What does foot-washing signify? How is the believer who is completely clean to be washed still? In this sermon, we examine the biblical doctrine of salvation, namely, the doctrines of justification, sanctification, and glorification. We zero in on the import of the second of these. While the justified believer does not wallow in sin, issues of sin are still present because he is not yet glorified and is being sanctified. In the process of sanctification, the continued cleansing of sin is necessary, demands confession, and results in repentance and transformation by the Holy Spirit.

Can a sinner be completely clean in the sight of God? Can he truly be an heir together with Christ? Jesus’ answer to both of these question is an absolute yes! Jesus Himself affirms that His true disciples are completely cleansed by Him and that they have a part/share with Him in His heavenly inheritance before the Father. This is the assurance of justification and inheritance to all who are true disciples of Christ.

Jesus reveals the cost of self-humiliation to bring about the cleansing of sin for His people. John deliberately presents the account of foot washing with a preface and in slow motion to enable us to see just how low the sovereign and divine Lord stooped down for our cleansing from sin. May we always honor, cherish, and treasure the precious cost of our redemption.

Jesus’ love is steadfast, consistent, and reliable. His love was present in His ministry years, at the cross, and His post-ascension presence at the Father’s right hand. This is the love of Christ for His own people, a special love for His own sheep and for those whom the Father has given to Him. The Lord’s love for His own continues down to this very day through His priesthood, His prayers, and His pastoral care. May the love of Christ wise up our hearts to trust and obey Him with a whole heart.

We see in this continuation of John 13:1 the depth of Jesus’ love for His people. Jesus loved His own with a deliberate love. This is seen in Jesus’ full awareness (“knowing”) of the arrival of the hour of His suffering and its import when He loved His people to the end (“finish”). Jesus willingly and deliberately went to the cross for His people with the intent that He would share with them the bounty of His Father’s blessings.

John frames the 24 hour period (“Passion Day”), the final day of Jesus’ life, in terms of His love. John suggests three adjectives that describe the Lord’s love for His own: sacrificial, deliberate, and consistent. In this study of this momentous verse of John, we consider the first of these three attributes of Christ’s love. He loved His own as the Passover Lamb which was sacrificed to propitiate their sins. Jesus loved us as the sacrificial lamb.

Jesus is our Deliverer and Teacher. In this final message of Jesus to the Jews, He points out these two more truths about Himself. He is not only God, He is also Deliverer and Teacher to all who truly believe in Him.