the little incident when Jesus came to
Peter. He tells us that Peter objected with the
incredulous "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?"
1. Jesus answered Peter that he did not understand now
what Jesus was doing, but that he would understand
later.
a. Later when Peter was writing his epistle he
exhorted them to clothe themselves with
humility.
b. It is quite possible as Peter was writing these
words his mind was back on that evening when
Jesus gird Himself with a towel to wash his
feet.
2. Peter responded to Jesus more vehemently, "You will
never wash my feet." It is difficult to know just
how to respond to Peter here.
a. Should we admire him for his recognition of the
Lordship of Christ?
b. Was there a subtle motive to appear more
righteous than the other disciples.
3. This was to be a bad night for Peter.
a. Here Jesus will correct him.
b. Later when Jesus speaks of all of them being
offended because of Him, and Peter brags though
they are all offended, I will never be
offended, Jesus then predicts his denial.
c. Later He will be singled out by Jesus for
sleeping when he should be praying.
d. Still later he will be rebuked by Jesus for
drawing his sword and beginning to swing to
defend Jesus from being arrested.
e. Still later the prophecy of Jesus will be
fulfilled as he thrice denies his Lord.
4. Jesus answered, "If I do not wash you, you have no
part with Me."
5. Peter true to form replied, "Then don't just wash my
feet, but my hands and my head.
6. Jesus answered in essence, "All you need is that I
wash your feet and you are all clean, yet not all of
you are clean." John again tells us that Jesus knew
which of them was going to betray Him, and that is
why He said, you are not all clean.
V. Jesus then redressed in His robe and sat down and began to
teach them, asking the question, "Do you know what I have
done to you?"
A. It was more than just washing their feet, it was a
symbolic action.
1. You call Me Master and Lord; and that is correct for
so I am.
2. If I as your Lord and Master have washed your feet,
a. Remember at the table they had been arguing as
to which of them would be the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.
b. Earlier Jesus had said, If any man will be
chief among you let him become the servant of
all.
3. Jesus tells them that He has given them an example
that they should do as He had done. For a servant is
not greater than His Lord.
a. We acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, and if He was
willing to serve others, then surely we should
be willing to serve others also.
b. Where in the church do you see real examples of
this?
c. How the Lord must be grieved by the way so many
pastors lord over their flocks.
d. Peter will later tell us that Christ has left
for us an example that we should follow in His
steps.
4. The action of Jesus washing their feed was symbolic
of that which is ever necessary, and that is of the
cleansing of the defilement contracted as I walk
along the way.
B. This section is closed with the words of Jesus, "If you
know these things, happy are you if you do them."
1. The happiness does not come just by knowing but by
the doing.
2. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.
3. Should we wash feet today?
a. That would be to have missed the message.
b. What we need to do today is to serve one
another in love.
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