The Downward Way of Christ

Pastor Milt's Sermon Outline

For Maundy Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Downward Way of Christ

John 13:1-35 

(The full text is located at end of this article)

I.  Introduction

·      In the Kingdom of God, the only way up is down!

·      From first to last Jesus followed a downward way in his saving mission upon the earth. 

o      He was born in a lowly manger far from his parent's home.  His family did not represent royalty or the temple elite. There were folks of humble means. He was welcomed into this world by shepherds, the social outcasts of his day, not by kings or queens Later, magi came bearing gifts but they too were outcasts since they were "gentiles,". . . foreigners,  . . .people viewed as "unclean" by the Jews.

o      Shortly after his birth, Jesus' family was forced to leave their homeland to become resident aliens in a foreign land.

o      As a young adult, Jesus insisted, against cousin John's objection, on being baptized in the River Jordan beside others seeking the cleansing of their sins.  The  "Lamb of God" sent to save the world and restore the reign of God identifies completely with those he was sent to redeem.

o      Jesus resisted the Devil's invitation to be an ordinary man by seeking acclaim and personal power.   "Get thee behind me Satan," was his reply.

o      When he was called "Good Teacher" Jesus objected replying "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God alone." (Mark 10:18)

o      When the crowds proclaimed him to be their king and savior looking for both a miracle worker to heal their bodies and a national hero to lead a mighty army in a revolt against the hated Romans, Jesus quietly refused. He took the form of a suffering servant whose wounds would bring the healing of a nation and real freedom to individuals.  This was very strange behavior for a king. 

·      Isaiah 53:2-6

o      53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.

o      53:3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

o      53:4 Surely he has borne our gri efs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

o      53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.

·      Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest friends yet he took no action against him.  He was master and teacher to his disciples, yet he humbled himself as a common bondservant and washed their feet.

·      When his life was threatened, he did not marshal a defense nor did he command the crowds to riot against his enemies.  He offered up his life as a witness to just how far God would go to reveal His love for his people and for all of creation. 

·      Jesus did not seek political power. While his teachings had political implications, he did not form a political party. He did not engage in political rhetoric.  

II.  What are we to make of this way of downward mobility in a culture that rewards exactly the opposite?

·      The whole idea is foreign to what we have been told is our "nature."  "Naturally" we want to be a strong, powerful, force in this world.  We want to be found superior to others some how and we enjoy having power over others. 

·      Who doesn't like to be complimented for doing something better than all others?

·      What was wrong with Jesus using his powers to amass a mighty following and take this world by force?

III.  Answers

·      First of all, the desire to conquer and control does not represent our real nature.  It represents our fallen nature.

o      When the disciples engaged in a debate over who were the greatest among them Jesus said:

o      MATTHEW 20:25-28:  25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

·      Secondly, the way of upward mobility with its ordering of society by a system of haves and have nots, of the powerful over the weak, of winners and losers, of conquerors and enslaved, of "in crowds" and outcasts simply does not work.  It does not work if your ultimate goal is to bring peace with justice to the nations and true freedom of heart, mind and soul to individuals.

IV.  Jesus Mission  -  A Far Greater Vision For This World

·      Jesus' vision was not a temporary victory for some and the loss of power for others.  This would continue the vicious cycle of hatred leading to the lust for power and the winners desperate need to maintain their power which in turn would provide the evil energy needed to animate never ending cycle of poverty, conflict, war. This would not bring forth a world of peace but a world of anxiety, fear, and hopelessness, and unending war.
 

·      Jesus mission was to bring into being a world of the deep peace where the principle of compassion would reign supreme.  Fulfilling the Law of Love would be fulfilling God's will in the world.  This law would bring true peace.    The prophet Zechariah said of the Messiah . . .

o      Zechariah 9:10b: He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

o      Jesus brought to us a vision of a "new creation"  . . . of a return to the Garden of Eden . . . of a world dominated by the power of compassion with its gifts of hope, joy and peace and not a world of endless competition, conflict, and the multiply misers of warfare. 

o      Jesus vision was the fulfillment of Isaiah's vision of the wolf and the lamb living together in harmony.  (Isaiah 11:6).  The miracles of Jesus were witness to the coming of the reign of a loving God
 

o      In Matthew's Gospel we read:

§       Matthew 12:17-21 /CEV:  17So God's promise came true, just as Isaiah the prophet had said, 18"Here is my chosen servant! I love him, and he pleases me. I will give him my Spirit, and he will bring justice to the nations.19He won't shout or yell or call out in the streets.20He won't break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame, but he will make sure that justice is done. 21All nations will place their hope in him.

V.  What Has This to Do With Us?

·       If we are truly followers of Jesus as we claim, we too must walk this "downward way. "  We must align our attitudes and actions with God's will for our world.

·       The practice of "downward" is more a matter of the heart than of the head.

o      It is not abstract theology.

o      It is not getting the right answers.

o      It is choosing to live a new life with the force of your whole being. 

o      Rev. Kathy Escobar describes this downward way in these words:

§       To me, downward mobility is a matter of the heart, not financial resources. It is losing our lives, instead of protecting them. Giving away our hearts, instead of insulating them. Intersecting with pain instead of numbing it out. Entering into relationship with people different from us, instead of staying comfortably separated. Learning, instead of teaching. Practicing, instead of theorizing.

§       (For More See Her Web Article: http://shelovesmagazine.com/2011/down-we-go-practicing-the-wild-ways-of-jesus/

Conclusion

·      Jesus gave us his heart, his life and his Spirit.  He did not insulate himself from the pain and sorrow of this world. He felt the pain. He knew grief and sorrow.  He felt loss. 
 

·      He entered into this messy, fallen, broken world of sin and sorrow fully and completely to restore our relationship with God and to bring forth a new creation.

·      His desire was to bring forth a new creation! Here the wounded would be healed.

o      In this new creation:

o      The lame would walk.

o      The blind would see.

o      The prisoner would be set free

o      A broken world would be become a "new creation."
  

·      With the full force of his being, Jesus proclaimed a what of life very different than the one we have been taught by this culture.

·      The way to true peace, joy, and freedom is not up. 

·     In the economy of God's Kingdom, the only way up is down . . . the downward way of Jesus.

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THE FOCUS TEXT

John 13:1-17; 31-35  / Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 

32 If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”