LutheranLectionary.org

Series B – Maundy Thursday – Thursday, April 1, 2021 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:28	the holy gospel according to saint john
0:30	the 13th chapter
0:32	glory to you o lord now before the feast
0:36	of the passover when Jesus knew that his
0:38	hour had come
0:39	to depart out of this world to the
0:41	father
0:42	having loved his own who were in the
0:44	world
0:45	he loved them to the end during supper
0:48	when the devil had already put it into
0:50	the heart of judas iscariot simon’s son
0:52	to betray him Jesus knowing that the
0:55	father had given all things into his
0:57	hands
0:58	and that he had come from god and was
1:00	going back to god
1:01	he rose from supper he laid aside his
1:04	outer garments
1:05	taking a towel tied it around his waist
1:08	and then he poured water into a basin
1:11	and began to wash the disciples feet and
1:13	to wipe them with the towel that was
1:15	wrapped around him
1:17	he came to simon peter who said to him
1:19	lord do you wash
1:20	my feet Jesus answered him what i am
1:24	doing you do not understand now but
1:26	afterwards you will understand
1:28	peter said to him you shall never wash
1:31	my feet
1:32	Jesus answered him if i do not wash you
1:35	you do
1:36	you have no share with me simon peter
1:39	said to him
1:40	lord not my feet only but also my hands
1:44	and my head
1:45	and Jesus said to him the one who has
1:48	bathed does not need to wash except for
1:50	his feet
1:52	but it is but is completely clean
1:55	and you are clean but not every one of
1:57	you
1:58	for he knew who was to betray him that
2:01	was why he said
2:02	not all of you are clean when he had
2:04	washed their feet
2:06	and put on his outer garments and
2:08	resumed his place he said to them
2:10	do you understand what i have done to
2:12	you you call me
2:13	teacher and lord and you are right
2:17	for i am if then your lord and your
2:20	teacher have washed your
2:22	feet you also ought to wash one
2:25	another’s feet
2:26	for i’ve given you an example that you
2:28	also should do just as i have done to
2:30	you
2:30	truly truly i say to you a servant is
2:33	not greater than his master
2:35	nor is a messenger greater than the one
2:37	who sent him
2:38	if you know these things blessed are you
2:41	if you do them
2:42	now is now is the son of man glorified
2:45	and god is glorified in him if god is
2:48	glorified in him god will also glorify
2:50	him in himself and glorify him at once
2:53	little children yet a little while and i
2:55	am with you
2:56	you will seek me and just as i have said
2:59	to the jews so now i also say to you
3:01	where i am going you cannot come a new
3:04	commandment that i give to you
3:05	that you love one another just as i have
3:08	loved you
3:09	you are also to love one another by this
3:11	all people will know that you are my
3:13	disciples
3:14	if you have love for one another this is
3:17	the gospel of the lord
3:18	in the name of Jesus amen
3:24	these are tough words to read
3:28	as a lutheran and as a lutheran pastor
3:31	and theologian and
3:32	apologist over and again i am taught
3:35	to make the proper distinction between
3:37	god’s law
3:38	and god’s gospel and here we see
3:42	the two mixed together so tightly
3:46	that it’s almost impossible to tease
3:48	them out properly
3:49	and so instead let’s consider some of
3:51	the major things that are happening here
3:54	number one i understand that today is
3:56	called monday
3:57	thursday and Jesus observance of the
4:01	last
4:01	passover meal the one where the passover
4:04	the types and shadows give way to the
4:06	substance to which they were always
4:08	pointing to
4:09	pointing to Christ in his blood and his
4:12	blood on each and every one of us
4:14	that causes the wrath of god to pass
4:17	over us
4:18	and for us to be saved that’s what the
4:20	blood of Christ
4:21	does that on this last night knowing
4:25	that he’s about to die it is already
4:27	gone from thursday
4:29	to friday for when the sun sets in the
4:33	jewish way of keeping time
4:34	going all the way back to the book of
4:37	genesis where it says
4:38	there was evening and there was morning
4:40	the first day
4:42	there was evening there was morning the
4:44	second day
4:46	all the way through the days of creation
4:48	and so now the sun has set
4:51	and Christ’s friday has already begun
4:56	if you think of it this way if the
4:58	doctor were to tell you
5:00	the diagnosis is dire you’re going to
5:03	die
5:04	you have weeks to live you need to get
5:07	your affairs in order
5:09	what would you do what would be on your
5:13	bucket list i mean isn’t that what we
5:16	call them bucket lists
5:18	would you clear out part of your savings
5:21	account
5:22	and finally take that cruise that you’d
5:24	always wanted to do
5:25	but had kept putting off for year after
5:28	year after year
5:30	would you stop doing everything and
5:33	spend
5:33	your last days with your family
5:36	or would you want to go on some
5:39	adventure while you still had what
5:40	remained of your health
5:43	you see over and again we think about
5:44	things like this when we have so little
5:46	time
5:47	it’s it’s interesting that there is no
5:50	right or wrong
5:50	answer there is no standard thing that
5:53	we can point to
5:55	but Jesus’s bucket list
5:59	the thing that he wanted to do the very
6:02	last
6:03	with his disciples involved an actual
6:06	bucket
6:08	a wash bucket and when you consider what
6:11	is going on here it’s
6:12	vital that we pay attention
6:16	we live in a world that values
6:19	power that rewards greed
6:23	that looks longingly and
6:27	somewhat trustingly at people who are
6:29	ambitious
6:30	and over and again we know that in our
6:33	experiences it’s a good idea
6:36	to set expectations properly
6:39	so that people do not well get upset
6:43	because what you told them you were
6:45	going to do is not
6:46	what you ended up doing you know i
6:49	remember in the corporate world
6:50	when i was doing my mba i was told over
6:53	and over
6:54	and over again communicate communicate
6:58	and communicate some more
7:00	don’t ever stop communicating what the
7:03	corporation’s mission and vision
7:05	statement
7:05	is don’t ever stop communicating what
7:08	the goals
7:09	are for the immediate short term don’t
7:11	stop communicating how each and every
7:13	person then
7:14	plays a role in achieving those
7:16	objectives
7:17	don’t stop communicating because as soon
7:20	as you stop
7:21	communicating people’s expectations seem
7:24	to drift
7:25	and they seem to wander have you ever
7:28	taken your car in for service and the
7:31	person
7:32	behind the counter says yeah we’ll take
7:33	a look at your car we’ll have it ready
7:35	for you sometime this afternoon
7:38	and the afternoon rolls around and you
7:40	don’t get a call from the
7:41	service guy and those
7:45	hours starts getting later and later and
7:46	it’s getting towards at closing time
7:49	they have not met your expectations
7:52	because the expectation that they
7:53	communicated
7:54	was that they would have the vehicle for
7:57	you
7:58	no problem sometime in the afternoon
8:01	and so you oftentimes when you have
8:04	expectations
8:05	set like that you rightly get annoyed
8:08	maybe a little bit angry or perturbed
8:10	when people
8:12	lead you to believe that one thing is
8:13	going to happen but then the other
8:15	happens and so it’s important for us to
8:17	note that here on Jesus’s bucket list he
8:20	pulls out a bucket
8:21	and in order and the reason why he’s
8:23	pulling out this bucket
8:24	is to set extra expectations
8:28	properly and we would do wise to pay
8:31	attention to the expectations that
8:33	Christ has given us
8:35	because you’ll note contrary to popular
8:37	teaching
8:38	Christ is not telling his disciples to
8:41	expect
8:41	their best lives now he is not
8:45	setting an expectation to teach them
8:47	that what they really need to do
8:49	is take their prince and princess
8:51	authorities
8:52	and go and take territory that they are
8:55	to
8:56	decree command control and all this kind
8:58	of stuff
9:00	instead he does something that is
9:03	well unexpected and we would do wise to
9:07	pay attention
9:08	to the expectations that Christ has left
9:10	us with
9:11	because these are the last words that he
9:13	speaks
9:15	these are the last this is the last
9:17	lesson that the disciples
9:18	hear and it’s not a parable it’s not
9:22	anything like that this is something
9:24	completely different last
9:26	last this this is the last lesson to set
9:29	expectations
9:30	as far as what we all of all disciples
9:33	of Christ should expect
9:35	and so our text says before the feast of
9:37	the passover
9:39	when Jesus knew that his hour had come
9:41	to depart out of the world
9:43	he was departing to the father having
9:45	loved his own who were in the world
9:47	he loved them to the end
9:51	at no point does Christ love for his
9:54	disciples
9:55	flag or fail or come up short
9:58	in fact the best most loving thing that
10:01	he can do for his disciples is exactly
10:03	what he does
10:04	that night that friday evening because
10:08	friday had already come so during the
10:10	supper when the devil had already put it
10:12	in the heart of jews
10:13	iscariot simons to betray him Jesus
10:16	knowing that the father had given all
10:17	things
10:18	into his hands that he had come from god
10:21	he was going back to god he rose from
10:24	the supper
10:26	and he laid aside his outer garments
10:29	and then taking a towel
10:32	he tied it around his waist
10:37	you can hear the silence even today
10:42	the only thing you heard at this point
10:45	maybe were gasps
10:50	the sloshing of the water in the bucket
10:53	the sponge or the cloth that he was
10:56	going to use
10:58	and everybody looked on
11:01	as the rightful king of israel
11:05	rather than dressed in robes of purple
11:08	and wearing a crown
11:10	had taken all of his clothes off and
11:13	went down to a waist towel
11:18	took on the uniform of the lowliest of
11:20	the slaves
11:24	he poured water into a basin and he
11:27	began to wash the disciples feet
11:32	this is our god
11:35	this is the king of kings and lord of
11:37	lords
11:39	what is he doing on the ground
11:42	he makes it clear why he’s there we’d be
11:44	wise to pay attention
11:48	so he began to wash the disciples feet
11:50	to wipe them with the towel that was
11:51	wrapped around him
11:54	he came to simon peter and he said to
11:56	him
11:58	lord do you wash my feet
12:02	peter’s indignant it’s akin to what
12:05	we heard when Jesus took the disciples
12:08	to caesarea philippi and ask them who do
12:10	the people say the son of man is
12:14	peter got the answer right you’re the
12:16	Christ the son of god
12:18	and no sooner does Jesus praise him that
12:22	Jesus begins to explain we’re heading to
12:24	jerusalem
12:25	i’m going to be arrested i’m going to be
12:28	killed
12:28	i’m going to die and rise again and what
12:32	does peter say
12:33	lord this will never happen to you
12:38	and peter is right on the verge of that
12:40	right here
12:41	just on the verge of that that first
12:43	time he defied peter in this way and
12:45	rebuked
12:46	Jesus i’m sorry he defied Jesus and
12:49	rebuked him Jesus said get behind me
12:51	satan
12:52	so now you can just see it this is not
12:55	what
12:55	he was expecting
12:59	lord do you wash my feet
13:04	Jesus answered him what i’m doing you do
13:07	not understand now
13:09	afterwards you will you’ll understand
13:15	so peter digs in you will
13:18	never wash my feet
13:22	it’s unbecoming how can the alpha the
13:26	omega the beginning the end the one who
13:28	spoke the universe into existence
13:31	be behaving like the lowliest of the
13:33	lowest slaves
13:35	but Jesus said to him if i do not wash
13:38	you you have no share with me
13:45	you can feel the tension just in the
13:48	text
13:52	so peter acquiesces
13:57	and you can almost hear the catch in his
13:59	throat
14:00	he’s a fisherman so i’m probably not
14:03	going to cry
14:05	but he’s on the verge
14:09	lord not my feet only
14:12	but also my hands and my head if you’re
14:14	going to watch me lord watch
14:16	me thoroughly you can almost hear
14:20	the psalmist wash me thoroughly with
14:23	hyssop
14:24	blot out my transgressions lord
14:28	take not your holy spirit from me but
14:31	the Jesus says to him the one who has
14:33	bathed does not need to wash except for
14:35	his feet
14:36	it is com and then he is completely
14:38	clean and here Jesus isn’t giving us the
14:41	mode of baptism
14:42	but making a point and that is is that
14:45	before they came into the upper room
14:47	that night
14:48	they would have already had their feet
14:50	washed
14:51	it wasn’t because they needed their feet
14:54	cleaned again that Jesus was doing what
14:56	he was doing
14:57	instead he was pointing to something
14:59	bigger that was going on and i love in
15:01	the writings of the church fathers
15:03	how they see the fact that Christ is
15:05	washing their feet
15:06	they see it as a picture of baptism
15:10	but more importantly than that they see
15:11	the fact that Jesus is washing their
15:13	feet
15:14	as if Jesus is shodding their feet
15:17	with what is necessary to keep them from
15:20	being bitten by the serpent while he’s
15:22	crushing its head
15:23	it’s not a bad way to look at it
15:27	so Jesus says to peter then you are
15:29	clean
15:30	but not every one of you referring to
15:32	judas who was still in the room
15:34	he knew who was going to betray him and
15:37	that is why he said not all of you are
15:38	clean
15:39	so when he had washed their feet and put
15:41	on his outer garments and resumed his
15:43	place he said to them
15:45	now note this is a object lesson do you
15:48	understand what i have done for you
15:52	he doesn’t let them answer he’s going to
15:54	let them kind of
15:56	work it out sort through it
15:59	and he says this you call me teacher and
16:02	you call me lord
16:04	and you are right for so i am that’s who
16:08	i
16:08	am if then your lord and your teacher
16:12	have washed your feet you also ought to
16:16	wash one another’s
16:17	feet and here’s where we got to pay
16:20	close attention
16:21	foot washing isn’t a sacrament and what
16:23	Christ is talking about here
16:26	is their attitude towards each other
16:30	their attitude in their position of
16:33	apostles having been sent by Christ
16:36	you’ll note that it is the exact
16:38	opposite of what we get today from
16:40	vision casting leaders
16:42	and for many men who are who are rightly
16:44	called into the pastoral office
16:46	they lord authority over others and
16:49	think that their
16:50	job is to be served but Jesus is saying
16:54	no none of that for i have given you as
16:57	an example that you should do
16:59	just as i have done for you and we can
17:02	hear then the echoes of what
17:04	paul writes for us in philippians
17:06	chapter 2
17:07	that our attitude should be the same as
17:09	Christ Jesus
17:10	who who being the very nature of god did
17:12	not consider
17:13	equality with god a thing to be grasped
17:16	but he humbled himself
17:17	and was found in the form of a slave
17:20	and was obedient to the point of death
17:22	even death on the cross
17:25	this is what it means to deny yourself
17:29	to take up your cross daily
17:32	and to follow Jesus
17:35	put aside your ambitions put aside your
17:38	lust for power
17:40	put it all away you want to follow Jesus
17:44	take on the uniform of a slave
17:49	and do just as Jesus has done serve
17:53	serve from the bottom so truly truly i
17:57	say to you a servant is not greater than
17:59	his master
18:00	and this is most certainly true Jesus is
18:03	our lord he’s our teacher he’s
18:06	our master i’m not greater than him and
18:10	neither are you
18:11	nor is a messenger greater than the one
18:14	who sent him
18:15	and you’ll note we have a message to
18:17	proclaim to the world
18:18	the good news that Christ has died for
18:20	our sins
18:21	that he has reconciled us to the father
18:24	but we’re just mere messengers
18:29	we are not the master so if you know
18:32	these things
18:33	blessed are you if you do them
18:37	humble yourself and so you’ll note then
18:42	that with these very words Christ then
18:45	gives one last command a new commandment
18:47	to his disciples
18:49	i’m going to give it to you that you
18:51	love
18:52	one another but in what way lord
18:56	what do you mean you want me to love
18:59	everyone else to love them to love one
19:02	another what does that mean
19:03	for us and Jesus then grounds it
19:06	he gives it a stake he gives it an
19:08	anchoring a foothold a definition
19:10	something by which we can measure our
19:13	love
19:14	for each other just as i have loved you
19:18	you also want to love
19:22	one another how has Jesus loved us
19:27	no greater love has this that one lay
19:31	down his life
19:33	for his friends Jesus
19:36	has loved us sacrificially
19:40	he has loved us by not lording over us
19:43	he has loved us by serving us
19:46	so just as Christ has loved us we are to
19:49	love
19:49	one another and by this all people will
19:51	know that you are
19:53	my disciples if you have love for one
19:56	another
19:57	but you’re going to know then and this
19:59	is where i have to
20:01	i have to preach the law this is where
20:05	so many of us have fallen short
20:08	the church today is not known as the
20:11	place
20:12	where people go to be loved
20:15	the place where they go to be loved by
20:18	one another
20:19	the place where they can go to be served
20:22	to serve to love to be
20:26	loved instead the church today
20:29	is known for its greed it’s known for
20:32	its avarice
20:34	it’s known for its gossip it’s known for
20:37	its slander
20:38	it’s known for its hypocrisy
20:42	which kind of begs the question
20:45	if people are going to know that we’re
20:46	disciples of Christ by how we
20:49	love one another
20:55	is that happening
21:00	is that happening here
21:04	is that happening with the people
21:07	closest to you
21:09	and so you’ll note then
21:13	that on this night the night that Christ
21:16	is betrayed we again recognize that we
21:21	have fallen short of the glory of god
21:24	we have not loved our lord with all of
21:26	our heart soul mind and strength
21:30	we’ve not loved our neighbors as Christ
21:33	has loved us we haven’t even loved the
21:36	saints the way Christ has loved the
21:38	saints
21:39	and so this speaks volumes
21:42	volumes of guilt rightly earned
21:46	and so this last night really the last
21:50	bits the last hours before the close
21:55	of lent consider then all the ways in
21:58	which we have failed to love each other
22:01	the way Christ has loved us that we have
22:04	sought our own vain glory and power and
22:06	control
22:10	rather than humbly putting on the
22:12	uniform of a slave and serving from the
22:14	bottom
22:16	recognizing that Christ set the
22:18	expectations he told us what to do
22:21	and that is to consider no one greater
22:23	than ourselves
22:26	or consider everyone greater than
22:27	ourselves and not consider ourselves
22:29	greater than anyone else
22:31	and let us repent then of all
22:34	the ways in which we have behaved as
22:37	lords
22:38	rather than slaves and let us cry out
22:41	then the same words as peter lord then
22:43	wash me
22:45	wash all of me and note this then
22:49	that Christ has less than 24 hours to
22:51	live
22:52	and he is going to the cross and he has
22:55	gone to the cross
22:56	he has carried your sins and mine he has
22:59	carried
23:00	your iniquity and mine he has carried
23:03	the shame of us all
23:05	and he spilled his blood
23:08	he served all the way to the end
23:11	even of his own life because it says in
23:14	this text that he loved them
23:16	to the end and the reality is this he’s
23:19	loved you
23:20	to the end as well you are his disciples
23:23	you have been washed in the waters of
23:25	baptism you’ve been united with him in
23:27	his death in his resurrection
23:29	you have been loved to the end by Christ
23:32	who came not to be served but to serve
23:35	and to lay down his
23:36	life as a ransom as a ransom for many
23:38	for you and for me
23:39	and for the world so this monday
23:43	thursday on the eve of Christ’s
23:45	sufferings
23:46	as we get ready to ponder them in real
23:48	time tomorrow
23:50	note that he has even died for all the
23:52	ways in which you have
23:53	terribly loved other people or failed to
23:56	love them properly
23:58	and may we repent of this and may he
24:01	grant us repentance
24:03	true contrition and through the power of
24:05	the holy spirit
24:08	true sanctification so that we may grow
24:11	in love towards god and in love towards
24:13	each other
24:15	so that his words may be true in us
24:19	that by this loving of one another
24:23	other people may know that we have been
24:26	with Christ
24:27	that we are truly his disciples because
24:30	we have laid aside our ambition
24:32	we have humbled ourselves taken up
24:36	our crosses consider ourselves to be the
24:39	walking dead
24:40	and followed Christ who laid down his
24:43	life
24:44	so that you and I could live in the name
24:46	of Jesus
24:48	amen

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