The Master Becomes a Servant

Before the Feast (13:1). “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” To the end means all the way: to the end of His life on earth, and to the very fullest. Judas (13:2). “The devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.” Jesus knew it, and He went on loving and serving. All things in His hands (13:3). Jesus knew “that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God.” He knew His power, where He came from and where He was going. That knowledge did not make Him proud. It set Him free to serve. Tithemi (13:4). He “rose from supper and laid aside His garments.” The word for laid aside is tithemi (say: TITH-eh-mee), the same word Jesus used when He said, “I lay down My life that I may take it again” (John 10:17). That night He laid aside His garments; the next day He laid down His life. Lention (13:4-5). He “took a towel and girded Himself.” The towel was a lention (say: LEN-tee-on), a linen cloth He tied around His waist. Then He “poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet,” drying each one Himself. The Master who serves. Jesus had described a master who returns, finds his servants watching, girds himself, seats them at the table and serves them (Luke 12:37). At this supper the Master did the same, and Luke 12:37 promises He will serve His waiting servants when He returns. Luke records Jesus saying the same night, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). For you. Jesus served because He knew who He was, not in spite of it. When you know you belong to God, you no longer need to be noticed. You are free to take the towel.

Peter (13:6). “Lord, are You washing my feet?” The Lord Peter followed was about to wash his feet, and Peter could not take it in. Understanding later (13:7). “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Jesus did not explain everything. He asked Peter to trust Him first. After the cross and the resurrection, Peter would understand that the Lord came to serve and to give His life. “Never!” (13:8). “You shall never wash my feet!” Peter was not being rude; he was trying to honor Jesus. Yet his answer refused what Jesus wanted to give. No part. “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” A part is a share. Without Jesus' washing, Peter could have no share in Jesus' life or His kingdom. Being near Jesus is not enough; He must make us clean. Everything (13:9). “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Peter swung from refusing to asking for everything. He wanted all of Jesus he could have. Bathed and clean (13:10-11). “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” The disciples already belonged to Jesus. Judas did not, and Jesus knew it. For you. Pride sometimes says no to being served, even by Jesus. Faith lets Him do what only He can do.

A question (13:12). “Do you know what I have done to you?” Jesus put His garments back on, sat down again and taught them. The washing was a lesson, and He wanted them to understand it. Kyrios (13:13). “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.” The word for Lord is kyrios (say: KOO-ree-os), the One who has the right to rule. Jesus accepted both titles. He did not serve because He was less than they thought; He served as the Lord. Ought (13:14). “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” If the Lord serves, His servants cannot think themselves too important to serve. Hypodeigma (13:15). “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” The word for example is hypodeigma (say: hoo-poh-DAYG-mah), a pattern set before someone to copy. Jesus gave a pattern of love, not only a rule. What the pattern is. The pattern is humble love that meets a real need without waiting to be thanked. It can take many forms: cleaning up, caring for the sick, helping a younger child, or giving up your place for someone. The cross. The towel pointed to something greater. The next day “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). For you. You cannot copy Jesus' death for sin; only He could do that. But you can copy His humble love toward others because He first loved you.

Most assuredly (13:16). “Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.” Jesus used this strong opening when He wanted His words to be taken seriously. Servant and Master. A servant does not get to set himself above his master. Jesus, the Master, had just washed feet. No follower of His can say a humble job is beneath him. Sent. The disciples would soon be sent to tell the world about Jesus. They would go as servants, carrying His message His way. Knowing and doing (13:17). “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” The blessing is not in knowing the lesson but in living it. John later wrote, “let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Serving in freedom. Paul taught believers that their freedom in Christ is for serving one another in love (Galatians 5:13). Serving is not how we become God's children; it is how His children live. The towel and the cross. The towel in the upper room pointed to the cross the next day, where the Master gave His life for His servants. For you. Jesus' blessing belongs to those who do what He showed. Ask Him for one specific way to serve this week, and then do it before you talk yourself out of it.