Live Free with Josh Howerton - The Humble Servant | Ep. 290 | Friday, March 15, 2024

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

We close out the week by looking at John 13, where Jesus demonstrated His deep love for the disciples, including Judas, who succumbed to temptation and betrayed Him. Jesus knew what was coming yet still took on the role of a servant by washing all the disciples’ feet. May we follow the example of our humble servant King and serve those we are around this week. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up everybody? Happy Friday and happy birthday to my amazing son, Derek, man, so grateful for the day that you were born. I'm Mike Bro, and we are working our way through the gospel of John, and we are in Chapter 13, and just a quick on-ramp to where we are. Jesus' popularity is through the roof right now with the people. He had done all kinds of miracles, and the latest one had swept through the whole region when he raised someone from the dead, his good friend Lazarus. Well, this miracle was the final straw for the religious leaders. They begin to plot Jesus' execution, looking for a way and the right timing to take him out. Now, because of this miracle, lots of people are super hopeful that this amazing miracle worker

was the conquering Messiah that God was going to send someday to wipe out Rome, and so they line the road to Jerusalem awaiting Jesus' arrival at the Passover feast. When they see him riding in on the back of a donkey, they begin to cheer and chant, Hosanna, Hosanna, please save us. Here is our king waving palm branches lining the roads with their cloaks to signify a royal red carpet, and the religious leaders watch all of this and say, look at this. This is what we feared. The whole world has gone after him.

We got to get busy. So Jesus is in Jerusalem, celebrate the Passover, and let's pick up one of the more emotional events of Jesus' final week in John Chapter 13. It says this. Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come. to leave this world and return to his father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. I bet as John wrote this, he got a lump in his throat.

I bet he got tears welling up in his eyes. He loved us to the very end. With all that we know now was going on inside of him, he loved us the entire time. He loved us the whole time. He loved all of us. including Judas Verse 2

It was time for supper And the devil had already prompted Judas The son of Simon Ascaria to betray Jesus Now I don't believe scripture supports The whole devil made me do-it mindset We think and we ponder And we scheme and we plan and we sin on our own free will But he does target our minds

And he does prompt us to carry through With our ill-designed plans He comes along and prompts us with lies He says, you know, God's this restrictive, unreasonable, unfair, unfun, twisted kind of being on this enormous ego trip. You should be able to call your own shots, make up your own rules. Decide for yourself what's good and what's evil, what's true, and what's not. Be your own man, be your own woman, go your own way. You do you, do your own thing.

Satan comes along and says, come on. Come on, man, let them cheat off your paper. Everybody does it anyway. You know how being smart isn't all that popular at school anyway. This is one way you can make it pay off for you. Let them cheat. They'll love you for it. You'll be in. Come on. Everybody else's fraternity gets absolutely wasted and seems to be having a great time. Don't be different. You know how stupid you look, stand there with a diet coat? Come on, loosen up, man. You don't want to spend your whole life being the designated driver. Come on. Melo out with a little meth, a little weed with your friends. Not going to hurt you. And besides, it's your only way to stop the pain. Come on, falsify the numbers. This is one time. You've been honest for so long no one will ever know as the only way to get ahead, especially in this tough economy. Besides, this company really

owes you. He says, come on, join their little gossip click. Leave a snarky comment. I guarantee you you'll feel a lot better about yourself as you tear somebody else down. He says, dude, for crying out loud, open your eyes, check her out. And she wants you. Come on. Everybody has a fling at least once in their life. He says, go ahead, give your body to him. I guarantee you it will make you feel pretty and loved and accepted and special. He targets our appetites. He targets our thoughts. I our weaknesses, our desire to do things our own way. And he prompts Judas to carry out what's already been going on in his mind, what he's already been thinking and planning.

You might remember back in Chapter 12 how Judas objects to this perfume that's being poured upon Jesus, and then John adds that Judas was a greedy dude who used to steal from the group's account. So that kind of stuff was already in the mind of Judas. And I don't know, but perhaps he's been thinking, you know what, Jesus is not going about this whole Messiah thing, the right way. Every time we think he's going to rise up in power, the guy shrinks back, he's got enemies, we got enemies, they have money, I like money, and besides, they just want to know his whereabouts. Everything else, whatever they do with this is out of my hands. It's already in his mind, and it's traveling to his heart,

and Satan just prompts him to go ahead and do it. And then John adds on the heels of Satan prompting Jesus. Verse 3. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything, including any plan of Satan, and that he had come from God and would return to God. He was confident in who he was, who his father was, and he was confident in what was going to happen. Verse 4. So, and I can only imagine John writing this moment down, he took the role of a servant and got up from the table, and Jesus took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin, and then began to wash the disciples' feet, our feet. including Judas, by the way, drying them with a towel he had around him.

Matthew records how Jesus told them, you know how the Romans Lord of their authority over people? He says, listen, not so with you guys. If you want to become great, you must become servant of all, and then he kneels down and demonstrates it. John writes in verse 6, when Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, you're going to wash my feet? I can imagine him trying to tuck his feet up under the table or hide them with his robe. Like, I'm not okay with this. Jesus replies, you don't understand now what I'm doing, but someday you will.

And Peter says, no, no, you will never wash my feet. There's kind of a reverse pride going on here of not being able to receive very well. You ever do that? I think we, especially as guys, we tend to divide people in two groups, those who give help and those who need help. And we tend to think of ourselves as only tough guys who give help. and I'm guessing this is Peter he says you're not washing my

feet and Jesus says to Peter unless I wash you you won't belong to me this is what true humility looks like me serving and you receiving well Peter exclaims then wash my hands and head as well Lord not just my feet

I want to always belong to you you can throw me in the shower if that's the case and then Jesus speaks to the heart of these guys and he says this a person who has bathed all over does not need to wash except for the feed to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you. Now he says you're clean. He doesn't mean you're sinless, but as in motives and heart toward him. For Jesus, verse 11, knew who would betray him, and this is what he meant when he said, not all of you

are clean. Well, he washes their feet, and he sits down and ask them, do you understand what I was doing? You call me teacher and Lord, and you're right because that's what I am. And since I, your teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow, do as I have done to you. Because I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master, nor is the message are more important than the one who sends the message. It's all about mutual submission and mutual humility. And now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

You know, one of my daily prayers is, Lord, put someone on my path the day that needs to touch from you. And when you do, help me notice, and then do what you want me to do. And today, all of us will have an opportunity to serve somebody. So I want to challenge you today. Look around. Notice. Grab a towel.

Grab a mop. Grab a toilet brush. Get a 20 out of your wallet and help somebody. Listen well to a friend. Take out the trash. Check on your elderly neighbors. Visit someone who's lonely. It's the way of Jesus.

It's the way of greatness. Have a great weekend. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, Join us for our Church Online live weekend services on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. For more information, visit lakepoint.com. Church slash daily drive.