The Love Principle - Study 29: Love as Service

John 13:1-17 NIV 

[1] 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. [2] The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. [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; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. [6] He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” [7] Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” [8] “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” [9] “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” [10] Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” [11] For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. [12] When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. [13] “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. [14] Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. [15] I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. [16] Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. [17] Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.1-17.NIV)

In 2001, I had an experience that changed my perspective on many aspects of life: 

I travelled to South-East Asia for the first time. 

Many aspects of that trip left me enthralled and a little overwhelmed. I had never been anywhere like that before. No, I’m feel blessed to say that I’ve been there more than ten times. But there was one aspect – particularly in the Philippines – that really took me by surprise more than any other: 

The level of customer service. Filipinos are absolutely customer service champions. 

It’s not just the fact that they are open and friendly. That could be said of a lot of people. It’s the sheer sincerity of it that took me aback, and still takes experienced travellers back nowadays. In other countries you can tell that people are being nice to you because they want something in return – maybe a tip or a nice review. In many parts of the Philippines, people are just nice and happy to help. 

And it’s so disarming. The first time I arrived in the country, it took me aback. I was more used to the relative surliness in the European hospitality and service industries, or the evident insincerity elsewhere. But to have people who were genuinely nice and helpful and happy with it was a complete shock. 

They are a lesson to us all. 

But particularly us Christians. Because, you see, love ought to be the biggest possible challenge to our ego. Love disqualifies pride. Love bans us from constantly seeking first place.  

Love drives us to serve. In fact, without love true service is impossible. 

In this study, we are looking at one of the most incredible acts of servitude ever recorded in Scripture. We will consider the context and learn so much about how love should change our attitude and make us ready to serve.  

Let’s start by looking at The Man Who Failed. 

The Man Who Failed 

Luke 7:44-47 NIV 

[44] Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. [46] You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. [47] Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.7.44-47.NIV)

When I went to the Philippines to visit my intended fiancée and meet her family, I was keen to make a good impression. But I was a Scottish guy who had spent three years in Romania. 

What did I know about Filipino culture? 

So I did some reading. I bought a guide book. I searched the internet. I also asked my intended. I did what I could to please them. 

And so, when I arrived at their home, I took their left hand, bowed slightly and pressed the back of it to my forehead. This is a traditional mark of respect in the Philippines. 

It worked. Sort of. They chuckled with pleasure at my attempt. 

My future mother-in-law still had questions about this crazy white guy with a strange dress sense that her daughter was dating. She wanted assurances that I wasn’t a serial killer. 

My now wife put her mind at ease and now we get along – especially when I take her by the arm and lead her where she wants to go. 

Whether we think it’s fun or inconvenient or irritating, it doesn’t matter: culture is important – both our culture and other people’s. It is a matter of respect and honour to treat other people’s culture and traditions with respect. It showed that you value them as people. 

Such a shame, then, that Jesus’ unusual host – a man who went out to get water, which was normally a woman’s job (Mark 14:12-16) – failed so badly in this. 

That water jar was the feature that marked him out as the person who would host Jesus’ and His disciples’ Passover feast – the last supper before Jesus died. This was His last meal before His crucifixion. 

Now, ancient Middle Easterners wore open toed sandals in streets that were dusty, dirty and full of, well, effluent. I wear sandals a lot when we travel in Asia. Those streets are a lot cleaner. But when I reach a house or hotel my feet are filthy. I can’t imagine just how incredibly dirty and smelly their feet would have got. 

Ancient Jews ate reclining at a low table. Washing their hands and feet before eating their food was not just a cleanliness issue, it was also a matter of hygiene and food safety. 

It was a tradition – and very useful one – that the host supplied a bowl of water and a cloth, as well as a servant – to wash the guests’ feet before they ate. It was far from a pleasant job. It was performed by the lowest ranked servant. 

Yet this host did neither. Like Simon the Pharisee, he permitted Jesus and His disciples – the distinguished guests he was privileged to host – to recline at his table with filthy dirty, smelly feet. 

This was a serious cultural error. It was up there with showing your feet to someone in Thailand or pointing aggressively at someone in the Philippines or criticising a leader in Vietnam. It was far from the done thing. 

Moreover, think of how this would dramatically alter the Passover experience for Jesus and His disciples, particularly as it was the Last Supper. 

But – and this particularly striking – Jesus not call His host out on it. There is no scolding, no raised voices, no threats of a negative review or social media post.

Instead, Jesus covered over this man’s failings as a host, got up from the meal and washed the disciples’ feet Himself. 

He saw the problem. He fixed the problem. 

As Lord of all the earth, Jesus had the right to any level of entitlement available, yet He did not use any of it to disgrace the man who hosted them. He simply fulfilled what was lacking. 

This is humility par excellence. This is truly what it means. 

This itself already is an incredible act of love. 

And it isn’t at all unusual for Jesus. Think about what He did with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Again, He had every reason to wield His power and convict and condemn a sinner. Yet He did not. And why? 

John 3:17 NIV 

[17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.3.17.NIV)

As Christians, it is absolutely our job to condemn sin and to recognise it for the danger it is.  

But it is absolutely not our job to condemn sinners. That is God’s job. Our job is to love: 

1 Peter 4:8 NIV 

[8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.4.8.NIV)

That is precisely what Jesus did when He washed the disciples’ feet. 

Apart from the man who failed, we also see The Man Who Knew. 

The Man Who Knew 

John 13:1-3 NIV 

[1] 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. [2] The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. [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. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.1-3.NIV)

A friend of mine occasionally volunteers to work for Mountain Rescue. I have a deep and profound respect for what these people do. I think we all should. 

When they have to rescue someone who had fallen down a cliff or a precipice and they need to abseil down to them, the first thing they need to do is to secure themselves. They need to drive a piton into the side of the mountain, attach a carabiner to it and then run their rope through the carabiner. If the piton is not in a firm place, the rescuer could end up in a far worse place than the person they are rescuing. 

We often find ourselves in a tough place to serve. Often we find service an insult to our pride and our dignity. 

Is it not striking that Jesus didn’t? 

The reason why is because of the things to which He had attached Himself to lower Himself down to our level to save us. 

We, you see, are often so busy trying to climb a ladder, so occupied with comparing ourselves to other people, that we just can’t take the lowest place and serve others because of how it might look. We are heading upwards; we can’t go back down. 

But Jesus did. 

He did not compare Himself with anyone else. The solidity of His position - of His piton, to use a mountaineering term, was based on five things that He knew: 

He knew that His time had come. He knew this was it: that His Father’s plan was about to come to fruition and He was about to die. Yet He did not shrink from it. Instead, He purposefully strode towards it. 

This is interesting, because throughout the Gospel of John there is an acute sense of timing. Jesus didn’t seek the limelight with a big public miracle at the Wedding at Cana as it wasn’t His time (John 2:4). He also resisted making a grand entrance at the Passover because it wasn’t His time (John 7:1-10). He was not arrested despite His very public ministry and differences with the religious authorities because it wasn’t yet His time (John 7:30, 8:20). 

For many of us, a sense of it being ‘our time’ means that we should step into the limelight, do something special and show the world just who we are. 

Jesus’ reaction to it being ‘His time’ was entirely different. He had not come to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45). He did not come to live, but to die so that others would live. 

So it makes complete sense that ‘His time’ would send Him to humiliating, culturally-inappropriate service at the feed of His thoroughly bewildered disciples. 

What we see here is a huge challenge to our ego-centric values. It shows again how utterly wrong out ‘ladder-climbing’ focus is. We find ourselves being shaken, not by how far Jesus went, but by how far we are from truly following Him. 

We can’t step down to serve because we are too busy trying to climb up. ‘Our time’ is always wrong because ‘our time’ is for our glory, not for God’s. 

We have much to learn. 

Apart from knowing that this was His time, we also see that He knew who would betray Him. 

This is truly startling. 

John 13:2 NIV 

[2] The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.2.NIV)

John 6:64 NIV 

[64] Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.6.64.NIV)

John 6:70-71 NIV 

[70] Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” [71] (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.6.70-71.NIV)

Look carefully at the astonishing drama that unfolds during the Last Supper: 

John 13:21-27 NIV 

[21] After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” [22] His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. [23] One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. [24] Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” [25] Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” [26] Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. [27] As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.21-27.NIV)

Okay, so let me break this down. 

Jesus knew from the very beginning that Judas would betray Him. Yet Jesus still called Judas as His disciple. 

Judas was known as a thief and embezzler. He had been pocketing money donated to Jesus’ ministry (John 12:6). Jesus would have known this was happening (John 2:25), but did nothing about it. 

Judas was at the Last Supper – celebrating the Jesus the most poignant of Jewish festivals. 

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. There is nothing at all in this passage which indicates anyone was missed out. 

We can therefore logically surmise something that seems to be utterly incredible: Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer, knowing full well that he would betray. 

What we see here is an astonishing act of love. Here is a man with dirty, grimy feet and a heart to match. Jesus washed his feet. 

Judas refused to clean his heart. 

Let’s take a look back at some teaching we explored in a earlier study: 

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV 

[43]  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.43-48.NIV)

There is not one person in all of history who better exemplified this than Jesus. He served, not because He had something to gain, but because He had everything to lose. 

That is truly what it means to serve. 

And as people who dare to call ourselves by His Name, we must serve likewise. 

So Jesus knew that this was His time and who would betray Him. 

He also knew who He was. 

John 13:3 NIV 

[3] Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.3.NIV)

Jesus knew that God, to translate literally, had placed all things ‘in His hands’. That is, He had the power to create; He had the power to sustain; He had the power to prosecute and judge; He had the power to raise up and tear down. Every living thing was in His hands. 

If we see life as a ladder of souls, where we are competing with other people to get as close to the top as we can, Jesus was at the very top. There was, and is, no-one above Him. He had been placed there by His Father. 

Everything we hope for, long for, dream of, and Jesus had it all. In that moment, it was all His. 

So what did He do? 

He took a bowel of water and a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. 

I am convinced – because it has been my own experience – that one of the main reasons why we can’t serve and take the lowest place is because we aren’t sure of our place. We see ourselves on that ladder of souls and we don’t really know where we are on it. The one place we don’t ever want to be is down at the bottom. So we run away from any task that makes us look like we are at the bottom. 

This is where Jesus is so very different from us. He is at the top of the ladder. His piton could not be in firmer rock. And so He is able to lower Himself to raise us up. 

But it isn’t just a case of this being His time, and knowing who would betray Him and who He was. Jesus also knew where He had come from. 

John 13:3 NIV 

[3] Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God... 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.3.NIV)

Jesus knew, as Philippians 2:6-7 teaches, that He had come from God. He was fully aware of His origins from old (Micah 5:2; John 1:1). 

Being aware of our origins and our past is a powerful thing. It speaks to our identity. Being sure of where we came from – its power and its relevancy – increases our capacity to serve. 

For example, our church used to have an outreach in a deprived area of our town. I enjoyed working there, even though there was a physical risk, because I could identify with the people there, having been brought up in a similar place. But put me in a place where people are very well of and know nothing of that life and I will not be so sure of myself. 

Knowing where came from, and the path along which God had led us, is important. 

Jesus also knew where He was going. 

John 13:3-4 NIV 

[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; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.3-4.NIV)

He knew this world was not His own. He knew whatever sorrows or deprivations or indignities or pain He would experience on earth were never permanent. He was returning to God in Heaven. Nothing anyone could do – neither in this room, nor in a Roman courthouse, nor a High Priestly palace, would make one jot of difference to that. 

I wonder if this shapes our willingness to serve. I wonder if our disinclination is caused by a fear that this is all there is, so we ought to seek out the utmost of pleasure now, rather than being willing to endure pain to receive eternal pleasure. 

I find it very telling that John listed all these things, and then He said that Jesus served.

Although it isn’t clear in the Greek, it’s almost as if John has established a causal link: that Jesus was enabled to serve in this humiliating, culturally inappropriate way because, He knew His time had come, because He knew the disciples and was acutely aware that He was about to be betrayed, denied and abandoned, because He knew who He was, where He had come from and where He was going. These were the pitons in His cliffside. They were the reasons He could stoop so low. 

But there is one more cause, one which dominated all others, and that was that Jesus was The Man Who Loved. 

The Man Who Loved 

John 13:1 NIV 

[1] 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. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.1.NIV)

In my job, my team and I often ask our service providers to look at a bad situation that has happened and look for the root cause – the thing that caused the issue in the first place. It’s not always a comfortable thing to do. Sometimes the root cause is something someone has done. They might have been well-meaning or just had an off day and caused a huge problem. But if the situation is to be avoided in the future, it’s important to know what really went wrong now. 

When we look at what happened with Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, this is the root cause. This is what triggered it. This is what drove the Creator and Sustainer of the universe to drop to His knees and wash dirty, smelly grime from His disciples’ feet. 

What was it? 

Love. 

Agape love. 

Love without pretentions, preconditions or demands. 

Love without grudges or unforgiveness. 

Love that didn’t look for a quid pro quo or a kickback or anything at all in return. 

It was love. Just love. 

Often we forget how love should be shown. We assume it’s in the big performative gestures: the romantic meals, the gifts, the lavish proposals. 

Jesus didn’t do any of that. He saw a need. He met the need. He did it silently. Quietly. Not seeking attention. Not calling out those who didn’t do it. 

He just did it. 

And that is love: 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV 

[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4-7.NIV)

This is a stern rebuke to those who want to display their love like a peacock displays his feathers. That is not love.  

Look what Jesus said: 

Matthew 6:1-4 NIV 

[1]  “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. [2]  “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.6.1-4.NIV)

True love does not love for what it will get in return. Neither does it love to get something out of it. True love does not seek its own glory, but God’s. 

For that reason, true love does not seek outward displays, but instead seeks only to love. 

Jesus’ love drove Him to His knees and into the grime. 

Where will your love take you? 

Apart from the man who failed, knew and loved, we also see The Man Who Served. 

The Man Who Served 

John 13:3-5 NIV 

[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; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.3-5.NIV)

Oftentimes people don’t appreciate the sheer enormity of their surroundings. I remember way back in 1994, as a Christian student leader was explaining to us what had happened just five years previously on Revolution Square in Bucharest. In a calm, surprisingly measured tone, he pointed out the windows from where the secret police and army shot at peaceful protesters, the balcony where the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu stood waving at the masses expecting their adulation but was met with jeering and revolutionary cries, the balcony from where his helicopter took off, before he was arrested, put on trial with his wife and shot by firing squad at Târgoviște barracks. 

The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. 

Yet in the square around him, people were milling around and going about their business as if his testimony, and the myriad bullet holes in the buildings around us, meant nothing. 

What we see in these verses is amazing and utterly awe-inspiring. It is also one of the clearest visual aids of the Gospel we will ever see. Before we move in and see how Peter in particular reacted to it, we will do well to appreciate its splendour once more. 

We see a failed host treated with grace. 

We see a failed disciple, about to sell His Rabbi for a pittance, yet Jesus washed His feet.

We see a failing disciple, about to swear under oath and with curses that he doesn’t know His Lord, yet Jesus washed His feet. 

We see ten disciples who have all sworn allegiance to Jesus, and yet will abandon Him as soon as trouble appears, yet Jesus washed their feet. 

Outside of the cross itself, never was there a clearer picture of this verse: 

Romans 5:6-8 NIV 

[6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.5.6-8.NIV)

That upper room was a room full of failures and disappointments, but Jesus still washed their feet. And in doing so, He showed them just how much He loved them. Jesus’ love was not shown in grand gestures or huge displays of affection, but in a willingness to show incredible humility to serve people who were thoroughly underselling of it. 

That is truly extraordinary. 

It stunned the disciples. That much is sure. Because having seen the man who failed, knew, loved and served, we also see The Man Who Struggled. 

The Man Who Struggled 

John 13:6-9 NIV 

[6] He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” [7] Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” [8] “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” [9] “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.6-9.NIV)

A number of years ago, Queen Elizabeth II was out for a walk with her protection officer on her Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland when she came across two American hikers.

They didn’t recognise her. They got chatting and the Americans asked if she lived locally. She told them she had holiday home just over the hill (it was true – it was Balmoral Castle) and had been coming to the area for eighty years. 

They were astounded and commented that she must have met the Queen. In typical humour, she told them that she hadn’t, but her protection officer had. 

They still didn’t understand, but asked for pictures together, which the Queen’s protection officer duly took. 

Imagine their surprise when then returned to the USA to discover they had been talking to the Queen of the United Kingdom. 

They were close to where she lived, but somehow those American hikers didn’t recognise her. Maybe it was because they were used to seeing her in more regal clothing than what she was wearing at the time. 

Sometimes we don’t recognise people outside of their usual setting. At the weekend, we were out and about on our town when one of my daughter's pupils recognised her, which was nice, but there are settings that we don’t expect people to be in because it seems to be demeaning. 

One of these is a well-known Jewish rabbi and Saviour of the World washing other people’s feet. 

For all the disciples this was a deeply discombobulating moment. Their values were bring challenged to the core. Perhaps they should have expected something like this. After all, Jesus had taught: 

Matthew 20:25-28 NIV 

[25] Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. [26] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [27] and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— [28] just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.20.25-28.NIV)

Knowing something in theory and seeing it in practice are two very different things. That perhaps explains Peter’s thoroughly shell-shocked response: 

John 13:6-8 NIV 

[6] He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” [7] Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” [8] “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.6-8.NIV)

Peter saw foot-washing as a thoroughly demeaning task. In his perception of life as a ladder – something we know from the Gospels that the other disciples also shared, but Jesus did not (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 9:33-35; Luke 22:24-27). 

And that is precisely the point. Their perception of the world as a ladder they needed to climb prevented them from serving with humility. But Jesus, who did not see things this way, was able to serve in the lowest position. 

How Jesus reacted to this is very pertinent: 

John 13:9-11 NIV 

[9] “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” [10] Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” [11] For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.9-11.NIV)

Peter had talked about physical cleaning (of your feet or body); Jesus switched the conversation to cleaning of the soul. His meaning was simple: eleven of the Twelve, for all of their faults (and there were many), had been made clean because they had accepted this wonderful message of loving humility. 

But one had not.  

He had not joined their group with any intention of truly following Jesus. He had joiner to enrich himself. Judas was a disciple in name only who was only too happy to follow Jesus of it boosted his situation.  

But a situation like this, or like the woman with the alabaster jar (John 12:1-8)?  

Well, that ran completely contrary to his values. 

It should come as no surprise that a man like him betrayed Jesus. 

Right there we have the sharpest of contrasts: those who accepted Jesus’ ways and at least had the desire to walk in them, and those who wished to climb the ladder of souls and did not care who they trampled on to get there; those who truly loved, and those who did not. 

But as well as the man who failed, knew, loved, served and struggled, we end with a look at The Man Who Summoned. 

The Man Who Summoned 

John 13:12-17 NIV 

[12] When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. [13] “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. [14] Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. [15] I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. [16] Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. [17] Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.12-17.NIV)

There are many funny games where we have to follow the instructions. Games like ‘Simon Says’ and ‘Twister’ will likely never get old. They almost always result in us putting ourselves in funny, and sometimes mildly humiliating, positions, and that’s part of the fun. 

But this is something else. 

Jesus told the disciples that this foot washing – a demeaning and humiliating task – was not to be a one-off. He was setting them a practical example as their Lord and rabbi. They were to do it too, for each other. 

Most of us will be taken aback by that. Some may even be revolted. So we really do need to understand what Jesus is saying we should do. 

Let me be clear: I don’t believe Jesus was launching a new sacrament here. I don’t believe His intentions were to wash each other’s feet before communion.  

Neither do I believe He was launching a new ritual. Given His earlier teaching on how aspects of spirituality had become performative (Matthew 6:1-18), it would be illogical for Him to then launch another performative way for us to serve each other. 

No, I believe there is something highly relevant in the fact that this ritual took place in an upper room, away from public eye. I believe there is also something in Jesus’ teaching that the major aspects of our spirituality should take place in private, not in public (Matthew 6:3-4, 6, 17-18). 

I believe that Jesus was telling His disciples to be willing to serve others, even in ways that could be seen as demeaning or humiliating, and to do so away from public eye. I believe He was telling them to serve in such a way that the only people who actually gain from it are the people they are serving. I believe He was telling them to cover over other people’s failings in silence and not broadcast them to all in sundry or make a fuss. 

Because these are loving things to do. 

This is not just about washing smelly feet. This is about how love should drive us to serve the needy in ways that only they benefit. 

A good example of this happened when one of our favourite cities, Cebu, was hit by an earthquake and a typhoon in quick succession last year. One of the nation's biggest and most important politicians showed up to ‘help’. No aid was given our without the cameras rolling. When he disappeared, the cameras stopped rolling and the aid was shut down. 

It was all for show: a rather sick, self-serving show. 

But another politician heard about the suffering, rounded up a convoy of aid trucks and drove up there herself. She left her media team behind. She made no grandstanding speeches. She just went there to help. And the locals were so delighted with her approach, they took photos and videos and blasted it all across social media. 

Jesus defined a pattern for why and how we should serve others. The problem is: are we listening? 

Conclusion 

John 13:3-5 NIV 

[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; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.3-5.NIV)

John 13:12-17 NIV 

[12] When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. [13] “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. [14] Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. [15] I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. [16] Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. [17] Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.12-17.NIV)

The pastor of the church where I grew up used to tell the tale of a Scottish Baptist Union conference he attended. It had wrapped up and he was about to go home when he thought he would go to the bathroom before he left. As he entered the men’s toilets he noticed it was being cleaned by someone who was on their knees, scrubbing the floor in an empty cubicle. As the ‘cleaner’ stood up, the pastor was stunned to discover that it was the General Secretary of the Scottish Baptist Union. The conference had been held in a school, and the General Secretary believed it would have been a poor witness to have left it untidy. And so, after most delegates had left, he took it upon himself to clean the venue, including the dirtiest place of all. 

The pastor was stunned by the humility he had seen that day and never forgot it. 

We have to be brutally honest with ourselves. Love should propel us to service for others where we have nothing to gain for ourselves. What holds us back is not anything spiritual. It is, in fact, our pride. 

We would rather be served than serve. In my experience, we would also rather be served and complain about the service than serve. 

These verses, which show us a man who failed, knew, loved, served, struggled and summoned, are a strong challenge to that mentality. Faced with how Jesus served in such a humbling and humiliating way, we are left with a very serious quandary. Either we maintain our life where our pride becomes the determining factor of what we do next, or we choose to follow Jesus, and let love propel us to service. 

This has been a long study. I acknowledge that. But I pray it has also been a worthwhile one. Jesus told us that we should do what He did. We need to know the details so that we can understand what and where we need to change. 

Right now we stand at a crossroads. 

Are we truly ready to serve as Jesus did? 

Are we truly followers of Jesus? 

Only we can answer those questions for ourselves. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, my pride is shaken to the core by what You did. I hear Your call to do likewise. Show me how I can serve like this, propelled by love and with nothing to gain. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• What was so significant about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet? 

• How was Jesus able to do this? What does John say caused Him to do it? 

• What can we learn from this? What differences will you make to your attitude to service?