1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:1-5)
There is a lot to consider here. But try to catch the scene.
The disciples are gathered together for the Passover meal with Jesus. There is tension in the room because they all sense that the tide of public opinion is turning against Jesus. They are fearful of the future and uncertain when/if Jesus is ever going to display His power, rescue Israel, subjugate the Romans, and bring in the kingdom. In the midst of all this tension, they have entered the room with dirty feet. It was customary in that time to have a servant present to wash people’s feet as they entered for a meal. No servant was present and the disciples figured they would ignore this social custom. But Jesus sees it as an opportunity to show His love and teach His disciples another lesson on servanthood.
Men don’t like to be humbled. Like I said yesterday in the message, men value strength. So the thought of getting on your knees and washing the feet of other men was not something that would ever enter their minds. It was “below” them. To a group of men frequently arguing over who was the greatest, this would be the ultimate sign of weakness and humiliation. So Jesus gets up and washes their feet to say, in effect, that man’s fight for the top should be replaced by a humble pursuit for the bottom. Instead of wanting to be king with other people serving us, we should strive to be servants making others feel like kings.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a second.” That’s what Peter is thinking. “I am not going to allow You to lower Yourself to that level, Jesus. It’s embarrassing.” Notice that Peter doesn’t volunteer to wash everyone’s feet, he just wants to make sure that Jesus doesn’t do it.
This kind of servant spirit and action is not in our nature. There is only one way that we can come to it. Look again at verses 3-4. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Jesus could be a servant before men because He knew who He was before God. Only security in my identity before God can give me vulnerability in my identity before men. Our fight for man’s honor reveals our lack of trust in God’s honor.
So loving others really does begin with being fully loved by God. When I am filled with His love and secure in Him, then I can get on my knees and wash the feet of others without worrying about public opinion.
Lord, I have a long way to go. And when I think I’ve gotten a little farther down the road, simple incidents remind me that I still have a lot of pride and that I lack a servant’s heart. Remind me of Your love for me today. Help me to soak in Your grace. Stretch my mind to fathom Who You are. And then give me Your heart to care about people, Your eyes to see the needs around me, and Your hands to try to meet them.
