Leaving For Vacation; Next Post March 18th

A Day Away From Crucifixion

Jesus began His ministry quite impressively. The Gospel accounts reveal that He burst onto the scene. He attracted huge crowds because He spoke differently than anyone had ever spoken before—especially Israel’s priests and other religious leaders. When we get to chapter 13 in John’s Gospel account, Jesus is only a day away from His crucifixion. By now, the crowds have abandoned Him, in part because He began preaching a message of sacrifice and service.

Take Up Your Cross

He told them they needed to crucify “self” and take up their cross daily if they wanted to be His followers. He preached an upside-down kingdom where those who led must serve and where the way to be first was to be last. He turned the world’s leadership style on its head. This is what His church would look like. Many of His original followers wanted nothing more to do with Him. They had followed for selfish reasons, but Christ’s kingdom would be a selfless one. So Jesus is left with twelve followers—and one of them, Judas Iscariot, would betray Him. They met back in Jerusalem in an upper room to celebrate the Passover together.

Jesus Washers His Disciples Feet

John writes: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist.” (John 13:1–4) Their feet were dirty from their journey. It was common for most travelers to walk. A horse or burro was an expensive luxury for most people. “Roads” were little more than dirt paths. They had no sidewalks or bike paths as we are accustomed to today. Depending on the weather, you either walked through inch-thick dust or through liquid mud caused by rain. It was impossible for sandals to keep the dirt out. Most Jewish homes kept large vessels of water near the front door for every visitor to wash their feet. It was typical in this time period for a slave to wash a visitor’s feet.  

Jesus Served Like A Slave

But when the disciples arrived at the upper room, there was no slave. No servant was prepared to wash their feet, and no one volunteered. In fact, this was the same group that Luke tells us (chapter 22) had been arguing over who was the greatest among them—who would sit at Jesus’ right hand and left hand when He set up His kingdom. So with that going on, what were the chances that any of them would humble themselves and wash the feet of the other disciples? The bowl of water was there. The towel was there. Everything needed to serve was there. But no one was willing. The text seems clear that they were in the middle of their meal when Jesus rose from the table (v. 5) to show them what it truly means to serve.