John 13:1-17 “Bathed in Christ to Wash Feet”

1:17In the first century, it would be hard to think of a more humble form of service than washing feet. It was a dirty job reserved for the lowliest servant in the house, and in fact, in Jewish Culture, there were both written and unwritten norms that no Jewish person would ever ask another Jewish person to perform that task. As we noted last week, John 13 through 17, the section of the gospel that we're getting into today, is known as the upper room discourse because it takes place in this borrowed upper room. Now, unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John does not focus his attention on the Last Supper.

2:01He doesn't focus his attention on the bread and the wine and its meaning and significance like the other gospel writers do. It's just implied that they ate the supper. So he doesn't spend any time there. With his actions here in John 13, what Jesus is doing is he's laying the groundwork for life in his new kingdom. And the Apostle John is going to focus on that, not on the bread and the wine and the significance and meaning of the Lord's Supper, but on the service that Jesus performed and the meaning and significance of this amazing act that he does here in the chapter.

2:38He's going to demonstrate that in his kingdom, indeed, the first are last and the last are first. He's going to show that in his kingdom it's one where serving others isn't just a lofty ideal, but it is expected and is a daily reality for every citizen in his kingdom. If we would Serve Christ and his kingdom, we must serve others. But what we're going to see here in John chapter 13 is that before we wash the feet of others, we must first be washed by Christ himself.

3:17So let's take a look here at John 13, verse 1. Here in the first verse, John reminds us that the Passover feast is at hand, which is why there were so many people in Jerusalem when Jesus entered in on the donkey just a few days earlier. And it also explains why Jesus sought out this upper room to be alone with his disciples, to have this private conversation, to have the Last Supper with them, and then to spend a significant and extended time praying for them and praying for us, in fact.

3:47And John notes here in verse 1 that Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of the world to the Father. And we know that three times before now, either Jesus himself or John, the writer of the gospel, noted that his hour had not yet come. But remember back to chapter 12, as soon as that group of Gentiles came seeking Jesus in fulfillment of all the prophecies that he would be the Savior of the world, Jesus knew that his hour had come. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. That's what he said when those Gentiles sought him. He knew the time had arrived for him to lay down his life.

4:30And John knows what? Look again at verse 1. That Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. That last phrase, he loved them to the end, that could also be translated, he showed them the full extent of his love. And I think both of those things are true. Jesus is the good shepherd who loved his own, his people, to the very end of his earthly life. He never stopped, not for a second.

5:06But in what he's about to do here in John 13, and washing the disciples' feet, and in what he's about to do, and going to the cross and laying down his life willingly for his people, he is going to show the full extent of his love. Not just that he loved all the way to the end, but how much he loved his people to the very end. And keep in mind, this is before Judas betrays him. This is before all the disciples desert him. This is before Peter denies him three times. Jesus knew all of that would happen, as John alludes to in verse 2. Take a look there.

5:44During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus knew this. He knew the betrayal was coming. He knew the desertion was coming. The denials were coming, and yet it did not stop him from showing the disciples the full extent of his love. He would show all of the disciples, including Judas, his love to the very end. And friends, this just reminds us how different Jesus is from every other human being. We tend to love those who love us, and we tend to serve those who serve us.

6:32But Jesus, while we were yet sinners, laid down his life for us. Jesus, while we were yet to betray him, while we were yet to desert him, while we were yet to deny him, all of us in various ways throughout our lives, he laid down his life for us, knowing that all of that was coming. And that's why the old hymn says, Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. What kind of love is that?

7:09Verse 3. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. Again, just think about the scenario here. Jesus knows Judas is going to be betraying. Knows the disciples are going to desert him. He knows that Peter is going to deny him three times. And yet, Jesus is completely at peace. He is completely at peace because he knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and he knew that he had come from God and he was going back to God.

7:52In other words, Jesus was completely at peace because he was secure in his inheritance and in his identity. First, Jesus was completely secure in his inheritance. In Matthew chapter 4, we're told about Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. And here's what Matthew says about that experience. This is the last temptation. Again, the devil took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.

8:35All these I will give you, all the kingdoms of the world. Friends, that's a blank check. That is anything and everything that you could ever want. And for Jesus in particular, what that is, is it's an opportunity to bypass the cross in becoming the king of kings. Now, who among us would not like to achieve our desired ends? By the easiest possible means, by the path of least resistance. That's what all of us want. That's why this is so tempting.

9:08But look how Jesus responds to him, Matthew 4. Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Why didn't Jesus fall for this temptation? It's because the Father had given all things into his hands. There was nothing that Satan could offer him that his perfect heavenly Father was not going to give him. And isn't that very thing at the root of so much of our striving, so much of our chasing after the things of the world? It's because we don't really believe in our heart of hearts that God is good and that he desires to bless us, and that he only withholds things that are not ultimately best for us. See, Jesus was perfectly secure in his inheritance, and that's what Hebrews chapter 12 says. Take a look. Hebrews 12, 2 says, Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

10:26Even knowing that all of this was about to happen to him, The betrayal, the denials, he was at peace because he was secure in his inheritance. There was nothing that could be taken away from him, including even his life, that the heavenly Father would not give back to him a hundredfold. And friends, that same language, that hundredfold language, is the very language that Jesus uses to encourage you and me to be secure in our inheritance. Take a look at Mark chapter 10, verses 28 through 31.

11:03Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first.

11:42Christians, we can be at peace even when we know our possessions, our money, our relationships, our health, all of it can be taken away from us. We can be completely at peace because our inheritance Is secure. Look at what Peter writes to the Christians who are scattered and persecuted and discouraged in 1 Peter chapter 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

12:38Jesus was at peace because his inheritance was secure. And friends, you and I can be at peace no matter what, because our inheritance is also secure. Second, Jesus was secure in his identity. Look back again at verse 3. He says, John says that he knew that he had come from God and he was going back to God. Jesus knew exactly who he was, the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

13:14And earlier in John's Gospel, the Pharisees were really upset because he was bearing witness about himself. And look what Jesus said to them in John chapter 8. Jesus answered, Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from. From and where I am going, but you do not know where I came from or where I am going. Even if the Pharisees didn't, Jesus knew exactly where he came from and where he was going. He was secure in his identity as the Son of God. And friends, that security is crucial for anybody who wants to serve other people in the way that Jesus is about to teach and demonstrate here in John 13.

13:59If we aren't secure in our identity, then we can't be vulnerable or show weakness. If we aren't secure in our identity, we will constantly be trying to prove ourselves to other people, which most often manifests itself in looking for ways to highlight all the things that we've accomplished. If we're not secure in our identity, we will be held hostage by the opinions of others because we care so much about what they think of us. And in my experience, it seems to be true that the more people say that they don't care what other people think, the less true that is.

14:41Thou doth protest too much. We all care what people think of us. But if we're not secure in our identity, we will be held hostage by that. And so, friends, if any of those things hit close to home, it might be because you aren't secure in your identity in Christ. And that's not a new problem for you or for people in this generation. That has been a problem forever. Finding security in Christ rather than anything else. And that's why the New Testament authors so often begin their letters by reminding us of who we are and our identity in Christ.

15:18The Corinthian church was a total mess. We preached a two-year series through 1 and 2 Corinthians called Messy Church. And I want you to think about that if you were here during those years and think about what a mess that church was and remind yourself. Take a look on the screen at 1 Corinthians 1:2. This is how Paul begins that first letter. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. And I want you to look at that. I want to leave that on the screen for a minute because I want you to focus on those words. Sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. Friends, think about the Corinthian church. These are people who are bickering and fighting with each other about which preacher they like the best. They are taking one another to court and suing each other. There are big-time divisions in the church between rich and poor, where some are eating and being gluttonous and getting drunk, and others are having nothing to eat. You've got a dude sleeping with his stepmother.

16:30And Paul calls these people sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. He wants to lay the foundation right at the outset. This is your identity. This is who you are. He even says later on in chapter 6: look, here's all the things that you were. He says, such were some of you, but that's not who you are anymore. That's not your identity. This is your identity. He does not address them as sinners and screw-ups. He addresses them as those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.

17:06So, friends, Jesus was secure in his identity in God the Father. Hamo said in Christ, He's Christ. He was secure in His identity in God the Father. And that's why He didn't have to worry about any of those things we just talked about. And in the same way, when we are secure in our identity in Christ, we don't have to worry about any of those things either. Let's pick up in verse 4. He laid aside Houtergarments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, What I am doing, you do not understand now. But afterward, you will understand. Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That was why he said, Not all of you are clean.

18:35Now, this was a very unusual situation in the ancient Near East. When you showed up for a dinner party or a special occasion like this, it was normal practice to have a servant available to wash the feet of the guests as soon as they showed up for that special occasion. But of course, in this meeting, Jesus and the disciples are using a borrowed upper room. So there is no servant. And that means that if feet were going to be washed, one of the disciples was going to have to do it.

19:13But that would require one of the disciples humbling himself to stoop to this low level and wash the feet of men that he considered his peers. And we know from Luke chapter 22 that either right before the feet of the people. This or right after this, the disciples are literally arguing about who among them is going to be greatest in Jesus' kingdom. You cannot make it up. So, Jesus, secure in his inheritance, secure in his identity, he removes his outer garments, he wraps himself with a towel, and he begins to wash the disciples' feet. And he comes to Peter, and Peter is horrified at the prospect of Jesus doing this. He says, You shall never wash my feet.

19:59And if you look at the Greek, there's actually a double negative in the Greek. And so it can be translated like, You shall by no means wash my feet. No, never. He's that emphatic about it. But Jesus' reply is striking. Look what he says. Verse 8: If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. At one point in his ministry, Jesus tells what's known as the parable of the wedding feast. And there's this king who's having a wedding feast for his son. And so he invites all of these distinguished guests, but all of them ignore the invitation. And so the king tells his servants, I want you to go invite the whole city, anybody you can find, go out to the roads, the highways, the byways, bring them all in. So they do that. I want to pick up with a parable in chapter 22 of Matthew, verse 11. Take a look.

20:54But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So if you don't like going to weddings, I mean, it's risky.

21:23You can't come to the wedding supper of the Lamb unless you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And you can't come to the wedding supper of the Lamb if you are soiled with sin. You have to be cleaned by Christ. That's what Jesus is saying here. If I don't wash you, you have no share with me. In my kingdom, Jesus is saying, you've got to be completely washed by me. So typical Peter, he says, well, then, not just my feet, but my hands and my head also.

22:06And you have to appreciate, I mean, Peter wants to share in Christ. Peter is nothing if not earnest. He wants to share in Christ, but Jesus tells him to slow down. He says, look again. Verse 10, the one who is bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. Now, what? Jesus saying here? This doesn't seem to make sense when you first read it. Well, friends, if we go back to the book of Exodus, God is giving Moses instructions for consecrating the sons of Aaron. So you remember the 12 tribes of Israel, you've got Levi, is kid number four. The Levites descend, and one of their descendants is a man named Aaron. And God says that only the Levites can attend to the service in the tabernacle and then the temple, and only the Levites who are descended from Aaron can serve as priests. And so God is giving instructions on how to consecrate them for service. Look at Exodus 29, verse 4.

23:11You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. So what this is in reference to is this is a one-time washing. When the sons of Aaron are consecrated for priestly service, they get this special washing. It only happens once. But then during the course of their daily lives, they become ceremonially unclean from where they have to go and what they have to do and touch in their daily lives. And so let's move ahead to Exodus 30. Take a look on the screen. The Lord said to Moses, You shall also make a basin of bronze with its stand of bronze for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. With which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water so that they may not die.

24:16So, do you see what's going on here? They are consecrated, they are set apart for priestly service one time through the special full-body washing. But then, because they become unclean in their daily lives, before they serve at the temple each and every time, or before they serve in the tabernacle, they had to wash their feet and their hands. So, back to John 13, you may have noticed that up until verse 10, Jesus has been using the word wash.

24:46But then in verse 10, look again at what he says: the one who has bathed does not need to wash. Jesus is telling Peter that believers need to be bathed just a single time by Christ. And then they aren't just clean. What is the word that he uses? They are completely clean. Look at that, highlight it, underline it in your Bible if you do that. They are completely clean. When Paul was sharing the story of how Jesus saved him, and he's standing in front of the temple and there's that angry mob that's ready to kill him, he is sharing his testimony of how he came to. Faith in Christ and how Jesus did that miraculous work in his life, and he recounts what Ananias said to him, the man who led him to faith in Christ specifically. Look at what Ananias said. He said to Paul, and now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. That word there, wash, wash away your sins, that's the Greek word leo, and it means bathed. It's the same exact word that Jesus is using here. And so, friends, what Jesus is communicating to us is that when we come to faith in Christ, we get a spiritual bath. We are made completely clean once and for all. We never need to bathe again because we are declared righteous through faith in Jesus.

26:22But our feet get dirty. Through the course of daily life, our feet get dirty, our hands get dirty, not through the things that we touch or the places that we go, but through our sin, the evil things that we do, and the good things that we leave undone. So, what are we supposed to do? We've had a bath, but now our feet are dirty. So, we're commanded to wash them by confessing our sins to God and to each other. Look at 1 John chapter 1, verse 8 and 9.

26:59If we Say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Look at James 5:16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. When we confess our sins to God, He forgives us and cleanses us. He restores our fellowship with Him, not our relationship with Him.

27:47Our relationship with God is 100% secure from the moment that we believe in Christ because we've been bathed, we've been washed, we've been completely clean. All of our sin is forgiven and washed away. Our relationship is always secure, but our fellowship with God can be broken. It can be broken by our sin and disobedience. And so, the fellowship that we enjoy with God is due to a lot of factors. It's due to whether we're walking in obedience, it's due to the state of our prayer life, it's partially due to how we relate to other Christians in the church. All of that has to do with our fellowship with God. Our relationship is always secure, but our fellowship can be broken. So we're commanded to confess our sins to God so that we will be cleansed and forgiven.

28:42And then we confess our sins to each other, and the same exact thing is true. When we believe in Christ, we become brothers and sisters. We become a spiritual family, and that relationship is secure. Nothing is ever going to change the fact that you are a brother or sister in the family. But just like some of your own family relationships, maybe your extended family relationships are strained because of sin, because of hurt, because of these difficulties that we bring into our relationships, in the same way, we can strain and hurt our relationships with each other in the church through sin. And so we're commanded to confess our sins to each other, to ask for and extend forgiveness to each other, to be reconciled to each other. And that's one of the great things about taking the Lord's Supper each and every week: it provides us an opportunity, a moment, to reflect and to consider: is there any unrepentant sin in my life, particularly towards other people in the body of Christ? Is there any division that I have between me and somebody else in the body of Christ? It's a weekly checkup for us to ask these questions. Is there any sin I need to confess to God and to my fellow people? Brothers and sisters, not so that you can again become a child of God, not so that again you can come into the family of God, but so that your fellowship with God is current and whole. And so your fellowship with God, with other Christians rather, is current and whole.

30:19So the disciples had been bathed by Jesus, making them completely clean. Going forward, they would just need to wash their feet through confession. However, Jesus says that not all of them were clean because Judas Iscariot was still among them. And we're going to come back to him next week. Next week's sermon is going to focus on the rest of chapter 13 and Judas and his betrayal. So just store that away for now. We're going to move on to verse 12.

30:51When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

31:29After Jesus put His outer garments back on. He asks the disciples if they understand. It's like LOL Jesus. They never understand. He reminds them, though, that he is their teacher and Lord. That's what they call him. They call him teacher and Lord. And he says, you're right. That's what I am. And you remember last week we talked about the fact that many people see Jesus as nothing more than a teacher. A good teacher, maybe even the greatest teacher the world has ever known, but just a teacher. But as we saw last week, if you're not seeing Jesus for who he truly is, that is the Son of God, the Savior, Lord, and Christ, then you're not seeing the Father either.

32:17But I think we get that. I think we understand that concept. So I want to this morning look at this from the other angle. Many people call Jesus Lord, but he's not their teacher. Luke 6:46, take a look at what Jesus said. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Look at Matthew 7. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

33:18Now, those two quotes from Jesus are about as direct as it gets. You cannot call Jesus Lord and intentionally and consistently disobey his commands. You can't do it. In some sense, Jesus can be your teacher and not your Lord. I mean, don't we all know non-Christians who look to Jesus as a teacher without looking to him as Lord? I mean, there are lots of those people. Jesus, in some sense, can be your teacher without being your Lord.

33:58But make no mistake about it. If Jesus is not your teacher, he is not your Lord. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I command? Friends, I think there are many people, and maybe some in the room today, who need to wrestle with this. You might have called Jesus Lord for most of your life. Maybe you came to faith at an early age. You've always thought of him as Lord. Lord. You've always looked to him as Lord, but Jesus is not your teacher. You're not submitting your life to his teaching. You're not obeying his commands. And Jesus said to the disciples, you call me teacher and Lord, and you're right, because that's what I am. So, friends, he can't be our teacher and not our Lord, but he also can't be our Lord and not our teacher.

34:58So the disciples recognize that he's both. And that means that if Jesus is their teacher and he's washed their feet, then they need to wash one another's feet because he just gave them this example to follow. Now, there are some Christians out there, primitive Baptist churches and a handful of others, that look at this as the third ordinance of the church. So baptism, the Lord's Supper, and foot washing, because Jesus is saying, I am commanding you to do this.

35:28But I think from their writings and their practice, the early church didn't view it that way. And I don't think that's the point that Jesus is making here, that we literally must wash one another's feet. Now, we can do that, and we should do that if and when that ever becomes necessary. But the point that he's making here is that as his followers, we have to be willing to serve each other. No matter what it takes, no matter how gross, how undesirable, how difficult and dirty it may be, we need to be willing. To humble ourselves and to serve other members of the body of Christ. I think that's the point Jesus is making. Because if the whole command is literally to wash one another's feet, then all we have to do to obey this command is have a foot washing service once in a while, and then we can go back to serving ourselves and not thinking about anybody else.

36:22But I don't think that's Jesus' intent. It seems that the point he's making here is that we have to serve each other in whatever ways are necessary, humbling ourselves and lowering ourselves to lift others up. Now, as I mentioned before, the gospel writers note, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that right before this, they were arguing about who is the greatest, who would have the highest place in the kingdom. Take a look at Luke 22 and how Jesus deals with that situation. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater? One who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as one who serves.

37:26This is what Jesus is communicating here in John chapter 13. He's giving them a command that he does himself, literally washing their feet. He did what nobody else would do in the upper room in humbling and lowering himself. And he did what no one else could do on the cross by laying down his life in our place for our sins. Let's end here in verse 17. Look there again. Jesus says, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

38:03Friends, the most spiritually mature person in the room today is not the one who knows the most Bible verses. It's not the one who knows the most theology. It's not the one who's read the most books. The most spiritually mature person in the room today is the one who most consistently does the will of the Father. That's what Jesus is saying. This is an opportunity for every one of us to evaluate our own obedience to the Lord and specifically how we're serving other Christians. And so to use Jesus' illustration, if you come to church, if I can use that terminology, if you come to church primarily to get your feet washed rather than coming to wash the feet of other Christians, then Jesus. Says you are missing out on the blessing of God.

39:05That's not Pastor Allen guilt-tripping you into serving. That is Pastor Allen reading John 13:17 to you. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. So, church, this is one of the most convicting passages in Scripture because it exposes our selfishness and our hard hearts toward others, particularly those who follow Jesus. And for some of you here today, it would be a tragedy if you walked away from this service and this sermon, determining to try harder to do better at serving other people.

39:47Because before you wash the feet of others, you've got to have Jesus Himself wash you through faith. That is what you need the most. And maybe that rubs you the wrong way. I had a conversation just about a month ago with a guy. When I shared the gospel with him, he said he didn't like the idea of somebody dying for him because he had been taught and raised not to accept handouts from anybody. And so if he had sinned, then he would pay for it himself.

40:21Very sobering. There is no amount of work that we can do in a thousand lifetimes to pay off our debt of sin. And that is if we could somehow stop sinning and adding to the debt. It's impossible. We must have the Lord wash us. That's our only hope. And that's why we started today with Isaiah chapter 1. Take a look at 1.18. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

41:00Friends, that is only possible for those who turn in faith to Jesus, who lived perfectly, who offered himself in your place, and who rose victorious over sin and death. If you haven't done that yet, you need to allow Jesus to wash you, to bathe you today for the first time and for the last time. You need to be made completely clean by him. And the only way to do that is through faith. Now, for those of us who are already following Jesus, I think there are a lot of us who struggle on a daily basis feeling unclean and dirty before the Lord.

41:44I think there's a lot of people here in our church and in many churches that though they truly trust in Christ, they never feel truly accepted. And so I want you to look at Zachariah chapter 3, and I hope that this will be a great encouragement. To you this morning to remember your identity and to remember what Christ has done. Look at Zechariah 3. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

42:16That is what Satan is doing to so many of you. He is standing at your right hand to accuse you, to bring up every thought, every action, every word, every failure, every sin you committed yesterday and this weekend, every sin you committed against your husband and your kids, your roommates and your friends, your boss, your co-workers. He wants to bring all of that up. He is standing there pointing the finger at you and accusing you. And the Lord said to Satan, who says this to Satan? The Lord says this to Satan. The Lord rebuke you, O Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

43:02That is how we feel a lot of the time. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, remove the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments. And I said, Let them put a clean turban on his head. That sounds sweet. So they put a clean turban. Turban on his head and clothed him with garments, and the angel of the Lord was standing by. Christians, I want you to reflect and meditate on those truths. That through faith in Christ, you are no longer clothed with filthy garments, standing before the Lord, having the Lord accuse you as your judge. Satan is your accuser. Jesus is your Savior. And God is now your Father through faith in Christ. And so I want to remind you of your identity today and to encourage you to rest in His grace because you have been bathed by Christ and you are completely clean.

44:11Let's pray. Father, this morning we ask that you would help us to stand secure and rest in our inheritance and our identity. May we be those who wash our feet regularly by acknowledging and confessing our sins to you and to each other. And God, for any here who have. Not yet been washed, who have not been bathed by Christ. We pray that you would grant them saving faith this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.