TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:14-15
Listen: John 13
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Foot washing was typically done by the lowest servant in the house. It was necessary in Israel because people walked on dusty, filthy roads wearing sandals. They then reclined to eat with their feet up. This meant that clean feet were important! Yet here was Jesus, kneeling before his disciples, washing off the muck. His gesture was shocking and symbolic.
Jesus had already told them, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). John Dickson explains, “The washing of the disciples’ feet was intended as a potent example of the Christian life itself.” Being a Christian is characterized by the servanthood modeled by Jesus. It is more than an action of serving. It is a mindset of emptying oneself to value other’s needs more than your own. It is selfless obedience to God.
The Apostle Paul tells us we are “…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Serving others is part of the way God molds and changes us to resemble his Son, Jesus. He created us for service.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
God’s system of greatness is quite different from the worlds’. It’s through serving that he elevates us. Memorize Mark 10:43 as a reminder of what you were created to do.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
