That Last Night: A Homily on John 13 & 14

 If you are a Bible-believing, blood-bought, conservative fundamentalist Christian who still clings to the old-time religion, the separated life, and the absolute authority of the Word of God, then this message is especially for you. Turn with me this morning to the Gospel of John, chapters 13 and 14.  

We have just come through “that last week” in John 12. Now we stand on holy ground: **that last night**—the final hours before the cross. The Passover supper is over. The betrayer has slipped out into the darkness. Jesus is alone with His own. The Savior of the world is about to pour out His heart in the Upper Room. These two chapters are not optional devotional reading; they are the marching orders for every true fundamentalist who wants to walk the narrow way until Jesus comes.

This is the night when Jesus taught us what real Christianity looks like: **humble service, sacrificial love, and unshakable confidence in the promises of God**. Let us hear the Word of the living God

I read from John 13:1-5, 12-17, 34-35 (KJV):

“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended… he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet… So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet… A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Now turn to John 14:1-6, 16-18, 27:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you… Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me… And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

First truth: Humble Servanthood – The Towel, Not the Throne (John 13:1-17)

Look at the Lord of glory. He who created the universe lays aside His outer garments, ties a towel around His waist, and washes the dirty feet of twelve men—one of whom would betray Him within the hour. This is not a suggestion, brethren. This is the example of the King of kings.  

Conservative fundamentalists, hear me clearly: we are not called to climb the ladder of ecclesiastical success. We are called to pick up the towel. In a day when many churches are chasing big crowds, big buildings, and big names, Jesus says the mark of greatness in the kingdom is the willingness to serve the lowest.  

Have you washed any feet lately? Have you humbled yourself to serve your brother or sister when no one was watching? The same Jesus who said “Ye call me Master and Lord” also said “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” If the Lord of the church stooped to wash feet, how dare we strut around acting too important to serve?

Second truth: Sacrificial Love – The New Commandment (John 13:34-35)

Jesus gives a new commandment: “That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” This is not the old “love thy neighbor” of the law. This is agape love—self-sacrificing, cross-bearing love. The kind that lays down its life for the brethren.  

Fundamentalist Christians, this is how the world will know we are His disciples—not by our King James Bibles alone (though we will never give them up), not by our separated standards (though we must keep them), but by the way we love one another.  

Do the lost people in your town see a group of Christians who fight, fuss, and split over every little thing? Or do they see a people who love each other even when it hurts? The badge of true fundamentalism has always been love that looks like Calvary.

Third truth: Unshakable Comfort – The Promises of John 14

After the foot-washing and the new commandment, Jesus sees troubled hearts. Judas is gone. The cross is hours away. And He speaks the words that have comforted every fundamentalist saint in the dark night of the soul:  

“Let not your heart be troubled… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  

He promises mansions in the Father’s house. He promises the Comforter—the Holy Ghost—who will never leave us. He promises peace that the world cannot give and cannot take away.  

In these last days, when the world is shaking, when compromise is everywhere, when even some who once called themselves fundamentalists are sliding into modernism, Jesus says, “Believe in me. I am still the only way.” No other road. No other truth. No other life. Just Jesus Christ and Him crucified, risen, and coming again.

My question to every conservative fundamentalist Christian here today:

On **that last night**, Jesus set the pattern for the rest of the church age. Will you follow it?  

Will you pick up the towel and serve?  

Will you love the brethren with Calvary love?  

Will you rest your troubled heart on the unbreakable promises of John 14?

If you have never been born again, today is the day to repent and trust the blood of the Lamb who washed more than feet—He washed your sins away with His own blood. If you are saved but your service has grown cold and your love has grown hard, come back to the Upper Room. Let the Lord wash your heart again. Let the Comforter fill you afresh.

The same Jesus who washed feet that night is still washing hearts today. The same Jesus who commanded love is still empowering it by His Spirit. The same Jesus who said “I am the way” is still the only way home.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for that last night in the Upper Room. We thank You for the towel, the new commandment, and the precious promises of John 14.  

Lord, search every heart in this fundamentalist congregation. If there is pride, break it. If there is coldness in our love, melt it. If there is fear or trouble, speak Your peace. Fill us with the Holy Ghost so that we may serve, love, and believe as Jesus commanded.  

We give You all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

The altar is open. Don’t leave this place the same way you came in. **That last night** changed everything for the disciples. Let this moment change everything for you.

Go forth in the power of the resurrected Christ, the love of the brethren, and the comfort of the Comforter.  

God bless you, and keep you faithful until He comes.