In Jesus Holy Name Easter V 2020
Text: John 14:2-3 Redeemer
“I Am…. The God Who Washes Feet”
We live in a culture of spiritual longing. Many people are searching for that which will satisfy an inner craving for meaning and significance. Jesus makes the suggestion that if we want meaning and significance in life then we should follow His example and wash feet.
His point. When you invest in serving others rather than self-there will be satisfaction and meaning in your life. In chapters 13 and 14 of John Jesus reminds the disciples and us that eternal life is secure…so get on with living life, by serving others.
In John chapter 13 and 14 the disciples gather with Jesus for their final meal together. They are all present. Reclining around the low table, they chatter in a nervous tone. The men know that something is up. Jesus seems pensive and quiet. He talks, but it seems as if he has something on his mind, and indeed he does. Jesus, as he eats that meal, knows that before long Judas will come with a kiss. The Roman soldiers will come to arrest him. Soon he will stand before Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate. In less than twelve hours he will be hanging on a cross.
Suddenly Jesus stands up, takes off his tunic, and wraps a towel around his waist. Taking a basin of water, he goes to the end of the table and kneels down. Without a word he takes the feet of one of the disciples, brushes the dirt off, and washes them with water, one foot at a time. When he is finished, he takes the towel and wipes the feet dry. He goes to the next one and does the same thing. In the room there is silence. No one dares to speak. They cannot believe what Jesus is doing. This is the responsibility of a slave or household servant not their Rabbi.
What seems odd to us would not have seemed odd in the first century. The common shoe was a pair of sandals. The roads were dusty. Even a short trip meant that your feet ended up dirty. Dirt leaves an indelible mark on anyone who walked on the roadway. It was common in their world to provide a basin of water for visitors to wash their feet.
By washing their feet Jesus was giving them a parable, an acted-out object lesson. He wasn’t just washing their feet. He was saying, “This is who I am. This is why I have come to earth. I came as a servant, to wash dirty feet.” “I have set an example for you.” His question, “Do you understand?” No, Of course they didn’t.
So Jesus explains: I have set you an example. Serve one another as I have served you. Jesus said: I have come as a servant King. I’m not a king who will overthrow the Romans. I’m not a king who will collect taxes, build roads and castles. I’m not the king they expected. I am the king who lays down my life for my sheep. I am the God who serves His people.
Before the evening meal was complete, Jesus told them one of our most favorite bible passages that bring comfort when facing the end of life on this planet. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to with me…..” I am the gateway to heaven. I am the Good Shepherd so that you may have peace with God. I Am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes into heaven except through me.
Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes, no problem there.
Did he die on the cross and rise from the dead? Yes, indeed.
Is he is the only way of salvation? In this post Christian America there are many who are not so comfortable with that idea.
Diana Eck, a Harvard professor, wrote the book: The New Religious America It is a description of how America has become a stewpot of old and new religions. This is how her book begins:
“The huge white dome of a mosque, with its minarets, rises from the cornfields just outside Toledo, Ohio … a great Hindu temple with elephants carved in relief at the doorway stands on a hillside in the western suburbs of Nashville. A Cambodian Buddhist temple and monastery is set in the farmlands southeast of Minneapolis…”
Hinduism or Buddhism or Islam were once “over there,” across the sea, thousands of miles away. Just as Christianity has moved into those distant lands, in the same way those unfamiliar religions have come to our doorstep. Our neighbors, co-workers, and friends come from many different religious backgrounds. There is no turning back the clock to the “good old days” when the world was still “over there” on the other side of the ocean.
You may remember that on May 1, 2010, Franklin Graham was dis-invited by the Pentagon to speak at the National Day of Prayer. Muslim civil liberty groups pressured the Pentagon to disinvite Franklin Graham. They did. Kathleen Parker who writes a twice-weekly column on politics and culture made it perfectly clear that she is not a big fan of Franklin Graham.
In one of her columns she had no problem criticizing the popular evangelist for saying that Muslims need to be saved. This is how Kathleen Parker frames her article.
“Graham’s offense was expressing his belief that only Christians have God’s ear, that Islam is evil, and that Muslims and Hindus don’t pray to the same God he does.” In a USA Today interview Franklin Graham said: “No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me,” referring to one of the five main Hindu deities. “None of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can have some big kumbaya service and all hold hands and it’s all going to get better in this world. It’s not going to get better.”
Kathleen Parker points out that Graham’s views “don’t sit well with secular Americans or even non-evangelical Christians,” I’m 100% certain that Franklin Graham knows that as well. Parker states categorically that “Evangelicals under 30 believe there are many ways to God, not just through Jesus.” She quotes a survey showing that nearly two-thirds of evangelicals under 35 believe that non-Christians can go to heaven. The article closed with this phrase:
“We can’t believe anything as old-fashioned as that.” This is what it means to live in a culture of post Christian America. The words of Jesus relative.
Meanwhile, Franklin Graham didn’t back down from anything he had said earlier. In an interview with Newsweek Web Exclusive (May 5, 2010), he restated his position: “I am who I am. I don’t believe that you can get to heaven through being a Buddhist or Hindu. I think Muhammad only leads to the grave. Now, that’s what I believe, and I don’t apologize for my faith. And if it’s divisive, I’m sorry.”
The words and promises of Jesus are different from the sayings and writings of Buddha or Mohamad or Confucius. Why because they are still in their graves and Jesus is not. He is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
The Apostle Paul writes in I Timothy 2:5. “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The whole gospel boils down to this truth. Because our sins have separated us from God, we need a “mediator” to bring us back to God. Because the “sin gap” is eternally wide, we need someone from heaven who is Himself eternal to bridge the gap for us. Jesus is the only one who could bridge that gap. By his death, He paid for our broken commandments and bridged the gap that separates us from God. By his resurrection, He proved He is the Son of God.
Dana Eck in her book reminds us that just: “Saying “all religions are equal” insults thoughtful followers of every religion. Talk to your Muslim friends for a while, and you’ll discover that their beliefs and our (Christian) beliefs are radically different. Talk to a Buddhist, and you’ll discover that their beliefs are different from ours and from the Muslims. The same is true for followers of Judaism, Hinduism, and so on. (In this culture) It’s easy to say, “All roads lead to heaven” when you haven’t studied the map carefully. What we need is an accurate road map that tells us which road leads to heaven. Find that road and you will end up in the right place.”
There is a challenge in sharing Christ in a pluralistic world. Jesus has used this pluralistic culture and this pandemic to let His words and promises stand as in bold contrast to those who are seeking significance, purpose in their lives. More churches than ever before have been forced to share the Gospel in new ways. The result. More people than ever before have heard the Gospel.
In these days ground Yourself in the Word of God. Make sure you know what you believe. Don’t just read the Bible. Study it. Learn it. Memorize it. Find out what it teaches. Learn the doctrines of our faith. Let the Word of God be the firm foundation for your own life and also for your family. Love one another because by this action, all people will know that you are a disciple of Jesus.
Jesus said I Am the gate. Then He told his disciples and us: “In my Father’s house are many rooms, I’m going there to prepare a place for you. I will come and take you to be with me.” Why did Jesus make that promise? Jesus knows that every human being has a soul. The soul never dies. In your heart you know this to be true. In the beginning when God created the first human being from the dirt of the ground…..Adam became a living being when God breathed life into His lungs. Human beings were created in the image of God. We were meant to live forever, in both body and soul. It is sin in our lives that has fractured the body from our soul. The bible reminds us “The wages of sin is death but thanks be to God who provides the gift of eternal life though faith in Jesus Christ.
This is why Jesus came to live a perfect life, unblemished by sin. This is why Jesus gave up His life as our substitute on the cross out side the walls of Jerusalem 2000 years ago. This is why Jesus rose from death and the grave to secure eternal life for all who take the hand of Jesus.
This is the reason Jesus can promise: “I am the way, the truth and the life,” No one comes into my Father’s presence except through me. “In my Father’s house are many rooms, I’m going there to prepare a place for you. I will come and take you to be with me.” When your human body dies, your soul does not. Remember Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in Paradise.”
When your brain waves cease. When your heart stops. When your last breath comes… your soul will be with Jesus in heaven…. This is why the Apostle Paul can write. Our citizenship is in heaven and we are waiting for our Savior to return from there when he will call from the grave all who have believed in Jesus and reunite our body and soul into a glorious resurrected by like Jesus Himself.
Oh what a glorious hope we have.
