John 13.1-11

13 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Comments

“Unless I wash you, you don’t belong to me.” This has been a recurring theme in the Gospels this year, but it finds no fuller expression than right here. Peter was not only one of the Twelve, he was also one of the three, clearly one of Jesus’ closest companions. And yet, Jesus is adamant with Peter, the foot washing thing is a deal breaker. This is often true of following Jesus, it is an all or nothing proposition. We don’t like that because it sounds so harsh. But it is a common trait of love. Love is an all or nothing deal. Think about it, there are a list of things that would instantly end a marriage. Not just one thing, but a whole list of things that are deal breakers. As we will see tomorrow, Jesus is giving an object lesson for one of his most important teachings: what it looks like to be a leader in his church. He is telling Peter, “You will either learn to lead like this, or you can leave now.” I wish more church leaders understood this and felt this level of pressure to be servants. That alone would bring a renewal like we haven’t seen in years.

We talk a lot in the Vineyard about being “centered set,” the idea that each of us is either moving toward Jesus or away from Jesus, that there is no “in” versus “out.” It can seem like what I’m saying here works against that: being kicked out only seems possible in a bounded set, right? But I don’t think so, because the main feature of a bounded set mentality is the idea that there is a safety zone. Whether it’s saying the sinner’s prayer, getting baptized, taking communion, speaking in tongues, or whatever, bounded set looks for some line that once you cross in, you’re safe. You have arrived. You can relax. But there is no safety zone, no inner circle that brings a guarantee. We either keep following Jesus or we turn away. A marriage certificate doesn’t guarantee a life long marriage, only the day in, day out hard work of loving someone through self-sacrificial serving does that.

What we really have here is Peter holding out on Jesus. Peter treasured a false sense of humility (which is really just a form of pride) and special piety and Jesus demanded he give that up. Love is always like that, it is always jealous. It will find what we hide and demand it from us. Whatever we try to store away in emotional lock boxes, we can be sure Jesus will come after. Because he loves us and wants to heal us of our crap and won’t let us settle for a halfway relationship with him.

Peter responded by jumping from one extreme to the other – wash all of me – from false humility to spiritual excess. What Peter really wanted (and here the pride really shows through) was not to be like the rest of the Twelve. He wants to be distinct. He thinks he’s ready to die for Jesus (we will read that at the end of this chapter) to follow beyond what anyone else will do. If he can’t express that through out-humbling the others, then he will do that through excess. Spiritual excess is always with us, as anyone from a Pentecostal or charismatic background can tell you. We don’t need John MacArthur to run out an expose about it, we are well aware. But none of that negates the reality of the Spirit moving in power. Peter wanting a full bath doesn’t negate what Jesus is doing with this foot washing. Jesus basically told Peter to “settle down,” which is a message some charismatics (and their vociferous detractors) need to hear.

Finally for today, take note of “not all of you are clean.” That’s right, Jesus washed Judas’ feet. That did not make Judas clean because even when Jesus performs a religious ritual, there is no magic. Having your feet washed by Jesus won’t make you clean. The power is in the symbol, in the enactment and how performing it influences how we think and act. Jesus washes the feet even of his own enemies. If we could learn to wash the feet of our enemies, we would see the Spirit move like we have never known. If you don’t believe that, take 30 minutes and listen to the story of the Memphis Miracle: http://agtv.ag.org/vp-don-evans

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

John 12.37-50

37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not trust him. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who has trusted our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”

39 But the people couldn’t trust, for as Isaiah also said,

41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. 42 Many people did trust him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. 47 I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

Comments

Trusting God is complicated. I think that’s the main takeaway here. Despite all the miracles, some people did not trust Jesus. Isaiah predicted that would happen and further predicted that God would actively prevent some from trusting (there really is no other way to read that second quote). Doesn’t that seem harsh and unfair? John is quick to point out that many did trust Jesus, though some did so secretly because they were afraid. But doesn’t fear indicate a lack of trust? Jesus caps his public ministry off by shouting at the crowd about trust, light and darkness, and judgment. Was that supposed to be some sort of altar call? Like I said, complicated.

But it also rings true to how we see faith working in our lives. Some people won’t trust God no matter what evidence or argument you set in front of them. More than that, no one is able to trust God until – and to the extent – that God enables that person to trust. As much as I want to push back against our individualized culture, there is still a primary aspect of each person’s relationship with God that is personal, one-on-one, and that relationship always begins with God, who relates to each of us and moves each of us as is best for us. Never one to be insecure, God often takes the long view in these relationships, letting it flow at a pace that is best for us. In the Hebrew Scriptures, we see a good example of this with Nebuchadnezzar, who took a circuitous route in his relationship to God. We’re so harsh on each other (and ourselves) that we read this harshness into God. Even here, the fear of people getting kicked out of the synagogue sounds like an indictment to us. But have you thought about how hard it is to be willing to give up every single member of your family and all of your culture to follow Jesus? Sometimes it comes to that, but it’s hard, and can take time to trust enough to have the courage it takes to do such a thing.

And the truth is, this is where we all are. We only trust to the extent that God has enabled us (and not an ounce further) and even then we are beset with fears, self-interests, petty complaints, and a variety of other trust-inhibiting foibles. We see this most clearly in what Jesus shouts there at the end, where he makes the direct connection between trust and obedience. This is why we have not been using the word “believe” in our John readings, because we think believing something is one thing, while doing something about it is something else. For Jesus, they are one and the same. The person who trusts is the person who obeys. Once we think of it like that, and think about how far we have to go in really being obedient to this radical life of discipleship Jesus has called us to, then we realize how we’re right there with the not-trusting, barely-trusting, totally-depending-on-God-to-be-trusting people this passage talks about.

Like I said – trusting God is complicated. And in a wonderful moment of serendipity, just as I finished writing this, my cousin Kimberly sent me a link to a poem she just posted that says all this much more eloquently. You should click here and read “To do a thing.”

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.