John 13: 1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
Jesus knows His time is short before He is crucified for the sins of the world, and as it said in verse 1, "He loved His disciples during His ministry and will love them to the end. Which brings to mind us, modern-day disciples, and what Jesus thinks about us. I hear a whole lot about Jesus giving us hope and peace during tragic and tough times, and Jesus is all about doing that for His sheep. The above scripture shows us this side of Jesus, a servant. A lot is happening during this moment in time. Judas had already been prompted by the devil to betray Jesus, and Judas was sitting at the table with the one He was going to betray. The following scripture is very important to understand, where it says 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. Jesus was not going into the next phase of His life without the power of God being with Him and in Him. This is important so we can see how He laid that power down on the cross to take the whole penalty of our sins and shed His blood for those sins. At any time He could have stopped it, but Jesus, the ultimate servant finished the course.
So what does the one with the power of God do? He gets a basin and a towel and proceeds to wash His disciple's feet. What? 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. They did not understand all that this act of servanthood was presenting to them, but it was a precursor to what Jesus would do to serve in the near future. Instead of using that power to get Him out of this situation, He chose to show His disciples a great amount of recognition by washing His friend's feet. Peter rejected Jesus washing His feet, but Jesus further illustrated the full extent of undeserved grace and told Peter the following words. 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Jesus calls us His friends also and in the following verses teaches us about this very important relationship. John 15:12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. Jesus does the above object lesson of washing His disciples feet and it easily illustrates the heart of a servant, and that is His heart that He gives to us when He sends the Holy Spirit. We are now mobile servants and Jesus is the example.
I think sometimes we forget that Jesus is everything to us: Friend, Savior, Redeemer, Sustainer, Servant, and of course, our way to eternity in Heaven. The only way we are involved in the salvation He offers is by faith and surrender. He takes weak and stubborn sinners and gives us purpose, power, and position in the work of the Lord. Jesus gives us significance. Jesus emphacizes this relationship in the following scriptures in John. John 15:1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus recognizes us by giving us the significance of being a servant to Him and in the servanthood we use His example to guide our walk of faith. We know we can't do anything on our own, but with Jesus all things are possible and we live in the possibility of His power and glory. Don't let anyone talk you out of believing in the incredible power of Jesus and the recognition that His power is coursing through our Spirit in the Holy Spirit, ready to live the life as His friend and His servant. Simon Peter missed the point at the beginning, but Jesus said this to Peter in the following. 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” 10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. It is not physical washing that makes the difference, it is receiving the water where we will never thirst again. When speaking to the Samaritan Woman Jesus cleared up what He meant about the living water and how it washes us "spiritually" clean. John 4:13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Now we get the point and recognize what it meant for Jesus to wash the disciples feet and how that translates to what we do as servants of the King. NOW DO IT.
Today's Message,
David Warren
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