WEBVTT 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:04.080 Thanks for listening to the His Hands Church podcast. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:12.640 If you're using the His Hands Church mobile app, please turn off the auto lock on your phone's general settings so that you can listen to the message uninterrupted. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:15.759 And thank you for being part of what God is doing at His Hands. 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:19.120 Let's pray. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:20.160 Let's just pray real quick. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:25.839 Oh, Jesus, thank you so much that you have given us complete victory. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.039 Complete victory over sin, complete victory over anything that Satan has against us. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:33.439 We love you, Jesus. 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.920 We thank you so much because we we need that, we rely on that. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:42.560 We just pray that you would speak to our hearts this morning, that you would teach us directly from your Spirit, your word, into our hearts, Father. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.240 And we ask all this in your name, Jesus. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:45.119 Amen. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.880 Well, I got a couple quick announcements before we jump into what we're gonna talk about. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.359 A lot of things going on right now, a lot of exciting things. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.000 It's just an exciting time of the year right now. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:59.679 Uh we've got Tailgate Sunday coming up on November 3rd, Baptism Sunday coming up the week after that on November 10th. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:03.439 Next week, we're actually gonna be starting something uh really cool, something kind of different. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.959 God gave Ben Sykes, um, and Ben speaks from time to time. 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:08.799 If you've never met Ben, he's awesome. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:15.040 God gave Ben Sykes this really cool sort of vision for the entire story of the Bible. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.239 The entire story of the Bible in nine weeks. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:27.680 But he gave it to him in this way that's really visual and really creative, and it just ties the whole thing together in a way that shows you that it was Jesus from the start, Jesus in the middle, Jesus at the end. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:35.599 Uh, and the first time he showed it to me, I just sat there like blown away and and excited, really excited about God and excited about getting into it. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.439 So we're gonna start that next week. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:38.959 Uh and it's gonna be kind of cool. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.120 We're gonna have a visual element that we've never really done before. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:42.719 So I really encourage you to be here next week. 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:48.239 And then over the course of the eight weeks after that, we'll be going through the entire story of the Bible, leading right up into Christmas time. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:49.519 Uh it's it's gonna be great. 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:50.879 We'll kind of tag team that message. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.680 I mean Steve and Ben got together uh this last week. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:55.519 We're actually gonna film something for it. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:59.680 Uh, and then we just decided, you know what, Ben, you just need to do this you know live next week. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.120 Uh and he's like, great, uh, this is no pressure or anything like that. 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:04.959 Uh but seriously, Ben, it needs to be good. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.200 Um so I'm just because I just okay. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:13.199 Uh but but me and Steve and Ben and Bill and just a bunch, we'll be kind of tag team that thing, but it's gonna be really exciting. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:22.719 So I want you to to put that on your calendars for next week for sure, and then after that, um other things going on right now, we have uh Papa's Pantry is uh is a ministry that we help support. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:28.240 Uh, when we receive giving, we give 15% of every dollar given to us to three local charities. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:34.400 There's Papa's Pantry that helps with job placement and feeding people and budget counseling, all kinds of things to get people back on their feet. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:38.560 There's the Cherokee Family Violence Center as well as the Hope Center. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:40.319 We we give 5% each to those. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:48.479 And Papa's Pantry is in the midst of a food drive right now, and the Cub Scout group here at his hands is trying to raise uh some food for them to have for their food pantry. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:55.840 So over the course of the next few weeks, if you want to bring in some canned goods or anything like that, you can bring them on Wednesday nights to groups and classes, you can bring them on Sunday mornings. 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:58.800 Uh, they would really appreciate that, and that would help them out a lot. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:02.080 Um we're also having a sign-up this morning that I wanted just to mention briefly. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:16.159 It's it's a tech team sign-up, and so if you're someone that is experienced with technology or just is really good at it, so you're 21 or under, um if you're that's you're probably really good at it if you are 21 or under. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:29.919 But if you have skills, if you have you know experience in in you know technological fields, or even if you're just someone that's a quick learner and you want to learn more, we have needs all over the place for that, whether it's Sunday mornings running lights and sound in his kids or the junior high room or wherever. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.039 Uh so there's gonna be a table outside in the lobby, it says tech team sign up. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:34.479 Tim Garber is gonna be out there. 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:35.919 He's a great guy that helps with that team. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.479 And so if you could just sign up and we'll give you some more information about some training and stuff like that, we'd really appreciate it. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:40.960 We would. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:41.840 Can we pray again? 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:43.759 I know we've already prayed, but you can do it more than once. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:44.560 Can we pray one more time? 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:45.039 Okay. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:52.240 Um, Daddy, we just want to come to you right now and ask that as you uh speak through your word over the next few minutes that you would uh you would teach us something. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:56.400 And I pray that every word that I say is just what you want to be said and nothing more. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:58.879 Um I pray that you would bless our days. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:02.560 I pray that you would bless our marriages and our lives, and we ask all this again in your name, Jesus. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:03.360 Amen. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:08.240 All right, well, growing up, one of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:10.639 That's a lot of people's favorite story. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:13.520 It's a story that has really permeated our entire culture. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.879 You don't have to have grown up in church to know the story of David and Goliath. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:23.279 You could have no Bible experience, but if someone tells you that it's a David and Goliath situation, you know exactly what they mean. 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:27.199 Someone's an underdog, someone is almost a guaranteed victor. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:31.920 When I was in the eighth grade, I found myself in a very literal David and Goliath situation. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.120 I was one of the smallest boys in the eighth grade, and my school was seventh, eighth, and ninth graders. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:42.639 And the largest boy by far, the largest guy in the ninth grade wanted to fight me. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.560 And don't feel sorry for me, I got myself into the whole mess. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:53.040 Uh being in eighth grade, I was insecure, and my my kind of compensation for that trying to be cool was just to be really mouthy. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.839 So I was this really mouthy eighth grade kid, and I mouthed off to this kid I had no business mouthing off to. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:03.759 I was hanging out with some friends, and and he and I kind of got into it, and I started mouthing off to him, and he said something to me like, You want to fight? 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:06.800 And I'm terrified inside because I had never been in an actual fist fight before. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.839 I mean, I'd beaten up my little brother, but he was tiny and six years younger. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:10.959 That was about it. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:12.160 That was my experience. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:13.839 And so he says something like, You want to fight? 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:16.399 And my response in front of my friends was like, Yeah, anytime. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:17.439 Bring it. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:23.600 And so the next the next few weeks of my life were probably two of the most stressful weeks I've ever endured. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.399 Because every day I'm going to school and everyone's talking about this. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.279 Everyone's saying, Oh, Justin and this guy, they're they're gonna fight. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:38.480 Uh, people are asking me about it, but rather than being humble and saying, you know what, I was just playing around, I need to go tell him I'm sorry or whatever, I'm saying things to my friends like, yeah, I'd like to see him try. 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.279 You know, I want I want him to fight me. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:42.399 You guys are gonna have to hold me back. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:46.160 I mean, I'm just I'm saying things that are getting back to him and it's escalating and it's escalating. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:51.759 He sees me in school in the hallways, and he glares at me, and I sort of looked up at him and glared as I went by. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:55.600 It all came, it all came to a boiling point about two weeks later. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:03.040 I show up at school one day, and everyone's saying that today is the day that he has told people that he is going to find me in the hallways and fight me. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:04.879 And I'm I'm mortified. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:07.120 I'm just gonna be honest, I'm terrified. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:15.839 My only consolation, the only thing that is giving me any hope at all is I have two really good friends, two really good friends that promised they would have my back. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:29.680 And, you know, I played on the basketball team, I was one of the smaller guys, so I was a point guard, so they were they were bigger than me, which wasn't hard to be in eighth grade, and so they were bigger than me, not as big as this guy, but hey, there's three of us, so that helps. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:35.360 And so they told me, they just straight up told me, Justin, if he comes at you today, we're there, it's gonna be three-on-one, we've got you. 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:36.399 And I'm like, okay. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:47.759 And so I tried to play it off and still be cool saying things like, you know, well, I probably won't need you guys, but you know, if he does anything cheap or anything like that, or bring some friends, you know, just just in case, just be there just in case. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:48.399 You know. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:51.120 So two hours later, it happens. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:58.480 I'm walking in my hall, I've got my two friends with me, and this guy comes up to me and just shoves me, and the fight starts. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:04.720 Except for some weird reason, my two friends completely forgot about their vow to have my back. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.879 They had promised me, they had promised me they would be there, and they were nowhere to be found. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:11.920 They just backed off and watched like everybody else. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:17.519 And here I am in a very, very, I mean, literal David versus Goliath situation. 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:22.480 One-on-one, me, this small eighth-grade guy against this giant ninth grade boy. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.199 It was David and Goliath, just with very different results. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:27.120 Very different results. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.240 You know, they they have sayings that you hear growing up, and they're good sayings. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:37.279 They're things that, you know, will make their way into Disney movies and encouraging, you know, songs and posters for inspiration. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:40.480 And one of those sayings is the bigger they are, the harder they fall. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:41.519 And that's a good saying. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:42.720 I'm not saying that's not true. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:50.639 I just learned that day that there should be an asterisk next to it, and we should add a few things that just clarify it for people, like the bigger they are, the harder it is to get them to fall. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:51.920 You know? 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:53.519 I learned that that day. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:54.720 This I definitely learned. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:55.360 How about this one? 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:57.360 The bigger they are, the harder they hit. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.800 Because I just I just got beat up. 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:09.839 I mean, I I remember very specifically, I punched him and then he punched me, but his punch had a much different effect on me than mine did on him. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:17.920 And so, in front of my friends, my two friends that promised to be there, in front of my girlfriend, which is cool, in front of a ton of other people, I just got beat up. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:23.519 I got beat up and I got suspended from school, and I got kicked off the basketball team because I'd been in a fight. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:25.360 So it was a good day. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:29.920 And the truth is, I look back at that and I don't even get mad about the whole situation. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:30.800 I deserved it. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:31.759 I needed it. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:37.440 God used another kid's fist to teach me a lesson about humility, and I needed to learn that lesson. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:38.399 I don't blame that kid. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:39.840 I'm the one that mouthed off to him. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:41.679 He didn't start anything with me. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:48.559 And even though I know it was my fault, even though I don't get mad at that kid, when I look back on that situation, I still get a little upset at my two friends. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:54.799 Because, you know, they promised me, they I mean, it was, it couldn't have been more clear, we will fight him with you. 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:58.320 They said that, and then they just weren't there when I needed them. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:02.399 And had I known that at the beginning of that school day, I would have approached the day very differently. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:07.679 Had I known, I mean, if someone told me, hey, look, Lee and Ian are, they say they're gonna help you, but they're not. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:19.759 I mean, I would have spent that whole day hanging out with some different people, trying to recruit some new friends, paying them, doing their home, endearing them to myself however I could, going to guys on the football team, on the wrestling team, saying, hey, I want to be your friend. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:23.120 Just as a side note, there's this kid that you might need to fight today, but after that, we're good. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:24.559 I mean, I would have recruited new friends. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:32.320 I definitely wouldn't have spent my extra time hanging out with the two of them, sitting with them at lunch and laughing with them and talking about the weekend as if you know nothing was gonna happen. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:37.919 If I had known in advance that they were gonna ditch me, I would have treated them very differently that day. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.279 And it's kind of a weird thought. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:44.159 As I say this, don't get mad at the people sitting next to you if you're friends or family with them, because they haven't done anything. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:45.360 It's just hypothetical. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:53.679 But if you knew that a few hours from now, those people were gonna completely abandon you, how would you treat them for the next few hours? 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.720 Would you go out to eat lunch with them after church? 00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:59.120 Would you sit around and watch football games and hang out and have fun with them? 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:07.759 If you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you knew that a few hours from now they were gonna ditch you completely and leave you in a time of real trial, how would you treat them for the next few hours? 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.159 What would your attitude toward them be like? 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:11.840 Would you go buy them something nice? 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:13.120 What would you do? 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:20.320 And it's a hypothetical situation for us, but it was a very, a very literal, actual situation that Jesus found himself in in John chapter 13. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:30.080 In John 13, it says that Jesus knew before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:32.960 He knew that it was his time. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.759 He had talked about it explicitly with his disciples. 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:40.639 He had told them, the Son of Man is going to be handed over, he's gonna be killed, but on the third day he's going to rise. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:43.919 Jesus had told them multiple times, I'm going to die. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:45.600 And they just couldn't fathom it. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:54.879 His friends, his disciples, could not understand and grasp the concept of Jesus being killed, the Messiah being killed. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:11:04.480 I mean, they had seen Jesus' power, they had seen him do miracles that only God could do, they'd seen him feed thousands of people, they had seen him rise, you know, people from the dead, they had seen him command storms. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.960 How could this man be killed? 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:08.879 They had seen how smart Jesus was. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:14.399 I mean, time and time again, the Pharisees try to trip Jesus up, try to trap him and get him to incriminate himself. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:17.440 And every time they do that, Jesus humiliates them. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.480 He's so smart, he's so crafty. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:22.720 There's no way they're gonna be able to catch Jesus. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:30.240 And even on top of those things, on top of his wisdom and his intelligence and his power, Jesus' popularity was in an all-time high. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:34.000 He had just come into Jerusalem and the whole city is celebrating Jesus. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:37.519 They're putting down palm branches, they're saying, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.159 I mean, they're anointing him practically as their Messiah. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.919 So Jesus has the popularity, he has the power, he has the intelligence. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:47.120 How in the world could they get Jesus? 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:49.600 But Jesus knew. 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:51.519 He knew what was going to happen to him. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:59.519 And not only did he know that he was going to die and he was going to the cross, but he knew that his friends and his followers were going to abandon him. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:00.720 He knew it. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:02.320 He told them that. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:10.080 And just like they had a really hard time grasping the idea of Jesus being killed, they had a harder time grasping the idea of them abandoning Jesus. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.840 I mean, these are the guys that have been with him through thick and thin from the beginning. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:15.679 There were other followers that came along. 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:22.480 Jesus would do a cool miracle, and a lot of people would start following him, and then he'd say something really controversial, and a lot of people would leave. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:23.679 And that happened a lot. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:25.440 His followers kind of fluctuated. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.879 But these guys, they were the ones that have been there from the beginning. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:33.600 They were the ones that have left their families, their jobs, everything to follow Jesus. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:40.720 They're the ones that have put their necks on the line, that have been in a terrible, you know, possible death situation multiple times. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.919 These are the last people that you would expect to abandon Jesus. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.360 But Jesus knows that's what's going to happen. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:50.320 He tells them that. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:51.519 They argue with him. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:52.639 I mean, they argue with him. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.960 They all say, We would die before we would leave you. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.559 But he tells them, No, it's going to happen. 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:02.159 You're going to abandon me. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:03.759 And they just can't believe it. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:11.600 So here we have Jesus with full knowledge of what's about to happen to him, with full knowledge that his best friends are going to abandon him. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.279 And this isn't even a figure of speech. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:13.840 This is literal. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.080 They're going to leave him for dead. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:18.000 He knows that. 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.399 But he's got a few hours left. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:22.399 So how is he going to spend them? 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.559 A little bit later in John 13. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.799 It says he loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:30.159 So he loved his disciples. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:30.960 He had put up with them. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:32.159 They had tested his patience. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:33.440 But he doesn't say, That's it. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.519 Knowing that they're going to abandon me, I'm done with them. 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:36.960 I've reached the end of my rope. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.279 No, it says he is going to love them to the very end. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.480 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:49.840 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything, and that he had come from God and would return to God. 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.559 So Jesus knows what's going to happen. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.840 He decides to love his disciples to the end. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.799 And then there's just this little word in there that kind of tells us what they're doing. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.000 They have supper. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.120 They sit down and have a meal together. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:11.919 And can you imagine what it must be like to have a meal with your best friends, knowing full well that in two or three hours they're going to completely abandon you? 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.639 How awkward and strange of a situation that must be. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.399 After everything I've done for you, but that's not what Jesus does. 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:27.600 This supper is special. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.200 This isn't just another dinner. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:34.240 This is the night that he begins the tradition of the Lord's Supper that we take every single Sunday. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:42.639 He has this incredibly meaningful, personal, intimate moment with him, and he gives them this beautiful new tradition that illustrates his love for us. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:51.039 So this is a supper that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives, that we're going to remember for forever, that all of Jesus' followers will always look back to. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.200 He decides that in that knowledge, knowing what's going to happen, he's going to start that tradition then. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.480 And what he does next completely shocks them. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:00.240 Completely shocks them. 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:07.840 It says a little bit later on, it says, He got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:13.600 And then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them off with the towel he had around him. 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:17.519 So Jesus washes the disciples' feet, and they are dismayed. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.799 They are completely caught off guard and shocked by this. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.559 And there's a few things we have to know about Jewish culture to understand why this is so shocking. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:29.840 The Jewish people had so many laws about ceremonial washings to be done before meals. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.279 So many traditions that they did. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.639 I mean, the hand washing ceremony of the Jewish people was elaborate. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.399 It was like an etiquette class on steroids. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.679 It was it was a lot of steps, and they did it before every meal. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:45.519 They had all kinds of rituals and laws that had to do with washing, but foot washing was not one of them. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.039 There really weren't laws about how you had to wash feet. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:55.360 There was this one passage in Exodus about how the priests were supposed to wash their feet before serving in the temple, but that was really it. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:02.080 And so there was a tradition in their culture of washing your feet when you entered someone's home, but it was just a practical tradition. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:05.360 It was like us taking our shoes off before walking on someone's carpet. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.360 It was just to keep things from getting messy. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:11.360 And you gotta understand, this is a time when everyone's walking around with open-told sandals. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.159 These are very crude sandals just made out of animal skins. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:16.080 They're walking on dirt roads all day long. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.000 So if it's raining, their feet are gonna be caked with mud. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:19.840 If it's dry, their feet are gonna be caked with dust. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:21.600 I mean, their feet are just dirty. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:28.559 And so it was a tradition that if you had guests in your home, you provided them a basin of water to wash their own feet. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:39.279 And there were situations where if you had a guest of extreme honor, a guest that you were so honored to have in your presence that you would have their feet washed for them. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:40.000 That did happen. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.639 It was a tradition that didn't even really come from the law, it predates it. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:43.360 It's in Genesis. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:47.120 Genesis 18 talks about Abraham getting this visit from God. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:52.080 And it's this really cool picture of the Trinity before we actually see that revealed through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.919 But it said, The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.840 One day, Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.480 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:04.240 And when he saw them, he ran to meet them. 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:06.319 He welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:07.839 So he's giving them honor. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:15.599 My Lord, he said, if it pleases you, stop here for a while, rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:22.160 So Abraham is in the presence of God, and he's gonna wash the feet of these men, but he's not gonna do it himself. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:23.759 That's just gross. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:29.200 He's gonna either provide water for them to do it, or he's gonna have one of his servants do it. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:39.039 And there were situations in Jesus' day where someone would have a servant wash the feet of an honored guest, but it was always, always the lowest ranking servant in the household. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:46.720 In fact, if a Jewish person had had a servant or a slave that was also Jewish, that person would never be asked to wash the feet of a guest. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.279 That is how demeaning and lowly of a task this was. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:57.920 So the lowest ranking non-Jewish slave or servant in the household would be the one to wash feet. 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:00.400 And here we have the Son of God. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:08.960 We have Jesus Himself washing the feet of his friends, washing the feet of his disciples, and there's no dignity in this. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:16.480 I mean, it's just him with the towel wrapped around him, going around, bowing low before them and washing their feet, and they can't believe it. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.359 And I think it's easy for us to understand why. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:21.519 And there's so much going on here. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.839 I mean, we could spend months looking at this one story and analyzing it from all these different angles. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:30.640 I mean, the disciples have just had an argument recently that day about which one of them would be the greatest. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:31.440 They did that a lot. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:35.359 They always seem to nominate themselves and make really compelling arguments. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:40.079 So Jesus doing this is kind of a slap in the face to that idea that they're the greatest. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.000 He's teaching them servant leadership. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:43.519 We can look at it from that angle. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:45.759 There's an amazing spiritual connection there. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.279 I mean, Jesus is teaching us that we have to let him wash us. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.119 We cannot do it ourselves. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:53.599 We have to let him cleanse us. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:57.359 And we could focus on it for weeks just talking about that idea. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:00.000 But I want to look at it from a different angle. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:05.599 Because to me, there's something so personal and intentional going on with the timing of this. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:09.279 The disciples have had countless arguments in the past about who's the greatest. 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:13.279 Jesus could have used any of those moments to wash their feet and set this example. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:15.920 They've had dinner hundreds of times. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.880 I don't think Jesus had decided years ago, hey, at one point I'm gonna wash their feet, and then it became the last night. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.000 He's like, Oh, I forgot to do that. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:23.759 I better do it now because I'm gonna run out of time. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:24.640 I gotta do it now. 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:26.480 I don't think that was why this happened. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.960 I think there was a very specific reason why Jesus picked this night. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:42.240 To me, this whole action, you know, save for the spiritual significance, save for the whole teaching them an example of service, to me, it just screams forgiveness. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.880 I mean, it just screams, I love you and I forgive you. 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:57.440 And obviously I'm I'm inferring into Jesus' mindset here, but to me, I I read that and I look at that, I picture myself having Jesus washing my feet, the tears that would come into my eyes. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:58.880 I'm sure there were tears in his eyes. 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:02.000 I can't imagine what Judas did because Jesus washed his feet too. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:10.640 If Judas could even look Jesus in the eyes, and to me it just screams, I love you and I forgive you. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:14.799 The Bible speaks volumes about God's forgiveness and God's love. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:21.039 Ephesians 1 7 says, He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins. 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:27.200 Romans 8 1 puts it this way it says, There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:34.400 In other words, our forgiveness is so complete that there is no condemnation left. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:40.160 And what we see time and time again when Jesus encounters sin, because he encounters sin a lot. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:46.880 Sometimes it's sin in people's lives, sometimes it's sin against him, but when he encounters sin, his response is to forgive. 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:49.599 That's what Jesus does. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.319 I mean, he does it with the woman caught in adultery, brought before him. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:53.200 He does it on the cross. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:54.640 He prays, God forgive them. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:55.519 They don't know what they're doing. 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:57.519 And that's to the people that put him on the cross. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:02.480 When Jesus is sinned against, his response is forgiveness. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:08.880 And as we're talking about this this morning, you might be remembering things that people have done to you in the past. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:10.240 Forgiveness is hard. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:11.599 It's really hard. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.960 Forgiving something that's been done against us is a hard thing to do. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.559 There's a great message that Steve gave a little over a year ago. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:22.400 It's called Forgive Every Day, and we have a lot of extra copies of it in the source this morning. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.680 If you want to grab one, it's on our podcast and our app and things like that. 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:29.119 But it's a great message about forgiving things that have been done to you. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.640 He uses this uh illustration of arrows, and it's really memorable and really cool. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:35.519 So I really recommend that you pick that up. 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:38.799 If you need some help, forgiving some things that have been done. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:58.240 But this morning is really not about forgiving things that have been done to us, because what's really interesting to me about this moment of forgiveness that Jesus has with his friends, his disciples, knowing completely that they're about to leave him for dead at his most difficult hour, is that he's forgiving them on the other side of sin. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.119 In other words, He's forgiving them before they've sinned. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:09.039 Only Jesus, or sorry, only Judas rather has betrayed Jesus at this point. 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:11.519 Only Judas has planned evil against Jesus. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.079 The other disciples really believe they're going to be there to the end. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.079 They really believe they're going to stick with Jesus. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:17.440 They're not intending anything. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:19.119 They haven't sinned yet. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:27.839 But Jesus goes ahead and tells them in advance, hey, you're going to do this, and then he does this incredible thing for them the same night. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.720 That Jesus forgives on the other side of sin. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.880 And so the question for us is: can we do the same? 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:40.000 Can we forgive on the other side of sin, just like Jesus did? 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:47.920 It's one thing to forgive sin when it's been done to you and someone comes and asks for forgiveness, but is it possible to forgive sin in our lives? 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:51.920 Sin that other people do against us, sin that maybe we even do to ourselves. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.640 Is it possible for us to be like Jesus and forgive in advance? 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:58.559 And I think it is. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:02.880 I've experienced it in some pretty cool ways in my life, and I'll talk about that here in just a second. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:11.839 But I got really excited this morning, as I was, well, this week rather, as I was planning this message, because I'm thinking about this whole concept of Jesus forgiving before the sin. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:15.440 And I look at the word forgive, and I'm like, it begins with four. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:23.680 And so many words that begin with four imply something that's going to be to be done, something that hasn't happened yet. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:30.799 So if you forbid your teenage daughter from dating, some of you have, not a bad idea. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:38.559 If you forbid your teenage daughter from dating, you know, you're saying that, hey, before you are able to date, I'm just saying, no, you can't do that. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.960 There's a lot of other words that begin with four, so I got really excited. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:42.559 I'm like, man, I didn't even think of that. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:53.119 I'm gonna look at the root words, I'm gonna look at the etymology of this word and see if it, if the original word in whatever language it started, it implies something that hasn't happened yet, because so many words, you know, foretell, foreshadow. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:54.160 I'm like, oh, this is cool. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:56.720 And I look it up and it has nothing to do with that at all. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:57.759 Nothing. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:00.240 But the concept is still there. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:03.839 Jesus practiced preemptive forgiveness. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:09.680 Usually when we do something preemptively, it's to save our skin, it's to minimize damage done to us. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:15.279 In the sixth grade, I found out that Shannon Schaffner, my girlfriend, was going to break up with me the next day at school. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:16.880 A lot of things happen to me in junior high. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:17.680 It was a tough time. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:28.480 And I was heartbroken because I really liked Shannon Schaffner, but I wasn't about to be dumped, so I dumped her first for no other reason than to not get embarrassed by being broken up with. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.319 That was a preemptive action. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:32.640 But it was for my benefit. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:36.079 Preemptive forgiveness, that's just that's strange. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:41.519 That it's so unusual, this concept of forgiving something before it's happened, that it's almost like we need a new word. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:43.680 We need a word that goes along with it. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:46.000 So we just need to make something up, which is okay from time to time. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:50.319 And so I thought about for forgive, but that just looks weird. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.640 It looks like a misspelled word. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.200 And so Steve suggested that we use the word pre-forgive, and I think that works. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:58.240 It's not actually a word. 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:02.799 If you put it on a computer, it comes up as misspelled, but it looks like a real word. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:04.799 You know, it looks like that could that could be a word. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:05.759 So we're gonna go with that. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:06.960 Pre-forgiveness. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:09.599 Is it possible for us to pre-forgive? 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:13.519 And I believe it is, and here's kind of this is kind of what I envision when I think about it. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:19.680 In order to pre-forgive someone, you have to A, accept the fact that they're going to sin against you. 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:32.720 Accept the fact that they're flawed, just like you are, and accept the fact that they're going to do something either intentionally or unintentionally that upsets you, harms you in some small way, or maybe even a large way. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:34.160 You just have to accept it. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:38.400 It's not about having a negative view of people, it's not about looking at people in a negative way. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:43.920 It's not the opposite of 4-8 thinking, like we were talking about this last summer, but it's saying, hey, we're all flawed. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.000 This is an even playing field, and we're all gonna sin and we're all gonna be sinned against. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:52.000 And on top of just accepting that fact, it's anticipating it happening. 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:57.200 You can anticipate things that people could do to you that would that would hurt you and upset you. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:02.000 The closer you are to someone, the closer you are in your relationship to them, the easier that becomes. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:06.319 So, parents, you can anticipate some things your children will probably do. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:09.119 Or some things your kids might even do. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.880 Because that's just what teenagers do from time to time. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:22.079 And go ahead and decide now that, you know, when they talk back, when they don't appreciate what I've given them, I'm gonna forgive them now. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.640 You know, kids, you can do the same thing with your parents. 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:28.000 If you don't have to wait for your parents to blow something out of proportion. 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.000 I know you know all it's like the teenage thing. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:35.680 I work with teenagers, and I know you gets like my parents don't understand me, they don't know me, they blew this way out of portion. 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:36.559 That might have happened. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:38.160