Thank you very much. Can we all look at John chapter 13? John chapter 13 contains the foot washing ceremony, the ceremony of humbleness.
Let us read from verse 1. [Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 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 disciples’ 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 and said to 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; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”]
I will interpret this from verse 1.
[Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.] When our Daddy and Jesus loves us, He loves us to the end. He loves us for eternity. When Jesus loves someone, He loves him to the end. In verse 2, we can see that Satan, the devil, holds on to Judas Iscariot to the end as well. We can see the two powers working. While the power of heaven loves to the end and takes His children to heaven, the power of the demon will cling to this one son to the end. Our destiny depends on which side we choose. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to go, but before separating from them, Jesus decided to give His disciples the final and most important lesson that night. In the past, He only spoke words, but tonight He acted as an example.
[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 disciples’ feet].
Now that the time had come for Him to leave, He wanted to give the disciples the most important lesson, a lesson through actions, that final night. While eating supper, He suddenly stood up, put aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself, took some water, and began to wash His disciples’ feet one by one. All the disciples felt so sorry and fell silent since they could not say a word.
At that time period, teachers did not wash their disciple’s feet and even a disciple did not wash his teacher’s feet; this act was what servants did for their masters. In those countries back then, they wore sandals on dusty dirt roads. If one walked all day long, his feet became covered with dust and dirt. Then when the masters came home, the servants brought water, went underneath the table, and washed their masters’ feet. Disciples were not supposed to do that to their teacher; it was what servants did.
But that night, who was washing the disciples’ feet? The disciples had become the masters and their Teacher had become a servant washing their feet. They were so greatly embarrassed and did not know what to do with their feet. Nobody dared ask Him, “Teacher, why are You washing our feet?” Everybody just sat there speechless. As He approached Peter’s feet, what did Peter say? Peter was always known for his impatience.
Read verse 6.
[Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to 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”].
Although the other disciples could not bear to say a word, Peter said, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet? Lord, You are not a servant; You are my Lord, my Teacher. How can You wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “You cannot understand what I’m doing now, but after this, you will know. When the latter rain of the Holy Spirit comes, you will know.” What is so significant about washing feet that Jesus said to His disciples, “You do not understand now but you will understand when the Helper, the latter rain of the Holy Spirit comes thousands of years later”? Peter could not understand what his teacher was saying so he said, “No, it does not matter. You still cannot wash my feet. You shall never wash my feet. It does not matter if I understand later or now. You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with Me. You and I must completely separate forever.” Peter had no idea what Jesus was speaking about. Why was it so important to wash Peter’s feet? Why would it be something he’d come to understand thousands of years later when the latter rain of the Holy Spirit came? On top of that, Jesus said He would break relations with Peter forever if he refused to be washed. He spoke so firmly, “Let us break our relations then.” Jesus had never spoken such severe words before. Peter said, “Lord, I cannot live without You. Please wash not only my feet but also my whole body.” Jesus said, “If I only wash your feet, the whole body becomes holy.” Peter could not understand this. Jesus only replied that Peter would come to understand thousands of years later when the Holy Spirit came. When Peter refused to be washed, Jesus suggested breaking their relationship forever. Peter then asked Him to wash his whole body, but Jesus said he only needed his feet washed for his whole body to be holy.
Peter could not understand this profound truth. Since that night until today, nobody has understood the message behind the foot washing ceremony that Jesus spoke of, “When the latter rain of the Holy Spirit comes, you will understand.” That time is now, today.
In all the churches today, people gather a large number of basins to wash one another’s feet and even the pastors and elders join in. Has doing this saved anybody? It is a useless, lifeless formality that cannot give us salvation. Now is the time when you will wash one another’s feet in the true sense.
Why is it so important? Jesus left us a definite promise 2,000 years ago that the Helper would clearly teach us everything when the latter rain of the Holy Spirit comes. Let us confirm this first.
What is the foot’s purpose in the body? Only the feet are in the lowest location of the body. The feet live on the surface of the ground, serving all others above it as a servant without uttering a word of complaint throughout its entire life. During its whole lifetime, the foot never tries to show its face to others by yelling, “Please, look at me!” It always remains near the ground unable to see the sun. Throughout its lifetime, all it does is serve others as a servant. It never tries to show its face to others. It quietly remains inside a stinky shoe and serves everyone else during its lifetime. The foot is such a beautiful friend.
Even if it gets sick, infected with fungus and eczema, or decays, it serves others with all its strength, never murmuring against the eyes, nose, mouth, arms, or legs. It only sacrifices itself silently and does all the unpleasant works itself. When everybody is unwilling to, the foot enters dirty places like bathrooms and cesspools first. On the other hand, it also enters the land of glory first and guides other people.
Even if it wins first prize in global marathons, no one gives it the prize or says, “Mr. Foot, you did very well.” Occasionally, the world’s greatest runners appear on TV or newspapers. Who made them win first prize? Although the feet won, people take pictures of the face and say, “This man won first prize.” Should they not be taking pictures of the feet and say, “These feet won first prize!”?
The foot neither tries to show its face nor receive applause. Though they did not do anything, the faces receive all the glory and the hands receive the prizes and ceaseless handshaking. Despite winning the game, the foot receives nothing. Instead, it stays in the stinky shoe and disappears into the darkness alone. How beautiful the foot is! Despite having done all the work itself, it receives no glory or reward. After doing everything itself, the foot gives all the glory and rewards to other brethren and disappears itself.
When I joined the army training camp, a lot of soldiers participated in the opening marathon race. Sine they all came from different military units, no one could guess who would win first prize. We all had to wait for the outcome of the race. In schools, 8 players run at a time, but in the army, 20 players run at a time and each wanted to win first prize. When it was my turn, I looked around and all of the runners looked very strong, but I was the one who reached the finishing line first. All of my fellow soldiers ran to me shaking my hands and saying, “You did so well.” I thought they would shake feet with me and say, “Your feet did very well.” Instead, they all shook my hands and said, “You did so well,” and hugged my waist that had nothing to do with the race, and my face and other body parts received all the glory although they did not do anything.
I asked my feet, “How do you feel? You did everything, but the hands, face, and the rest of the body are receiving all the glory though they did nothing.” But my feet only replied, “He must increase and I must decrease,” and quickly disappeared into the stinky shoe again. How humble and selfless! The foot has no self at all! How beautiful it is!
Jesus loved His disciples, so why did He not pat their heads or shake their hands? Why did He wash their stinky feet? Through this act, Jesus was teaching them by saying, “Children, you should not be like the elevated nose, head, or arrogant shoulders; you should be the soles of feet and serve all the nations, races, churches, brethren, and families.” He was requesting them to be as beautiful, humble, and selfless as the foot; one who does all the unpleasant works itself while serving others and yielding all its glory to others. So Jesus was saying, “Only if your heart and character become a foot can I make you perfectly clean. I will make you perfectly holy without a spot or blemish.”
Do you know why despite attending this meeting so many times, you do not have a more spotless, holy character? It is because you always compare yourselves with others and believe you are better; you do not have a foot-like character. If you become a foot this hour, Jesus will appear to you again and wash the foot of your heart and make you perfectly spotless.
After attending meeting after meeting, some people say, “Our Teacher is going to speak about becoming a foot again!” They have become know-it-alls and critics. In small meetings they say, “That speaker is good at conveying this point. He is good at gestures.” They are not transformed because they only seem to be watching a movie in a theater. These words of truth should pierce their heart, but they are only concerned about speakers’ appearances. Until when are you going to be so foolish and walk that path of death?
Jesus did not wash their face, hands, or shoulders. He only thoroughly washed their feet. Even today, He will never wash those who are like the shoulders, the head, or the legs. He will reveal Himself only to those who have become feet and make those feet perfectly clean and holy without blemish. “My beloved children! I ask you to be a foot like Me.” This was the last lesson Jesus gave His most beloved disciples whom He loved so much that He could hardly depart from.
Jesus was a foot. He came down from the highest throne of the universe as a helpless Son of Man and lowered Himself before the filthiest sinners like those disciples. What filthy sinners they were! He lowered Himself before those sinners to wash the soles of their feet. Jesus is the greatest Foot of the universe. “Be a foot like Me, and you will live with Me.” This was His last and most important lesson. Only by being a foot can we go to heaven. He had saved His most important lesson for the end.
Peter asked, “Why are You washing my feet, Lord?” He replied, “Although you do not know now, you will know when the latter rain of the Holy Spirit comes.” Now do you know the reason why He washed their feet? As Peter said, “Anyhow, I cannot let you wash my feet,” He said, “Then let us break our relations forever.” By refusing to be washed, Peter was protesting against His request by saying, “Lord, I will never be a foot.” He replied, “If you will not be a foot, you and I must separate forever.” Do you understand? Would you like to live with Jesus? Then you must be a foot. The only condition is to be a foot. If we do not, we will have to separate from Him forever. Why? In order to be a member of the foot family and live with Him, one must be a foot as well, just as one must be a cow in order to live with cows.
Brethren, you must be a foot that serves all of mankind and all religious denominations as their servants until death. You must be one who lays down his life in order to save the world then disappear into darkness without glory. That is how we qualify to be members of the everlasting foot family.
What religious denomination could understand such a profound truth as this? After washing one another’s feet, while putting on their socks they start fighting again. Is that what the ceremony of humbleness is? It is a useless formality. When Peter said, “Lord, I cannot live without You. Not only wash my feet but also wash my whole body.” Jesus said, “If I wash your feet, your whole body will become holy.” In other words, if you become a foot, the whole body, mind, and spirit will become holy. Brethren, I hope that you will become a foot. Regardless of whether you have attended this meeting fifty or sixty times, you will end up becoming another Judas to crucify Jesus on the cross again if you do not become a foot.
People who interfered with this work the most are those who attended this meeting the most and refused to become a foot. They are the worst enemies of this work. They should not come here. There are many who become feet from the first meeting and serve others without regard to their past attainments or wealth. On the other hand, these so-called seniors who attended this meeting many times have become so arrogant. They try to control the new brethren and sit in high places to rule others. If those people had not attended the seminars, perhaps other people willing to change could become holy, humble feet.
What did Jesus say here? “I have given you an example as a Teacher and Lord; if you know these things and do them, happy are you.” There is no one in the world that knows this and acts upon their knowledge, but now that you have learned and know it, I hope you will become a foot.
Please read verse 16.
[Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.]
Can a servant be greater than his master? Can he who was sent be greater than he who sent him? Our Master, our King, our God Jesus became a foot lower than us, so how could we occupy higher positions than our Lord? How could we be so foolish and arrogant? Jesus is our King and our God. Since He came down to the level of a servant of all men, to become a foot and serve them all throughout His life, and then pass away, should we not be servants humbler than Him?
There is a Korean saying that the horns of an ill-mannered bull are not on its head but on its tail. Jesus, the King of this universe, came down to this earth and became a foot. We should also lower ourselves and become humble like a foot.
“Happy are you if you know and do these things. As your Teacher and Lord, I washed your feet. As I served you as a foot, you should be a foot of all humanity as well.” This was His final request. His last teaching was not only for the twelve disciples at that time but also for the last disciples of today at the end of these 6,000 years. It had been clouded in mystery up until now and no one really understood the meaning behind this ceremony. I hope you understand this final teaching from Jesus and become a foot yourself for the world.
In verse 18 it reads, [I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, “He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.”] “Yes, I am not speaking about all of you. I know whom I have chosen.” He said, “to whom I have chosen.” What kind of people do you think He will choose and take with Him? He will select those who are humble like the foot from here and there. “Here is a foot. There is a foot too.” Jesus will not cast a glance at those who try to be a nose, eyes, head, or shoulders though they may have attended His meeting 100 or 1,000 times. He selects only those that have become a foot regardless if this is their first time. Why? The foot King, the foot Teacher, takes only feet with Him.
[But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, “He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.”] It means that the one who eats bread with Jesus will betray Him. After watching the humble character of Jesus, Judas was too ashamed to follow Him. He grumbled, “How come He has no self-respect? I cannot follow somebody like that.” Judas left saying, “How come He has no pride?” The one who ate with Jesus kicked his own Teacher. This refers to those that receive tithes from His storehouse that kill Him and His prophets. In every age, those who sustained their living with tithes killed Jesus and His prophets. Jesus said that those who ate the bread of life, the bread of His Word right in front of His face, would kick Him and betray Him. This will take place in these last days as well. I hope that you will receive bread from the Foot and become a foot yourselves.
Our Father is a foot as well. As we fell, our Father could not remain sitting on His heavenly throne and so He came down. He ate with us, slept with us, and lived with us. Since He was with us, He endured curses with us and when we were dragged to those human courts and were trembling in fear, not knowing what to say, our Father was there by our side, giving us words to say; it was not us but our Father within us who spoke. Think about our humble, condemned Father having curses poured on Him as He was treated with contempt in our stead by those brutal wicked judges, giving answers to them in our place.
Our Real Father is the greatest Foot in the universe. So is Jesus, His Son. The sun in the sky is a foot that burns itself to give light to others. The moon is a foot that shines in the dark night and never sleeps although all the others are sleeping; it has lived only to serve others for thousands of years. Water goes into the bodies of men and animals to remove the feces and urine from the body. What a humble foot it is! No one is willing to enter the body of humans or animals; only water goes in there and rids the dirty things likes feces and urine from the body. It is a foot. Air enters the lungs filled with impurities and cleans all the dirty places. From the high skies, rain falls down to the ground and is absorbed by all plants. It is drunk by all that want to drink it. If plants want water, the plants drink it. If animals want water, they drink it too.
The entire universe is part of the foot family. In the mountains, flowers give honey and pollen while trees give up their bodies to be burnt as firewood. In the universe, everything was created to sacrifice and serve others; they are all part of the foot family. Only man says, “Me, me, me, me,” and tries to be acknowledged by others and occupy high places. Nobody except man tries to be the head. The entire universe is part of the foot family. Would you like to join this foot family? Then you must be a foot as well. That is the only way you can join them. Despite how small you are, those who are not feet have no place in this vast universe. On the other hand, the entire universal foot family welcomes those who are feet wherever they go. Those who continue to fight with one another and seek higher positions after receiving this message are truly pitiful. They should all be cast out, especially those who attended this seminar the most. They do not need to come here anymore.
Even though Jesus was an equal Being with God, He did not want to be regarded as God’s equal. He gave everything to the Father and came down to the level of a servant. The Father also came down and lowered Himself, weeping bitterly while hugging His dying Son.
Anyone who tries to receive equal treatment with others and thinks, “I am better than him,” is a Judas. Such a person does not need to come to this meeting anymore.
Please read verse 21.
[When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”]
When Jesus said, “The one who eats bread with Me will be the one who kicks Me aside,” He was so anguished that He could not explain it. He was greatly troubled in spirit, frustrated, sad, and filled with heartache, but he could not explain it. “Most assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray Me and deliver Me to the enemies.” I hope that you will not become that one person.
[Then the disciples look at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke.] “Who is it? Who will be a betrayer?” Verse 23. [Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. …Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.]
Jesus said, “One of you will betray Me and put Me to death,” and the disciples whispered amongst one another. Peter was very impatient and longed to know whom Jesus spoke about but was afraid of being scolded by Him. All the while, John was leaning on Jesus’ bosom. Since he leaned on Jesus bosom, John was probably quite young, much younger than his Teacher. Jesus had loved him in a special way. Although he was quick-tempered, he was also very simple-minded. So Peter motioned to John, “Ask Him. You are most loved and will not be scolded. Ask Him quickly.” And John, looking up to Him, asked, “Lord, who is it?” Since His most beloved disciple was leaning on His bosom, Jesus did not keep the secret from John.
Entire visions of the Bible are revealed to those who are embraced in Jesus’ bosom. No one knows the Father except the Son. No one knows who the Father is except for Jesus. He who preaches about God’s love is one who is embraced in Jesus’s bosom. We also should be embraced in Jesus’s bosom.
Before the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, nobody knew of its imminent destruction except for Abraham whom God told, “How can I keep this a secret from you?” In the time of Noah, God only informed Noah about the coming flood. We should be today’s children to whom Jesus displays visions to and God does not keep secrets from. While in His bosom, John was able to ask what the other disciples dared not ask. Jesus replied, “How can I keep it a secret from you? It is the one to whom I will give a piece of bread.” While eating bread Himself, He took one piece and gave it to Judas Iscariot. As soon as Judas received it, Satan entered him. It was night when he left.
As soon as Judas received the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Was the bread Satan then? There is a profound meaning in this. It is an important lesson. Jesus was the bread of life from heaven, but as soon as Judas broke away from that big Bread of Life, Satan devoured him. Do you believe that the Elijah Gospel Missionary Institute is the bread of life from heaven? As soon as you break away from this bread, Satan will eat you up. I hope you are careful not to break away.
One of our elders met a close friend that became a betrayer after leaving this message. This person said to the elder, “I thought Teacher Park was a good person, but I have found that he is a very bad man.” “Really? I have never thought that way.” “I am telling the truth. He is a very bad person.” Once that elder embraced that small doubt in his heart, all the heavenly peace, love, and joy that had surrounded him until then disappeared right away and he became filled with darkness. He was in big trouble. He was trapped in Elijah’s cave and burdened down by cares, worries, misery, despair, distress, and the darkness of the soul. Fortunately, he became revived again when he attended a small seminar meeting. When he told me about his experience, he said, “Because I held onto a small doubt in my heart about you, Teacher, my life turned to a hell. But as soon as I began to believe in you again, all the lost love, joy, and peace of heaven returned to me.” Brethren, if you separate yourself from heaven’s bread of life, Satan will devour you up without a second’s delay.
When Judas left, it was night. As soon as Judas left the room where Jesus was, Satan captured him and Judas entered the dark world of death. I hope that you will not leave this holy temple. If you leave, you will be captured by the darkness and die without knowing truth from error. Satan will drag you somewhere and destroy you with his snares. Since Jesus loved Judas so much and washed his feet, casting Judas out was more painful than breaking His bones or tearing off His own flesh. What did Jesus say after doing that painful thing?
Verse 31. [So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him….”]
While the other disciples were trying to become a foot, Judas was always trying to be the head. When Jesus was washing his feet, his heart surged like the waves of the sea. Why? This happened right after he had made a contract with the enemies to sell his Teacher for 30 coins. He felt a strong urge to repent since the Holy Spirit was pressuring him to repent. When the Holy Spirit moves your heart, you should repent immediately. If you hesitate, you will lose that opportunity forever. What good comes from being stubborn? Reveal your heart to God and confess.
Suppressing his trembling heart, Judas hesitated for a while. If he had repented, he could have entered eternal life forever. However, once he saw Jesus washing the other disciples’ feet too, he thought to himself, “He is washing Peter’s feet too. If He washes that kind of person’s feet, of course He has to wash my feet.” He always compared himself to others and thought he was superior to everyone else. He always criticized his Teacher’s seemingly imperfect ways by saying, “Teacher should fix this and improve on this.”
There are many among you here who are quite intelligent like that. But Jesus cast out that arrogant disciple, that lump of sin who would never lower himself before others, always trying to be the head. The sins of men are not in drinking, smoking, or stealing; these are not sins. Those who refuse to be a foot and try to be the head and shoulders; they are sin themselves. Sin is nothing other than that. As long as you receive this Gospel and become a foot, you are the most righteous person in the universe regardless of your past as a drunkard, thief, or robber. No one can condemn you. Jesus will appear to you, make you perfectly clean and holy, and take you to heaven. Those who say, “My past is clean. I have not stolen anything and I have done a lot of service to the church. I have done nothing wrong.” Those who trust in their own righteousness and try to be the head of others are incurable and hopeless.
After casting out that proud sinner, what did Jesus say? He said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” After accomplishing something as painful as tearing off His own flesh, He said, “Now God is glorified through the Son, and the Son was also glorified.”
There are only two ways we can glorify God.
The first is Proverbs 8:13. [The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.] Amen.
To honor and revere God is to hate evil; it is not in offering money or preaching to others. It is to simply fight against evil. Worshiping in church does not show honor and reverence to God. People do not even know how to revere God. Glorifying God can be achieved by eradicating and cutting out evil. Why? Since evil killed Jesus and our Father, we kill Jesus again when we compromise with evil again. We become those that defy God and Jesus. That’s why with our lives on the line we should never compromise with evil.
We only teach love here, but has anyone come here with a malicious purpose? You should quickly have a change of heart. This is not a place to do such stupid things. True love never tolerates evil. True love fearlessly eradicates evil. Regardless of the firm, close relationship we have shared up until now, the slightest bit of evil will be the end of our relationship. If there is even a little evil, this nation will be destroyed like the others. Among the 600,000 Israelites, was Achan a common soldier or a leader? He was merely a low- ranking person, but when he committed a sin, God departed from the whole congregation. Do you understand? If this happens among us, we will all be destroyed. Even though it was painful for Him, Jesus could not help but cut out that lump of sin, that incurable sinner who always tried to be the head of others, and said, “Now God is glorified through the Son of Man.”
Secondly, our Father and Jesus are glorified when we possess Jesus’ foot-like character and become the feet of all mankind like Him. So the two ways to glorify God and Jesus are to have a foot-like character and fight against evil. I hope that you will glorify God by having a foot-like character and fighting against and eradicating evil. God will glorify you also by having you sit on the right hand of His throne, to live with you and love you forever.
Verse 33. [“Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”]
After casting out His beloved disciple, Judas, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you.” They were happy to receive a new message. He said, “Love one another just as I have loved you. Just as I abandoned My throne and became a foot, to serve you and love you, and also lay down My life for you at your feet, may you also love your brethren by laying down your lives for their sake. Then the entire world will know that you are My disciples, and follow you even if you do not spread fliers.” This is how to evangelize and not fall into ruins.
This message provides the only way we can escape destruction. I hope that you will live following this commandment and become a foot that serves one another. Why does a husband and wife fight with each other? It’s because both want to be higher. Why do brethren fight? They want to be ahead of each other. Family circles, churches, and nations fight because they want to be better than the other. If they all became a foot, they would have no reason to fight for the rest of eternity. The last lesson is simply to be a foot. This is the last lesson for mankind and the whole universe.
Jesus’ parting words were, “Where I am going, you do not know.” Peter said, “Where are You going, Lord? To Greece? I will follow You wherever You go, even to death.” “Are you going to follow Me even to death?” “Yes, I will.”
“You will rather deny Me three times tonight before the rooster crows, and flee away, never mind following Me.”
Jesus said, “You cannot follow Me now, but you will follow Me afterward.” What did He mean? He was saying, “You are not a foot now. But after you writhe in desperate agony and repent for denying Me, you will become a foot that can follow Me to the cross.” He was saying that though we may have failed today, He hopes we will follow Him from now on. Those who strive to be a foot will be a foot to the end. Judas always criticized his Teacher under his breath by saying, “He is good at everything but this.” He did not have any intentions of changing. There are many such Judases today as well.
God, our Father, is the great foot of the universe. Jesus is a foot as well. The sun, moon, water, air, rain, trees, and flowers are all part of the foot family. In order to become a member of the universal foot family, we should become a foot also. Although the foot is always serving others, acting obedient, and sacrificing itself for others throughout its lifetime, it is also the most courageous.
Joshua 10:24. [When they brought out those kings to Joshua, called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.”] Joshua destroyed all the Canaanites and captured their king. And what was it trampling upon the neck of that Canaanite king? What was it? It was the foot that was on the king’s neck. Whose neck did Jesus’ feet trample upon? Satan, the serpent’s neck and head were crushed completely when he bit Jesus’ heel. Even though the foot is the most humble and selfless servant, it becomes the most courageous when fighting against evil. I hope that you will become as smart and reliable as the foot.
When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet 2,000 years ago, that foot-washing ceremony was not a mere formality and meaningless empty act. He was requesting them, “Please be a foot like Me. Just as I sacrificed My whole life for the sake of all humanity, nations, sects, and brethren, laying down My life for their eternal life and salvation, may you also do the same.” In other words, He was asking them to be humble servants and preach with actions and not just words; not with water but with their lives. Do you understand?
True humble service means to be a servant of all humanity, a foot that serves all of humanity. To be a foot means to lay down your life for all of humanity, to serve people for the sake of their eternal life and salvation. No one except those who have become a foot will be able to live with Jesus, who is the great Foot, for eternity.
Today, each of you audience members has completed the ceremony of humbleness. This ceremony means to become a foot forever. “Those who accepted the spirit of this service,” we must accept the life of Jesus and not merely copy the motions of washing feet. “…who accepted the spirit of this service will find that it is not merely a ceremony. The unceasing lesson of this service requires us to serve one another with love.
Through this service the disciples of Jesus make a pledge with God that they would serve their brethren with a voluntary spirit. Through this ceremony rightly performed, children of God make a pledge with God that they will devote themselves to unselfish service for others, to help and bless one another.” Through this ceremony of humbleness, we are pledging our oaths to God, “Father, I will be a foot for that brother by loving and laying my life down for him.” Churches today only wash one another’s feet and start fighting before managing to put their socks back on. This has nothing to do with salvation. The entire world is clinging to those lifeless formalities and foolish acts.
“We are to go out to do service like Jesus. Those who would partake in His character and share the joy of seeing the redeemed souls with Jesus are supposed to follow the example of His unselfish service.” Just as Jesus served, died, and granted eternal life to man, we should also follow in His steps. Let us not try to receive equal treatment with others anymore.
When I was younger, I thought to myself, “Why do I always quarrel with My wife?” and I looked for the reason. It was simple. I was not a foot and I always shouted, “I am the man and the woman is supposed to obey. Why do you always talk back?” I reflected upon this and switched My mindset to think, “My wife is the daughter of the King of the universe. How could I receive equal treatment with that princess? I should be a foot and serve her.” After that, there were no more quarrels. If the wife also said, “How could someone like me receive equal treatment with the prince of the heavenly King? I should not. I will serve the prince with all my strength,” then that family would become a happy paradise.
Among brethren too, you must think, “Why do I quarrel with him?” and look for the reason. It is because you are proud. There are no other reasons. “He is spreading bad rumors about me. I feel so offended.” Why are you offended? It is because you are proud. Even if he says you are a devil, why should it matter since you are not a devil? Did Jesus cling to His opponents in anger, yelling, “Why did you say I was the son of a devil? “ He just passed by them unfazed. Those who complain, “How come he speaks ill of me?” are devils themselves. Why does it matter? Jesus received worse treatment and passed his enemies with a smile.
You need to strengthen yourself. Despite coming to this meeting every opportunity, you seem to know nothing about this message. It’s because you still have self. I hope that you’ll never expect to receive equal treatment with others and serve everyone as a servant.
We learned about Elijah this morning. I hope that you will become an unselfish foot like Elijah and Jesus, who prayed for blessings to those who drove them out while lying on the hard ground. If Jesus is the right foot, we should be the left foot and walk with Him to heaven. If our nose, eyes, or head was told to walk with Him, could they do it? Your nose, eyes, and head would never go inside a shoe. Only a foot can enter there and walk with Him. I hope that you will go into the shoe and walk with Jesus all the way to heaven.
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