John 13:1-20
I love this passage on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet! It turns all the conventional wisdom about leadership on its head, and sets an example for us to follow as servant leaders. What struck me today was the preface to the beginning of the foot washing – a listing of things that Jesus was aware of at that moment:
• His hour had come to depart out of this world
• Judas was already on the course of betrayal (being led by the devil)
• The Father had given him all things
• That he had come from God
• That he was going back to God
John was setting the context for Jesus’ humbling himself as a servant leader. This was no random act of kindness; it was a deliberate act that Jesus engaged in when the heaviness of the upcoming trial and crucifixion weighed on his heart.
So why did he wash their feet? John wrote that “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” “His own” probably referred to his disciples, since this took place in a private setting where only Jesus and his disciples were there. The act of washing their feet was not only an act of humility and model of servant leadership, it was supremely a demonstration of selfless love. Judas was still with the disciples, and it appears that Jesus washed all their feet, Judas included! Even though his upcoming suffering and Judas betrayal were intertwined, he still loved Judas and demonstrated it through washing his feet.
Leading like Jesus: our calling is not to the pedestal of power and prestige; our calling is to become like Jesus with the servant’s towel and loving heart. Even when others turn against us, we are to entrust ourselves to God’s higher purposes and continue to serve others in love.
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