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Guest (Male): Jesus gives his disciples—not just those 11 or 12, but all of his disciples, which includes you and me—if we belong to Jesus, that's you and that's me. We're his disciples. So he gives his disciples what we would call his farewell message to us, and he gives us some of our marching orders as well.

Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply it within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse by verse through the Bible. Jesus prepares for his crucifixion as our study of John continues in chapter 13. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Jesus, God Almighty in human flesh, knew that the Father had given him all things, and all in the Greek means all. Jesus is in control of everything, true? Right there, right in the upper room, not finally when he got to heaven. God has given him all things.

He knows he's going to the cross. He knows he will suffer and die, and he says, "I'm on the way, it's as good as done." You'll see that as he talks with us from here on out. It's as good as done. "Here, I'm going." And Peter's going to try and stop him. Peter was bossy. He was kind of a leader, but then he gets this idea in his head. "I think this is good and that's bad," and then he tries to push it on Jesus or push it on others.

Poor Peter. We can all be just like him. He opens his mouth to exchange feet. We've seen him do it, but we're glad, secretly we're glad he did because we see ourselves and we go, "That Peter, what a dope," right? But we learn, hopefully, hopefully we're learning.

So Jesus, God Almighty in human flesh, knew that the Father had given him all things. He knew he had come from the Father and he knew he is returning to the Father. That's what we just read. He knows all that. So he is God Almighty in human flesh. All authority in heaven and earth is his to do what he will—all of that. And this is God Almighty in human flesh in the upper room, and the devil's hanging out there too, and Jesus let him.

He knew he had come from heaven and he knew he was returning to the Father. Jesus knew exactly what was coming and by his simple trust in his Father, he knew how it was all going to turn out. He would die, willingly die.

And then I think about me, maybe you think about you, how we balk if someone mentions even going forward a little bit. "Let's try this." "Forget it! I bet God had prayed three weeks because I don't know if I want to step out there. What if I fall? What if I fail? What if I look like a dope?" You're always failing, you're always falling, you look dopey. Get used to it and start stepping out in faith if you believe it's God.

But Jesus, he's not worried at all. He knows how it's going to turn out. So he gets up from the supper table. The God of all creation gets up from the supper table, sets aside his outer garment, and puts a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and begins to wash his disciples' feet. I don't know how many he washed before he got to Peter, but Peter is watching him wash feet.

Now that is embarrassing Peter. I think it would have embarrassed all of us, but Jesus knows exactly who he is, and he sets aside his garments and he puts a towel around his waist and he washes our feet and he dries them off with the towel. God Almighty takes the lowest position in the room. And what do we catch ourselves trying to do? Sort of the opposite.

What's going on here is amazing and the disciples have no idea what's happening. He gets up, sets aside his outer garment, puts on a towel around his waist, pours water in the basin, and starts washing disciples' feet, knowing that he is God Almighty in human flesh. Knowing that all things belong to him. The Father had given everything into his hands. Knowing that he will rule and reign over all things for all eternity. Jesus Christ will rule and reign on the throne forever.

Jesus voluntarily takes the lowest position that there could be: the place of a slave. That's who would wash the feet in people's homes. Washing the feet of his disciples—a slave, a servant by choice. You know, in that day, in that part of the world, it was necessary to wash your feet anytime you entered into your own home or someone else's home. Why? Because the temperature is warm. I love warm, but warm does kind of cause you to sweat.

But think about it. You come into someone's home—this is their home—so they will always have someone, a slave, the lowest of the low, to come and clean your feet because pretty much you're a little bit sweaty and so you're walking through dust and even maybe a little bit of mud and dirt roads, and you just kind of get dirty. They wore sandals and the roads were dusty and dirty, and if it rained, it got muddy, etc. You don't want to drag that into somebody's home, so they would usually wash feet.

Jesus took the lowest position of everybody in the room. What were the disciples doing right there in the upper room when Jesus did that? Can you recall? Luke chapter 22, verse 24: "And there was also a strife among them" sitting at the table there at the supper. They were arguing which of them should be accounted the greatest in heaven.

Jesus helps while they're arguing who's probably the most important, which is what we do. We just do it a little more spiritual than those guys, so we do it in a lot more subtle ways. "Well, I probably understand this a little better than you, and I probably have a better grasp." That's us. "We're going to probably be a little higher in heaven. Well, duh, of course. Well, you've been saved five years and so-and-so in the back has been saved 75, so I mean, duh, who's greater?" That's what they're arguing.

So Jesus gives all of us a twofold lesson. First, he's teaching us to humble ourselves and not think so highly of ourselves. And of course, you'll see scriptures: "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up." And in due time, he will lift you up. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. So get down, in other words, fight your way to the bottom. Stay down, stay humble.

Jesus, it's a twofold lesson. The first is simply this: God Almighty stoops down and takes the lowest position in the room. He would have done that if there had been 2,000 people, but it was just his disciples and he takes the lowest position. What's he showing them? While you're arguing who's greater, he shows you who's really great. If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to serve everybody else.

The second lesson is the importance of the Word of God. I try to keep the importance in everything we do on the Word of God. I don't like to break you up in little groups—you know, those that are 12, those that hate boys, and those that—right? I just like to teach everybody verse by verse. We don't try to break people up, chop them up. A lot of churches will do that. If I teach, I want everybody to sit through verse by verse. Doesn't matter your age or your gender. It doesn't matter. The Word of God.

Jesus is trying to teach us the importance—teach them and me and you the importance of the Word of God. I'll show you what I mean. He starts to wash feet. And he's washing feet, and I know he washed all 12. Every one of them. So he had to wash Judas's feet too. Judas is still there, right? So he washed everybody's feet.

But it took him a while to get to Peter. I don't know how many before Peter, but certainly I know this: Peter is looking and thinking to himself, "He should not be doing this. He is our Lord. He shouldn't be doing this. I'm not going to do it, but he shouldn't," right? Peter would never have dreamed of getting up and doing that, but Jesus did. God did. He's teaching us.

And so Peter's watching him and each time—and I think it's embarrassing Peter. I think he's ashamed because you feel bad that Jesus is doing that. Someone else should probably do that job. This is our Lord. This is God Almighty. I've seen him do miracles. He shouldn't stoop to wash feet. And Peter is just not liking it.

So I don't know how many he got to, but look at verse six. Then he came to Peter, Simon Peter. And Peter—he's just determined already what he was going to say. Peter said to him, "Lord, dost thou—" here's how you read it. "Dost *thou* wash *my* feet?" That's the emphasis on those two words. "*You* are washing *my* feet?"

And Jesus answered and said, "What I do, you don't know now, but you will know after this." And Peter said to him—and this is Peter. We all have spoken like Peter. Peter said, "You will never wash my feet. You're God, you're my Lord, but it ain't happening, dude. Don't touch me." So you just told him he's Lord, but then showed him you're lord. "I'm in charge here, you ain't washing my feet." Think it through, Christian, think it through. That's just like us. "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him and said, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with me." Simon Peter saith unto him, "Lord, then not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." In other words, "Dump that thing on me, just give me a shower."

And Jesus said to him, "He that is washed needs not except to wash his feet, but he's clean every bit. And you are clean, but not all." For he knew who should betray him, therefore he said, "You are not all clean." He just told Peter, "You're clean," but all of everybody in the room isn't. Judas knows who he's talking about. Jesus knows who he's talking about. Satan knows who he's talking about. But the other guys, the 11 guys, they're in the dark. They're clueless. "I don't know what he's trying to say."

Put it all together. When Jesus got to Simon Peter, Peter's been watching him do this and he's thinking, "I'm not going to let him do this. This is wrong. He's our Lord. He shouldn't stoop down. This is beneath him. I'm not going to let this happen." Because who's really in charge? Peter, right?

Jesus is going to say in a little while, "the Son of Man will be crucified." And what does Peter say? "No, you're not. Not going to happen." "Peter, tonight you're going to deny me three times." "No, I won't! No, I won't! Just stop saying it, because I won't." Peter is just like all the rest of us. We just are a little more polite with our language, but we're pretty sure we've been Christians long enough that we're pretty sure we got this thing down. "Pretty sure I understand, been reading my Bible, got this, this is what you do, Jesus." That's why we fail. That's why Peter failed. Peter stops Jesus and he refuses. "Do you intend to wash my feet?"

And Jesus calmly—the language is just pretty calm here—said, "Peter, you don't understand what I'm doing now, but you will. Let me say it another way. Trust me, Peter. Just trust me." "You're not going to do this. Don't touch my feet." "Peter, you don't understand. I'm teaching you something here. You'll understand.

Let me say it another way. Peter, I'm doing something that you don't—you can't grasp right now. You can't understand it. See, if it was simply a matter of just washing your feet in literal water—" Peter's saying, "You ain't doing that to me. You're not washing my feet in this water."

Jesus says, "No, Peter, this is not about your feet. It's not about your feet. You don't understand yet. Listen closely: yet, but you will." And Peter fights back. He's done that a few times with Jesus. "Not so, Lord. No." Peter fights back. And that's what Peter pretty regularly does because he's pretty sure, "I've been with you for a while, I think I got this thing down. Pretty sure I understand, been reading my Bible, got this, this is what you do, Jesus."

Peter fights back as Peter always does, and like a lot of us do. "Lord, you will never wash my feet." That puts an end to everything, doesn't it? "Those are my feet. Maybe your water, but it's my feet and you ain't touching them with it." In other words, "You will never wash my feet. I won't allow you to do this. I have more pride than you do. I won't let this happen to you. You're not washing my feet."

And can you hear it in his language? Because he's said it before. The idea is, "Okay, I saw you wash feet. In other words, you are not going to wash my feet. Oh, others might let you wash theirs, but you are not washing mine. You're not the servant, you're the Master. So you're not washing my feet."

And Jesus says something, and you've got to go and look in the Greek to make sure you see it because it's just written in our language in English. Jesus says to Peter, "If I don't wash you, if I don't, Peter, you have no part *with* me." Now let me tell you what he didn't say. "If I don't wash you, you have no part *of* me." He didn't say that. Get it? That's a big difference. That's the spiritual lesson.

He didn't say, "You have no part of me." He says, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with me." "Of me" means belonging to me. "With me" means fellowship with me. They are two different terms. He's referring to not Peter belonging to him. He says to Peter, "You are clean," in other words, "You belong to me." But he's referring to constant fellowship.

Christian, this is for you and me, and Peter, and James, and John, and all the people he's washing the feet. Peter is saved by grace through faith. That's how you're saved, that's how I'm saved. He is washed in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus will go to the cross soon. It's as good as done. Jesus counts it as done.

But he needs continual cleansing as he walks through this life. And he will learn this very night. Jesus said, "You don't understand it now, but you will soon." Meaning Peter is going to deny Jesus three times tonight, later tonight, through the night, and he will be washed clean. His feet will get washed. He's born again, but he broke fellowship with Jesus. Get it? Just like we all do on a daily basis.

He's saved by grace through faith. He's washed in the blood of the Lamb. But he needs this cleansing as he walks. Your feet get dusty. Spiritual feet get dusty in this world, so do mine. He will learn this very night. He will deny Jesus knowing what he's learned now, and he will need washing because of that denial, won't he? Does he lose his salvation? Did it go away? No, he's still just as saved as Christians.

And Jesus has just shown us right there. As Christians, we walk through this world. Even though we're washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, spiritually speaking, our feet get dirty from the dust of this world. Listening to some of the things people are talking about in the line at the grocery store and the language that's being used kind of gets you all dusty and covered with yuck. Looking at the unholy things unless, of course, you do drive down the highway with your eyes closed—that's another way you don't have to see all this garbage that they're putting up there.

Working with ungodly men and women as they try to connive and cheat and out this and that and the other, and you sometimes get caught right in the big middle of it. So much of it's unavoidable. You just walked right into it minding your own business, thinking you were supposed to stop and get a loaf of bread. We need to be constantly cleansed. It's a spiritual cleansing, not a physical. It's got nothing to do with Peter's feet.

Peter's response—even though he's still not sure, but when Jesus said, "You can't have fellowship with me if I don't wash your feet"—what did Peter say? "Then not only my feet, Lord, dump it on my hands and my head. Just pour the thing up, give me a shower, because I want to be with you." And I think Jesus smiled because he said this: "The one that is completely clean, the one that is forgiven, washed in the blood of the Lamb, only needs his or her spiritual feet washed."

And Jesus says, "Not all of you are clean. You're clean, Peter. You guys are clean, but not all of you." There's one that is not born again. It's Judas. Jesus knew that Judas did not believe and refused to believe. He had a choice and he said, "No."

And the question is asked when we go through this each time. The question is asked: how exactly does this washing take place? In the upper room, it was a picture of something spiritually and Jesus is actually washing their feet to teach them a spiritual lesson. "Well, if you have no part with me—" in other words, you belong to me, but you're out of fellowship. You're dirty.

So people say, "Well, how exactly does this washing or this cleansing take place?" Well, everybody think it through. You've heard it before. This cleansing takes place by the washing of the water of the Word, the Bible. We need to stay in it. That's how important this Bible is. You get out of this Bible and you catch yourself really drifting from the Lord. The things of the Lord aren't quite as important and you're not really—ever noticed it?

I think every one of you has if you'd admit it. Sure. It's easy to get out of the Bible. You get busy, you got to work early, you got to stay late. Soon, you haven't read your Bible in a few days and it's not a magic talisman. It's not that you're going to be more holy. What it is is you're still just as saved, but yet your feet are dirty spiritually, and you need to be rinsed off a little bit. The washing of the water of the Word, Ephesians.

As we read and study God's Word, as we hear it taught or preached, as we discuss it with each other at breakfast or sitting around in the coffee shop or wherever we discuss it, we find that it cleanses us—the Word of God just cleanses us. As we go before the Lord, you start reading your Bible and something speaks to your heart and you just bow down and say, "Lord," right? And so there's this refreshing, there's this cleansing, right?

Jesus' lesson to us the night that he was betrayed—it's not just to those men, it's to every one of us. We're saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. That intimate fellowship with Jesus, we keep that up on a daily basis. We pray, we confess our hearts, we spend some time in the Word. Not because it'll make your day the best day ever, but because just the washing—it rinses over you and it just starts your heart off in the right direction as you go. Notice that? The continual cleansing action of the Word of God.

We go verse by verse because you've probably noticed it makes sense when you go verse by verse through it. It just plain—people go, "I'm learning more than I ever have." You know why? You're going verse by verse through it.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is the radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again: 1-800-572-8851.

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