Famous Last Words
Series: Love One Another
Scripture: John 13:1–17; 34–35 (CEB)
Preacher: Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen

What would you want people to remember if you knew you were speaking to them for the last time?

In the first message of our Love One Another worship series, we turn to John 13 and the final hours Jesus spent with his disciples. Jesus knew his time with them was short, and he wanted them to remember what mattered most. But before he gave them his famous command to love one another, he showed them what that love looks like.

The sermon begins with the Netflix series Famous Last Words, in which well-known people are interviewed and the conversations are only released after they have died. Knowing that these may be their final words to the world, they have the opportunity to consider carefully what they want people to remember.

Jesus' final words to his disciples carry a similar weight.

Gathered around the table on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus knew what was coming. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew Peter would deny him. And yet Jesus got up from the table, wrapped a towel around his waist, and washed the feet of every one of his disciples.

Peter resisted. He could not understand why his teacher and Lord would kneel before him and perform the work of the lowliest servant. But Jesus invites Peter to receive this act of love rather than reject it.

This moment reminds us that discipleship is not only about serving others. It is also about learning to receive love, grace, help, and care. We receive God's love, we give that love away, and then we receive again. To serve and to be served are both part of following Jesus.

Jesus then tells his disciples to do what he has done. His example looks something like what we might call servant leadership, but Jesus goes beyond leadership as a strategy. He washes the feet of people who will fail him. His love is not dependent on whether someone has earned it, agrees with him, or will respond faithfully.

Jesus shows us servant love as a way of life.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly crossed boundaries and made room at the table for people others considered unacceptable, unclean, unwelcome, or simply inconvenient. He ate with tax collectors, spoke with Samaritans, and welcomed people who made the religiously righteous uncomfortable.

This is the kind of neighboring Jesus calls his disciples to practice.

Henri Nouwen wrote that we become neighbors when we are willing to cross the road for one another. The question is not simply who belongs in our circle, but whether we are willing to notice who is on the other side of the road. What would it look like to learn names, notice needs, show up consistently, and become a trusted presence in our neighborhoods and communities?

Jesus' command to love one another is not about having perfect theology, building beautiful institutions, or simply knowing the right things. “Love each other just as I have loved you.”

And Jesus doesn't just tell us what love looks like. He shows us.

His famous last words were an invitation to a new way of living: to receive love and give it away, to cross the road, to kneel down and serve, and to love our neighbors—even when they are not the people we would have chosen.

At the end of the sermon, we are left with a simple image:

The towel is on the table.

We know what love looks like.

What will we do in response?

Reflection Questions:

• Peter resisted letting Jesus serve him. Are there moments in your own life when you find it difficult to receive love, help, or care from others? What gets in the way?

• Jesus washed the feet of people he knew would betray and deny him. Is there someone in your life, or in our current public life, whom you find it difficult to extend love and grace to? What would it look like to pick up the towel for that person?

• Henri Nouwen said we become neighbors when we are willing to cross the road. What road in your own neighborhood, workplace, or community is calling you to cross it? What has kept you on your side so far?

• Jesus said, “Since you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.” There is often a gap between knowing what love requires and actually doing it. What is one concrete act of neighboring you could take this week to begin closing that gap?

Support the show