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And this morning that we need something for our hearts and I, I realized what I'm about to suggest is the portion we often take up in a setting like this. But I I'd like to suggest the 13th chapter of the book of John.
If that's the mind of the brethren, I would suggest that this morning, uh, we read the 1St 17 verses.
John, Chapter 13.
Verse one.
Now before the feast of this Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God, he rises from supper and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now.
But thou shalt know hereafter.
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not saved to wash his feet, but is clean every wit, and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him.
Therefore, said he, ye are not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye would I have done to you. Ye call me master and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, he also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example.
What you should do is I have done to you.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if you do them.
Well, it's helpful to get the context of a chapter, a portion when we take it up. But I would just say this before we do that, that my exercise in suggesting this portion, as I said, was that there's so much to that affects us today, brethren here with trials, some with burdens that I've never had to feel. And we want to have our hearts refreshed. We desire to have the Lord speak to our heart, perhaps.
Today, in these last moments of the day of grace, unlike anytime in the history of God's people.
There are physical problems, there are problems in the workplace, often in the home, many here burdened for their young people and family members. And so John's ministry very largely speaks to our hearts. And I believe that's why so often in these last days we go back to John's ministry. And so that's my exercise in suggesting it, that this might speak to our hearts and refresh us and encourage us. Brethren, we need to be refreshed and encouraged. We need to have the.
Lift up the feeble hands and the hang down and have our the our walk strengthened for the path of faith and service, because in spite of all the difficulties and problems, we can go on for the Lord's glory. Well, we find that this chapter, where we began then is the beginning of what we sometimes refer to as the Upper Room ministry. Now I realize that all, not all of it was given in the Upper Room. There's a break later on where some of it is given on the way to the garden.
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And that what's given in the Upper room and what's given on the way to the garden has a distinct character. But we refer to these chapters, chapters 131415 and 16, as the Upper Room ministry. And then the Lord's high priestly prayer in the 17th chapter, where he lifts up his eyes to heaven and he prays to his Father. And he doesn't just pray for the little company that surrounded him on that occasion, but all those that would believe. It was a little foreshadow, I believe, of the service that the Lord was going to and has taken up on behalf of his own.
At the right hand of God, praying for us every hour of every day. And so in these chapters, it just seems, brethren, that he covers everything. And what he's really saying is I'm going to leave you. I'm going to go away. You're not going to walk with me like you have during my public ministry. But he says I'm going to make full and abundant provision for you in my depart in my absence. And so in this first verse, there's two things.
Brought before us. There's the need. The hour was come that he would he would depart out of the world under the Father. And there was the motive. Having loved his own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And brethren, if we can just get a hold of that infinite eternal divine love, if if that doesn't touch our hearts, I don't know what goes on within our hearts, but just to get a sense at the beginning of these readings of that love that he had for his own and has for you and for me.
It's an unchanging, inalterable divine love.
Might help to make a distinction of two different things. If we were to look at, uh, the Gospel of John chapter 17, we might see there, uh, the Lord Jesus in his high priestly work for the believer. That is, he maintains the place he intercedes that they might be kept in this world, that they might enjoy communion and go on in fellowship with God In this chapter here, you might say it's his work as an advocate that, uh, walking through this world.
There's a danger, even though we may not, uh, be, uh, we may not be practicing sin of one sort or another, but we may, uh, we may be in an atmosphere where our ears hear something that we wish we hadn't heard and we get defiled. Uh, we, umm, may, uh, our eyes might see something. We may walk into the path of something and our feet become defiled in this world. And so this chapter here is taking up the faithful advocacy work of the Lord Jesus.
To wash away the feet, to cleanse it, that there might be communion restored. Because the Lord Jesus real desire is that we might enjoy every day of our lives that same enjoyment and fellowship that He enjoyed with the Father. And so this is the exercise of his heart on his side to keep and to maintain and bring us back into that relationship with our Father.
There is a division, as Jim has said in this, this gospel in the first 12 Chapters, uh, we have the, uh, public ministry of the Lord Jesus, particularly from, uh, the third chapter on. And uh, it is, we see it now drawn to a close at the end of the 12Th chapter. And in this 13th chapter, he is about to go back to his father, as the first verse indicates. And it's beautiful to see that there is one more thing he needed to do before he would leave, and that was to prepare his disciples for the time of his absence.
And as Ed has mentioned that the the first thing that would be required is that they would be maintained in communion with himself, even though he would be gone back to the Father. And so the subject that's before us in this 13th chapter is the maintenance of communion and how important this is. The other things that he will bring out in the 14th chapter, the many gains as a result of him going away and sending the Spirit and so on, would not be realized and enjoyed if there wasn't first this maintenance of communion.
And brethren, do we need communion and our to be maintained and we're walking through such a defiled scene. Yes, we do. So this is very applicable for us this after this morning. And so that's why the subject of the foot washing comes in which is a symbolical actions of the Lord Jesus illustrating really just that work that he would carry on in the time of his absence whereby the disciples would be maintained in communion. And this is what the Lord is seeking to do for us too. He's wants to wash our feet.
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Uh, our feet this this morning so that we would have part with him as he says there in verse, uh.
Uh, verse eight, If I Washington, if I wash thee knot, thou hast no part with me. That's part with him in communion.
And it's in communion where he is now. This was in anticipation, as we said, of his leaving the disciples. When the Lord Jesus was here and the disciples walked with him during his public ministry, they could come to Him at any time. They could come and unburden their hearts. They could talk to Him, and so on.
But he wasn't going to be with them in the same way, because Christianity sets us in relationship with Christ, but not with Christ in the way the disciples enjoyed Christ here in this world. Henceforth know we know man after the flesh, though we know knew Christ after the flesh, henceforth knowing Him no more. And it might be helpful too. We alluded to it, but the upper room ministry is divided into two sections, and in the 13th and 14th chapter, that which is given to them in the upper room sets them in the proper relationship.
With divine persons in heaven, they were gonna be in association and communion could be maintained in relationship with the with the Son and with the Father after the Son left this world. And so it's given in the upper room. Then on the way to the garden, as they leave the upper room and enter into the night and on the way to the garden, he sets them in the proper relationship as still being physically here in this world, they can still bear fruit. They have the Spirit of God as the power.
For their life in the absence of Christ and that link with Him while they were still here physically in this world.
And then, as we said, the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus in the 17th chapter, the office that he was going to take up.
I just want to say make this other comment too before we pass on and that is that feet washing isn't necessarily to remove that which is sin. It may be, but it is to remove those things that dull the affections and chill the soul they may be. Nothing wrong with it in itself, but in the Old Testament we have many examples of feet washing. It was a custom in Bible times and it still is in Middle Eastern countries.
To wash a person's feet because the literal washing of a person's feet did two things.
It removed the defilements of the way and it refreshed the traveler after the fatigue of the journey.
And so that's what feet washing is for. And feet washing too, is the practical application of the Word of God in our lives. It's the washing of water by the Word. It's opening this book and reading it and letting it have its cleansing effect. We come home after a day in the world. There are things that have distracted us, things that, as I say, chill the soul and dull the affections.
We need to have a good wash, and I don't mean soap and water. We need the washing of water by the word.
So as we look at these chapters as a whole, 13 through 17, we see that, uh, in the time of the Lord's absence that he would be carrying on A2 fold ministry. He had finished his earthly ministry, as we said, and at the end of the 12Th chapter, but on high in the glory, he's carrying on A2 fold ministry. And, uh, the 13th chapter illustrates one point and one part of it, and then the 17th chapter illustrates the other part. And you know what I'm talking about now, his priesthood and his advocacy.
His priesthood is chapter 17, advocates chapter advocacy is chapter 13. They sort of bookend each of the, the, the chapters and really, uh, set before us what the Lord is doing on high for the good of his people that they might be maintained in the enjoyment of his love and kept from evil.
So it begins with the statement of his love for them.
And I believe that the reason this is mentioned here is because the Lord wants us to go on in the enjoyment of His love. And if that's going to be the case, we're going to have to have the willingness to put our feet in His hands and allow Him to take the water of His Word and to wash and cleanse our our feet in a very practical way. That is to allow the Word of God to have its practical effect on our lives.
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Whereby we are, uh, sustained in communion with himself. We can't have communion with the Lord if there's sin and defilement, uh, in our souls. And the second verse comes in to show us that we have a very real enemy that wants to thwart this work. The enemy does not want us to enjoy communion with himself. And he was at work right during the supper, that second verse says, and during the supper.
That is, I'm reading now the other translation, and during the supper, the devil having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot and so on, to betray him. And I believe that the enemy of our souls is seeking to suggest things and put things in our hearts by suggestion. That would spoil our enjoyment of communion too. And so we're going to need the foot washing, every one of us.
His life and his ministry in this world would come to an end. He said the things concerning me have an end in Luke 22, but there's one thing that had no end, and that was his love. Whether they, uh, would mock him and finally crucify him and kill him, it would put an it would put an end to his life in this world, but it wouldn't put an end to his love. It says here he loved them unto the end or through everything.
Should be translated. Even though death would come in, his love would continue and he would go on with him when he would go back to his father. But he wanted them to be in, to live in the enjoyment of that love, even though they were separated and he was absent. And so the necessity of the foot washing comes in.
It's remarkable to notice where this confirmation of the Lord's love for his disciples.
Comes in. If it had come in at the beginning of his public ministry when he had called the disciples and they were in the freshness of following the Lord Jesus and so on, you'd say, well, I well understand how it could. He could give a confirmation of His love. But it's at the end of his pathway. And as we trace the disciples walking with the Lord Jesus, there was much that was wanting and there was much more that was coming. A lot of failure was going to come in.
Judas, who of course remained an unregenerate man to the end. He was going to betray the Lord Jesus. Peter was going to deny him all we're going to forsake him and flee. But did that change his love? No, because divine love is a little different, is different than natural love. Natural love looks for something lovable in the object, and natural love for the most part needs a response from the object if it is going to be maintained or grow.
Now divine love delights in a response from the object, but it's not dependent on it. Divine love is consistent even when there isn't the proper response from the object. And so it's often been pointed out that at the end of the wilderness journey there's a confirmation of Jehovah's love. He loved all the people. If that was in the 15th of Exodus where they were rejoicing and in the freshness of redemption and deliverance, you'd say, oh, I could understand it. But what kind of a journey was it? A journey filled with murmuring and complaining and fault finding and sin and the governmental hand of God upon them time and time again.
Was his love for them any less on the banks of the Jordan than it was on the banks of the Red Sea? Not for one moment. And then when you come over to the end of the, the word of God, you know, it's remarkable that there are only two churches in Revelation that, uh, he confirms his love to one is Philadelphia. And you say, oh, I can understand that there was a freshness in Philadelphia fervency. They were seeking to keep this word and not deny his name. So I understand that. But what about the last church, Laodicea?
As many as I rebuke, I love and chase them. He loved them just as much in Laodicea as he loved them in Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, or any other of those assemblies that John wrote to by inspiration. And so here, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And brethren, if our affections have dulled and become cold, what is it that's going to stir them up? What's going to deepen our affections to be concerned about our affections for the Lord know.
I believe what's going to deepen our affections for him is occupation with his love. If we get occupied with our response, that may be feeble at best, but the more we're occupied with himself and his love for us, there will be an unconscious deepening of affection in our soul for him as a result.
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A stronger affection for our brethren because we would see our brother in the way the Lord Jesus sees our brother and.
And so in verse 1314, I don't want to get ahead, but I think when we go through these following verses and.
We, we look at these steps in which the Lord Jesus tenderly washes the feet of his disciples. There's an admonition to us too, isn't there? And so, uh, as we're, as we're viewing this, what he says to us, he says, you call me master, uh, and Lord, that's teacher. And you say, well, for so I am, if I then your Lord and teacher, umm, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. And so the more we occupy ourselves with the tender way in which the Lord Jesus did this.
And we see how much he values his people, uh, how long he desires for communion to be restored. Umm, uh, my question is, is would we have that same kind of heart if our brethren entered into our homes? Would we add soil to their feet, something more of what the world has to offer? Is that what we would do? Or would they find a word of impression of refreshment from the word of God?
With the word of God be opened and their feet be cleansed, would they be encouraged after a weary day? You know, I look at this time that the brother in here and uh, have been exercised to to bring the Saints together. Is that not this kind of exercise? The brother needs their feet washed. They need to be refreshed. They need to be encouraged. They stepped forward to do it. I'm thankful. And so are we not individually supposed to have that same heart and desire. I think as we.
As our brother Jim had brought out, as we occupy ourselves with the way in which the Lord Jesus, so tenderly in his love, responds to meet their need, we're called to do the same.
Now there are some Christian groups that practice foot washing practically literally. Rather, how do we know that this is symbolical actions of the Lord? As we have been saying, Well, I believe the answer is given to us when he says.
Umm, verse seven. What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Well, if it was just literal washing of feet and nothing more than that.
They wouldn't have known exactly what he was doing, but he's telling them there in the seventh verse that there was something, there was a hit, there was a meaning behind what he was doing. Even though they didn't understand it at that moment, they were gonna know it later when the Spirit would come and open that up to him. And so the idea of washing one another's feet literally is missing the point of the passage altogether.
It's a selfless service, isn't it? And you see the Lord Jesus, he, in his humility, he performs this service for the disciples, which has been said we ought to perform for one another. But it's a selfless service and it's remarkable. When you go back to the Old Testament, there are six, I believe, examples of feet washing in the Old Testament. I say examples of feet washing, but it's interesting when you read those stories.
That you actually never read Now I'm not saying it, it happened or it didn't, but you actually never read that the person who suggested the water be brought for the washing of another's feet. You never actually read that they ever carried it out that remarkable Abraham suggested that a Little Feat, a little water be Washington brought to wash those three men's feet that came to him. And by the way, that's the first mention of feet washing in the scripture. And there were, there's several examples in, uh, Genesis 4 examples there's.
Abigail and so on. But you never read until you come to Luke's gospel where you have the woman who in repentance comes to the feet of the Lord Jesus, and she washes her his feet with her tears.
And then there's the perfect divine example of the Lord Jesus here, who humbles himself.
Empties himself and washes the disciples feet. And then you go on to the epistles and you read of the godly widows.
Who washed the feet of the Saints? And of course there were others too, like Odessa forests and different ones who refreshed the Apostle Paul in different ones. But I, I think what it shows is that it to, to wash one another's feet is going to take real humility. It's going to take esteeming each O other better than himself.
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Well, it says in verse 3.
That, uh, the Lord knew that the Father had given all things into his hands. Now the all things here is all things having to do with the care of his own.
He took it upon himself, and brethren, we need to let this sink deeply into our hearts the Lord has taken upon Himself.
And has pledged with his own word that he's going to look after us all the while that he would be away.
Doesn't mean that we're going to make a lot of money or maybe be healthy every day of our lives, but He's going to take care of our spiritual state if we'll have the willingness to put our feet into His hand and let Him wash our feet with the water of His Word.
And so as we've been saying, these are symbolical actions. Here they are at the supper, they're enjoying this, uh, uh, Passover supper together, which had a Jewish setting. And, uh, now right here in the middle of this, uh, scene, he rises up.
That was a symbolical action when it says He rises from supper and it indicates that he was going to leave them and take a new position, a new place on high in the glory. Then it says He laid aside his garments. That is, he was going to lay aside all of his outward associations that he had once had with them as the Messiah and the Kingdom.
Because, uh, so very often in Scripture, garments speak to us of the associations of life, but he laid his garments aside. And so there was going to be a, uh, a laying aside of all of those outward associations that they had once had with him as the Messiah and the Kingdom. And then said he was, he girded himself here. This is another symbolical action showing that he was going to take the servant's place for one who girds himself and carries on a servant's work.
And that's what the Lord Jesus was going to do. He was going to carry on a servant's work where he was going. And that's what he's doing today, carrying on that servant's work. And then it says that he would take, he took water and he poured it into a basin. And that would speak to us, of course, his use of the word of God. And then he even took a towel too. That was to be finished the work so that they would be comfortable in his presence after it was all over.
And so this is the result that happens when the Lord washes our feet and we feel, uh, in communion with himself, we feel at rest and comfortable in his presence. And so these things that we insist on that are, they are symbolical actions.
And they really represent what the Lord Jesus was going to do and is now presently doing on our behalf, that we would be maintained with communion.
I wonder if you couldn't say that he did all this in the presence of that which would kill love.
Look at Luke 22 and and we see as we go down the passage, it speaks about before I suffer and then he speaks about the cup and he gives thanks for the cup.
And he took bread and gave thanks and break it, that cup and that bread, He was the symbol of that which he would suffer for. And he gave thanks to God for it. And then it speaks about the betrayal of Judas, one who was closely associated with him. And then they strove amongst themselves who would be the greatest. And then he says of them, yet they that have continued with me in my temptations.
And then he predicts Peter's denial.
And then?
He anticipates the suffering in the garden.
And then betrayed by Judas and then he buffeted by the world. Everything was there, which would kill love in, in, in any one of us. But he continues on. He continues to love them. He wants them, as it were, with his feet in his hands. Precious time, beautiful. It's nice to see too, how that the, uh, in the narrative here we have Illinois, a person mentioned that really illustrates one who's got the gain.
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From the foot washing and that's John. Fast forward for a minute there in verse 23, he was leaning on the bosom of the Lord Jesus. Isn't that beautiful? And so to to quote Mr. Woolston, he said we go from the basin to the bosom. We have to go if we want to get on the bosom of the Lord and enjoy his love. We're going to have to go from the basin to the booze and we're going to have to let the water of the word of God have its rightful place and washing us and that we have to take up with it.
And uh, that's what's really illustrated in verses 6, uh, 7-8 and so on with Peter. Perhaps we could say verses 6 through 10. We have here with him coming to Peter the fact that foot washing is individual, then cometh he to Simon Peter. It's an individual thing. He went from 1 disciple to the other. And so we have to be individually exercised about putting our foot in the hand of the Lord.
And letting him wash our feet, it means that we're gonna have to open the Word and let him use it. If you don't read your Bible, you're not gonna make much progress in your Christian life, and you're not gonna be a clean Christian.
Is that right, Bob? That's very good.
You know, the, uh, example that was given brother Jim mentions, uh, in, uh, Genesis in connection with the, the water that was provided for the three to wash their feet. It doesn't say that they wash their feet, but it also doesn't say that Abraham washed their feet. And so it wouldn't have been appropriate. The picture there given of those three divine guests. And so here we have in this, uh, in the, in this little passage of an individual work of the Lord Jesus.
With each one of this disciplines out of affection and knowing what the need individually was for each one. And so the Word of God that I might need to cleanse my path might be different to what the word is that you need. And the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus himself are using the Word of God to cleanse us, to help us to have a proper perspective, a proper view of things as we walk through this scene.
I think it's helpful too, to see that there were, when He speaks about the supper here, it's been already alluded to. It's the Passover supper, and the Passover supper was to set them in relationship with Himself as to Kingdom glory. You get that in Luke 22, there are two cups. In Luke 22, there's the cup. First of all, that was connected with the Passover, and the Lord wouldn't drink of that because the Kingdom wasn't going to be at that time. The Lord Jesus was going to leave the disciples.
And as the parable says, take his journey into a far country and so on. As our portion says, he was returning to God. And so when the supper that was that set them in relationship to himself in Kingdom glories was over, then he rises from that supper to set them in relationship with himself as to heavenly glories, because again, we're associated with Christ in heavenly in a heavenly sphere and.
The provision has been made for us brethren to go on in communion and relationship with himself where he is now. And so that's why, again, it was necessary that it begin with feet washing, that communion would be would be maintained. And I think it's helpful to see that. And I think it's helpful in Luke 22 to see that there are two cups there, a cup that had by tradition been introduced into the Passover. And the Lord doesn't set that aside. He mentions it, but then he sets it aside at the supper being ended.
And he introduces in Luke 22 what we refer to as the Lord's supper. We don't get that here, but umm, I, I think it's just helpful to see that he rises from supper this he was going to set them in a different relationship with himself. I I would like to say this about Judas before we pass on to he's a solemn warning to anyone who sits in a meeting like this. And here's the word of God read and is not a believer. Judas had his feet tenderly and lovingly placed.
In the hands of the Lord Jesus. Judas had walked with the Lord Jesus during his public ministry. In fact, there are two things that are solemn to consider. One is that the Lord never treated Judas in a way that gave him away as not being real. You know, you'd think when they got to the to the suffer the table that some of them would suspect at least who the betrayer would be, but it seemed like none of them.
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Suspect, is it I? Is it I? They had no idea, it seemed. And the other thing is, so careful, so clever was the cover up of Judas, that he never gave himself away. And it's a solemn thing to realize that one can pass amongst the Lord's people and never give themselves away, and yet pass out of this world as Judas did later on as an unregenerate man. This also illustrates sanctification, doesn't it?
Sanctification means.
It really has a double meaning. On the one hand, it means to set apart for a holy purpose, and that's a wonderful thing. The Lord Jesus has sanctified us, but it also refers to cleansing along the way in our pathway. And it's often been mentioned, but I think it helps to, uh, to repeat it again. And that is that there are three types of sanctification, uh, mentioned in Scripture. One type is provisional sanctification. That is, it's merely an outward sanctification.
In a certain sense, when a person becomes baptized, as we are Speaking of Judas, they're sanctified in an outward sense. And so it speaks of that In Scripture, 1St Corinthians 7, for instance, it speaks about, uh, the children of a mixed marriage are sanctified. That doesn't mean they're saved, no, but it means they're set in a particular place of blessing. And so it was true of Judas here, wasn't it? He's particularly guilty because he was in a particularly privileged place.
And so that's what we, sometimes it has different names, but, uh, it's helpful for, for me to use the word, uh, provisional sanctification. It's outward sanctification. It's not vital. It's not real in the sense that we have a new life, but it is a privileged place. It is provisional sanctification. And so Judas is an example of that, isn't it? And we have that in verse, uh, uh, uh, verse 10, uh, Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not to, not save to wash his feet.
But is clean every width, and ye are clean, but not all. And verse 11 For he knew who should betray him. Therefore, said he, ye are not all clean. So he's speaking to all these people who had been outwardly sanctified. All the disciples had been outwardly, the apostles had been outwardly sanctified, but in fact one was not real. And so, as her brother Jim was reminding us, we are sanctified if we're raised in the assembly, aren't we?
It's a privileged place, but it doesn't make us necessarily real. That's provisional sanctification. Some may have a little different names for that, but uh, that's one term that's helpful. It's an outward sanctification. Now we also have positional sanctification and again, terms vary a little bit, but that has to do with our standing before God. And we have that illustrated with Peter, uh, verse eight. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And then as we read, Jesus sayeth to him, he that is washed needeth not saved to wash his feet, but is clean every wet. Well, what is the Lord teaching us here? There's a positional sanctification, and that has to do with passing from life to death, or from death to life, doesn't it, when we are born again?
We're positionally sanctified. That is a vital sanctification. And so that's what the Lord is speaking about with Peter. It's really drawn from the figure of the priest, isn't it? When they were consecrated, they were first of all washed all over. That was part of their original sanctification that made them priests, if we can put it that way. And so provisional sanctification makes us Christians, not just outwardly like Judas was and others are who profess Christianity. That's provisional sanctification.
But PO, positional sanctification is that which makes me a real Christian, gives me a new life. And then practical sanctification is really what we're speaking about. It's feet washing per SE, isn't it? That's for defilement along the way. That's once we're Christians, That's just for Christians really, isn't it? That's, that's for help along the way. We need our feet washed. And so again, uh, I know the terms vary a little bit depending on, on how you understand it, but it's helpful for me to see it this way.
Provisional sanctification is that which is outward, that included Judas, that includes those who've been raised in Christian homes, even in mixed marriages. And then there's positional sanctification. That's only those that are real believers that have passed from death into life. And then there's practical sanctification that's properly speaking, feet washing that we have here. That's the the cleansing from defilement that we need along the way. And remember the priests.
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When they entered into the Tabernacle.
Before they could go into the sanctuary, they were already priests, so the provisional sanctification had already taken place, but now they had to wash their hands and their feet at that labor before they could enter in and do their proper service inside the sanctuary. That's the figure of feet washing, isn't it? That's practical sanctification. And so we have, uh, we have these things illustrated often in Scripture. Sometimes, uh, we know that we are holy, but other times we're exhorted to be holy.
Be holy for I am holy. Well, why we might say, if we're already holy, why do we have to be exhorted to be holy? Because the one again is positional sanctification is the position we're in. The other is that we act consistently with that position, and that's practical sanctification. So this is very helpful, at least to me, uh, illustration of the three types of sanctification we have in Scripture.
It's helpful to see too, that when the Lord spoke to Peter in response to his not wanting his feet washed, he said, if I don't wash your feet, thou hast no part. It's important to see this next word with me. It wasn't a question He didn't say in me. Because as you say, what makes it puts us in Christ is that we're saved. We're born again. We know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have divine life. But it was, it's no part with me. Again, it's as we've been saying, it's the maintaining of communion.
Feet washing doesn't make me a believer.
Feet washing doesn't bring me into relation with Christ, it maintains me in the relation that I've been brought into. If you'll just allow me to say this to Eric, with the priest, there were two things that were necessary. A man was not a priest unless he was born into Aaron's family. And what makes us priests of God is we're born into the family of God. What put the the priest into the position of being able to serve as a priest was his consecration.
Because water in scripture brings us from one position into another. That's always like baptism, as you've been saying. It brings me from 1 ground to another. And so it was not only important that this man be born into Aaron's family.
To be, to function as a priest, but then to, to so that he could. And, and I don't want to quibble, but the consecration didn't exactly make him a priest, but it put him in a position where he could serve as a priest. And then after he was in that position, after the his consecration, which only took place once, then he had to wash his hands and his feet on a daily basis. There were those things he picked up in his service.
That needed to be cleansed and taken care of. And so he had to come again and again to the Laver, which was for the washing of the hands and the feet of the priests in their service for the Lord Jesus, for Jehovah in the Old Testament. And so we were saying that Peter really illustrates in these verses 8-9 and so on the need for willingness to let the Lord wash our feet. You see, he resisted, he said.
Umm.
Not that I should never wash my feet, but the Lord said to him, if I wash thee not, you're not going to have part with me. You're not gonna be able to enjoy communion if you don't have this, this needed work done. Well, when Peter hears that, he goes overboard the other way, not really understanding what the Lord is saying. So he says, well, not my feet only, but my hands and my head. And so he wanted to have a a complete bath from head to toe. So that leads the Lord to illustrate or at least to teach him.
And to give it in this tenth verse that there are two kinds of washing and we've already sort of alluded to that. He says in verse 10, he that is washed and that could be translated, bathed all over.
And then it says needed needeth not to save, but to wash his feet. And so while in the King James Version, here we read together, it has 2 words there are washed and washed. You would think that they would be the same word in the original language, but they're not. They're two different words altogether.
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One is Speaking of a complete bath and the other is, uh, a washing of some part of the body. In this case it would be the hands and and the feet.
And so the, uh, the being bathed all over is symbolical of really the bath that we received when we are born of God. And again, you just mentioned that it illustrated in the priests if you go back to.
Exodus 29 I believe it is there you find that the uh, Jamaica just so they can function in a priest office, they had to have this bow.
And, uh, but that was a one time thing. They're only bathed once like that. It was a ceremonial bath. And as I say, that really brings before us a picture of the, the being made clean through new birth. And then they were to, they were brought to the altar where there was sacrifice made and blood was put upon them and oil was put upon them and they were fitted to be priests in a functional way. And then after that, as Jim has already mentioned, there was to be a, uh, their responsibility. Notice it was their responsibility to daily wash at the labor whereby they could be clean in the sanctuary before the Lord.
And so it is with us. We have these two kinds of washing. We have been washed all over in the new birth.
We are clean every week as a result of the new birth, but that doesn't mean we're practically clean. There are some people that are clean every whip because of the, the new birth, but they walk in a very defiled lifestyle. They're not clean in a practical sense in any such way or as you say, practical sanctification. And that's because they are like Peter resisting the foot washing process. And so we need this all of us if we are going to, uh, enjoy communion with the Lord Jesus.
Another illustration that's been helpful to me that we have in these chapters.
Is that that in the first 12 Chapters, as a bit as has been mentioned, particularly from chapter 3, we have a large earthly ministry and it's often been mentioned in John's Gospel. We have the budding of Christianity. In the very first chapter of John's Gospel, it says he came unto his own and his own received him, not the Lord is seen as rejected from the very first chapter, which is different from the other three gospels. And so as a result, what he's doing is he's showing them the passing of the old system.
And how it's replaced by the new system is gently leading them from the old system, Judaism, into the new system, Christianity. This is what characterizes the Lord's earthly ministry. But what we have in this so-called upper room ministry, it's been helpful to me to, uh, to, uh, look at it this way. I think it's, uh, Mr. Bellitt that brings it out, I believe from chapters 13 to 17, as it's not merely the Lord's earthly ministry, which we have in the first 12 Chapters, but he's leading them into that which is distinctly Christian now.
Not even transitional so much, but he's leading them into the sanctuary. So we mentioned the priests. We really have in those four chapters that which is illustrated in the Tabernacle in the 13th chapter, as we've been mentioning. We have the labor. How are we gonna enter into the treasures of the sanctuary that God has, particularly for His people, for his priestly people? Well, the first step, once we're beyond the great brazen altar, which is really the Passover, isn't it?
Once we're beyond that grape Raisin altar and we've become believers, in order to enter into God's thoughts and God's blessings requires this foot washing, this practical foot washing, that great labor that had no dimensions, but that great brazen LA labor sat there between the brazen altar and the sanctuary itself, that separate ten of the Tabernacle itself. And so before a priest would dare enter into the sanctuary, he had to wash his feet. That's what we're speaking about.
Maintain that practical holiness which is a result of communion, uh, with the Lord. And then in the next chapter, we have this illustration going forward. Now there's a progressive nature to these chapters. We have the labor in chapter 13 and chapter 14. We have entrance into the sanctuary itself. It suggested that we have the golden altar in chapter 14 because there we have our proper relationship with the persons of the Godhead.
Sacrifices were not the blood sacrifices were not offered on that golden altar. Incense was offered there. That has to do with communion, has to do with prayer, has to do with worship. It's our relationship with God in all three persons. So it's been suggested that we have the golden altar there in chapter 14 and then in chapter 15, if we go on, uh, it's our relationship within the Christian circle.
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It's really a step beyond the labor. It has to do with our relationship within the Christian circle. And if we're in that sanctuary, we see that table of showbread. It has 12 loaves perfectly arranged there. And that speaks of the, the, uh, unity of, uh, of the spirit, uh, reflecting the unity that God had planned for his people. And so that's, uh, what we have really in chapter 15, illustrated by the table.
Of showbread the IT leads on to the unity of the spirit expressing as we know for believers that true unity of the body. And then in chapter 16, of course the third piece of furniture in that sanctuary is the Candlestick. And in chapter 16 the Lord turns aside as it were a little bit and he speaks of our relationship within this world our relationship to the world as we look at that chapter we don't won't go into this in detail but.
It's our relationship, the believers relationship with a hostile world. And of course we have there the illustration of the golden Candlestick. God's testimony shines forth in this Dark World. And then chapter 17, of course, it speaks of the Lord Jesus entering into the very holiest of all. And there we have the ark, uh, the very immediate presence of God, which only the high priest could enter, and that only once a year, we know after the original failure of the priesthood.
And that not without blood. So we have a progressive character. I just wanna encourage particularly our young people that they, they become familiar with these Old Testament types. They illustrate the truth in the New Testament that's given more of a didactic or pedagogical way and, and written terms. And I just, uh, there's such richness and blessing when we see how the Spirit of God teaches us the scope of scripture. And the danger is that we only get one little piece here and one little piece there.
We don't see the overall scope of Scripture. The Lord wants us to be diligent in digging these things out, and he's left them here for that very purpose. So I think we have a beautiful correspondence here between the sanctuary, the entering into the sanctuary, our proper Christian blessings, uh, in these 4 chapters and in the chapter before, in the 12Th chapter, you really have the brazen altar, which as you said, was just inside the gate in the court of the Tabernacle.
Because in the 12Th chapter he speaks of his atoning sufferings that the hour was coming when he was going to take up the work of atonement. Father saved me from this hour, but for this cause came I under this hour he we don't get the agony in the garden as such in John's Gospel in keeping with the character of things and the way the Lord is presented. But we do get the atoning sufferings and so they we really have the brazen altar in the 12Th chapter. Would you allow?
The Passover corresponds to that, doesn't it?
These things are CR proper Christian blessings, and they're based on the foundation of the brazen altar, aren't they?
I'd like to just say this about Peter as well. You know, so often we shake our heads at Peter and we say, poor Peter. And, and it's true. Sometimes Peter was impulsive. Sometimes he spoke up when he should have just sat back and listened. And you would think that the first time the Lord corrected him, he'd sit back and say, well, OK, I'll, I'll just wait and see what happens and learn something. Thank God we learned from the Lord's gracious responses to Peter. But I think it's helpful when you take up the life of Peter.
To look beyond what Peter said and did and see that Peter really did love the Lord.
Now, the difference between Peter and John was that John styled himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Peter styled himself as the disciple who loved Jesus. And he had to learn his own heart. But Peter really did love the Lord. And his first response to the to the Lord taking his feet and washing them was, Lord, I don't want you to have to bend down and wash my feet. He knew he was the Christ. He confessed that by faith earlier in his pathway.
And he didn't want to see the Lord get down and wash his feet. Then when the Lord explains to him why he has to do it again, Peter perhaps should have just sat back and and not said anything. But I love the heart of Peter. Lord, if it means part with you, I want all I can get. That's really what Peter was saying. He didn't understand what the Lord was illustrating. But to me, it's just like, Lord, I want all I all I can get. It's like when he cut off the servant of the high priest here.
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Sure, he acted without the sanction of his Lord and what he did, and he only added to the problem. He didn't help it, but he really loved the Lord and didn't want to see his Lord suffer. And so I think it's we learned some practical lessons from that. But I've just appreciated the heart of Peter, even when he said and did things he ought not to have done, even when he didn't understand where he should have. Yet Peter really did love the Lord. And of course that comes out later when he's restored to the Lord after the Lord's resurrection.
He didn't get the gain of what the Lord was teaching here because he didn't have the Spirit to understand it. But had he got the gain of it, he would not have departed and failed, because the very work of Christ as an advocate would be to restore before a person gets away off the path and plunges into some serious departure from God.
So in verse 12, it says, so after he had washed their feet and had taken his garment and was set down, he said unto them, know ye what I have done to you. So there's a difference between the efficacy, umm, and uh, the high priestly work isn't there. And so once the cleansing is done, uh, once, uh, the sole has been brought into communion again.
Once he's been brought to a place where he can enjoy his father and the Lord and his brethren and can go on and enjoy communion, the work of the advocacy is done. He takes off his garment. He takes off his umm, umm, uh, his, umm, uh, pal and uh, uh, and have taken his garment and sat down again. And so, uh, so that's, that's what the Lord really desires for us is.
Is that that we can enter into these things that our brother Eric was bringing out, that we can enjoy the blessings that are ours, but it has to be without defilement. It has to be that we have communion. And so and So what does he say? He says, if I've done these things, shouldn't you do them? Of course, I'm paraphrasing. We brought it out already earlier. And so just quickly, we might take a moment to take a look back and to see what our responsibility was, our brother Bruce.
Had mentioned the garment What? What is our garment? What is what is your station in life? Are are you willing to set aside who you are to put on a towel?
To become a servant. To stoop down at your brother's feet, your sister's feet.
Are you a basin that has had water poured into it? Have you been taking in the Word of God so that the Spirit of God can use you and me sufficiently according to the Word of God to help her brother wash his feet?
You know, there's a there's another verse in in chapter 2 here where we get an another basin filled.
And it was interesting to me, you know this, when the water was poured into there, it didn't turn into wine.
And, and the reason I believe it didn't turn into wine is because oftentimes when we're very, we're, we're having our feet cleansed. It's not a comforting thing that presents things that have happened to us, that have happened in our lives one way or another that, uh, requires an, owning a, a washing away or removing, uh, that, which would refresh us.
But here you remember the story they they had run out of wine and in verse 6.
Uh, or in verse five, he said, his mother said unto uh, the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, do. And there were set there 6 water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three fork and firkins apiece. Uh, when Jesus said unto them, Fill the water pots with water.
And they filled them to the brim. And he said unto them, Draw out now, and bear on to the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was. But the servants which drew the water knew the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man at the beginning that set forth good wine, And when men have well drunk, then that which is worse.
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But thou hast kept the the good wine until now. And so it it is with us if we, if we take in the word of God, if we are exercised about about that changing our own lives, then then we can be used to bring joy to our brethren. And if need be, we can be used to be an encouragement where defilement has been picked up. And so I believe both are true with the believer.
Sometimes you get together and, and you just enjoy the word of God. Sometimes to tears, you rejoice in the things that have been brought before your soul of the person of Christ and the love of the father. That's the wine, that's the joy. But sometimes, and I've had it happen to me where a brother has taken the word of God and has presented something to, uh, to my conscience, washing away the defilement of my feet. Uh, I, I had a brother just the other day I'd going through something and, and, and somewhat discouragement of brother called me up.
Just in time, he says. Brother, what's the good word?
I said, brother, why did you call me? Did you call me just in time? What is it? What an encouragement that that he would comfort me with the word of God. The Spirit of God knows what I need just when I needed it. And so that's I, I believe that if we're in tune, if if we love our brethren and we avail ourselves and we're willing to be servants, can we be an encouragement to a weary brother? I believe we can. I believe this is an exercise to us.
It may restore our brother to such a way where he might be able to enjoy again his father and his and and the Lord and the relationship with his brother and enjoy afresh the Word of God.
The water was turned to wine on that occasion that you referred to. You know where to pour the water, The word of God in our souls. But a question for you, when was it that the water turned to wine? Was it when they poured it in? Doesn't say so. But when they poured it out, it was wine. So somewhere between the one and the other, it turned to wine. And I'll give you the clue. It's when they picked the water pots up and they walked out with it.
When they began to walk with the water, it turned to wine. Isn't that beautiful? And wine speaks to us of the joy that we have in the things of the Word of God. And so the enjoyment of the things of the Word of God only comes to into play when we begin to walk out the Word of God. When we begin to walk with the Word of God and to walk in the path that it marks out, then it turns to joy. And then we can be a joy, be a blessing, and bring joy to others, as you've been saying, to dispense it.
So that's beautiful.
It's a brief comment about, uh, John's ministry that I think perhaps will be helpful to us at this juncture. And that is that in John's gospel, what we have is that eternal life which was with the Father, that is God the Son revealed as a man in this world. Uh, he was revealed as the Son of God, we know in John's gospel, and yet it's that eternal life which was with the Father. It's the revelation of heavenly things. And what a wonderful thing that is.
And I just mentioned that because I think there's a tendency in our day particularly to think that these things are old and out of fashion. And, uh, I hear people mocking these things either overtly or covertly, but I hear, I hear these things being mocked as if they are out of date. And, uh, the brethren that are speaking in such a way are really not in touch. But these things never get old, do they, brethren? They're the revelation of that which is eternal, that which will last for eternity as well.
And so these things never get old once we get hold of them in our own souls. I just want to encourage particularly the young people that they, they, uh, accept that challenge to look at these things which will never get old. As I say, there's such a common trend among, among some, and I know, I've, I've heard it among young people as well as others that, uh, these things are out of date. No, they're not. They're the revelation of that which is eternal.
And in fact, we might just give a brief sketch of John's ministry and John's gospel. What we have is that he, uh, speaks of that which is the revelation of that which is eternal God come into this world and showing us who the Father is. As we have in the next chapter, when we turn to the Epistle of John, we have a little different twist on it, don't we? It's that life which was with the Father, but now the Lord Jesus gone back to heaven.
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It's manifested in the family, and we have the family of God brought out in John's epistles.
In fact, as the family speaks of different ones, he speaks of babes. They're all called children. I know the language in our translation is a little challenging sometimes, but all three classes are called children, but one class are infants or babes. That's when we're first saved. Then there's the class of youth or young people, and then there's the fathers. What's the point? The point is that in the family of God, we ought to grow up in these things. We should remain babes forever. We ought to be growing to youth and then to adulthood, to fathers. And then I often used to wonder, how does Revelation fit in with that?
John seems to be the the disciple. He's the disciple whom Jesus loved, and he appreciated that.
And we spoke about this eternal revelation, which never goes out of date, and then the manifestation in the family of God. But how does the Book of Revelation fit in with that? Well, I used to often puzzle about that, but I believe the secret is that if grace is despised, it brings judgment, doesn't it? God is love, but he's also light. And so revelation is the book of judgment from beginning to end. And yet, uh, the truth is of grace's despise.
There will be judgment. So that's a, a brief nutshell what John's ministry gives us. But these things I just wanna emphasize again, will never go out of date. They're that which is eternal. There's no such thing as development in God's things. He brings out that which is eternal, that which is perfect, and it never goes out of date.
I said something and realized my error.
In verse 12, after he had washed their feet.
And had taken his karma and was set down.
And never get that he took off the towel.
He loved us and will love us unto the end.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for this portion that has been before us. We think about love.
That love that the lights deserve.
Thou hast taken the place of a servant.
Thou art our advocates.
Thou art ever ready, Lord Jesus, at any moment.
In which the filement comes in.
Our sin and we fail. Thou art there.
As our advocate, Lord Jesus.
And are our high priests.
Our maintaining our place in the wilderness land, Our interceding to keep our footsteps, to give us the joy of who we are as children of God.
All the blessings that are ours, our relationship with our God and Father, and with thyself, Lord Jesus, and with one another.
In the coming day, Lord Jesus, thou, I have a sit down.
And that will serve us.
More law of delight to serve Lord Jesus.
How wonderful thou art.
Oh greatly, that is lovely when we consider all that thou hast done, but all the cross.
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Thou hast brought us into the richest blessing through thy death, thy finished work. Lord Jesus, we praise thee and safety. What a privilege to be able to open the Word of God and have the Spirit of God ministered our souls. We thank thee and I alone most precious and worthy name, Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.