Jesus knew that the Father
had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would
return to God. So he got up from the
table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around His waist and poured water
into a basin. Then He began to wash the
disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him. John 17.3-5
Jesus
knew who he was. He knew where He had
come from and where He was going. This
was God, the Creator of the universe, King Eternal, Yahweh washing the feet of
the one’s He had created.
For
the disciples, this was a “shock and awe” moment! No Rabbi or any person of significant status
had ever washed another’s feet. It just
wasn’t done. The job of foot washing was
always relegated to the lowest of the low, the refuse of society.
But Jesus never let society dictate His behavior, He never let it deviate Him from His mission. He had come to serve. Just hours from this moment, Jesus would demonstrate His greatest act of service, His coup d'état, the cross! Overthrowing the norms, the status-quo and turning this self-driven, people pleasing society on its head.
After
Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He told them, “Since, I your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to
wash each other’s feet. I have given you
an example to follow. Do as I have done
to you.” (John 13.12-14)
Do
what I do. Serve each other.
Having
the heart of a servant was a way of living for Jesus and it should be for those
of us who are His followers. It wasn’t
one act of service, followed by a myriad of self-driven deeds. It was a lifestyle of service. Unconditional service. No expectations. Service born from a heart that loves.
Jesus’
greatest act of service, the cross, came from a heart propelled by love. And so should our service derive from a heart
of love for those He created.
Unconditional
service is never easy. Unconditional
service always has a cost but it is a way of life for those who choose to
follow. It marks us as true followers of
the One who first demonstrated His love for us!
Lord, we confess in this
every-man-for himself world, we have lost sight of this servant way of
living. We have allowed the world and its
ways to color our perspective and justify our self-centered choices. Teach us to have the heart of a servant and
to live each day, following the example you set for us. Amen
