12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
-John 13:12-17 NIV
Just before the Last Supper, Jesus did something radical in the culture of the day– He took the posture of a household servant and washed the disciples’ feet! This was unheard of, and honestly, quite scandalous. A Rabbi and Teacher would never stoop so low before his disciples and pupils. This wasn’t just their Rabbi, though. He was even more. Jesus was their Lord. The Son of God. The Messiah. The Savior of the World. The Light of Life. He bent down and washed their dirty, dusty feet.
In an instant, Jesus became their servant.
And then Jesus said something equally as revolutionary as His behavior: Do this same thing for each other. Wash one another’s feet.
Before the disciples could embrace the posture of servants to one another, they had to first experience being served by their Savior. Jesus knew something we often forget— we can’t give what we haven’t first received.
Maybe you need to hear that today. Perhaps you are so busy going through the motions of religion or the demands of life or meeting the needs of others that you can’t remember the last time you simply received from your Savior. It’s been too long since you’ve sat in His Presence and meditated on all that Jesus has done for you on the cross and with the empty tomb.
Let Jesus wash your feet today. Let Him cleanse you and demonstrate His love for you. Receive His mercy and grace afresh and anew.
Because you know what it’s like to be served by your Lord, may you serve those around you. May you approach the messy,dirty and altogether stankiness of those around you with the same humble love that Jesus has shown you. Wash someone else’s feet today, not out of mere necessity or religious obligation or human inner strength. No, humble yourself and serve another because Christ has done this for you.
Give what you’ve been given.
*This reflection comes from my own time in the Word while completing the Seek First Journal. Click here to learn more