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As we come to the word, let me share three Bible verses. Matthew 23:8, “Do not be called Rabbi; one is your teacher, and you are all brothers.” it doesn’t say sisters but sometimes the women are called sons and brothers, and the men are called the bride of Christ, so it all works out. In the exchanged life, the Lord Jesus said in John 8:26, “I’ve many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” There’s only one teacher, and that’s the Lord Himself, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “What I hear from Him I speak.” So, I’m not the teacher, but I’m the speaker. So, I want to speak what I hear from the Lord. John 12:50, “I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father told Me.” So, His words are life. If all you got was what I thought I knew, you wouldn’t have life. It’s when He teaches, that’s when you have Life.
Welcome, now, to our continual focus on the Lord Jesus. We’re meditating, as you know, in the book of John, and John clearly told us why the Holy Spirit guided him to write the book. John 20:31, “These have been written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.” We have this gospel so that we know the Lord, and we have this gospel so that we trust the Lord, and we have this gospel so that we have abundant life and enjoy the Lord together.
In our meditation we’ve come to chapter thirteen to seventeen, these five wonderful chapters, and I suggested that if those chapters stood alone as a book, the theme would be “The Full Explanation of the Exchanged Life”. I’ve modified that title a little, which I’ll say in a moment. Those five chapters are Jesus pouring out His heart. This is only hours before He went to the cross. This is one day before He went to the cross. The disciples are very confused; they don’t know what is going on, but Jesus does. Listen to John 13:1, “Now, before the feast of Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” He knows His hour has come. He knows He’s about to leave and go to the Father, but the disciples are confused, and they’re not happy about His comments that He’s about to leave. John 16:12, even as He pours out His heart, He had to say, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”
In our discussion to these five chapters, I suggested that the theme would be “The Full Explanation of the Exchanged Life.” I’ve modified that now. I would title it, “Jesus’ Explanation of the Exchanged Life.” I dropped the word “full”. The reason is because the Holy Spirit enlarges on the exchanged life in the epistles, and there are things that Jesus doesn’t include here that are included in the epistles, like the importance of faith, and certain aspects of sanctification, and spiritual gifts, stewardship, and that kind of thing, and also liberty in Christ. The epistles develop that for us. In our last session we focused on the special ministry that the Holy Spirit had. He’s come to live in our heart, and His special reason, His ministry, His purpose, His pleasure, is to unveil Jesus to our heart. That’s why He’s come into our heart, to reveal Christ. John 14:6, “Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” All of my access to God, my knowledge of God, comes through Jesus. No one comes to the Father except “through Me”.
Remember what He told Phillip in John 14:9, “Have I been so long with you, yet you have not come to know Me, Phillip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” Just as we can’t know God except through Jesus, just so, John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” It’s a simple concept. When God wants us to know Him, He gives us Jesus. The only way to know Jesus is by the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus we know God, and by the Holy Spirit we come to know Jesus. John 16:14, “He will glorify Me; He will take of Mine and disclose it to you. All things the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said He takes of Mine, and He’ll disclose it to you.” The center work ministry of Christ, of the Holy Spirit in your heart, is to take you forward in a heart knowledge of Christ.
One of the titles of the Spirit is “The Spirit of Truth”, and in John 15:26, “When the Spirit of Truth comes, He’ll bear witness of Me.” Do you see the connection? It’s not abstract truth. He’s not talking about doctrine, that He’ll teach you all truth. He’s talking about Jesus; Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life, and He’s going to bear witness to the Truth.
We called attention as we closed, to the title of paraclete, and that’s the Greek word that’s used, “I’m going to send the Holy Spirit,” the paraclete, one who walks alongside. Four times in this section the Holy Spirit through John mentions the paraclete. In our translation, the one I’m using, the New American Standard, paraclete is translated as Helper, “I’ll send a Helper.” Other translations use a different definition, “I’ll send a Comforter,” and some say, “I’ll send an Intercessor,” or an Advocate. The only other place in the New Testament the word paraclete appears is in 1 John. In other words, John is the only one that calls the Holy Spirit the paraclete. In 1 John 2:1, “My little children, I’m writing these things to you that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an Advocate.” That word is the same word, Helper, Comforter, Counselor. “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.” The reason I’m bringing that verse up is that gives you the definition of the paraclete. The paraclete is an advocate; an advocate is a lawyer, someone representing you. If anyone sins, he has a lawyer; He has Jesus to defend Him. He will present His merits, His wounds, and He shows that we are forgiven. Jesus pleads my case; He represents me and defends me and defends you. That’s why He’s called an advocate.
We asked last time, “Why do we need two advocates?” The Bible says that we have an Advocate in heaven, and the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is an Advocate in our hearts. Why do we need two? I speak as a fool; isn’t Jesus doing a good job? Does He need help? Why do we need two Advocates? The ministry is the same. He represents; that’s what an Advocate does. He defends and He stands up. The difference is not in the ministry; it’s in the client. In other words, if I sin, I have a lawyer. Jesus is my lawyer. Who is His client? He represents me and defends me and stands up for me; He takes my interests to heart and He’s protecting my property, my reputation. The Holy Spirit in my heart is, also, a lawyer but He has different client. His client is the Lord Jesus, and not me. He is in my heart to represent Christ and defend Christ, to stand up for His name, His reputation, His interests, His property. If you or me, if we dare to go against the Holy Spirit and go against His revelation of Christ, He’s going to defend Christ, and we’ll find ourselves under the chastening end of the Lord. We’re not going to bring the name of Christ down because He is defending Christ. In fact, in the book of James He’s called the jealous Holy Spirit; He’s not only in my heart as a Holy Spirit defending Jesus, He’s jealous. The word, as I showed last time, He is insisting on exclusive devotion; He is intolerant of rivalry. He’s not going to put up with it if you have a divided heart or if I have a divided heart. He wants us to focus on the Lord Jesus and Him alone. That’s the ministry in my heart.
I think that no matter what plan you follow in these five chapters, if you have a heart toward the Lord, you’re going to get blessed. Nobody can read chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 and not be blessed, but for my own heart I have found that I like the overview. I like to see the whole thing as a whole. If you were just doing topics, these chapters would be so full. He talks about love, the new commandment; He talks about joy, the fullness of joy; He talks about unity; He talks about Christians being one; He talks about suffering; He talks about persecution; He talks about prayer; He talks about holiness. If you just go through topically, you’d have a lot of material to study. You’d study love and joy and unity and fellowship with His suffering and prayer and sanctification. There’s so much in there. It would take more than one or two lessons, I’ll tell you that. But I want to see how all those topics fit into the context. The context is the exchanged life; He’s explaining before He dies, before He leaves, He’s got one big thing on His heart, many little things, but one big thing, and that’s how to live as God created you to live, how to live as God redeemed you to live, how to live the exchanged life. He already lived that life and now He says, “Now, you are going to live that life.” That’s the great truth He’s pressing home.
Let me suggest a little outline. Jesus is preparing them to live the exchanged life. Here is the question that I’m going to ask as we go through these five chapters. If, indeed, I let the Holy Spirit teach me, if I really learn what it means to live the exchanged life, what will my life look like, how will it appear? How will I know if I’m living the exchanged life? He’s going to give great principles, and among all the topics He gives, there are five great principles. We’re going to look at them one by one. The first, illustrated by foot washing, There can be no fellowship with God, no intimate fellowship with Christ apart from the exchanged life. The second thing, there can be no fruit, illustrated by the vine and the branches, apart from the exchanged life. Number three, there can be no sanctification, no holiness, no obedience in my life, apart from the exchanged life. Number four, there can be no ministry, no service in my life, apart from the exchanged life. Finally, and the climax of it all, there can be no worship, illustrated by the High Priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus, apart from the exchanged life. We’re going to go through those five one by one, and then later we’ll pick up the topic and fit them into those five.
So, now I’d like to consider that the exchanged life is necessary for fellowship with Jesus, illustrated by the foot washing. Before we get into it, let me give a couple of technical observations. Some people have been concerned because chapter 13:1 begins, “Now, before the Feast of Passover…,” and then by the time you get to verse 2, it says, “During supper…” Was it before the supper or during the supper that He washed the feet? There is no contradiction. What did He know before Passover? He knew that His hour had come. He knew He was going to die, and He was going back to the Father, but the foot washing actually takes place during the supper.
The second observation is in in verse 1 at the end, “He loved them to the end; He loved them to the uttermost.” That’s not just illustrated by the foot washing; that is His everlasting love, and that includes what is ahead of Him. Gethsemane—He loved them to the uttermost. Calvary—He loved them to the uttermost. The resurrection, the ascension, all of that is showing His utmost love.
Another observation is from verse 3 and 4, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, He rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and taking a towel, He girded Himself about.” That towel was the slave’s apron. That symbolic act, some suggest what He did at the end here, hours before His death, that’s what He did when He came to earth. Philippians 2, “Although He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of man, being bound in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” In other words, when He came to earth, He laid aside His garments of glory and clothed Himself with humanity and came to serve us.
One more observation before we start the story. This takes place at the Passover. Now, I’m not going to develop the details of the Passover, but only to remind you, that was a celebration of salvation, deliverance from Egypt by the blood the Lamb. That’s important, the last table took place at the Passover. When the other gospel writers—Matthew, Mark and Luke—describe the Passover, they describe it in terms of in the middle of the Passover He institutes the Eucharist, He institutes the Lord’s Table, the breaking of bread. But in the gospel of John he leaves that out; he doesn’t talk about Jesus saying, “This is My body; take and eat. This is My blood…” John doesn’t mention that, so much so that many commentators, not a few, say that there’s no record of the Lord’s Table in the gospel of John, but that’s not 100% accurate because this foot washing takes place at that time. So, John doesn’t neglect it. In fact, I’m thinking that John gives a more complete view of the Lord’s Table than the other gospel writers. We’re going to see the same thing again. The commentators at the end say, “John leaves out the Great Commission.” I don’t think he leaves it out. In fact, I think the fullest description of the Great Commission is in the gospel of John. We’ll see that when we come to chapter 20.
Remember why John wrote the gospel—so that we would know the Lord, so that we would trust the Lord, and so that we would enjoy the Lord. At the Last Supper, this chapter 13, he focuses, not on the picture, but on the reality. See, the elements of the Lord’s Table, that’s the picture, but he’s focusing on the reality. The spiritual reality is that if I’m really entering into the Lord’s Table, I’ll be able to wash someone else’s feet. In other words, it’s the practical side, the outworking. Some people just go through the motions and it’s all ritual and symbols and so on, and they sort of deify the elements, but John gives the results. If I’m really entering into this, then I’ll be loving one another and we’ll be one and I’ll be washing your feet, and you’ll be washing mine.
There’s a lot more that can be said about the Lord’s Table, and there’s one other little thing. It looks like in the gospel of John that Jesus actually serves Judas at the table, and it has become a problem with some. But if you read Matthew, Mark and Luke, it looks like Judas left before Jesus broke bread and said, “This is the Lord’s Table.” I’ll leave that to you hermeneuts to figure out.
Here is how I want to set this before you. I’m going to go through the foot washing with the traditional view, and then I’m going to go through it again with what I’m calling the non-traditional view. I incline to the non-traditional view but let me give you the traditional view. The traditional view is based mostly on Peter’s resistance to having Jesus wash his feet. There are two principles in the traditional view. The first is humility. The great principle of foot washing is humility; Jesus humbled Himself. That’s the great principle; it was an act of humility for Jesus to gird on a slave’s apron and wash the disciples’ feet. Since washing feet is prominent in the story, the second traditional principle is forgiveness, cleansing, and washing of feet. So, the traditional view says, “Do you want to understand foot washing? It’s humility. Do you want to understand foot washing? It’s cleansing.” That’s the traditional view. After we look at that, we’ll look at the non-traditional view.
Let me begin with this background. Jesus sent Peter and John to set up this table, and it was a strange way that He did it. Luke 22:11, “You shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I can eat the Passover with My disciples?” He’ll show you a large furnished upper room. Prepare it there.’” The disciples came to Him and said, “Where are we going to celebrate Passover?” He could have said 32 Jerusalem Ave. He didn’t say that. He said, “Go to a certain city, but He didn’t tell them what city, and follow a man, and He didn’t tell them what man, and He told them a man will be carrying water. Follow him, and when he goes into the house, see who owns the house, and once you see who owns the house, ask him, and he’ll tell you where to have the Passover.” And all the Bible says is that they found it as He said. They did it but it was so confusing and so cryptic. The point is that it says the guest room was a large, furnished room. This was not a private home; this wasn’t a private dwelling. It was the custom in a private home to have a service to wash your feet when you came into the house. This is not a home; it’s a big guest room. It didn’t come with a servant to wash feet. It came with a basin of water, and it came with a towel, but no servant because it’s not a private home. This thing is like a banquet hall; it’s a hall you would rent and it’s like a dance hall.
I remember when I was a young teenager, we would go to dances at the firehouse because they had a big room. It was something like that. At the moment I’m concerned about who sat where at the table. Edersheim has his idea of who was sitting where, or Leonardo Da Vinci, you can look at his painting and see where he seats the people, but I’m not concerned about that. I just want you to know that it’s a large guest room; it’s an upper room. The owner provided the room, but no servant. He provided water, and He provided a towel.
Now, as far as background is concerned, we know several times the disciples had issues, “Who is the greatest?” Sometimes it got heated, and they were arguing, “Who is the greatest?” One time it says that they came into the house after they had been arguing, and Jesus asked, “What were you discussing on the way that was so wonderful?” Anyway, just before this table, they were discussing who is the greatest. Do you think when the disciples entered this guest room, that they were arguing about, “Which one of us will have the privilege to wash feet? There’s a basin and there’s a towel. Which one of us will do it?” I don’t think so. In fact, when our Savior revealed there was a traitor among them, Matthew 26:22, “Being deeply grieved, each one began to say, ‘Surely, not I, Lord.’” Another translation says, “Is it I? Is it I?” At first, I was impressed with them because if I was at the table and Jesus said, “One of you will betray Me,” I would probably say, “Is it him? Is it him? I wouldn’t ask, “Is it I?” But they were asking, “Is it I?” I was impressed with that until I read Luke 22:23&24, “And they began to discuss among themselves which of them might be going to do this thing. Who is going to betray Him? And there arose a dispute among them as to which of them was regarded as the greatest.” They argued at the Lord’s Table which one is the greatest.
Now, not one of the disciples stepped up to the basin of water or to the towel, and that’s why it was such a shock in verse 4 & 5, “He got up from supper, laid aside His garments, and taking His towel, He girded Himself, and poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples feet, and wiped them with the towel.” You can see how the traditional view comes up with the principle of humility; Jesus was humble, and they were proud. It seems to be the reason for Peter’s great resistance.
It appears from the record that Jesus didn’t start washing Peter’s feet. John 13:5, “He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So, He came to Simon Peter,” in other words Peter wasn’t first. He came to Simon Peter. Remember that right from the beginning Peter had a depreciating view of Himself. When He first met Jesus, Luke 5:8, “Simon Peter saw that, and fell down at Jesus’ feet saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man.’” He knew who he was. If someone like John the Baptist saw Christ as so great, as we read in John 1, he said that he wasn’t worthy to unlace His sandals. Who was Peter to let Jesus wash his feet? For Peter to see Jesus in a slave’s apron, bowing down to wash his feet, that was just more than Peter could take. Verse 6, “He came to Simon Peter, and he said to Him, ‘Lord, do you wash my feet?’”
Scholars remind us in the Greek language that words are put in a certain order, and the Greek is actually, “Now? My? You are going to wash my feet?” Peter is shocked. In his mind that thing is all backwards; that’s turning things around. It’s confusing. He’s the Lord; He’s God; He’s the Master. Peter saw Jesus as Lord and in his mind, he said, “You aren’t washing my feet. I’ll wash yours, but You’re not going to wash my feet. I can serve you, and I’ll minister to you, and I’ll meet your needs, and you can take my boat and take my money, and I’m even willing to die for you, but you’re not going to wash my feet. In verse 8, Peter said, “Never shall You wash my feet,” and once again the Greek adds power to that. Peter’s resistance on the level of earth, “You will never wash my feet,” and the Greek is, “never, never, even to the ages of eternity.”
A little while ago I gave a little series on Peter, and I called it, “The Man With His Heart in His Mouth”. A lot of people say that Peter always had his foot in his mouth. It wasn’t his foot; it was his heart. He was always thinking of the Lord Jesus. On the level of earth, it was carnal thinking, but it was always for the Lord. Wuest gives this translation of verse 8, “You shall by no means wash my feet, no never, and not to the ages of eternity.” In other words, Peter is saying, “I appreciate what You’re trying to do, Lord, but honestly, if I lived a million years, I would not let You wash my feet. It’s not right. You’re God; You’re the Creator, You’re my Savior, You’re my Master. I will not let you wash my feet. As I said, up until that moment, his theology wouldn’t allow it.
I remind you the strong word was “forever”, “I’ll never change, I’m stubborn, and You’re never going to wash my feet.” Why did Peter believe that? Listen to verse 13, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you’re right, for so I am.” Why did Peter believe that? It’s because he was right. Jesus IS the Master. It makes sense. I think we might think the same way Peter thought. If we knew who Jesus was, and He tried to wash our feet, I think I would be embarrassed and recoil if anybody in this room tried to wash my feet. Maybe that’s because I’m a proud man. I don’t know, but I wouldn’t want it.
Jesus made this strong statement to Peter. Verse 8, “’Never shall you wash my feet.’ And then Jesus said, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part of Me.’” I think that’s one of the strongest and most sober sentences that Jesus ever said to one of His children; “If you don’t let me wash you, it’s over, you have no part with Me.”
When Peter heard those words, he put out a stubborn man’s angst, verse 9, “Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, then wash my loin and my feet, but also my hands and head,’ and Jesus said, ‘He who has bathed need only wash his feet but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.’” This is where the traditional view moves to cleansing. Peter says, “If it’s about cleansing, if that’s the deal, then head to toe cleansing, and not just my feet. I need cleansing from head to toe.”
The theologians have taken Jesus’ answer to Peter to be a summary of salvation. They’ve given titles. For example, in verse 10, “He who has bathed needs only wash his feet, but is completely clean.” He used the word “bathed” for head to toe cleansing. He’s saying that if you’ve been bathed, if you’ve been saved, if you’ve been born again, and you come to the Lord, you only need to do that once; you’ve got your bath. That’s all done. Foot washing is another deal; bathing is head to toe cleansing once and forever, and that took place when you got saved, but your feet are in constant contact with this earth, and therefore you need to be cleansed daily. Jesus said that you don’t need another bath; you are completely clean but not all of you. Then He says in verse 11, “He knew the one who was betraying Him. For this reason, He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.”” In other words, Judas was not a Christian; he was a hypocrite; he never had a bath. Jesus said in verse 10, “You only need to wash your feet.”
The theologians have given titles to this. The bath they call justification; you got saved. The foot washing they call sanctification; you need to be cleansed over and over and over again. Even though I’m a forgiven sinner, I still need to confess my sins. It’s like in the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12, “Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts.” It’s like I need daily bread, and I need daily forgiveness, as well. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin.” In 1 John 1:10, “If we say we haven’t sinned, we made Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” So, I can understand the traditional view. I can understand why the theologians say that the head to toe cleansing is when you are justified, and the daily foot washing is when you are sanctified. That’s the traditional view—humility/cleansing.
Now, let me suggest the non-traditional view. The question I’m going to try to answer is, “What is the meaning of the foot washing in the light of the context, in the light of these final hours of pouring out His heart and giving His explanation of the exchanged life? Is there another explanation for the foot washing?” The shock in the foot washing, I don’t think was the humility of it, though that’s true. Every family was familiar with foot washing; that was part of the Jewish culture. The shock was that Jesus did it. Peter’s response shows that shock. He was astonished at the condescension of the Lord Jesus. That was incongruous to him; he would never submit to that. But the foot washing was really part of Jewish culture. In that society the principle was hospitality. If you went to any Jewish home, they would offer you a foot washing, not because you sinned, to cleanse you from sin, but to welcome you to their home. In those days they had sandals; they didn’t have shoes like we have or sneakers. It was common for soil to build up on their feet. It was an act of hospitality, “Let me make you comfortable. Let me wash your feet. Come on in, make yourself at home, and let’s have some sweet fellowship.” Way back in Genesis we read about Abraham in Genesis 18:3, “Three men came to visit him,” one was the Lord and He didn’t know that at that time, “’My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought; wash your feet and rest yourself under the tree, and I’ll bring a piece of bread that you may refresh yourself.’”
Even the wicked days of the Judges, an old man from Gibeon saw once of the travelers and said, Judges 19, “’Peace be to you; let me take care of your needs. Do not spend the night in the open square.’ So, he took him into his house, gave the donkeys feed, and they washed their feet, and they ate and drank.” That was common; they would wash their feet. It was a kind of courtesy and hospitality and welcome. It’s like I can say to you now, “Take off your shoes and relax; make yourself at home. We’re happy to have you here.”
When Jesus sent out His disciples, as you remember, in Matthew 10:14, He said, “If they are not hospitable and they don’t receive you, shake off the dust of your feet.” That’s not because the disciples needed forgiveness, that their feet were dirty; it has to do with the hospitality. There are other examples in the Bible. Do you remember when Jesus was invited to Simon the Pharisee’s house? Luke 7:44, “Turning toward the woman, He said, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house, and you gave me no water for my feet. She has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.’” Jesus needed His feet washed, but He didn’t need to confess His sin; He didn’t have sin. It wasn’t about forgiveness. In 1 Timothy 5:10, Paul suggested the kind of widow that should be supported, “Having a reputation for good works, if she’s brought up children, if she’s shown hospitality to strangers, if she’s washed the saints’ feet.” It’s an act of hospitality.
I think the principle is bigger, not only bigger than humility, but bigger than hospitality. It includes refreshment. That’s what they did, refreshment. It was a principle of ministry, service, and hospitality. Peter had this idea about salvation, and by the way, so did I. I came to the Lord in 1958, and I was taught this. I thought it was true; you are saved to service the Lord. Have you heard that? That’s what I was taught, and that’s what Peter believed, “I’ll serve you.” You are saved to serve the Lord. But in the exchanged life, it’s the other way around; it’s flipped over; you are not saved to serve; you are saved to be served by the Lord. He wants to serve you, and He wants to wash your feet, and if you don’t allow it, He says, “You’ll have no part with Me.” This is very serious business. He’s explaining the exchanged life. Matthew 20:28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” When He came, that was on His heart, “I’m not coming to be served. I’m coming to serve.”
Do you remember when Paul was on Mars Hill introducing the heathen to their unknown God, he said in Acts 17:24, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He’s Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made by hand, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything.” This idea that we’re saved to serve the Lord misses the heart of the exchanged life. In Joshua’s day, at the end they all came and said, “Alright, we repent; we’ll serve the Lord,” and listen to what Joshua said, Acts 17:24:19, “Joshua said to the people, ‘You will not be able to serve the Lord; He’s a holy God; He’s a jealous God.’”
It’s not only at His first coming that we read that He’s to minister, that He’s the servant, and He wants to serve us, but do you realize at His second coming, and I’m talking about when He comes again, as King of Kings to set up His Kingdom, and I’m talking about heaven… Listen to Luke 12:37, “Blessed are those slaves whom the Master will find on the alert when He comes,” he’s talking about the second coming. “Truly, I say to you, He will gird Himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.” Even in heaven He’s going to be serving us. In the Millenium, He’s going to be serving us. All through eternity He wants to minister to us. That takes your breath away. It’s so radical and it’s so against our thinking.
Ask God, brothers and sisters, to help you enter into this. It’s at this point that Jesus said in verse 8, “If I do not wash you, if you don’t let Me serve you, you have no part with Me.” Those are strong words. He’s not saying to Peter, “If you don’t let Me wash your feet, then you’re lost and you’re going to die and go to hell.” He’s not saying that. He’s saying, “If you don’t let Me wash your feet, you will have no part with Me. He didn’t say no part in Me. He’s in Him. You are washed; you’re already washed. He told him that. It’s a miracle of God to convince anybody of this radical change, the desire to let Him serve me. So important is this principle, that without it we’re going to miss out on intimate fellowship with the Lord.
Communion, relationship, oneness, intimacy—it makes sense to me to look at this, not as picturing humility and cleansing, but rather that it’s picturing hospitality, fellowship and oneness. John 13:14, “If then the Lord and Teacher wash your feet, you are to wash one another’s feet.” If the washing of feet meant forgiveness, cleansing, what does it mean for you to wash someone else’s feet? I think we’re going to start being critical and look for sin in one another’s lives. It’s not cleansing; it doesn’t have anything to do with that. Humility and cleansing are Bible truths. I won’t deny that, but I’m asking the question if that is the truth of John 13? I don’t think so. I’m not against humility and cleansing. That’s why we can read verses like 1 Corinthians 16:18, “They’ve refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, such people deserve recognition.” That’s refreshment. 2 Timothy 1:16, “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for often he refreshed me.” Philemon 1:7, “I’ve come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” Romans 15:32, “That I might come to you in the joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest.”
Am I saved to serve? The answer is no. I’m saved to be served, now listen, in order to serve. I’m saved to be served in order to serve. I can’t wash your feet unless He washes mine. You can’t wash anybody’s feet unless He first ministers to you. That’s the idea of the foot washing. The foot washer, the one who wore the slave apron, still wears it, and He lives in my heart, and He lives in your heart, so that you can minister to others. The exchanged life has to do with allowing Him to refresh us, so that we can refresh one another.
Let’s just say, for example, a Christian comes and hands me a financial gift. Have they washed my feet? Maybe, but not necessarily. Let’s say that a Christian comes up and says, “I hear you have a problem; let’s pray about it.” Did he wash my feet? Maybe, and maybe not. Somebody comes up and says, “I know exactly the verse you need; let me quote you a Bible verse.” Did he wash your feet? Maybe, and maybe not. Here’s another Christian and he’s just been enjoying Jesus; he’s been living in the fellowship of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has been opening the word and been revealing Christ to him, and now he comes to you. He may never mention your problem, and he may never give you a Bible verse, and he may never say, “Let’s pray together,” but if you spend five minutes in his presence, him with the Lord, you’ve been refreshed because he is breathing it, he is manifesting the Lord, and your heart is lifted to heaven.
I’ve had phone calls, and I said to the people after the call, “Thank you; you’ve washed my feet,” because they’ve blessed me. Sometimes it’s a smile, and sometimes it’s a touch, and sometimes it’s just an encouragement, just knowing that you’re there. If you see someone who is full of the Lord and overflowing on all sides at all times, that’s the one that washes your feet. You’re refreshed in the presence of such a person. I have received letters that have washed my feet. The prophet Micah describes the remnant this way. Micah 5:7, “The remnant of Jacob will be among the people like dew from the Lord, like showers on vegetation which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men.” God has called us to be dew, like water on the vegetation.
One more thing as we get ready to close. Remember how inflexible and stubborn Peter was, “No, no, no, not to the ages of eternity. I’ll never allow it.” Do you see how fast he changed when it came to fellowship with God? “If you don’t let Me, you’ll have no fellowship, no intimacy, no part with Me.” Don’t give up on grandpa or grandma or some stubborn person because when it comes down to it, if they’re serious about wanting a part, a relationship, a union, a walk, an intimacy with the Lord, they’re going to change in a minute.
I’ll close with sort of a warning. Don’t resist letting the Lord minister to you. It goes against the natural heart. It’s radical, but don’t resist it. It’s not humility to say to Jesus, “I won’t let you wash my feet.” If you tell Jesus He can’t serve you, that’s not humility. That’s pride. We need to let the Lord minister to us. Perhaps somebody here, or somebody following by mechanical means has never made it a definite act to say, “Lord, from now on I’m not going to be focusing on serving You; I want You to serve me. I want You to minister to me.” That’s the exchanged life. If He gives you rest, and if He gives you assurance, and if He gives you conviction, and if He gives you hope, and if He fills your life with joy, and if He shows you that you’re related to Him and seated in the heavenly places, and you’re an overcomer in the Overcomer, and you are a child of God in Him, and you have the inheritance, and that is true in your heart, come on and wash my feet. I want that, and people need that.
That’s the first principle of the exchanged life; let Jesus serve you in order that you may serve others. That’s God’s order, and if that has never been the case, if you are so busy serving the Lord that you’ve never let Him serve you, then I just challenge you, if you want a part, a union, a fellowship with Jesus, then you better turn it around and submit. Let Him minister to you.
Father, thank You for Your word, and thank You for this chapter. Lord, burn it into our hearts that You desire to minister to us. You told Peter he wouldn’t understand at that time, but he would understand later, and he did. We thank You. Minister to us, Lord, and bless us that the world might be blessed. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.