← ArchiveThe JESUS StoryThe JESUS Story: He Loved You To The EndDateJuly 18, 2021SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamText—Passages in this sermonRomans 51:04John 132:03John 3:169:08John 313:38John 1014:19Philippians 116:54TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Thank you. Okay. Welcome to church, y'all. My name is Josh, the lead pastor here, and today I get the joy of bringing you the Word of Christ.0:30You know, working at a church organization, it depresses me on Monday through Saturday because this building is not really a church until you show up. So we long for Sundays when the gathered church can show up and we are who God has made us to be. And we gather because of the gospel. That's why this message, Sherry's, is called the gospel story, the Jesus story.0:57So what is that story? Very easy. Romans 5, 8 says this, that while you were still sinners, God proved his love. So sinning is not something you do, it's who you are. So we like to think of it sometimes that, well, I, I just lied. I do sins. No, Jesus says that's, that's who you are. God proved his love that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for us.1:21I don't know about you. I'm thankful that God did not wait for me to get my act together before he let Jesus die on the cross. Because we would still be waiting. The next verse says this, verse 10. While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son. Then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?1:50We worship an amazing Savior. Today's message is really simple. It's in John 13 called, He loves you to the ends. He loves you to the end. If you're new here, for everyone watching online, we just want to say welcome. We believe the world claps back at you and the world claps at you, but we want to clap for you.2:16If you, if you are not new anymore, if you've been here more than five times, we're not clapping for you anymore. You've had your time. This is for people who are new and they're welcome back, okay? So we want to welcome them. John 13. Join me as we read the word of the Lord. We're going to see his love, his sacrifice, and the humility of Jesus of Nazareth.2:43John 13. It's the fourth book in the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I'll be reading from the CSB. Before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father.3:04Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the ends. How far does he love them? To the ends. Now, when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot's son, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he had come from God and that he was going back to God.3:35So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet and dry them with a towel tied around him. So he came to Simon Peter, who asked him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet?4:00Jesus answered him, what I am doing you do not realize now, but afterward you will understand. You will never wash my feet, Peter said. Jesus replied, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter said to Jesus, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head. One who has bathed, Jesus told him, does not need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean.4:30You are clean, but not all of you, for he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, not all of you are clean. When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, Do you know what I have done for you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are speaking rightly, for that is what I am.4:57So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done for you. This could be a really interesting message. Let's pray and ask God for his favor upon us.5:27Father, we cannot understand anything about your word. We cannot behold your glory unless your spirit opens our eyes and our hearts to your word, to your beauty, to your majesty, to your strength, and to your love. So Lord, once again, your people have gathered to hear from you.5:55Lord, let us hear and let us do that we would be changed forever because of the living words of our Savior. Lord, this is our prayer we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. And, amen. So what we have read, and you can almost feel the heaviness as we read the scriptures today, this is a dramatic turn in the Gospel of John.6:20As you have read, Jesus clearly understands that he is about to depart from his Father. Scholars call this the farewell discourse because Jesus is literally, in these next several chapters, he is saying goodbye. He's saying farewell to his disciples, to the world, to his mother, to John.6:45This is in the midst of his farewell discourse. Really, this is one of the final meals Jesus has before his death, his burial, and his resurrection. So Jesus is imparting to his followers, to you and to me, listen, before I die, don't forget these things. And in the midst of all of this, this weighty burden that Jesus is carrying, he says, hey, wash each other's feet.7:11Now, I don't know about you, but there's a lot of things I'll do for Jesus. But feet's not one of them. So I'm thinking, Jesus, I would wash someone's hair. I'll give them a manicure. I'll rub their back. But feet's, and so sometimes we gloss over as a church this passage because we, some of us are creeped out by it.7:37Some of us are confused by it. Some of us understand, but we don't want to submit ourselves to the posture of what Jesus is doing for others. And then our independent Baptist brethren are saying, we've been washing each other's feet since this time. About time you joined the party. So what is Jesus telling us here?8:05Well, the first thing that we see is in verse 1 and 2. Jesus, with this weighty burden, this farewell discourse, Jesus is not in this distressed, emotional, despondent state, but he shows us, he shows you his heart. In verse 1, Jesus having loved his own to the end. Jesus, about to die, is not in a place of selfishness. He's in a place of self, not a place of selfishness, but he is giving himself away.8:35He's not desiring glory for his own sake, but he's looking out for other people. And we live in a selfish world. We should pay attention to this selfless state of Jesus Christ. And he loves his own to the end. It's interesting. This is the first time in the Gospel of John that it's said that Jesus loves his own.9:03Now, some of you are thinking, uh-uh, you forgot John 3.16, right? John 3.16 says that God so loved the world. Now, let's talk about Jesus' love. Here it says that he loves his own. But we know that Jesus loves everyone, doesn't he? He loves the twelve, and he loves those that were not in his inner circle.9:29We also know that in this group, there is someone there that does not love Jesus back. Judas is there. You remember the one who betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver? That man, that disciple, is here in this passage. And if Judas is anything, he's a reminder that Jesus loved him. And Judas is a reminder that, in a warning, that a heart that's moved by the devil does what the devil wants, when the devil wants.9:58Did you catch what the Scripture said about Judas? Verse 2. It was time for supper. Jesus loving them. In the midst of this, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot's son, to betray him. Listen, there's no such thing as a neutral heart. Either you are for Christ, or you are against him.10:29And in the midst of this supper, there are some that are for Christ, and there are some that Satan has their heart. So let me tell you this. If you are doing the things that the world wants, if you're doing the things that Satan wants, maybe you are not of Christ. Because a heart given towards the devil does what Satan desires when Satan desires it. But there's a better way. You don't have to live that life. You can turn to Christ right now. God loves all but, but, but, in the midst of all of this, there's someone that does not receive the love of Jesus Christ.11:00And here's the love of God for him. I would consider Judas an enemy of Jesus. If you betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, if you lead the guards to him in the Garden of Gethsemane and say, here he is, do what you want. I would say that's an enemy.11:29What does Jesus do to his enemy? I think we have a clue in verse 10. Jesus tells Peter, if you've already been washed, you don't need to wash anything except your feet because you're completely clean. But not all of you. In the midst of Jesus washing the feet, I believe that Jesus washes Judas' feet.11:55Think about that. Judas is there in the midst, and Jesus loves him to the point that he is washing his feet. And I think Judas is there in verse 1, and I think Judas is there in verse 11. Jesus loves him, but Judas is another reminder. Listen, not even a religious rite, R-I-T-E, even performed by Jesus Christ, saves Judas.12:20So if you're holding on to a baptism, you say, well, I was baptized, I'm saved. I'm a church member, I'm saved. I was confirmed, I'm saved. There is no religious rite that can save you. Not even, listen, not even Jesus himself washing your feet can change your heart if you are not by faith trusting in him.12:45Yes, Jesus loves all, but not all will be saved. Judas is a reminder that only faith in the Son of Man brings salvation. Listen, Judas' feet were washed, but his heart was still dirty. Maybe that's you today. Maybe that, maybe you're highly religious, and externally you have really squeaky clean feet, but your heart is as dark as it's ever been.13:12Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you, but not all will be saved. You have to place your faith in the Son of Man. Do you have a saving faith or a Judas faith today? But John says that Jesus not only loves all the world, John 3, 16, but he loves his own.13:38Now, who are these own? O-W-N. I've always struggled saying on. This is not even part of the sermon. This is just a self-revelatory thing. For me, I turn on the switch, and he is, Jesus, these are his own. It's just something, I can't get past that. I don't know why. Who are his own? O-W-N, not O-N.14:08They are those that Jesus has called, those that he has elected. He has called them out. It's a reminder in John 10 that Jesus is the gatekeeper. He is the good shepherd, that his sheep know his voice, and he knows them. Now, I love what Jesus describes his people, the way he describes them, the way the Bible describes them. God is possessive over his people.14:37It's almost as if Jesus is saying that I am yours and that you are mine. So if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, do you know how God describes you? He says that you are mine. You are his. There is a possessive right over you. That is the depth of God's love for you. Think about that.15:06That you would be called God's and that he would be called yours. That is only found in the blood of Jesus Christ. He loved his own. And he loved them how far? To the ends. When will God quit loving you? You won't find that place. This gives me such great joy.15:33This describes his unfailing love on the cross first. Jesus knows, we see in verse 1, that his hour has come. What is that describing? Jesus knows that he is about to journey to the cross. And so for his beloved, he is loving them to the point that he would die on the cross for their sins. Jesus loves you to the point of saving faith and saving grace.16:01God loves you so much that he even let his only son die for you. What kind of love is that? That God would love you and I that much to restore us. I am reminded in scripture that you and I cannot improve on God's love. There is nothing that you can do today to make God love you more.16:30There is nothing that you can do today to make God love you less. He demonstrated fully his love to the end when Jesus died on the cross. But there is another part of Jesus' love for you. His depth of love. It is not only his saving grace, but it is his sustaining grace. Philippians 1 says it this way. In another way, in southern talk, this is a paraphrase.16:55Hey, God's not through with you and he's not going to give up on you. And for someone like me, I'm thankful for that. Because there are times where I look at my life and I say, Okay, God, you're done with me. This is my last chance.17:26If I were a cat, my lives are over. And God says, I'm not going to give up on you. I am saving you by grace and I am sustaining you by grace. His love carries to the end. And I believe the disciples needed to hear this. Why? Because they were about to hear Jesus on the cross say that it is finished. And they would interpret that to say, Jesus' life is finished.17:54And that was true. But there was something greater that was fulfilled. There's something greater that was finished. Salvation in that moment was accomplished. His sustaining grace will not abandon you. So if you're here today right now and you say, well, I don't feel very finished. I feel more like the rough diamond than the cut diamond.18:25The hope and the joy is that Jesus loves you to the end. And because you're here today, this is not the end. God is still working in you for his good glory. He loves them to the end and he loves you to the end. And so Jesus, demonstrating his love, now shows us his sacrifice in verse 4. So Jesus gets up from supper. He lays aside his outer clothing.18:56He takes a towel and he ties it around himself. Now here's the context. The act itself of foot washing is not spectacular. In the ancient world, in narrow, dusty streets that were mostly unpaved, where animals would walk through, where people would walk through, this would make your feet unsuitable for dining, especially when you were reclining and as you were eating, someone's feet were in your face. So the ritual of foot washing was common for hygiene and also for religious ceremony.19:27What was completely outside the box in this moment is that Jesus got up from supper. You see, normally it would be the slaves or the servants who would be standing and the master of the table would be reclining. What does Jesus do? He gets up as a servant and he lets others recline.19:52Not only that, he begins to wash feet. This was again for the servants. In rabbinic literature, it says that the disciples should do anything for their master. There's only one thing they don't have to do. Guess what it was? Not even disciples have to wash feet. Jesus is lowering himself in the form of sacrifice. And to clean, they would, in this case, they would take one basin of water20:22and that they would pour it over the feet into another basin and they would take a towel and they would wipe the feet clean. If you've ever been to Israel, you notice in the bathrooms today that they have pitchers of water. What is that for? Or they're metallic or they're uncut or they're cut stone without any blemish. Why? Because that's a picture of ceremonial washing. It makes you clean as you pour water over your hands.20:50Jesus is reminding us what servants do. What the sacrifice of our Lord looks like. And as you read this, you're thinking, well, why would Jesus do that? You're not alone because Peter very clearly takes offense at this act. Jesus is washing the feet and he gets to Peter. And Peter says, Jesus, you're not the servant.21:18Jesus, you should be reclining. Jesus, you are not the disciple. You will not wash my feet in verse six. And guess what? Peter is correct. It is a holy affront that the Son of Man, who is perfectly holy, would wash the feet of sinners. But Jesus is going deeper. He's speaking to our hearts. And so for the first time in this passage, Jesus begins to speak verbally.21:47He says in verse seven, what I am doing, you don't realize now, but afterward you will understand. And Peter says, well, you will never wash my feet. So Jesus showing the cost of his sacrifice tells Peter, if I don't wash you, you will have no part of me.22:08What was Jesus saying there? I believe Jesus was demonstrating the cost that he is ready to pay to save Peter. Jesus is showing us the cost of what it would take to bring back our redemption, your redemption.22:33That Jesus was willing to lower himself and die on the cross that you and I might have everlasting life. Peter is still struggling with this. But Jesus is reminding us something. He's saying that you have tremendous value. Why? Because your cost of new birth is great.23:01The cost of your eternal life is what? It's the price of Jesus' own life. And what Jesus is telling us today is that you have value in the kingdom of God. How much does God think of you? He let his only son die that you and I might have everlasting life. And Jesus is reminding us of that.23:30He said, if I don't wash you, you have no part of me. This is a part is a word which means inheritance. In Baptist speak, he's saying, you won't go to heaven if I don't wash you. Don't you want to go to heaven? Peter's like, well, I think I do. And so Peter then says, okay, I need to be clean. But before we get to that, Jesus is saying to Peter, listen, Peter, something is going on here.24:00I don't need to just wash your feet, but I need to wash everything about you. So Peter says, okay, Jesus. In verse 9, he says, Lord, if you're going to wash me, not only my feet, but my hands and my head.24:27So in 2021 language, Peter has gone full out COVID mode. He says, Lord, you can just wash, get all the germs, my head, my hands, my feet. And Jesus, in powerful language, replies to him. He says, you're clean. One who has bathed does not need to wash anything except his feet.24:57But he is completely clean. This is a picture of salvation. When you give your life to Jesus Christ by faith, you are clean. Jesus clearly demonstrates this right here in verse 10 and 11. How much of you is clean when you, by faith, trust in Jesus Christ? Your feet? Yes.25:27Yes. Your hands? Yes. Your head? Yes. Your heart? You are completely clean when you give your life. To Jesus Christ. You will never be more clean than in that moment. When you say, Christ, forgive me of my sins. I have failed you, Lord. I need redemption. I need you to cleanse me. You will never be more clean.25:54And Jesus is reminding you will always be clean from the inside out. That's a picture of salvation. But what does Jesus say about feet here? He said, Peter, but don't forget, I've cleansed you, all of you, but I still need to cleanse your feet. This is a picture of confession. You see, it doesn't do any good to wash your feet if you've never been cleaned.26:23And if you've been cleaned, then you only need to wash your feet. Confession without faith is empty. But confession is the daily task of saying, God, forgive me. You've cleansed my heart, but I still fall. I still stumble. And it's this natural metaphor of you taking a really nice bath and you're really squeaky clean, but you're walking to your friend's house and you're going to dinner. And as you walk there barefooted, your feet get a little dirty.26:53So confession is God cleansing those sins away again as you admit to him, God, I've done this. I'm sorry. Forgive me. And God says, I will forgive you. I have forgiven you. I've already cleansed you, but now I will cleanse your feet. Does that make sense? Sometimes we struggle because when we sin, we say, God, I'm no longer saved. And Jesus says, I've already cleansed you. You only need to cleanse your feet.27:21And some of us struggle because we are trying to cleanse our feet, thinking that God will cleanse us from the feet up and God cleanses us from the heart out. So if you've never given your life to Christ, cleanse your heart today and he will change your life. If you've given your life to Christ, confess your sins and he will cleanse your feet. This is the picture of his sacrifice. And I think we're all in need of one or the other. Everyone here today is in either need of confession or a need of salvation.27:51Praise God that he offers both to us through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. So where are you today? Do you need to confess your sins and find that he will continually cleanse you? Or do you need to confess and repent of your sins for the first time and find forgiveness like you have never experienced? So Jesus, after he washes the feet, dresses again, takes a towel away and he goes back and he sits at dinner.28:16And then Jesus says this in verse 14, he says, so if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash feet of one another. And in verse 12, Jesus says, no, you realize what I've done for you. So several things are happening here. One, Jesus says, some of you remember this passage this way, go and do likewise in the King James.28:46Jesus is saying, as I have demonstrated humility, go and also be humble and sacrifice. Now, you might be asking, oh, great. It's about to get weird because we're going to have a foot washing ceremony at a time of response. I do not believe that Jesus is instituting the third ordinance here. Now, do I believe foot washing can be good?29:15Absolutely. The physical act. But there's something even deeper here. So primarily, the reason I say this, there's nowhere else in the New Testament or in the earliest documents of the church where foot washing is a prescribed ordinance. So there's no apostle. There's nowhere in the scriptures. There's no early church that said, ah, this is a third ordinance. We need to wash each other's feet in the same way as we baptize and the same way as we pick up and do communion.29:42The second reason is this. It is possible to wash someone's feet without being humble of heart. Just because you wash someone's feet does not mean that you are submitting yourselves in the posture of humility that Jesus Christ himself submitted. So what is Jesus asking us to do? He's asking us to bind our conscience and live out the humility that Jesus lived out.30:11James Montgomery said it this way, nearest the throne of God must be the footstool of humility. Nearest the throne of God must be the footstool of humility. And what we see here in this passage, the evidences of God's grace in you are deeper measures of Jesus' love, deeper measures of Jesus' sacrifice, and deeper measures of his humility.30:36And I would be as bold to say that if you are not humble in your life, you are not of Christ. Because the first step that you will ever take to Jesus has to be the step of humility.31:00What is repentance? It is literally me turning from myself and turning to Jesus Christ. It is saying, God, I cannot do it on my own. I need you and you alone. That's humility. And if we should be people of anything, it should be that we are people who demonstrate humbleness to the world.31:26A life unwilling to bend to Jesus is a life bound for hell. Would we bend our wills and our ways to Jesus Christ? So how do we live this out? Maybe for you this week, you need to go wash someone's feet. Maybe God has actually stirred your heart to you demonstrate physically your love and your devotion to Christ in this act.31:50And if that's you, I pray that you would be obedient to God in that. Some of the most emotionally humbling services I've ever been a part of are foot washing ceremonies. Rare, but powerful. But I think for all of us, one thing that we must do, we must exhibit the humility of Jesus Christ.32:14As we see here in John chapter 13, there's no caveat. Jesus doesn't say, just as I have done for you, you go and do for others when it's convenient. He doesn't say, go and serve in humility and humbleness when you want to. Jesus just says, go.32:43You see, every Christian was born with a towel in her hand. Every Christian was born to serve the world because we have a Savior that served us. If you're not serving, you should be. It's my job as your pastor to tell you to serve somewhere. It's not my job to tell you where, that's the Holy Spirit working in you. And maybe for the first time, God is prompting your heart to serve our foster community.33:13As Carissa leads our church, and many of you picked up backpacks. And I saw you bringing them in with heavy shoulders today. But you're saying to the foster community, I love you and I want to serve you. Because I care and Jesus cares. That's a way that you can serve the world. Maybe for you, it's going to Nashua in September. Maybe for you, that's serving the world at serve day or meet the teacher night.33:39Maybe for you, that's serving someone at work or serving someone at school. God does not give us the option of not serving in humility. And I believe he's commanded us to serve the world, but he's also commanded us to serve in the church. And for you today, God is requiring us. He's saying, Josh, here's your towel. You find the feet, but I've given you the towel.34:07How are you serving and who are you serving today? I see also in this passage, the deep reminder that what Jesus asked Peter in verse 8 and 9. Jesus says, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. And I can't help but think of the old hymn that says this. Have you been to Jesus for his cleansing power?34:37Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Because that's what Jesus does.35:06Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? I believe today some of you are weighing in your life. Is Christ worth it? You will never find anything in the world that can wash you like Jesus Christ. There's no religious ceremony that can wash you, right Judas? Only faith in the blood of the Lamb and the blood of the Lamb.35:36And if you've never given your life to Jesus and you need to be cleansed for the first time, you can pray a prayer like this. It has to be of repentance and authentic heart with humility. And the response that we hear from the Heavenly Father is, I thought you've never asked.35:51Be clean. Be clean. Here's your inheritance. If that's you, we would love to encourage you and show you how you can grow in Christ and celebrate your new birth.36:16Your new clean birth. Because your garments are spotless. For some of you today, you're in need of confession and repentance. You need to come to the altar of the throne of God and say, God, I've sinned. Wash my feet again. You've walked in here dirty, but you don't have to walk out the same way. Would you confess your sins and find God faithful and just to forgive?36:43Again, He will do that. I think there's one last point of meditation here. And it's in verse 1. Jesus loved His own and He loved them to the end. Have you ever considered the love of God?37:13I mean, really tried. Paul in Ephesians writes this prayer to the church. He says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. That means that you're His own. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints. Hey, that's us. What is the length and the width, the height and the depth of God's love?37:44That's pretty cool, isn't it? And to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge. Even when you think you have it figured out, God's love is greater. Oh, the depth of God's love for us so that you may be filled with the fullness of God.38:10He loves you to the end that you might leave here saying, God, when I meditate on your love towards me, I can't do it enough. And every time I do, I get filled up. Church, He loves you to the end. What great love. The sacrificial, humble love of our Savior.38:38Let's pray.← Previous in The JESUS StoryThe JESUS Story: The stench of Death and the Scent of LifeNext in The JESUS Story →The JESUS Story: Vine and Branches
