The Humble Mind - Introduction

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 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 got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him. John 13:1‭-‬5 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.13.1-5.NIVUK A former pastor of mine once returned from a Scottish Baptist conference with a somewhat chastened look on his face. The conference had been held in a school. At the end of the conference, they were asked to contribute to the cleaning so that the school would be left in a good condition. He did his part. Then, just before the long drive home, he went to the toilets. As he entered the toilets, he almost bumped into someone on their knees, scrubbing the floor with no little enthusiasm. When he realised who it was, he had to look twice to confirm it. It was the president of the Scottish Baptist Union. The head guy. The big banana. The boss. And he was on his knees, scrubbing the floors of a school toilet. The image really challenged him. It challenges me and I'm sure it challenges you. Our societies are based on hierarchies. Even the Marxist-Communist-Juche societies aren't equal as there are always some people who are "more equal" than others. So what we see Jesus doing here is absolutely revolutionary, but it isn't left-wing in any way at all. This isn't a different hierarchy. No, this is Jesus inverting His society in such a progressive way that even his disciples were stunned. And that takes some amount of guts. He was standing against centuries of ingrained culture and tradition and overturning it in a few minutes of foot-washing. So don't mistake this for weakness or servitude. This is power, but power under control. And it's just as revolutionary now as it was then. There is also powerful symbolism at work here. The man who removes His clothing voluntarily to take up the most menial of roles, before being stripped naked and nailed to a cross. The hands that did not consider the riches of heaven something to be grasped onto (Philippians 2:6) gently washing filthy feet. The God who cast stars into space with His words now kneeling to wash mud from His followers. The Saviour who would die to clean souls now on His knees to clean feet. All this is absolutely mind-blowing. But it is to the mind that we will turn. You see, Jesus finishes His feet washing with these words: 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 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.13.14-15.NIVUK But many of us would greatly struggle to serve other believers to this degree. Why? What was so special about the humble mind of Christ that He was willing to stoop this far? What does John tell us about His mentality that we can emulate in our own? I believe the secret lies in verse 3: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; John 13:3 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.13.3.NIVUK And it is in this verse that we will meditate. Firstly we see that JESUS KNEW WHO HE WAS.