Mark 10:43-45 ESV But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
John 13:1-17 PHILLIPS 1-5 Before the festival of the Passover began, Jesus realised that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. He had loved those who were His own in this world and He loved them to the end. By supper-time, the devil had already put the thought of betraying Jesus in the mind of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son. Jesus, with the full knowledge that the Father had put everything into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from the supper-table, took off His outer clothes, picked up a towel and fastened it round His waist. Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel around His waist.
6-9 So He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” “You do not realise now what I am doing,” replied Jesus, “but later on you will understand.” Then Peter said to Him, “You must never wash my feet!” “Unless you let me wash you, Peter,” replied Jesus, “you cannot share my lot.” “Then,” returned Simon Peter, “please—not just my feet but my hands and my face as well!”
10-11 “The man who has bathed,” returned Jesus, “only needs to wash his feet to be clean all over. And you are clean—though not all of you.” (For Jesus knew His betrayer and that is why He said, “though not all of you”.)
12-17 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His clothes, He sat down and spoke to them, “Do you realise what I have just done to you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and you are quite right, for I am your teacher and your Lord. But if I, your teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you must be ready to wash one another’s feet. I have given you this as an example so that you may do as I have done. Believe me, the servant is not greater than his master and the messenger is not greater than the man who sent him. Once you have realised these things, you will find your happiness in doing them.
Observation
The point of the Bible is to tell us God’s story and His plan for our redemption. All of the passages are there to reveal Who He is, what He desires of us and for us, and how He responds to our choices. Jesus the Christ, the manifestation of God in human form, called Himself “gentle (meek) and humble” (Matthew 11:28-30), defined servanthood as the path to pleasing God, and spoke of Himself as serving all of us by giving His life as a ransom for us all (God’s redemptive plan to restore the intimate relationship He desired with us and intended from the beginning). In the passages above, Jesus demonstrates for His disciples the type of servant they are to be if they want to be like Him and considered great and first in God’s Kingdom. Footwashing was an important element of hospitality for the culture of the time as feet became dirty walking on dusty roads. As important as it was, the lowest, almost always Gentile, servants were the ones to do it. When Jesus “took off his outer clothes, picked up a towel and fastened it round his waist,” He took on the persona of a menial foreign slave.
This is why Peter protested. Disciples were supposed to serve their Master/Rabbi, not the other way around. Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of Man, God, was demonstrating the kind of humility and servanthood He required to truly be one of His disciples. “But if I, your teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you must be ready to wash one another’s feet. I have given you this as an example so that you may do as I have done.” Jesus had come to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the servanthood of Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-4, Matthew 12:16-21), the bowing low of God to redeem His creation, His people, so that He might restore the intimate relationship with us disrupted in the Garden of Eden.
Did you catch that He washed ALL of the disciples’ feet – including the feet of Judas who was about to betray Him? This level of humility requires more that setting pride aside temporarily. This level of humility requires complete surrender, total submission to the will and purpose of God Who does not want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9). This was a powerful discipleship lesson which was apparently caught and embraced as His disciples later identified themselves as servants (or slaves) of God and committed even to die in His service – John (Rev. 1:1), Paul (1 Cor 3:5-6), Peter (2 Peter 1:1), James (James 1:1), Jude (Jude 1:1).
Impact on Me
I have participated in footwashing services and it is a very humbling experience. However, this passage is not meant to tell me how important footwashing services are, but, rather, that I need to be willing to set aside my pride and any status provided by my position to gladly and humbly serve those who have nothing to give me in return. Jesus is demonstrating to me (and us all) the kind of humility and service I am to emulate if I want to be like Him in this day and age.
Merriam Webster defines “humble” as “not proud: not thinking of yourself as better than other people.” A servant is simply one who serves others. Servant in the New Testament is often translated as slave. We don’t like that word as it has a bad taste in our historical context. The position Jesus took above was as low as He could go in His culture. What is the lowest I can go in service today – an unpaid volunteer in homeless ministry, serving orphans in a foreign land, working to change the lives of the poorest so they can have a better future? I know people who do all these and will never have any recognition on earth but much treasure in heaven.
Jesus is showing me that it’s not a sign of weakness to serve someone — it’s a sign of love, strength and humility – all treasures in His kingdom. Jesus is saying to me, “Don’t view yourself as better than other people – even your enemy – for I died for him/her, too.” This is a hard lesson to embrace and live.
Prayer
Father God, You are Love and created us in Your image. You gave Jesus to walk this earth as a human to show us how to live in and for You. I am humbled by how lowly Jesus stooped, how much He sacrificed, to restore intimacy between us. I am woefully inconsistent in my attempts to emulate Jesus’ example. However, I pray that as I find each new pocket of pride, You will, by Your Holy Spirit, help me to place that pride on Your altar to be burnt up. I truly want to be more like Jesus day by day as I journey through this life. Make it so, Lord, in Jesus’ name.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 