Thursday - Jesus Observes the Passover (2)

Well, that song is certainly appropriate for our study tonight as we intend to get into that time where Jesus demonstrated a servant spirit in his actions toward his own disciples in the upper room. And we are in what has come to be known as the upper room. It was literally an upper room of a house. And so it has come to be known as the upper room, although there were many upper rooms. But this one obviously has a special place in Scripture and in our hearts. Mark chapter 14 where we are tonight. And if this week's outline looks very similar to last week's, it is. And the reason for that is we didn't get very far last week in the outline. But we got pretty far and a lot of other things. I have enjoyed so much the great discussion we had last week and all the questions. And I really enjoy that kind of classroom setting and enjoyed that last week. Sometimes, however, when I go home and I'm kind of processing all that was said and done, there's a little twinge of conscience. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure. Saying, you know, you could have answered this a little differently or said this a little differently. Maybe been a little bit more gracious. And one of those instances that came to my mind last week was and no one has said anything to me about this except maybe it was Holy Spirit. I believe it was Holly Perry that said something about another pastor. She had heard a particular thing in my immediate response. I was kind of amped up about the discussion. My immediate response, that's not good enough. And I certainly want you all to know that I wasn't directing that comment at Holly. But that particular view of God's four knowledge is a very common one. And it does not really do justice to the scriptural terms and doctrine of why God four knew and what he four knew and how that makes how that plays into our salvation. So at any rate, that's off my chest and conscience tonight. So all right, let's get back into Mark chapter 14. And we are in the upper room with the Lord Jesus. We have watched as he prepares for the Passover gives instructions for the Passover meal. Then we have noticed as the meal begins, there was the awareness of a traitor. And so this Passover meal is underway. And Jesus explains that there will be a traitor and that traitor is Judas. And that of course brought a lot of discussion last week, which was interesting. We begin tonight in verse 22 of Mark chapter 14, where Jesus, after announcing that one of them would betray him and responding to the surprise of the disciples and so forth. In verse 22, we find the institution of a memorial. This is probably the most well-known segment of the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples because we are regularly reminded of this whenever we do a communion service. And so notice what happens here, the institution of a memorial. In verse 22, while they were eating Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, take it, this is my body. Then he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank from it. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, he said to them, truly I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. In verse 26, when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. What I want to talk about first is the elements of this memorial, the actual elements that Jesus uses to institute a memorial of his death and you are familiar with this from communion services. What Jesus did was totally outside the box of what was done at a Passover meal. The bread was a common part of the meal and it was typically shared with every part of the meal. But at some point, possibly toward the end of the meal, Jesus takes bread and he breaks it and passes it to the disciples and then he completely goes off script as far as Passover meal is concerned and he says, take it, this is my body. There is nothing like that in the Passover meal. That is completely away from what the disciples would have expected for that meal, but Jesus is using the bread to institute something new and then he does the same thing with the cup. The text says he took a cup when he had given thanks and gave it to him, they all drank from it. The problem was the third cup, the last of the three cups that were used in the meal and Jesus again breaks from the typical observance of Passover and uses it to stand for something else. That was not a part of the Passover meal or part of the feast. I think that the disciples no doubt sensed that something different was happening. I mean, they couldn't escape that. They must have sensed something new was taking place, but they still don't comprehend it all and why would you think they don't comprehend what Jesus is doing with the elements? They didn't comprehend it. He was going to die yet. They didn't get that yet. So obviously, we look back on it with our knowledge of why Jesus did it, Paul's explanation in 1 Corinthians 11. We have all that information. It's so easy for us to look at this and say, well, sure, they would have known what he was talking about. No, they didn't. They evidently, I think, would have grasped that something different is happening here and something new has been instituted, but they had not yet fully grasped his death. They would not have that night in that upper room grasp the significance of what he was telling them. They would get it later. And I think they got a lot between the resurrection and the ascension in those 40 days where Jesus taught them and explained a lot to them. And then in the book of Acts, of course, the Holy Spirit, a constant teacher and guide to them filled in a lot of the blanks. So they would get it pretty soon, but I don't think they got it that night. They must have sent something new was being instituted, but they didn't fully grasp what it was about. But the elements of this memorial were the bread and the cup, the wine that was in the cup. The meaning of the memorial is very clear to us, but it's not clear to everybody. And Jesus took the bread and said, take it, this is my body. Then he took the cup and says, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. So he makes a very clear statement, this is my body, this is my blood. And that has caused no small amount of confusion throughout church history. There are at least three major views of what Jesus was talking about. And one of those is that Jesus was literally saying, this bread is my body. And whenever we partake of it today, it literally turns into the body of Christ. That's a view called trans substantiations. Did you help other Roman Catholic church? That whenever you partake of the mass, as they call it, or communion, you're actually taking a fresh sacrifice of the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. And the reason why that is taught basically is because that's necessary for salvation in their eyes. Obviously, that's a perversion of what Hebrews teaches that Jesus died once for sin. That's all that was needed. But that is one view. Another view that Martin Luther took was called consubstantiation. And that meant basically that Jesus was in and under the elements, but they didn't turn into his body and blood. It was as close as you could get to the Catholic church, as close as Martin Luther would want to get to their teaching in your aid and still maintain something mystical going on in the communion itself. The third view is the view that we take and most Protestants would take. And that is the symbolic memorial view. And that is that Jesus was saying these elements are my body and blood in a symbolic way. And they are symbols to help us remember. In fact, Luke's Gospel tells us that Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. Paul in his teaching about it also includes that statement in 1 Corinthians 11 that Jesus was saying, do this in remembrance of me. So these are symbols that help us to remember Christ's death. Now, you know, Jesus by saying this is my body or this is my blood, you don't have to see that strictly literal. Jesus said a lot of things like that. And it was very understood that it would be symbolic. I am the door. I am the vine. You're the branches. Obviously, those are symbolic word pictures to present something. And Jesus is doing that here. Plus the fact that no Jew would ever drink blood. No Jew would ever eat meat that had blood in it. That was against the law of Moses. And Jesus blood was still in his body. I mean, just too many, too many things that say no that he's not talking literally. He's using these symbols. Steve. Yeah, all of those things in the Passover meal, the way it was observed and so forth, really were designed to remember what happened in Egypt in God's sovereignty. Obviously, there are many similarities to what happened with Christ. As with many things in the Old Testament, you have to be careful about calling something directly a type unless the scriptures indicate it was designed that way. So I would probably be a little bit more cautious. I think there are a lot of interesting parallels to call them intentional types. I think goes a little beyond what the scriptures actually say, but there are a lot of interesting parallels in the very way that it was observed and what would happen with Christ. You're exactly right. The elements themselves designed to be symbols that help us remember the death of Jesus and then Jesus does say he's instituting a new covenant. You see that in verse 25 or verse 24. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, he said to them. Blood of the covenant, what he's instituting is a symbolic memorial of a new covenant. He's taking the place of what? The Old Covenant. The Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is the law or the covenant that God had made with Israel through the law. That's the covenant that he's talking about here. Jesus is instituting a new covenant which will also introduce a new people. That is now choosing to work not through a nation but through a body of people. Christ's body composed of both Jew and Gentile and that transition is being anticipated in this meal. As Jesus institutes this memorial observance of not only his body and blood but what that will do, what his death will do on the cross. It will establish a new covenant, a new people of God who are in a covenant relationship with God and that is through Christ's death. That's the institution of the memorial. Questions or comments about that? We're pretty familiar with that I think. Let's take a look at the prediction of a denial. That's what takes place next. Verse 26 says when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives. That indicates the conclusion of the Passover meal and the hymn that would typically be sung would be Psalm 115 to 118 which would finish out the series of Psalms that would be used in the Passover meal, Psalm 113 to 118. That's the hymn they would sing that would be the typical Psalm that would be or Psalms that would be sung at a Passover. So they would sing and then they would move out to the Mount of Olives. They would leave. Now, there's more that goes on that we're going to get to in a moment by way of the washing of feet. But Jesus predicts a denial in verses 27 to 31. He says, and this is the denials in verses 27 and 28. You will all fall away. Jesus told them, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. And then he goes on to say, but after this, after I've risen, I will go ahead of you in the Galilee. Remember, he would remind them of that after the resurrection in Matthew 28. Okay, Jesus noticed he says, you will all deny me. He does not specify just Peter. He says, you will all deny me. And then he quotes Zachariah 137 which is the quote there in italics in verse 27. The shepherd will be struck and the sheep will be scattered. plural. So it's not just Peter. You know, it's not that Jesus is picking on Peter and saying, you're going to deny me. He's saying all of you will deny me. Well, there are protests to that. And this is what is interesting. The protests in verses 29 to 31, Peter declared, Peter's the one that speaks up. So this is why he gets isolated a little bit here. Peter declared, even if all fall away, I will not. So Peter first protests Jesus statement about denial and Jesus answers back. Verse 30, truly, I tell you Jesus answered today, yes, tonight before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times. Now that must have literally shocked Peter. Obviously it did. You can tell from his response verse 31, but Peter insisted emphatically, even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. And then notice that last statement, all the others said the same. Now, Peter's the outspoken one of the disciples. That's typical for Peter. And so he speaks up, but he's not the only one that says this. He's not the only one that protests this prediction of Jesus, of the denial. All the others said the same thing. Peter is the one that's outspoken, says at first, but everybody else agrees. Even if we have to die with you, we will not disown you, but within, within 12 hours, they all would. Which teaches us what? Yes, Allison. Nothing necessarily verbally. And maybe not in the same way Peter did. Peter denied him there at the close to the trial. The others denied him like Jesus said, the sheep will scatter. They left. So by their actions, they denied him. And they only won came back even to the cross. And that was John, wasn't it? But they all would deny him with their actions. Peter would with these words. Yes. So in a more direct way, Peter would deny. Okay? Only then? Anything else? that you're asking. I'm thinking of these other groups. I think there's no one who's trying to be and they're trying to get out of these. They're down and there's a lot of the things that they've been trying to do to make out to go online. And they're going to do whatever they're trying to do. Yeah, that's interesting. I'd never thought of that. I'm not sure why that change, except maybe that, when Jesus said that about one of you will betray me, that was just such a shock to them. And they can't think of who would do that. Nobody was fingering Judas at this point. So their initial response, I would think, is one of shock. Could it be me? Lord, surely it's not me, is it? And then after expressing that, evidently they became more confident in their thinking, saying, no, no, it's not me. No, it's not me. You know how kind of we bolster ourselves up with courage sometimes when we're not sure of ourselves? I think that maybe what's going on here, that they're thinking, Lord, it's not me, is it? No, can't be. No, it's not me. Lord, I'll die for you. I think maybe it's that kind of bravado response. Obviously they didn't know their own weakness, just like we don't. When we proclaim that we're going to do whatever for the Lord, we're going to do this, we're going to do that. But I think that may be what was happening, just that very human self-doubt because of the shock of what was happening and then kind of bolstering up their courage to say, no, no, it's not me. I won't do that. That may be what was happening. I'm confident that we do, don't we? I mean, we're very good at promising God what we will do. And maybe the lesson we need to learn from this is that our response should be more, Lord, I know I can't do anything without your help, by your grace, and with your strength, I will do my best, but I don't have any confidence in myself that I can stand or do whatever is needed for you. I think that's the better attitude to have. And maybe that's what we can learn from them in this situation. Because certainly we do the same thing, don't we? Lord, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I promise you this, I promise you that, and then we find we're either not able or not willing to follow through. Okay? Anything else there? All right, there is one other thing that happens in the upper room, actually there's some teaching that goes on too, and we will comment on that later, but there's one other event that takes place, and it is the washing of feet. And let's turn to John 13, where we find that recorded. John is really the only gospel that records this, although Luke says a little bit about the setting of it. It's a little difficult to place this in the timing of what happened in the upper room. In fact, it's a little difficult to place everything, just exactly how it might have happened. But this does appear to be toward the beginning of the meal, not right at the beginning though. I think sometimes we have the picture that they walk in, and they're seated, and Jesus immediately does this, but John tells us in verse one, it was just before the Passover festival, and we'll get to that in a moment. In verse two, the evening meal was in progress when Jesus gets up to do this. They were already into the Passover meal. So they were already reclined at the table and eating the meal before this happened. So it's a little difficult to know particularly that Jesus has done before Judas left the room. It says in verse two, that the devil had already prompted Judas to betray him, that could be the fact that Judas has already gone to the high priest and offered his services, if you will. It doesn't necessarily mean that Judas has already left the room that Satan is literally entered into him as we saw last week. Jesus will say as he's washing their feet that one of you is unclean, so maybe Judas is still in the room. It's a little difficult to know the timing of everything. It does appear that Judas had left the room before Jesus instituted the Lord's suffer, or the communion, the bread and the cut, from the sequence of events in the other gospels. But where to place this exactly is a little difficult. The reason I've left it to last, we're just going to say, okay, this happened, not sure exactly when in the sequence of events, but it happened in the upper room. And probably closer to the beginning of the meal than to the end. But Luke does tell us, hold your place here, and Luke does tell us the context in which this happened. And Luke 22, beginning in verse 24. Okay, this is clearly during the meal, and again, it's difficult to put things in exact sequence, but at some point in the meal, verse 24, a dispute, also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be the greatest. Ah, the old argument comes back up again. And this seems to be a fairly common debate among the disciples. This is certainly not the first time this has happened, but they are in the upper room within hours of the death of Christ, and they are still debating who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. See, they're still thinking Jesus is going to set up His kingdom right now, and they're still debating who's going to be Secretary of State and who's going to be Secretary of Defense. Okay, so Jesus said to them, the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors, but you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves, for who is greater, greater, the one who is at the table, or the one who serves, is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials, and I confer on you a kingdom just as my father conferred one on me so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on throne and judge you in the 12 tribes of Israel. So it goes on to talk about the kingdom, but he is addressing their debate about who's going to be the greatest. They're thinking about position and prestige and power, and Jesus addresses that by talking about servanthood, and even mentions, I am among you as one who serves. So somewhere in that context, Jesus actually gets up and demonstrates that, and that's what John tells us in John 13. Jesus is going to get up and take the role of a servant and serve them like a household servant would when people would come as guests for a meal. Jesus is going to do what a household servant would do, and what none of them thought to do when they came in. Why? Because hey, if you want to be secretary of defense, you're not going to do what the Senate callboy does. You're not going to do the servant type stuff. So none of them would think of that because they're busy trying to figure out who's going to be the greatest. So both what Jesus says and what he does is one of the greatest lessons on servanthood in all of the scriptures and certainly in Jesus' ministry. So let's look at John 13 and we'll see more about what happens here. We're going to look, first of all, the heart of a servant, and we'll look at the actions of the servant, and then we will look at the challenge of the servant to us. First of all, the heart of the servant. Let's look at Jesus' heart as he begins this, as he does it. And this is showing John, is showing us where his heart is. Now please remember, Jesus is within 12 to 15 hours of actually being placed on the cross. Keep that in mind. Past over a meal typically would start around 6 o'clock in the evening. Jesus was placed on the cross nine o'clock Friday morning. They're into the meal, maybe close to the middle of the meal. So it's somewhere between 12 and 15 hours before Jesus actually would be placed on the cross. And he knows that. We're going to see it in this passage. It's exactly what's going to happen in these next 12 hours or so. And yet, you don't get the impression. Certainly there's no indication that he's watching the clock nervously. There's no anxious look on his face. There's no darting of his eyes back and forth looking for some way to escape all of this. He is very calmly teaching his disciples a lesson on servanthood. While the shadow of the cross is already falling across him within 12 hours or so, he'll be on the cross. And he knows that. Now I don't know about you, but I've said it before. That just strikes me very deeply. I mean, I try to think of myself if I knew that I was going to die in 12 hours. And I knew how I was going to die. Could I have maintained composure like this, controlling the situation, teaching to the very end? I don't think so anyway. I could have done that except obviously for God's grace and power. And that's what Jesus is drawing on, obviously. Okay, let's look at his heart. And what we see first of all is that it is a peaceful heart. Verse 1, it was just before the Passover Festival, speaking of the feast of unleavened bread, which was often called the Passover feast or the Passover Festival, in addition to the festival unleavened bread. That would start the day after Passover. Just before that, Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Okay, he knew that. He knew that his hour had come. That is a drastic change in terminology from everything you've seen in the Gospel of John up to this point. I think it's five times up to this point. Jesus has said, my hour has not yet come. My hour has not yet come. You know, when something would happen, my hour has not yet come. He said that five times, I think, in the Gospels up to this point. And now within 12 hours of the cross, Jesus knew that the hour had come. And he knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He knows that he will suffer. He knows that he will die. He knows everything that that hour involves. He knows the purpose for which he has come. He knows that this is all in the Father's will and purpose. And he is at peace as he trusts the Father's purpose and will and follows it. Exactly. He is holy at peace. Now, he will go through personal agony in the garden very shortly. And we'll get to that later and describe and talk about why that would happen. But beneath that raging sea that was going on, there is a settled calmness about Jesus. A peace deep waters that are calm underneath the raging storm on the surface. He is trusting in God's providence and plan. He knows that the hours come and he is moving toward it with peace. Amazing. Amazing. Peaceful heart. But notice, verse 1 also says, he has a loving heart. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. He has loved them all through his ministry, right? Speaking of the disciples, he has loved them all through his ministry from the moment he called them to follow him. And now he is going to love them all the way to the end. What do you think is meant by that? How is he going to love them to the end? By doing what he was going to do, which is dying on the cross. Obviously, that is intended. He will love them just like he demonstrated his love for us by dying on the cross. Is there anything between right now in the upper room and his death on the cross that will demonstrate he will love them to the end? Where they treated these two of us? Exactly. A lot is going to happen in these next 12 hours and for the disciples, not much of it is good. So, in our busyness, what you are saying, Tommy is so true and our busyness, we get so self-focused, don't we? It is all about us and our agenda and our schedule and our time commitments. We miss the opportunities to serve others around us. Exactly right. It is a loving heart. He will love them by demonstrating grace to them in these hours when they are going to fail him in a number of ways. He will still demonstrate grace. I think, do you remember when Peter literally does deny him with his words? Do you remember what Jesus did in that moment? What does the Bible says he did? Somebody, he looked at him, didn't he? And remember, it was that look that pierced Peter's heart and Peter, the Bible says, left weeping bitterly. What do you think that look was like? Obviously, we don't know. I don't think... What kind of look could have been that kind of look? I really sense there was something of deep compassion in that look that pierced Peter's heart. You remember what Jesus said to Peter? We haven't really looked at it yet. It is in Luke's Gospel in Luke 22. What Jesus said to Peter when they were still in the upper room and he was talking about how Peter would deny him. He said, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith failed not. And there's the love. You see, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat. Peter, you're so weak, you'll fall for it. It's not what he said. There was no look of anger or surprise. I think what he said probably was also communicated and he's looked, but I've prayed for you that your faith failed not. Peter, I'm concerned about you. What's going to happen in these next few hours could either destroy you or it could end up being used to build you stronger. And I'm praying that your faith will not fail. There's that kind of love and compassion that just flows out of the Lord Jesus. There will be many ways in the next 12 hours he will show them that he loves them. You love them to the end, to the very end. So there's a loving heart, but verses two and three, I think also indicate he had a confident heart. The evening meal was in progress and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon, his scarier to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power, interesting phrase, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. That's a very interesting statement. It indicates the confidence with which Jesus approaches the cross. He has a confident heart because he knows this is the father's purpose. And he knows the father has put everything under his control. So he is moving very purposefully toward the cross because all of these events are under his control. This is the clearest statement of what I've been saying all along that Jesus is not out of control here. He's not reacting or responding frantically to circumstances. He is in the purest sense of the word controlling them. He is moving history toward its greatest climax and that is the cross. To the very peak of history is the cross and obviously the resurrection that will follow. So yes, there's a confidence that's indicated in those words. He knew that the father put all things under his power. He knew where he had come from, he had come from God, he knew where he was going, he was going back to God, the father, and so that confidence. I know where I'm coming from, where I've come from, I have everything under control right now, I know where I'm going. There's that sense of confidence in what's happening. So that kind of heart of a servant is that peaceful heart, a loving heart and a confident heart. But let's introduce at least his actions. The actions of the servant on that evening are amazing. Let's read them beginning in verse 4. So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing. There would be a typical Jewish male would wear a tunic, a garment that went down to about the knees, and then over top of that there would be a longer flowing robe. And that's the outer garment that Jesus took off was that robe, that longer flowing robe is probably what he took off. So he took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Let me stop right there, first of all. Remember the setting, Jesus and the disciples are reclining at a very low table, just a few inches off the floor, reclining on their left elbow, eating with the right hand feet stretched out behind them away from the table. Remember that setting, that's the kind of meal we're talking about here, and that helps us understand Jesus actions here, how he could get at their feet so easily to wash them, because of the way they were positioned at this table. What Jesus does is the job of a servant, it would be the job of a household servant when people would come into the house off of dusty roads and streets, their feet would be dirty. They would remove their sandals and a household servant would wash their feet with a basin of water that was near the entrance and a towel that was there for that purpose. So Jesus just gets up and goes over and gets that equipment and starts doing that. Now, he doesn't announce that he's going to do it, he doesn't say anything about it, he doesn't say, now I'm going to be the servant here. If you have to announce it, it's probably not genuine, is it? He just got up and did it. He didn't explain, he didn't announce, it may have come in the very context of them debating about who's the greatest, and as they're debating, as they're listing off their bullet points, as to why they should be considered for this or that or the other, Jesus just gets up, walks over toward the entrance, takes off his outer garment, takes the water that was in a pot, pours it in a basin, and takes the servants' towel, wraps it around himself, and starts back toward the disciples. He hasn't said a word, as far as we know, no indication he's just done it. Now, look at what happens in verse 6, he came to Simon Peter who said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. No said Peter, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered, unless I wash you, you have no part with me. Then Lord, Simon Peter replied, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well. Jesus answered, those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet, their whole body is clean, and you are clean, though not every one of you, for he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. Boy, there is a lot going on here, and we've got exactly one minute. So we're just going to be able to introduce this briefly. What Jesus does here is, first of all, symbolic of his entire mission. There is a lot of symbolism going on here. As you can tell with the conversation between him and Peter, there's a lot of symbolism that Peter doesn't understand yet, and we'll get to that probably next time. But I want to highlight, first of all, the symbolism in the very actions of Jesus. What he does really is, in a few brief moments, it is a composite picture of his entire ministry, really of his entire humanity. Think about it for a moment. He rose from the table where he's been fellowshipping with his disciples. And I want to press this too far, but I think there is a lot of similarity between what happens here and what Paul talks about in Philippians 2, describing the servanthood of Jesus. Jesus gets up from the table where he's fellowshipping with the disciples, very symbolic of Jesus leaving the fellowship of his father and the Holy Spirit in heaven. He gets up from that. He takes off his outer garment. Very symbolic of the fact that when Jesus left heaven, he, as Paul says in Philippians 2, made himself literally empty himself, which most theologians take to mean, he divested himself of the outward trappings of glory that he had in heaven. Then after that, he wrapped a towel around his waist, the servant's towel, very symbolic of the fact that Jesus not only laid aside the outward display of his glory when he left his fellowship with the father and the Holy Spirit, but he also wrapped himself in humanity. He became a man, as Paul says in Philippians 2, and he became a servant at that. Okay, so then he takes the basin and pours the water in it, very symbolic of Jesus pouring out his blood, and with that water, then he will wash their feet, and with his blood, he will cleanse us from our sins. Everything Jesus is doing is a beautiful picture of the whole purpose of him coming to earth. And that's exactly what Paul talks about in Philippians 2, in case you're struggling to remember that passage that we just quickly read it for you. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature, God, did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Okay, so that's the display of glory in heaven. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. That whole process of the divesting of the outward display of glory, he'd never divested himself with his deity. He always maintained his deity, but the outward trappings of the glory that he had with father, he did not consider that to be something that he had to hang on to at all costs. But he later decide and wrapped himself in humanity and became a servant so that he might die, even death on a cross, pour out his blood for us. So there's a real sense in which this is symbolic of his mission. What he's doing is symbolic of his whole mission and coming to this earth. It's a beautiful picture. But there is also here something that is symbolic of our cleansing, and we'll have to wait to get to that. It's the interaction between him and Peter that is symbolic of our cleansing, and there is a beautiful distinction made by our Lord between the need to have your whole body bathed and your feet washed. And what happens in the interaction between him and Peter is very instructive in a bigger picture of what salvation and then fellowship with God is all about. We'll talk about that next time. Okay, times up. We've got to pray and go. Let's do that. Father, thank you for the servanthood of our Lord. Thank you, Father, that he as our Lord, the one who is the greatest at the table, was willing to become the least, to demonstrate the true heart of a servant. I also thank you, Father, for what you teach us about his peaceful, calm, commanding presence in the face of death. May we be able to live for you and trust you and draw from your strength and power that when we face difficulty in our lives, we can face it with his strength. Grant us your grace, grant us the servant spirit of our Master. We pray in his name, amen.