King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, November 10, 2024
Chapters: John Chapter 13-14
Message: Wash One Another’s Feet
Hello My Friend,
[Foot; The lower extremity of the leg; the part of the leg which treads the earth in standing or walking, Foundation; condition; state.] I do not know about you, but I am not a fan of feet, I do not like mine, I do not like them to be touched, and I definitely do not like to touch others feet. However, we are to never underestimate our feet, they truly are a foundation of our being able to function well in this walk of faith that every Christian ought to have, so I am inclined to take care of my feet. That does not mean that I have not stumbled or done damage to them, but God certainly has a way of humbling us so that it is not our feet that is doing the walking, it is Christ’s feet.
Jesus, said this, [John 13:14-17 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.]
I suspect from what we had read yesterday from Luke, [Luke 22:23-24 And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. 24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.] that this is why Jesus felt the need to say that, however, what He did prior to that statement would have shocked any true believer. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, John, gives his account of the Passover meal and while he does not go into detail about the plot to kill Jesus and Judas Iscariot going to the chief priests, he does tell us what was going on in the upper room while they were there.
[John 13:1-5 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 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.]
[having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.] Jesus, proved His lover for all mankind when He gave His life for all of us, not just the believers, but the reprobates too. Now, that does not mean that all of them will be saved, only true believers whom have received Him as their Saviour will be saved and oddly enough Jesus washing their feet was an illustration of that. I can just imagine all the disciples as Jesus knelt down in front of them and began washing their feet, but Peter thought the gesture was absurd, if anything, he should have been washing Jesus’ feet. However, if he wanted to be a disciple it was imperative that he allow Jesus to wash his feet, which Jesus sort of explains.
[John 13:7-11 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.]
[If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.] Jesus, was referring to his soul and likewise ours, we can take this back to what Jesus said to Nicodemus, [John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.]
Those whom have not accepted Christ as their Saviour are not clean as they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, but that does not mean that we do not need a good feet washing as we are exposed to sin on a daily basis, which is why Jesus said this, [He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet,]. Anyone can play the part of a Christian for a little while, but eventually the truth does come out, [Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.]
Jesus, sort of explains this after He had washed all their feet and returned back to their seats at the table, [John 13:12-15 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.]
[ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.] Believe it or not, there is more strife in Christ centered churches than there is among those in the world. It is time that we who proclaim Christ start acting like it because it is not we who need to be saved, it is those out there in the world, if they do not see Jesus, then there is no hope for them, [Galatians 5:13-16 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.]
Jesus, was well aware that Judas Iscariot did not believe in Him, but what Jesus was doing here was preparing them for what was about to came to pass and would be trying to figure out what to do next, [John 13:18-20 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. 19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.]
[I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen:] It is rather interesting to realize that there are some people in this world that God allows to be used of the devil to fulfill His purpose in our coming to Him. If God had given us no choice then we would not be here, but then again, would God want us to be like robots and have no choice in anything? That does not mean that God agrees or is not troubled by those who choose not to believe. After Jesus said that He was grieved in His spirit.
[John 13:21-27 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.]
[when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot,] John, is the only one who reveals that Jesus handed the piece of bread to Judas directly and what He said to him. Satan, was not the one in control here, Jesus was, and at that point, the fate of Judas was decided, his heart was hardened and therefore, he was deserted by God forever. While he was Satan’s tool to fulfill the prophecy, he could do no more than what God allowed Him to do, [Job 2:4-6 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.]
At that point, Judas ran out of the room, but that left the other disciples with lot of questions, [John 13:28-30 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. 29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.]
[Buy those things that we have need of against the feast;] The disciples had no clue that Jesus was telling them that Judas was the one who was going to betray Him. Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought that he went to buy provisions for after the feast or went out to distribute some to the poor, but what He after that baffled them more than anything.
[John 13:31-33,36 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.]
[Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now;] At this point, Jesus, was referring to His passion, no one could have followed Him to the cross, this was something that Jesus had to do on His own, but after that they and all of us would be able to follow Him. We all have our own cross to bear, but we will surely follow Jesus once we endure it, [Luke 9:23-24 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.]
Now, Jesus, sees how concerned and confused they all were so decides to give them a little pep talk and let them know that even though He will not physically be here much longer, He will bring them to Him, [John 14:1-4 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.]
[And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.] Well, that statement came with a slew of questions from the disciples, [John 14:5-9 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?]
[and how can we know the way?] The only way we can know the way is if we have an honest and truthful relationship with God, those who do will come to understand that they truly need Christ to get to Him and accept that with no questions asked. When we come to Christ, we must believe in all that He is, the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life in order to become the true Passover lamb that would save every soul that believes in Him, [Romans 10:8-10 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.]
[shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.] As for Philip, he basically asks Jesus to show Him who God is, but Jesus point blank basically tells him that if he has not seen God after all he witnessed in the three and a half years that he walked with Him, then he has much bigger problems. We do not physically need to see Jesus to see God, He is everywhere, we just need to do a better job at opening our eyes, [Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:]
If we believe in God and all that HE is, then we should have no problem believing that Jesus, God, and even the Holy Spirit are one in the same, at least, once we start learning that truth as we get in His Word and start studying it. Jesus, goes on to explain the further.
[John 14:10-13 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.]
[the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these] This does not mean that we will be able to touch someone and heal them instantly or raise someone from the dead, but it does mean that we will be able to reach more people with the Gospel simply by washing their feet so to speak, meaning becoming a living sacrifice, [Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.]
So, how is it possible for us to be like Jesus? Jesus, goes on to tell us how that is possible, [John 14:15-18,21 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.]
[the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,] The world will never see Jesus the way we see Him, in fact, those who are saved and walk with Christ can spot one another. Well, Jesus, had an explanation for that as well, [John 14:22-26 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.]
[how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us,] Judas, had the most sensible question that we all should have really. The best way that we can wash one another’s feet and be more like Jesus is to ask Him what He would have us to do. Oh, and that is what the Holy Spirit is there for, [Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.]
[But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,] The Comforter enters into the soul of every believer. We cannot save ourselves, and just think about this, if our own works are required, then why did Jesus have to die? The truth is this, Jesus did not have to die, He willingly offered Himself as the permanent redemption and atonement needed to save every soul who believes in Him forever. That is something that we should all be counting our blessings for, [1 Corinthians 1:18-21 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.]
These poor guys really were besides themselves, they were so lost as to what Jesus was saying, even though they wanted to go where He was going they did not understand why they could not. Jesus, did not want them to be sad that He was leaving, He wanted them to rejoice in that fact, [John 14:28-31 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.]
[for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.] The prince of this world is none other than Satan himself, and this was his hour, something that he had been wanting to do since Jesus came here in the flesh. While Jesus did give His life for all mankind, only those who accept Him are His very own. This is something that we need to rejoice about because He loved us all the way to the cross and until the very end unto His death. That ought to bring tears to every saved, born again believers eyes. Thank God, that with our faith in Jesus, there is no end for us, once our soul leaves this earth, we will depart out of this world unto our Father, [2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for the great sacrifice that You made to save us from the second death and hell. Not one single person can save themselves from this horrible destination because of the sin that stains us. You love us so much that You knew there was no other way to save man than by giving Your own life to save us. We who believe in all that You are are not only washed clean of the sin that stains us, we are one with You forever. Lord, Lead us and guide us in all that You are, give us Your power, mercy, grace, to be the ones who become a reflection of You. Wash us clean from the filth of the day, and let us follow Your command to wash one another’s feet. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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