We read in Matthew 10 how the Lord gathered his apostles to send them on a mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And he prepares them for the difficulty of their mission. He warned them of the fierce rejection they would face, of the families they would split and of the weariness of the way. In addition, he pronounced a blessing on any who helped his messengers when they were weary in the way.
We are weary
We come together this morning as thirsty travelers on a long and difficult journey. We are seeking spiritual refreshment and life-giving water from the word of God.
Our walk is often difficult. We become weary. I know that I do and I know that you do. I’m wearied by the rejection of the Truth by those whom I love in my own family. We all weary from the world’s rejection of divine principles. And we weary from our own persistent failure to live the wholly dedicated life.
We know that we are not living for this world. We know that our life is hid with Christ in God. We’re not living for our buildings, our homes, our jobs, our acquaintances. We know that we walk by faith, not by sight. We know these things and sometimes our knowledge is reflected in our walk. But sometimes it isn’t.
When we consider our responsibility and the great calling we have received, at times of self-evaluation we often feel like wretched men and women. We often know the work and don’t respond. We know what needs to be done but we cower. We are asked to sacrifice, but we pursue comfort.
The Lord said: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her…” We have been betrothed to Christ but we are enticed by the world, even in our hearts. The world — she’s the harlot of the Proverbs, isn’t she? She’s the one who stands outside the door and says, “Enter in, it’s sweet smelling and warm and pleasant.” And as we walk in the world, we are enticed. How easy it is to commit adultery with the world, we who have been betrothed to Christ.
We are grieved at our own failures, and we ought to be. Yet it is a man who grieves who can be healed. Here we are, brought to the water for the weary. The atoning work of our Lord was not concluded in his death upon the cross. He continues even today in his service to God and to us.
He knows our frame
The point is dramatically illustrated in the case of the apostle Peter. He was one of those sent to proclaim the gospel message. Before going, he heard the Master say, “He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Along with others, he was warned later, “He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.”
Peter knew these things but there came a day when he failed miserably. He denied his Master and afterward wept bitterly. He had loved his life, this life, and he knew that the consequences of such a course were to lose his life for ever. He did not know what would become of him. Like us, he had failed his Master by loving his own life and the world and the present benefits.
Although he openly failed, the heart of Peter was known by his Lord. Peter truly hated the world and despised all that it represented. Knowing this and knowing what lay before Peter, at the last supper, the Lord made special provision for him a few hours before Peter’s failure.
He wants to help
The Lord Jesus said, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.” Why did he have such earnest desire to spend this time with them? Because of the words of encouragement which they would give him at his greatest time of need? No, for they fell into argument over who among them should be the greatest. Did he enjoy having Judas there? Didn’t he know the heart of Peter and warn him of the impending betrayal? Didn’t he know that all would forsake him? He did not earnestly desire to have this meal with them for the good they would do him but for the good he would do for them!
And this is what he did, as recorded in John 13:4-10. While they did not realize what he was doing, he prepared them that they might recover from their impending failures, especially Peter. After supper was over, he “laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
When he came to Peter, Peter said, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” Peter, you don’t understand what I’m about to accomplish for you. You don’t know what you’re going to do in a couple of hours.
Peter objected, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” But he quickly reversed himself when the Lord warned, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” was Peter’s urgent request. Then the Lord explained, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.”
Peter had been washed and so have we. We come to the table of the Lord as part of the ecclesia that Christ loved and gave himself for “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:25-26). But like Peter, we who have been washed all over have feet that need to be washed again, and again, and again.
Continual washing
At this time, Jesus ministers to us in a work that Peter did not at first understand — the need for our continual washing. While we were thoroughly washed at our baptism, our feet often become defiled as we walk in the world. But we are not therefore cast off. Peter, for a moment, loved his life more than his lord, but repented with bitter tears. He was brought back from despair by his Lord and his feet were washed again.
The Lord desires to eat this pass-over with you and me not for what we have done for him, we have, no doubt, already acknowledged that we have failed in that regard, but for what he can do for us this day.
An older Peter would later quote the words of Psa. 34:12-14, “he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it” (I Pet. 3:10-11). This is the love which Peter had developed: a deep, complete love, a sacrificial love, an agape love.
This must be our aspiration, having been washed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ – to hate the world and to love the life which sacrifices for good. Peter learned this lesson. Indeed, we all fail from time to time through loving this present life. But if we sincerely want to live a godly life, if we come here with repentant hearts and minds seeking forgiveness, our defiled feet are washed.
He has chosen us
As the little band walked from the upper room to Gethsemane, the Lord spoke with urgency about the future. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:16-17).
They had a work to do and so do we. The provision for our failures in that work has been made by a merciful God. Like Peter, we must mature, determining not to forsake our Master and renew our resolve to follow him.
The Lord promised his apostles that he would always be with them. Strengthened by that promise, the apostles worked diligently to deliver the Truth. “After the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16:19-20).
Let us take courage
Let us be refreshed this morning that our Lord has been received into heaven at the right hand of God and that, if we acknowledge him, he acknowledges us to Almighty God. In our proclamation of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, let us be encouraged that we can be cleansed from the evil of the world. Coming with repentant hearts, we continue to be washed by the blood of the lamb. Let us go forth rejoicing in the assurance that we do not toil alone.
The work is not ours, it is the work of our Master on whose behalf we labor. There is a mighty power working with us, who ministers to our needs day by day. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers” are the words that continue Peter’s quotation from the Psalm. This is the cool water of the Word from which we must drink deeply and be refreshed.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One