Day Twenty-eight

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,
and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
so he . . . began to wash his disciples’ feet.” (John 13:3–5)

Scripture Reading: John 13:1–17

Imagine Christ appearing before you this very moment, kneeling on the floor, and washing your feet. Not a very comfortable thought, is it? Can you relate to Peter’s impulsive statement, “You shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8)? I once struggled over what to do with the gift of a pedicure! Feet don’t belong in anyone else’s hands! If you ask me, that’s why they are fastened to the ankle instead of the wrist.

Christ’s actions stunned the disciples. The lowliest servant in the house washed feet. Had Christ asked for one of them to wash His feet, I doubt He would have had any takers. In Luke’s version of the same meal, “a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest” (Luke 22:24). We can be fairly certain that this “dispute” led to a foot-washing lesson on servanthood.

Through this unforgettable act, Christ shed light on the disciples’ differences. They wanted position; He wanted possession. They wanted importance; He wanted witnesses. They did agree on one goal, however; they wanted greatness, and He wanted to grant it—His way. In Mark 10:43–44 Christ said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

Like us, the disciples often liked Christ’s goals but disliked His methods. Christ’s standard for true servanthood? In Mark 10:45 He said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” We, like the disciples, want to be leaders. Perhaps we don’t particularly want the responsibility of leadership, but we wouldn’t mind the status. We like the idea of being well-respected and highly esteemed. The New Testament says very little about leadership but contains volumes about servanthood. By both word and deed Christ proclaims: my leaders are my servants.

Why are we so reluctant to humble ourselves with foot-washing attitudes of service? A key reason is because we suffer from an identity crisis. We still define ourselves by others’ perceptions and reactions. Christ could wash grimy feet because He knew who He was. He could get on His knees and serve a bunch of self-serving saps because His identity came from the Father. He knew who He was to God.

The more we know God through prayer and His Word, the more aware of and comfortable with our true identity we’ll become. It won’t matter if others highly esteem us. We’ll gladly humble ourselves before them because we are highly esteemed by One much greater.

As strange as it seems, Christ does have our future greatness in mind. He grants it to those who have lived their lives humbly—with a lap full of feet.