Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin Sunday,
January 29, 2017
After the Jews were delivered from the slavery in Egypt which was a type of salvation and then Moses emphasized the right thing being done in the right way, we are now ready for the next most important doctrine for the Jews which is after salvation, what?
For us, as believers, we know the most important doctrine to understand after salvation is how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. They were told to make sure they were clean before entering into the tabernacle.
The death here in the spiritual analogy or as a shadow, although it was true for the Jews at the time, it speaks of a type of death, namely temporal death just like for us as believers in the Church-age meaning whatever we produce is dead works.
If the priests who represent us as believer-priests in the Church-age wash and clean themselves then notice in verses 22-33, there is the anointing of oil referring to the ministry of God the Holy Spirit being alive in us.
Here God instructed Moses in the making of oil (verses 22-25) for anointing the tabernacle, its furnishings (26-29), and the priests (verse 30).
This is the end of the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beginning of his personal ministry to the disciples.
This is Tuesday evening, April 13, 30 AD., the night before our Lord is going to die on the cross, and TLJC now begins a discourse which is designed to orient the disciples to the cross, the Church‑age, and the intensification of the angelic conflict and why they are here.
His hour is a reference to the cross and really His hour of victory in the angelic conflict, Joh 12:23, 17:1, Mar 14:41.
Notice that pressure, adversity, tragedy, heartache, frustration, did not distract Him from His love and serving others.
MAT 20:28 "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
The chief opponent among all fallen angels and the greatest genius among creatures was there, Satan.
Not only had the disciples fouled everything up, but there was one disciple in particular who was in definite opposition to TLJC that the pressure got to.
"having put" is the perf-act-part of ballo meaning here to throw or to cast doubts concerning the words of our Lord or the word of God.
He tries to cast doubts and questions at others to distract them from the communication of Bible doctrine.
GEN 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God really said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
Here is the devil personally present to keep the plan of God from being fulfilled, to hinder the cross.
Just before mystery doctrine is about to be taught, there is some form of satanic distraction to try and divert the communication of the mystery.
The disciples had come into the room as, was the custom in the ancient world, barefooted.
Because of the way that they use to sit in the ancient world, which was to recline at the table....,this was like coming to the dinner table in our day and age with filthy dirty hands.
These disciples had walked through sewage, garbage and dirt.
TLJC was not going to teach anything, especially the mystery doctrine of Church-age which all believers should be initiated into, until He taught the importance of rebound before you can take in Bible doctrine.
More importantly than that.....they have garbage in their souls.
Luk 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
Good manners demanded that they washed their feet before entering into the room but since there was no servant to do so, they extended the debate by refusing to wash each other's feet.
Bad manners come from a bad mental attitude.
As a believer-priest, you're under academic discipline under your pastor-teacher, and your manners should be impeccable.
The greatest test of manners is not how a gentleman opens doors for a lady, or how a gentleman has good manners around the lady, it's how the believer-priest has good manners in the presence of the Lord.
- The disciples had bathed before coming to the last supper....all of them had taken a bath.
- The taken of a bath is analogous to salvation and therefore you can anticipate, one bath but many washings.
TIT 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
- From walking through the streets, the disciples have accumulated filth on their feet which is analogous to the believer being out of fellowship.
- The custom of foot-washing is analogous to rebound. If you come with dirty feet what should you do before you sit down with the Lord as REV 3:20 says "and dine with Him"?
- Before you eat the Lord's food, which is Bible doctrine. you wash your feet, rebound.
- This dinner was fellowship with the Lord in which food was involved, our greatest fellowship with the Lord is when we meet to dine upon Bible doctrine.
- The feet also represent service, it's impossible to serve the Lord with dirty feet.
- In the last chapter, Joh 12:3, the feet of Jesus had been anointed with oil, while at the beginning of this chapter, the feet of the disciples are washed.
- Oil on the feet of the Savior indicates the sustaining ministry of the Holy Spirit while water on the feet of the disciples indicates the cleansing of the rebound technique.
- TLJC will wash their feet which is a picture of Christ providing the basis of rebound on the cross.
And not to be ignored are such passages as Isa 52:7 quoted in Rom 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who communicate glad tidings of good things!"
It means that all communicators of doctrine have to keep their feet clean or be cleansed to communicate.
"laying aside His garments" is analogous to our Lord in Phi 2:6-8 Who, although He existed in the essence of God, He did not think equality with God a thing to be seized, but He laid aside His privileges, taking the form of a slave, having come to be in the likeness of men.
MAT 20:28 the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
JOH 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
MAT 23:11 "But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
MAR 10:43 "whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;"