The Servant King

Picture the scene: the upper room, the night before the cross, and Jesus, knowing full well that all things were given into his hands, that he came from God and was going back to God, rises from supper, wraps a towel around his waist, and begins to wash his disciples' feet. The Creator of the universe kneels before the creatures he made. If that does not stop you cold, read it again.

For a first-time reader, foot-washing in the ancient world was the job of the lowest servant in the household. Roads were dusty and sandaled feet were filthy. No one of standing washed another person's feet. That is precisely why Peter recoils: "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" (John 13:6). Jesus is doing something that everyone in that room understood to be beneath him, and he does it deliberately, lovingly, without hesitation.

But there is more here than a lesson in humility, though that alone could occupy a lifetime. Jesus tells his disciples, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14). He is not merely modeling a posture; he is redefining greatness itself. In the kingdom he is building, the one who serves is the one who leads. Power does not lift you above people, it sends you toward them.

For the seasoned believer, consider this: John tells us Jesus washed the feet of Judas too. He knew Judas would betray him before the night was over, and he knelt before him anyway. That is not naivety, that is sovereign, deliberate love that refuses to be diminished by the failure of the one it serves. It is a portrait of grace that should silence every excuse we make for withholding kindness from those who have wronged us.

Today, your towel may be a phone call you have been putting off, a task beneath your job title, or a kind word to someone who has not earned it. The Servant King has shown you the way. The question is whether you will follow him down to your knees.