Today we enter the season of Lent. Historically, Lent is a time in the church year set aside for God's people to ponder and celebrate the Passion of the Christ. The word Passion means all sorts of things in our language. But its original meaning is suffering. Passion means suffering! The Passion of the Christ is the suffering of the Christ. It's on our minds now, not only because of the Lenten season, but also because of a popular movie by the same name. If you didn't see it with us on Ash Wednesday, I hope you get a chance to do that.

I am sure you have heard of the movie, with how much attention the media has given it! And most of the attention is not good. The media is desperately trying to discredit this realistic presentation of the real Gospel Passion of our Savior. Is Mel Gibson's new film anti-Semitic? The media is obsessed with the question! Diane Sawyer asked Gibson point blank on national television if he's an anti-Semite. A Newsweek cover story, "Who Killed Jesus?" called The Passion of the Christ a "powerful but troubling new movie" based on "Christian narratives" that have "long fueled the fires of anti-Semitism. New York Times columnist Frank Rich accused Gibson of promoting his film by "baiting Jews."

Listen to 2 Corinthians 4:4: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." I think this passage pretty much summarizes the reason for the media reaction to the Passion. If you see the movie, more importantly, if you read the Gospels, you will clearly see that it is God's love for the world that put Jesus on the cross! The question should not revolve around blaming the Jews or the Romans: Who killed Jesus?...Who is being blamed? The real question that all of the media should be looking at is this one: "Do You Understand What I Have Done for You?"

"Do you understand what I have done for you?" Jesus asked this question after washing the feet of his disciples in the upper room. Remember that St. John began that account with the words: "Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love" (Jn 13:1). And the way Jesus showed his love for his own was by condescending to do a job that was usually done by a household slave. He got up from his spot at the table, took off his outer robe, wrapped a towel around himself, and, after pouring water into a basin, began washing the feet of his disciples. This was a remarkable act of condescension and humility, even if we only look at it from the point of view that Jesus was the teacher and master of his disciples. But the depth of Jesus' condescension becomes all the more remarkable when we realize that Jesus was not just any teacher, but the Son of God! Again, go back to the words with which John introduced this account: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God" (13:3). No wonder then that Simon Peter was appalled and ashamed when Jesus came to wash his feet. He protested quite vehemently.

And yet, the full extent of the Lord's love is not seen in this humble act of washing his disciples' feet. With this act of washing his disciples' feet, Jesus was symbolizing another kind of cleansing, the kind He would use to wash them from their sins. That is clear from the way the Savior answered Simon Peter's objection to having his feet washed, saying, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (13:8). With those words, Jesus showed his disciples they needed to be washed clean, not only of dirt from their feet, but from the sin and guilt that stained their souls! Their sins separated them from God and made fellowship with God impossible!

This second kind of washing Jesus would also perform for his disciples, but it would require a far deeper humiliation than that needed to stoop down to wash dirty feet. In order to wash the sin from the souls of his disciples, Jesus had to be tortured, whipped, bleed and die on the altar of the cross as the sacrifice to atone for their sins. But Jesus, in love, humbled himself to carry out that work. Philippians 2:6-8 says of Jesus: "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!" That is what Jesus wanted his disciples to understand about his act of washing their feet. What He had just done for their feet with water and a towel, he would soon do for their souls, with his blood on a cross!

Now Jesus also asks us, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Unless we understand the deeper spiritual meaning of Jesus' actions, we might be inclined to think that Jesus really didn't do anything for us. But as we have seen, the Son of God who laid aside his clothes and grabbed a towel and a basin of water to wash his disciples' feet is the same Son of God who left his throne in glory to live as one of us on earth. He laid aside the full use of the glory that was his as the God-man, took up a cross, and on it offered his blood to cleanse and purify us from every sin. We now stand blameless and pure before the all-seeing eye of a holy and just Judge! Do we really understand that kind of condescending love?

Would it have made a deeper impression on us if we had been in the upper room that night and watched the Savior stoop low to wash our dusty feet? Would we have pulled our feet back and rebuked him with Peter, saying, "Never, Lord."? The reality is that Jesus stooped much lower in his love for us! He humbled himself to be nailed to a shameful tree and to be laid in a dark, cold grave! He did that to show his love for us, not when we were his good and loyal friends, but when we were his enemies! He did that when we were blinded by unbelief and wanted nothing to do with Him! Yet, He loved us. Do we understand that love? If we do, we will never doubt God's love when hardships enter our lives. We will have the confidence that we can do all things with his help and strength. We will never hesitate to take our cares and troubles to our Lord in prayer. It's so important to understand what our Savior has done for us! But Jesus asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" not only after He has shown us his love, but also after he has seen how we live.

As the disciples began to eat the Passover with Jesus, we were told that they disputed among themselves who was the greatest. What caused that argument is not really made clear. Perhaps it had something to do with the seating order at the table, and they were quarreling over the best and most prestigious seats. Maybe it had to do with the task of washing the feet. Since there was no slave to do it, and all realized that it needed to be done, the disciples were perhaps arguing over who should do the humble task. In any case, it was that petty argument about who was to be considered the greatest that moved Jesus to lay aside his outer clothes and pick up the towel and basin and begin washing his disciples' feet. It was after seeing how his disciples lived that He asked them, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" If the disciples hadn't understood what Jesus had done, He now explained it for them clearly. He said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (13:15). He had seen the pride and selfishness in his disciples and set an example for them of humble, self-sacrificing service.

When the Savior looks at our lives, He asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Do you understand the way I loved you and humbled myself for you? Aren't we often arrogant instead of humble, wanting to be served rather than being willing to serve? Don't we often forget that true greatness in God's sight comes from humble service, not from having others serve us?

The Savior looks at how we live! He sees children who sit around wondering why their parents don't do more things for them and don't buy them more things instead of children who get up and help with tasks and cleaning. And He asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?"

Jesus sees moms and dads who are so interested in their own lives and their own goals that they have little or no time for the humble, unglamorous, but all-important job of being parents who love and train and discipline their children, and He asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?"

Jesus looks at us and sees husbands who wish their wives would do more for them and wives who wish their husbands would do more for them and who quarrel about whose goals and ambitions are more important, and He asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?"

Jesus sees congregation members who wonder why their church doesn't do more for them, but who are unwilling to offer themselves in service so that more can be done, and He asks, "Do you understand what I have done for you?"

Yes, unfortunately, our lives often indicate that we have no idea of how Jesus humbled himself to serve us with his life and death, and that's why we need to go again and again to the upper room and see our Savior's love for us-love that moved Him not only to wash his disciples' feet but moved Him to carry a cross and endure its shame. Who killed Jesus? We did! Our sins sent Him to the cross! The producer of the Passion movie understands this! You won't see Mel Gibson's face in his movie, but he does make one appearance. The hands that hold the nail and pound it into Jesus' hands are Mel's. He understands that Christ went through this Passion, this Suffering, for him. Friends, understand and believe that Christ went through that suffering for you! Now you don't have to! You are forgiven! At the cross, we see Jesus' love! At the cross, we find forgiveness.

We also find that love and forgiveness in the Upper Room. There we find comfort for hearts that are broken by the knowledge of how petty and selfish and proud we can be, for there we see the forgiving love of our Savior in action. And warmed by that love, we find the strength to do as our Savior says, and do to others as He has done for us! With his example before our eyes, we will look out not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others. With his example before our eyes, we will put others' needs even ahead of our own. We will have and show the same attitude that our Savior demonstrated as He denied Himself and served us.

As we prepare to celebrate our Savior's great suffering, the real question we need to ponder is this: "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Do you understand what Jesus has done for you?? May our lives supply the answer as we show the same humble love for others that moved our Savior to suffer and die for us! Amen.

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