Servant and Betrayer Revealed
John 13:1-35
There's a story from the Russian Revolution that captures something most of us miss about Christianity. When communist soldiers arrived at a village demanding to be taken to the leader, they expected to find him in an office, behind a desk, giving orders. Instead, they were led down to the lowest part of the village, to the pig pen, where the pastor stood with a broom, cleaning out the stalls.
Whether this actually happened or it's just a legend Russian Christians passed down doesn't really matter. What matters is it illustrates a truth at the heart of the Gospel: Jesus is the only leader in history who leads by serving.
The Love That Serves: You Can't Clean Yourself
In John, we've hit the point where everything slows down. John zooms in on Jesus' final hours before His arrest and crucifixion. These aren't just events, they're revelations of who Jesus really is and what following Him actually looks like.
The scene opens with a crucial reminder: Jesus is no victim. "Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father" (v. 1). He knew "the Father had put all things under his power" (v. 3). Throughout history, people being executed are powerless. But Jesus? He's in complete control.
And knowing His authority and destiny, Jesus does something unthinkable.
He gets up from dinner, takes off His outer clothes, wraps a towel around His waist, and starts washing His disciples' feet. God Himself is doing the job of the lowest household servant.
Peter voices what everyone's thinking: "You shall never wash my feet!" But Jesus fires back: "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (v. 8).
One of the lessons we learn is that before you can follow Jesus, you need to be served by Jesus. Before you can obey Jesus, you need to be cleansed by Jesus.
We can't clean ourselves. We might compare ourselves to others: "I'm not as bad as that person", but Jesus isn't interested in those games. He looks you in the eye as He did with Peter and says, "Unless I cleanse you, you have no place in me."
This is good news because otherwise you'd be stuck thinking you could somehow scrub away all the wrong you've done, all the selfishness, all the bad thoughts you'd never say out loud.
We've all got moments when we're less than our best. At home when you're tired, you snap at the people you love. You think things you're not proud of. You harbour resentments. You compare yourself to others and feel either superior or crushed.
Jesus says you can't just copy Him, you need to be changed by Him. It's not about trying harder. It's about being washed clean from the inside out.
The Love That Saves: Even in the Darkest Moments
After washing their feet, Jesus drops the bomb: "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me" (v. 21).
Talk about awkward.
But even here, especially here, Jesus is in control. He knows exactly who will betray Him. He points out Judas publicly. Satan enters Judas, and still, Jesus is sovereign. The devil doesn't have more power than the Son of God.
In fact, this betrayal is part of God's plan and Jesus explains what's about to happen before it happens to strengthen His disciples' faith: "This is to fulfill the passage of scripture: 'He who shared my bread has turned against me. I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am" (v. 18-19).
That phrase—"I am"—is God's own name.
Then Judas leaves. And the text says, "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night" (v. 30). It's not just describing the time of day, it's spiritual darkness. Betrayal and everything going wrong.
Do you ever have "night" moments? When everything feels dark and you wonder where God is? Here's what you need to know: Christ's sovereignty doesn't depend on things going well.
Judas acts freely and wickedly. Satan does his worst. And still, God's saving plan isn't threatened or delayed.
When your life feels like it's falling apart, Jesus is still in control.
The Love That Reveals God's Glory: The Cross Changes Everything
In verse 31, Jesus makes a claim that should stop us in our tracks: "Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him."
He's about to be arrested, tortured, and executed. And He's talking about glory? The cross isn't a tragic interruption to God's plan, it IS God's plan.
Theologian J.I. Packer said it perfectly: "The cross is the clearest window into the heart of God." Some people today call God a "cosmic child abuser" for sending His Son to die. But they're missing everything. John 13 redefines glory completely. God is most glorified when His love bears the cost of rescue.
Christianity isn't sentimental philosophy. It's not a set of rules. It's love in action. The foot washing was just a preview of the cross, the most magnificent act of service ever performed.
This dismisses every shallow view of power and replaces it with something real: holiness, faithfulness, and costly grace.
The Love That Shapes the Church: This Is How They'll Know
Finally, Jesus gives His disciples a command: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (vv. 34-35).
This isn't a suggestion. We're called to love one another as Jesus loved us. That's a high bar.
It's hard to love like that. Hard to serve when nobody appreciates it. Hard to be kind in ministry when people aren't kind to you. Hard at home when you're exhausted.
The human way is to fire back when we feel hurt. To respond to high intensity with high intensity. But Jesus calls us to something different.
He didn't force Peter to agree. He didn't wrestle Judas to the ground. He took off His shirt and washed their feet, including the feet of His betrayer. He replaced high intensity anger with low modality kindness.
Imagine if Christians actually lived this way. Instead of fighting back, we served. Instead of defending ourselves, we washed feet. It would change everything.
The church's witness isn't our strategies or our success. It's observable, costly love between people who don't have the strength to pull it off on their own but are transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Let's be kinder this year than we were last year. Kinder to our leaders. To the people serving us. To our family members. To the person who frustrates us most. That's what Jesus wants and that's what changes the world.
As Packer said, the church's credibility doesn't rest on arguments alone, it rests on relational obedience to Jesus. Christian love isn't optional or just an internal feeling. It's visible, costly, and transformative.
Just like the King who got down on His knees to wash dirty feet.
This sermon is part of the Colours of Life series, telling the gospel story in five simple colours. Soul Revival Church gathers across the Sutherland Shire [Kirrawee, Yarrawarrah, Miranda, Cronulla] and Ryde.