Printer Friendly VersionYou have 24 hours today.
How are you going to spend your time?
How are you going to spend the day?
What would you do if you knew you had just 24 hours to live?
Would knowing that you had just 24 hours change the way you are spending your
day? What things would you prioritize? What things would you make sure you
did? What things would you leave out? If you only had 24 hours to live--what
would you do? Who would you talk to? Where would you go?
Our Lenten sermon series is going to focus on the final 24 hours
of Jesus’ life. What things did Jesus prioritize? Who did He talk to?
What did He do?
You might be interested to know that if you took all 4 Gospel
writings and counted all the verses--the amount of paper given to the life
and times of Jesus--you would discover that of the 33 years Jesus lived on
this old planet the gospel writers spend 32 percent of their time on the final
week of Jesus life. 32 percent! You might also be interested to know of all
the incidents covered by the gospel writers, only 9 events are covered by
all four gospel writers--just 9. Of those 9 events covered by all 4 Gospel
writers 5 things happen in the final 24 hours of Jesus’ life. They tell
all: the Last Supper, Peter’s denial of Jesus, Jesus trial and sentencing
by Pilate, the Crucifixion, and the burial of Jesus.
It’s seems that while the Gospel writers deemed all of
Jesus life as very important--the miracles, the teachings, and all the rest
as important, they really emphasized the final week. Even more so, they emphasized
the final day of Jesus’ life. One Bible scholar calculated and determined
Jesus lived exactly 12,045 days. Now I don’t know about his facts and
figures. I’m not sure how he got to 12,045 days. He’s probably
wrong to be quite honest. But even if Jesus was on planet for exactly 12,045
days--that final day--those last 24 hours were truly significant. So for the
next five weeks (the rest of the season of Lent) we are going to focus on
that day: Day number 12,045 of Jesus’ life. I think we will find there
are some interesting historical facts from Jesus’ last 24 hours, but
more importantly there are some tremendous truths for us to discover from
Jesus’ final day.
The day begins with Jesus instructing Peter and John about the
arrangements for celebrating the Passover meal. Listen to John tell of this
meal. The following takes place between 3PM and 4PM: (read John 13:1-17 here).
The disciples enter the upper room. They are hungry. They are
ready for a good meal, the Passover meal. It’s been a day they have
been looking forward to sharing with each other. It’s a celebration,
a day to remember--a party of sorts.
The proper, normal happening upon entering a room in ancient
Jerusalem would be to have one’s feet immediately washed. A servant
girl would approach the guests, wash the daily grime off their feet, and then
let the party begin. But on this occasion there was no servant girl. The water
basin was there. The towel was there. But no one was there to wash their feet.
So the men take their places around the table anyway.
Have these men forgotten their manners? Is this a case of boys
being boys and lounging about the room without thought to their dirty feet?
I know on those occasions when Karla has been gone for a weekend retreat or
a trip to her parents, we Prince boys sometimes don’t carry on the same
exact spic-and-span mannerisms of my lovely bride. When the boys were younger
we’d put a sign on the front door: “No Girls Allowed.” And
for the rest of the time Karla was away, we would turn our home into a “boys
only” club. We’d be sloppy. We’d eat what we want. We’d
have a grand time. Of course, we knew the “Queen of Clean” was
coming back, and to quote Mr. T: “I pity the fool that doesn’t
have the house clean when Karla returns.” So following a weekend of
sloppiness and chips on the counter and socks on the floor, approximately
two hours before her intended return we would clean, vacuum, and mop. We would
get the house back to its original pristine order. The “boys only”
weekend would soon be over. It’s was time to return to our manners.
Is this a case of the disciples just being boys? No girls around--so
who cares if we have stinky, grimy feet? Or is this a blatant case of the
disciples’ prideful and boorish behaviors raising their ugly heads again
(or more correctly stated, raising their smelly feet)? Has three years of
intensive personal training from Jesus taught them nothing? Did they know
proper etiquette, but simply choose to ignore it. Did they know someone, anyone
was suppose to wash the feet of those present, but simply refused to do it?
Apparently and sadly, that seems to be the case.
With the absence of a servant to wash the feet of all present,
the disciples have these options: 1) Ignore the problem. Act as if the stinking
feet issue does not exist.
2) Grab the basin and towel and start washing feet.
Option 2 seems out of the question in the disciple’s minds.
No one moves, except Jesus. Interestingly, John points out in two occasions
(v. 3 and v. 11) that Jesus is in complete control of the situation. As “Teacher”
and “Lord,” by all rights Jesus should be the last one in the
room performing this menial task. It should have been one of the disciples
grabbing the towel and basin. But Peter doesn’t move and neither does
John. Andrew, Matthew, and all the rest act as if the feet cleanliness issue
is not their problem.
The disciples in general and Peter specifically display the
me-first self-centered behaviors that have characterized the human race since
Adam. In Luke’s account of the Last Supper, he describes a dispute that
arose among the disciples concerning who was the greatest (Luke 22:24). The
Greatest (Jesus) is among them and yet they are involved in a petty argument
of greatness. Are you kidding me?
Suppose you and I were standing in the presence of Wayne Gretsky
(the greatest hockey player of all time). And suppose you had the same hockey
acumen as me (that is no hockey abilities at all). And further, suppose you
and I were engaged in a heated discussion of which of us is the greatest hockey
player of all time. Remember, in our little fictional scenario, the hockey
player known as “The Great One” is standing by overhearing this
whole conversation. Still, we proceed in making the argument that one of us
non-skating, “could-not-even-name-all-of-the-teams-in-the-NHL”
person is actually the greatest hockey player of all time. It would be an
insane and absurd discussion. Welcome to the disciple’s world! Standing
in the presence of Jesus, these disciples were giving (with a straight face
presumably) their best Muhammad Ali impersonation: “I am the greatest.”
The perfect time came for Jesus to make His point. The meal
was being served. All eyes were on the table. Everyone was hungry. Anticipating
the traditional lamb dinner, their mouths were watering, but their feet were
stinking. Jesus, the great Teacher, removes himself from the table, grabs
the towel and basin and begins the repugnant task of washing the Jerusalem
street grime from the disciples’ feet. Foot after foot, Jesus makes
His way around the room.
And while Peter protests Jesus’ actions, he does not offer
to take over the job of feet washing. Peter’s words if truly noble would
have been, “Jesus you should not be washing our feet! What were we thinking?
Let me do it. Give me the towel. Let me have the basin. I can wash these guys’
dirty feet.” Of course, we know Peter had no intention of washing anyone’s
feet. And that’s the point Jesus was making. Servanthood, humility,
and a willingness to become as “the least of these” are the hallmarks
of this new kingdom. As we journey through the Lenten season and make our
way to the Cross and beyond, servanthood should be the defining characteristic
of who we are becoming.
Jesus is clear in what our response should be. In verse 15 He
states: “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to
you.” There is not a whole lot of grey area in that verse. There’s
no wiggle room. Just a straight forward statement: You have the example. You
know what to do. Now do it.
So the question becomes: Are we? Are we doing what Jesus commanded
us to do? Are we servants? Are we the type of people who pick up the basin
and wash the feet of those around us? Are we acting as a servant toward the
“least of these” in our midst? Are we washing their feet? Are
we serving them?
I thought of some of the servants that I have known through
the years. And I’ve been blessed to serve in congregations with many
people who I could correctly label “a servant of Christ.”
One such servant was my friend Bob. Bob died about a couple of years ago because
of ALS--Lou Gehrig’s disease. In the years before the disease robbed
Bob of his opportunity to speak and walk and do much of the things we would
consider normal--Bob was a tremendous worker for the Lord. He led dozens of
work and witness trips. He may have built more block walls on the mission
field than anybody. There are churches all over the world that wouldn’t
be there if it weren’t for Bob the builder. Well, Bob the block layer.
At the church I was pastoring at the time, we went to the local
rescue mission every month. Often I couldn’t go because of conflicts
in my schedule, the other pastors missed attending the service, but I don’t
know too many times Bob missed. And if I needed to visit the county jail and
needed some company to come along with me, I knew I could count on Bob.
When we started having Biker Sundays at that church--Bob got
behind the idea 100 percent. He understood to get the bikers we were after--the
guys that didn’t know Christ and had nothing to do with Christ—--you
had to go where they were. That meant going into biker bars. And so Bob would
go these bars with a handful of flyers and pass them out to the guys and ask
if he could put up the flyers in the bar. There were plenty of rough biker
bars in the area that would have a flyer for the church taped to a mirror
or on a bulletin board (or so I was told!).
Often he would come in on a Sunday morning as our Biker Sunday
approached and he’d say “Pastor I was in another bar last night.”
To which I would say, “Wow that’s great, Bob. Really great. Keep
up the good work!” I suppose if someone overheard that little conversation
they might have given us both dirty looks.
I remember Bob’s last time in church. He couldn’t
walk, could barely talk. It was a Sunday night service. He just couldn’t
get around on Sunday mornings any more. But he was there on Sunday night.
And on that particular Sunday night we had testimonies. We had a time when
people could stand up and simply share something that the Lord had done in
their life.
Bob was sitting in the back of the church and I saw him struggle
to get to his feet. And then after what seemed like forever--he slowly said
these four words and then he sat down: “God . . . is . . . so . . .
good!” He didn’t need to say anything else, and I didn’t
need to preach another sermon that night. When a person is dying of ALS, can
barely walk or hardly talk, rise to their feet with what little strength they
have and declare God’s goodness--you know that person has got the important
things of life figured out.
I just had to imagine when Bob entered heaven there was long
line of people saying, “Thank you.” Thank you for coming to the
mission field or coming to a biker bar and inviting me to church. Thank you
for making a difference. Thank you for being a servant.
By the world’s standards, Bob might not have inherited much. He didn’t
live in a mansion. He didn’t ride around in a limousine. He didn’t
wear Armani suits. But I’ll tell you what, his inheritance is better
than those things all put together.
What about you? Are you a servant? Willing to wash some feet
or go into a biker bar? Willing to head to a jail and talk with an inmate,
or hop on a plane and build a church on the mission field? You probably won’t
get rich doing any of those things. In fact, it will cost you. And you might
not get notoriety and fame. Still, it’s what Jesus has called us to
do. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for
you” (John 13:15).
Are you doing it? Are you a servant?
