Jesus answered and said to him [Peter], “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (John 13:7-8 [NASB])
When we read John 13:1-17, we realize Jesus, God’s Son, did not consider himself too exalted to do the lowest of tasks-washing dirty feet. He took off his outer tunic and wore just what a servant would and wrapped a towel around his waist as a servant would. Next, he knelt beside Peter to put his foot in the basin and wash and dry it. Peter and the other disciples recognized this action for what it was, a servant’s duty. To him, Jesus was Teacher and Lord (vs 13). Jesus wanted His disciples to see He was more than what they thought they knew about Him. Yes, He is God’s Son and is divine. Jesus also humbled Himself to come down to earth from His throne in heaven, to be incarnate. Paul spoke of this humility of Jesus in Philippians 2:6-7. Jesus made sure the disciples realized His work comprised more than just being recognized as a Teacher and the Lord, the Son of God. His life was to be a humble servant to the Father and humanity so each person would come to know Him as his or her Savior.
Isaiah in Isaiah 49:1-13 recognized the different facets of the Messiah. Through Isaiah, the Messiah prophesied of His coming humility by birth as a human (vs. 1). He would come to speak the words of God with protection from the shadow of His hand (vs. 2). Jesus would come to toil as if in vain to bring Israel back to God (vs. 4-5). God deemed His Son’s work too important for just the Israelites. The Messiah said He would be a light to all nations. He would come to speak for God and toil for His purposes so all may see the Light of God and come to know Him as their Redeemer (vs 6-7a). Though the Messiah said He people would despise and abhor Him, He would serve people. Kings would rise to their feet and princes would bow to Him because the LORD God chose Him (vs. 7). He said He would release the captive, bring light to those in darkness, feed the hungry, and give drink for the thirsty (vs. 9-10). Jesus the Messiah would make the roads straight and people would come from near and far to be with Him (vs. 11-12).
Jesus prophesied through Isaiah that He would come to earth for the Israelites to restore them to God. He said He would come for people everywhere, too. Jesus’ ministry on earth was almost exclusively to Israelites. Yet, we know He came for each person who lived during and after His life on earth. Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19 [NASB]). In Acts 1:8, Luke wrote what Jesus told them in the upper room. He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
John, in John 13:1-17, told of Jesus preparing His disciples for ministry beyond what they understood. He prepared them to be like Him. Isaiah 49:1-13 foretold the Messiah’s work on earth-speaking to and toiling as a servant for the people of Israel and other nations to receive salvation. Jesus came to serve the Father. That required being a servant for people, too. Jesus showed this to His disciples while He walked with them. He healed, taught, fed, proclaimed, and raised the dead. For the disciples, He did the miraculous. How else could a poor carpenter’s son have taught with authority, though uneducated? How could he have done miracles of healing, feeding, and raising people from the dead? With John 13, Jesus showed His disciples a deeper understanding of His miraculousness. He came to serve, to cleanse people-from dirt and from sins. Jesus served in whatever way was necessary so each person would come to know Him, believe in Him, and receive salvation from sin and death. Jesus modeled this to His disciples. He instilled righteous leadership with righteous servanthood. Jesus instilled servanthood with righteousness so they could be His leaders, too. Only through the righteousness of Christ imparted in each believer through the Holy Spirit can a person fulfill God’s purposes as God foretold in Isaiah 49, Luke shared in Acts 1, and Jesus lived as relayed by Paul in Philippians 2. A servant cannot be greater than the Master and the one who is sent cannot be greater than the One who sent him. Yet, a servant and a leader can live the life of a Christian by Jesus’ Spirit living within them upon faith in Him for salvation.
It took Jesus, incarnated and fully divine, to transform the actions of people to always be actions of righteous service. Without His indwelling a person, righteous serving cannot happen. It took divine Jesus to redeem serving and leading so they would be useful for God’s purposes. It was too small a thing for Jesus to come just to save Israel (Isaiah 49:6). Just as it was too small a thing for Him to come to redeem only one aspect of life. Jesus came to redeem each person wholly, including each action. He came to redeem every action, bringing it back into alignment with God’s purpose. God’s purpose is that we glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. His purpose is that we live in an eternal, loving, and righteous relationship with Him. It is not too small a thing for us to live righteously and tell other people about Jesus. It has everlasting consequences.
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11 [NASB])
Is
there something you think is beneath you?
If
you think that, then you have not had your feet washed by Jesus.
