With Humble Hearts - September 18, 2016 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Junior had just received his brand new driver’s license.  To celebrate, the whole family trooped out to the driveway and climbed into the car while Junior drove.  Dad immediately headed to the back seat, directly behind his son.  "I'll bet you're back there to get a change of scenery after all those months spent teaching me how to drive," said the boy.  "Nope," said dad. "I'm gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you've been doing to me for sixteen years!”

Ahhh … there’s nothing quite so satisfying as getting even, am I right?  Getting back at someone seems soooo rewarding.  Wait, what was that you said?  Did you just say “No”?  Seriously?  You disagree?

Although getting even or seeking revenge is the natural thing to do, is this the way a Christian is to respond?  Is it okay for a Christian to follow their basic human nature and seek revenge?  I mean, after all, it’s who we are, so is it a big deal if we simply follow our gut feelings on these matters?  Some people might tell you that it’s okay to follow your feelings; to do as your heart tells you to do.  However, the Bible teaches us something different.

I want to start with an example here.  Look at what happens with Jesus and His disciples during their last Passover meal together.  In John 13 we read, Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. ² It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. ⁴ So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, ⁵ and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

⁶ When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” ⁸ “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” ⁹ Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” ¹⁰ Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? ¹³ You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. ¹⁴ And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them (John 13:1-17).

Although this part of the story surrounds Peter’s reaction to the feet washing, it’s important to know that Judas the betrayer was present at this time.  He left the room shortly after Jesus washed his feet (see verse 30).  What makes this significant is that Jesus knew these things before Judas betrayed Him in the garden.  Jesus knew what Judas was about to do (compare verses 21-26).  Yet knowing this, Jesus still humbled Himself and washed Judas’ feet.

Jesus washed Judas’ feet.  That sure makes my life rather complicated.  It should make the life of any Christian rather difficult.  You see, our “gut” instinct would be to avoid Judas.  We would “accidentally” splash some water on his pants.  Many of us would call out his hidden behavior in front of the rest of the crowd.  Few of us, if any, would gently hold his feet in our hands and serve.

Yet Christ did.  And then He told us to do the same thing.

And He wasn’t kidding.

I know we could argue about this.  We could tell Jesus it’s too hard to resist.  Our feelings and our instincts overwhelm us.  Surely God must understand this.  We’d like God to cut us some slack, but He doesn’t.  There are just too many places in the Bible where God teaches us what sort of behavior He expects from us.

Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).  "Don’t gloat when your enemy falls, and don’t let your heart rejoice when he stumbles" (Proverbs 24:17).  Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:44-45).  You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).  Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads” (Romans 12:19-20).

I could go on.  The point is, a Christian is called to be transformed; to “²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:22-24). 

I tell you the truth, the last thing we want to do for a sinful person is wash their feet.  The last thing we want to do is put ourselves in a position beneath them.  But that’s exactly what Jesus did.  Through the eyes of John, we see a Jesus who teaches us to serve others … even the antagonist.  Yet, how do many Christians respond today?  We see gloating when someone falls.  We see Christians looking for revenge.  We hear people who claim to be followers of Christ speaking about others in an unloving way.  Truthfully, it’s difficult to tell the Christian from the non-Christian nowadays, especially if you listen to the words of their mouth.

My friend, we are the Church. We represent Jesus.  We are His ambassadors in this world.  Our actions and our words should be compelling, not divisive.  We should be acting differently than the people of this world.  We do not have the luxury of following our instinct.  Rather, we should humble ourselves before the Lord and respond in ways that reflect Jesus. 

What then are we to do?  If who we are is in conflict with who God is calling us to be, how do we overcome our instinct?  Paul talks about sacrifice.  He says that God can transform us if we allow Him to change the way we think; by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2).  We can be changed if, at first, we recognize that following our instincts is wrong.  We cannot trust our heart, for it is corrupt and filled with sin.  We must first accept these things, then humble ourselves before the Lord.  We must present ourselves before God and make a living sacrifice.  We recognize our old behavior is wrong, learn how God expects us to act, and then daily sacrifice those old actions and reactions that dishonor the Lord.

So … yeah, it is wrong for a Christian to seek revenge against those who hurt them, even though it is the natural thing to do.  A Christian must follow the teaching of the Lord.  Living as a Christian is not easy.  There is a big difference between knowing the path and walking the path.  If we claim to be a Christian, then we are no longer free to follow our “gut” instinct.  We are not free to follow our basic human tendencies.  We can’t simply follow our feelings or do whatever our heart desires … at least we can’t and truly follow the teachings of Jesus.  He has not given us that option.