John 13: 3-10
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciple’s feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Then He came to Simon Peter, And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet? Jesus answered him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.’ Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered Him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’
Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’
Jesus said to him, ‘He who is BATHED needs only to wash his feet, but is COMPLETELY CLEAN…’
God made us in His own image (Genesis 1:26) meaning that the traits a human being has reflect our very own Creator’s traits. We spend our lives getting to know one another, the ones we love in our world. It is a life-long process with some relationships lasting a lifetime.
Hebrews 8:10-11
For this is the covenant that I will make….says the Lord:….None of them shall teach his neighbour, and none his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord, for ALL shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
Looking at the face of a new born baby, or even looking up into clear blue sky on a sunny day, marvelling at the mystery of the miracles of creation, the Creator can seem pretty mysterious as well. The question in such moments of reflection can be, ‘How does one really ‘know God’?
I often get frustrated at the pace at which I take to learn things, such in a hurry to know everything there is to know in the Bible and ‘about’ God, but then stopping and questioning, ‘How do we know God really, how is it possible to know our Creator, an infinite being?’Knowledge of God is not something to be obtained like any other subject we can learn in life. Putting two books side by side in front of me, the Bible and my dental textbook, one is so different to the other. Both books have front and back covers and contain facts and knowledge, but one goes beyond knowledge to the One who created all knowledge and all facts. Within thatbook, the Bible,God promises we will know Him. The infinite being can be known. Wow!
In the passage above in the book of Hebrews which is called the ‘terms of the new covenant’ God actually explainsthat we will know Him by one ‘simple’ fact.
Hebrews 8: 11-13
None of them shall teach his neighbour, and none his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord, for ALL shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.For (because) I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’In that He says, ‘A new convenant,’ He has made the first obsolete.
The ONE fact God wants us to know about Him, by which He says we will get to know Him is by knowing that our sinsHe no longer remembers!
If someone asked me, how would I get to know you, Melanie? I would begin to list the things I do. God is a relational being; we are relational beings for having being made in His image. Let’s ask God the same question?
How would I get to know you God?
God: ‘Hi there my Beloved child, well this is what I do and in this knowledge I am known – I continually remember and like to be reminded of the work my Son did at the cross taking away all the sin of world, so now and forever I no longer remember sins.’
Can this really be it? Is God really known simply by knowing He doesn’t think about our sin anymore because of His Son, Jesus? God tells us in His Word that this really does sum Him up, this is who He is. All throughout the Bible, the Old and New Testaments are but divinely woven testimonies to this one reality of God that He wants us to know about Him: that He is a merciful, loving Creator who has forgiven us according to the riches of His grace, remembering our sins no more. (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 8: 12)
A close friend had a baby just over a month ago andvisiting recently, both of us were sitting there admiring the innocence and peacefulness of his sleeping face when she said it was almost time for his bath. Having just changed his nappy (diaper) and cleaned him up, it seemed a shame to wake him. Gathering strength in preparation to begin his bath, she shared how everyone that comes to visit gives different baby care advice and one person advised a particular type of shampoo to use. ‘…But I just use water’, she said with a smile. ‘He’s not dirty, he’s clean!’
Revelation 1:5
To Him who loved us and WASHED [meaning ‘bathed’ in the Greek] us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 John 1:7
…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son CLEANSES us from ALL sin.
John 13:10
Jesus said to him, ‘He who is BATHED needs only to wash his feet, but is COMPLETELY CLEAN..’
John 1:29
‘Behold, The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Each day there are moments when we can become conscious of the wrong we do; aware of past wrongs, present wrong thoughts we have, the wrong words spoken that come out so easily against someone; and in that moment we can sit in the ‘dust’ of the sin-consciousness and take on the guilt of it which will rob so much energy and joy from our hearts. Or we can in that moment, let Jesus wash our feet of this dust and again be comforted in the knowledge of God by what He has promised He no longer remembers – our sins, all have been removed, taken away!
Our relationship with God cannot be broken because of Jesus. Jesus has washed us COMPLETELY CLEAN in His own blood.(John 13:10, Revelation 1:5) This washing, this bath was a ONE-time bath that God says needs never to be repeated. (Hebrews 10:11)
Jesus work on the cross perfectly removed all our sin from God’s sight. It was a past event but outside of time, having eternal ramifications. We being bound by time moving from present to future moments can trust God moment to moment in our failings that when He says He remembers our sins no more He doesn’t. He declares,‘You are RIGHT NOW CLEAN in my sight, let Me wash your feet from the dust you’ve just walked in and dry you with a warm towel of my love. You are the righteousness of Jesus in My sight.’ Amen.