Servant to Friend

John 13:14-17 14 "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet for I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” [NASB]. 

Notice first off, Jesus calls Himself by two titles, Lord and Teacher. He signifies Himself by the titles the disciples call Him. The title of Lord means the disciples recognized Him as One who has power and is the owner of something or someone. In this instance, they recognized Jesus as the Son of God and the owner of themselves as servants to His command and as owner of the created world. The title of Teacher signifies the disciples acknowledged His proficiency in Hebrew Law and the Prophets and put themselves as His to teach in the ways of the Father, from the past as Creator and Provider to the near future as Savior. By calling Himself the Lord and Teacher, titles the disciples also used, they said they learned from Jesus and obeyed Jesus. The disciples were Jesus’ students and servants.

            Many teachers and preachers have taught this passage about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. This passage has been used as a passage to remind us that we are to serve each other. Yet, something more is there than just that. Jesus stated explicitly, “For I gave you an example… (vs. 15).” Nowhere else in the New Testament did Jesus tell them He was giving them an example. He showed them what to do but never told them explicitly, “This is how you are to be: servants.”

            Let us consider a few things Jesus said about servants. From John 12:26, just a day or two before Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me [NASB].” Jesus reminded the disciples that service to Him means following Him. Jesus added a positive, a promise if you will, that where He is His servant will be. The servants/disciples will be in the kingdom of God with Him. Another passage to consider about servants is Mark 10:42-45,

Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But, it is not this way among you, but whomever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” [NASB]

Jesus told the disciples the way to be first for Jesus and the Father was to serve others, “be slave of all.” He offered Himself as an example by telling them that He, too, did not come to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28 [NASB]). Though not explicitly stating the word “example,” Jesus implied servanthood in this passage.

          Jesus set before the disciples in what manner they were to consider themselves and how they were to conduct their lives. The disciples were to be servants. Because Jesus was calling Himself the Son of God and breaking the Sabbath rule by working/healing on that day, the Jews wanted to kill Him. Jesus confronted the Jews and explained for all to hear, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner (John 5:19 [NASB]). Jesus explained that He could only do what He has seen the Father do. Since Jesus is the example to His disciples then and down through the ages, then He is our example today. We can only do what we have seen Him and the Father do.

          So what is Jesus trying to say to us? Since He was a servant to them by washing their feet and plainly told the disciples that He was an example to them and since He said that if we want to be considered first and enter His kingdom, we must be servants and slaves to all, including to Jesus. That is really what this passage is about. Our actions toward others may appear as if we are being servants to them; however, we are serving Christ by serving others. It is a new attitude that is to be considered. Because we serve Christ, we will be like Him, as He showed us in His life and death. When we are servants of Christ, we realize and take upon ourselves the mind of Christ; we humble ourselves. See Philippians 2:3-8,

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [NASB]

          Jesus humbled Himself and became human because of the Father’s love for us, the love the triune God has for us. His humbling of Himself, His servant life, and His sacrificial death, bring us to reverential awe for Him. As we stand before God, we are speechless and can only bow in love and servitude to Him. Jesus told them, as He had just a little time left with them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34 [NASB]). Jesus left them with a final commandment that goes along with the greatest commandment (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27 [NASB]). How would the disciples be known to be Jesus disciples? They were to love everyone. Jesus, in John 14:15, reminded them of this commandment when He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments [NASB].

            Jesus has given His disciples for the last 2000 years an example. We are to be servants. We are to have an attitude of humility because He is God – Creator, Provider, and Savior. Jesus did not come down in human form because we are loveable. We are each darkened with sin. He came down because of His love for who we were created to be – His friends. Jesus spoke of this to His disciples in John 15:15, "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you [NASB]. Because Jesus came to earth in human form, taught and loved us up to and through His death, we see true servanthood. It is not being subservient and submissive to the person to whom we serve, though that can happen. It is being submissive and servant to our Father and Savior because of their great love for us. Because if this great love for us and our surrendering/yielding our lives to Him, Jesus can say we are not just servants, but we are His friends.

We are to serve because we reverence and love God. We are to serve because Jesus gave us the example, His great love enacted through His life and death. We are to serve because it is the commandment He gave to His disciples. Mostly, we are to serve, because He calls us His friend. We must decide for ourselves whether we will serve Jesus. This service requires following His example, surrendering our whole selves to His purpose, that all may know (as John said in John 20:31). Will you love God with your life?

Joining God

Isaiah 55:8-13

Vv. 8-9

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.  

Vv.10-13

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, and instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to the LORD, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off." [NASB]

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How many of us have jumped in to fill the gap? We have heard the phrase “standing in the gap” and have made that our life’s stand. We may feel that if we do not do it, no one will. We may have even waited for a day or two or a week or two and no one filled the gap, so we jumped in and saved the day. Have you considered that God may have other plans for you? Maybe God was preparing another person and that person was wrestling with the call to obedience. If we jump in the gap too soon, possibly the plan of God, who is grooming someone for just that spot, could be delayed. The other person will not fill the position, will not grow, and you did not intend to thwart God’s plan. Verses 8 and 9 above must be remembered. 

Let us consider this passage. Verse 8 tells us that God’s plans are not our plans and our paths are not His paths. Surely, we say, “We must know God.” We have been His follower, His child, for 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 years. We say, “We know the voice of God and we obey.” Are we saying that we know what God is saying then or that we know Him so well that we know what He would want in the situation? I think we need to be careful here. We must exercise caution and being the “mind of God.” We will never have the mind of God. We strive, if we are listening and growing in Christ, to have a mind like Christ, like what Paul speaks of in Philippians 2:5-11. We strive for this. We run the race toward this goal, using the metaphor of Paul. We never have the mind of Christ. 

Point taken now. So, if we are not to stand in the gap and do the work of God, what are we supposed to do? Are we to let that ministry fall by the wayside? Well, if that is God’s plan, yes. Oh, I know how hard that is to stand, wait, and watch a ministry work die. The alternative though is God has another plan. His ways, His paths, are higher that our ways. Not only is Isaiah saying that since God is greater so His plans must be better, Isaiah is saying since they are majestic God’s plans, His plans are exalted. This should grab out attention now. Can we say that we have ever had exalted plans. That is what the Hebrew word, which we translate as “higher,” means. It means “exalted.” Isaiah goes further and reminds the Israelites that it is God who brings the rains and snows, which after they have watered the seed, animals, and man, somehow, majestically return to the heavens. God makes the seed sprout and provide bread for man. If God’s plans are so exalted that it is He who takes care of us, how do we think that our plans can even measure up to the majestic, exalted plans of God. Not only did Isaiah speak of this, but Paul spoke of it time and again as he bore witness to Christ. Read Acts 14:1-20 and specifically note verse 17. Read Acts 13:18 about God’s provision for the Israelites. Consider further Deuteronomy 1:31 where Moses recalls to them what God has done for them. Finally, read Matthew 6:25-34. God’s plans are greater than any plan that a mere human can hatch. 

God’s plan for this gap may be to fill the vacuum with a person He has been preparing. This person may not have realized it yesterday, but God’s plan has been active since before time began was realized and counted. God’s plans were made before creation because He has been since before creation. He is and always will be. His plans are high/exalted. Ours are not. The person whom God has been preparing needs to have time to hear God calling him or her to take over and fill the gap that seems as if no one will fill it. This person needs time to obey God’s calling upon his or her life for this moment. It is for that moment that God led him or her. We recognize that because we have been in that place ourselves. We may have been at a store just when someone needed human compassion and assistance, possibly for us to give him or her food. We may have been at that meeting at just the right time to see the parent who is fighting desperation while keeping the family afloat financially or emotionally. We have all been in the time and place where we could say, “’For such a time as this’ (Esther 4:14 [NASB]) God has led me.” Stop, wait, listen, and see whom God wants to fill the gap. 

This is how we will know if we are to be the one to fill the vacant gap. This is how we have known in the past. If you have forgotten or never known, you must “ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking” (Matthew 7:7 [AMP]) where God would have you serve Him. Sometimes it will be a day before God gives you an answer and direction, sometimes a week, month, or months. God’s ways are higher than our ways remember. When we are persistent and He knows our hearts are in earnest in seeking His ways, He will direct our paths. He will shed light on the path we are to follow. It may be to that open gap or it may be to another very different path. Know, though, that God has His plans, which are higher and wiser than our thoughts or plans. If He says leave the gap open, He has bigger plans than we can see.  

I could give you a great example of this, but I do not want to appear seeking praise from humankind. Suffice it to say I waited 3-4 months for God’s guidance and almost three years later, there are results that are so much greater than I could even have imagined or conceived in my created human mind! God’s plans are greater than our plans and His ways are higher than our ways. His master plan is to bring all people to know Him so that He can guide them in the best way and so they can have salvation from their sins and live with Him forever even after human death. This is the Master’s plan and He has a master method, through the forgiveness of their sins by the blood that His Son, Jesus, shed as the sacrifice for our sins, our errors and evil ways. The big question remains: Will you seek God’s thoughts and higher ways to know Him and to know how He would like you to be of service in His master plan? Where will God call you to “lay down your life” (John 15:13 [AMP]) because of your love for Him, which came from His ultimate love for you, the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ?

Stop…Pray…Ask…Seek…Knock.

He will direct your path in His love for you and the people of the world.

His ways and thoughts are higher.

A Light to the Nations

Bible Readings:

Isaiah 49:6b - “I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

 Acts 13:16-41 -

16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

17 "The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.

18 "For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

19 "When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance -all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.

20 "After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

21 "Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

22 "After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'

23 "From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 "And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'

26 "Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

27 "For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

28 "And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.

29 "When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

30 "But God raised Him from the dead;

31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

32 "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON ; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'

34 "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.'

35 "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.'

36 "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;

37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

38 "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

40 "Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

41 'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.' "

[NASB]

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Before Acts 13, the disciples had commissioned Saul to go from the Promised Land to the dispersed Jews and Gentiles because whenever he spoke to Jews in Israel, the Jewish leaders agitated the crowds to hurt or arrest Saul. In Damascus and Jerusalem, the believers of Jesus secretly helped Saul to escape their cities. In Chapter 13, Paul traveled from Antioch of Syria, to Cyprus, and on to Galatia, to a town called Antioch of Pisidia, present day Turkey. Antioch of Pisidia was founded in around 2 AD and made a Roman city around 25 AD. Several of the members of the imperial household had served as magistrates there. This city was mostly Hellenistic, but the Romans had transplanted many Jews there for economic and political reasons. These are the people to whom Paul and Barnabas spoke. 

The city was not a temple city, but had enough Jews in it to call for a synagogue where the Jews and Gentile believers in Yahweh met for the reading of the Law (the first 5 books of our Bible written by Moses) and the Prophets. (Acts 13:15) The leaders of the synagogue heard of Paul when his name was Saul. They recognized his educational and rabbinical training. Saul’s presence in their synagogue honored them so they asked him to speak. Paul addressed them, “Men of Israel and you who fear God: listen.” Paul understood to whom he spoke, Jews as well as Gentiles. He knew how to speak to these God-reverencers. Paul motioned with his hand as many speakers do to quiet the crowd. He began with a command to listen – hear what I say and consider it. Paul was going to take them on a journey of the memory. 

He tells all the listeners, but appears to be speaking to the non-Jews. He said, “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers.” (vs. 17) God chose the Israelites to be His children. The Israelites did nothing to earn it, but God chose them on whom to show His lovingkindness and mercy. This God brought them out of Egypt, directed them through the wilderness, and gave them the Promised Land of which He has promised to Abraham. God gave them judges to guide them and gave them a King through Saul when they asked. Because King David was a “man after God’s own heart” (vs. 22), God promised that from his seed, a son would come who would set up God’s kingdom forever. (Acts 13:23; see 1 Chronicles 17:12, 22:10; 2 Samuel 7:13-14, 16; Isaiah 9:7, 49:6) Up to this point, Paul preached to them what the Jews knew. This had been a history lesson for them from the Law, Prophets, and historical chronicles. The Jews knew the prophets had foretold that a Savior would come from the line of David. Paul next began to weave the Old Testament (Law and Prophets) with what he understood to be true concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  

Paul wove the Messiah who promised from the line of David to Jesus. He “proved” to the God-believers of Pisidian Antioch just as he did to the God-believers in Damascus, how Jesus was the promised Messiah from the line of David. In Acts 9:22, Luke said, “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.” [NASB] This “proving” means knitting together. The Jews in Damascus were shocked because Saul, the persecutor of believers in Jesus, not only was preaching as a believer in Jesus, but he was proving with great prowess and persuasion that this man they recognized as Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Savior sent from Yahweh. Saul/Paul knitted the Scriptures the Jews had to the prophecies’ fulfillment by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Galilee. This is the same proving Paul taught in Pisidian Antioch. He drew in the believers of Yahweh in Pisidian Antioch with the reminder of God who had been with them in history and in the prophecies about the coming Messiah. Paul wove the God they acknowledged  with the current times. He knit in their minds their old history with Yahweh with the new present reality of Jesus as God’s Son. The Messiah of the Old Testament is the same Messiah of the New Testament, Jesus Christ. The Jews did not have to give up their history. They just had to add the rest of the story, the fulfillment of the prophecies. 

Paul continued with the rest of the story explaining how Jesus is the Messiah sent by God. Paul said in verse 23, “God has brought to Israel as Savior.” [NASB] Paul continued by showing how John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism by repentance to all the people of Israel. (vs. 24) He stated that John said he was not the Messiah and he was not worthy to tie the sandals of Him. Paul drew his sermon to a head by saying, “Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.” (vs. 26) This message of deliverance from our judgment has been sent. “Hear and attend,” he is telling everyone. The leaders in Jerusalem and in the synagogue who taught and studied Scriptures and should have known that Jesus was the Messiah are the ones who persecuted Him and put Him to death as the prophecies foretold. God fulfilled the prophecies through the Jews. (vs. 29) God raised Jesus from the dead. (vs. 30) He appeared with His disciples and it was these disciples who witnessed His resurrection. These disciples testify to His resurrection, to His life, works, and words. God fulfilled His promise in that He raised Jesus from the grave back to life. (vs. 33) 

Paul expounded on how the listeners could accept as certain that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah. He gave proof from Psalm 2:7, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Paul said God fulfilled the promise to David that David’s seed would not end and his kingdom would reign forever. God fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would not see decay, would not decompose as stated in Psalm 16:10. Paul said that David, who was a man after God’s heart, had not experienced this. David’s body was laid to rest at his death and it decayed. The promised seed of David, Jesus, would not decay. God fulfilled that promise, too.  

Paul, from verse 38, spoke these things to them and showed them proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He brought his sermon to a climax. He said, “Therefore.” This means, since Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises, hear and acknowledge this  – “Through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38b-39 [NASB]) Before the coming of Jesus, you had to live up to the Law that Moses gave you and offer regular sacrifices to God for your sins. Those sacrifices were never enough to wipe your name off the guilty judgment list. Now, through God’s sacrificing of His Son, who is Jesus, you can have forgiveness for every one of your sins for now and forever. The sacrifice of Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and no other sacrifice will ever be needed again if you trust He is the Son of God. The Law of Moses was not perfect to remove your sins and errors forever, only for that one moment in time. Jesus has made permanent forgiveness available to you if you will acknowledge and trust Him. 

Paul included all his hearers in this message. He included hearers and readers for all of time in it. He said, “Through Him everyone who believes…” The Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ is not just for the Jews, as so many thought. It was for Jew and Gentile. It was for all people. The God of the Israel through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, included all people as children of God. We, each of us, are created in His image and made to be in a relationship with God from the beginning of creation. (See Genesis 1:27) Isaiah 49:6 states that the salvation provided through Jesus is for all the nations so that it may reach to the ends of the earth. Peter attested in 2 Peter 3:9, that God does not want any to perish but that all would come to repentance. John stated in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” [NASB] Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” This Gospel of Jesus Christ, this good news, is for all people, Jew and Greek (non-Jew), slave and free, man and woman. (Galatians 3:28) We are all made one people in Jesus Christ. We are all forgiven by God through belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are all given eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

Paul concluded his sermon with a warning. “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you.” After this remembrance of who God has been for them and telling and convincing them of who Jesus was, Paul included a warning in case anyone considered dismissing what he said. His warning came from the Prophets, the people whom the Jews esteemed. This prophecy came from Habakkuk. Habakkuk 1:5 states, “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days - You would not believe if you were told.” Paul reminded them that this prophecy was not God speaking only in that time, but it was applicable at all times. God was being more explicit than that though. Paul said this prophecy was for their time as well. God was doing something then. God was proclaiming who Jesus really was. It was so astonishing and wonderful, you might be inclined to not believe, but do not disbelieve. Believe! Observe; this Gospel is true and wonderful.

This is the first recorded sermon by Paul. He had been a staunch Jew who persecuted Jesus’ followers. He came to trust in Jesus after his encounter with Him on the road to Damascus. Paul learned the Law and Prophets by memory. Yet, Jesus broke into his reality and explained who He is, the Son of God, the awaited Messiah. Paul spent a long time with God after his first visit to Damascus. During that time, God “proved” to him who Jesus was. He “proved” that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah. God knit together the Law and Prophets with the fact of Jesus Christ being His promised Messiah. After proving this, Paul journeyed with Christ through the rest of his life. He spent his life telling every person he met that Jesus is the Son of God. Paul said, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (vv. 38-39)  

This same message is true now. Jesus is the Son of God. Through Him, you can have forgiveness of your sins when you believe He is the Son of God “who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29 [NASB]) Through Jesus, you can have eternal life with God in heaven. Trust Jesus is God’s Son and your sins are forgiven. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is the Savior for the entire world not just for some, but for everyone.