John 13

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having 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 to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”  ‭‭John‬ ‭13:1-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In this passage of scripture, Jesus humbles Himself and becomes a servant to His disciples.  What was His motivation for doing this?  

1. He wanted to teach His disciples that no matter how powerful or influential people are, we all must remain humble enough to serve others.  He was able to provide them with the most perfect example.  He was the most powerful Man who ever walked the Earth, yet it was not beneath Him to do something so lowly as to wash other people’s feet.  It is God’s will for us to become more like Jesus in the way we think, act and love.  In order for this to be accomplished, we need to grow in our knowledge of Christ, and then be willing to make changes in our lives that follow the model Jesus set for us.  John the Baptist said it perfectly: “[Jesus] must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).  

2. He wanted to teach them a lesson about what love looks like when it is put into action.  One of the ways to show love is to serve others with the right motivation.  The key here is the motivation behind the act of service.  A person may do many, many things for other people everyday (moms and dads especially!), but it means very little if done out of a sense of obligation and with a sour heart because nothing is received in return.  Trade selfishness for selflessness, and then you will be on the right path.  Jesus showed us how to serve others with love as the driving force, without expecting anything in return, and even if it involves suffering.  No act of service we will ever do in life will compare to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus endured to show His love for us.  “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  We are not being called to give up our lives for others.  But, if you truly want to show your love for other people, what tangible gift of service can you do for them today to act out your love?

3.  He also wanted them to know that serving others in humility will lead to blessings from God.  Of course it helps other people when we serve them, but it is something that is also pleasing to God.  Although we may not immediately recognize a blessing from God, He does reward those who are obedient to Him.  Psalm 84:11 says: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”  Think about Who you are ultimately serving the next time you have to make a sacrifice for someone else.  Putting God’s perspective on serving will lead to a changed heart and abundant blessings.

Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him (Judas).  Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night. So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.” John‬ ‭13:27-38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. Here we read the beginning of two story lines, where Judas and Peter are both about to betray Jesus.  Both men greatly sinned against their Lord, yet their responses to their sin led to dramatically different outcomes.  First, Judas betrayed Jesus, which led to His arrest and subsequent crucifixion: “but Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’” (Luke 22:48).  In the end, Judas admitted that he sinned against Jesus and did feel remorse for it.  But instead of making amends with Jesus and asking for forgiveness in order to restore their relationship, He gave in to self-pity and guilt.  His story ends with him hanging himself, thereby sealing his eternal fate.  (See Matthew 27:3-5).  Next we look at Peter’s story.  (See Mark 14:66-72).  Peter denied knowing Jesus three times in the same night, as was predicted.  Similar to Judas, Peter went through a time of feeling guilty over what he had done.  But, instead of running away from his guilt, Peter stayed and eventually faced Jesus again.  After the resurrection, Jesus came to Peter and boldly questioned him three times about his love for Him.  It was painful for Peter to endure this line of questioning, but it was necessary to refocus him and reestablish his dedication to Christ.  (See John 21:15-19).  After Peter declared his love for Jesus three times, their relationship was restored and he was invited to follow Jesus once again.  Peter went on to do miraculous works for God’s Kingdom, which we can read about in the book of Acts.  We can learn so much from the stories written in our Bibles.  Judas and Peter teach us that there are different ways that we can betray Jesus.  We may blatantly go against His commandments, we may allow something else in our life to come before Him, or we may fail to acknowledge our faith in Him when the opportunity arises.  Our life story and our walk with God do not have to be defined by the mistakes we make.  We need to learn from them, move on, and realize that God still has a plan for us and a job for us to do.  Although we should feel bad enough to acknowledge our wrongdoings and make actions to correct them, mistakes should not make us feel condemned or guilty.  Jesus died to cover over all of our past, present and even future sins.  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1).  Don’t waste time wallowing in despair and self-pity, as that wastes time and does nothing to benefit God’s Kingdom.  Stop the behavior, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and have confidence that He will always welcome you back into His arms: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  How do you want your story to end?  The choice is yours!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The word love is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.  That means that it is important, and is something that we should know about and be modeling in our lives.  So, what exactly is love, and how do we show love to others?  Here are a few examples of what your actions will look like when you are being loving towards other people: “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).  Most of us would look at these descriptions of love and think, “I am definitely falling short in the love department!”  In reality, this passage actually describes God.  The Bible tells us that “…God is love” (1 John 4:8).  So, God is patient, God is kind, etc.  Reread the passage from 1 Corinthians 13 above, and insert “God” where the words “love” or “it” are.  What an incredible picture of God’s character!  Understanding how much God loves us is so very important, as we cannot genuinely love others without knowing this truth!  After we accept His love and know it as truth, our confidence in Him gives us the power and ability to exhibit love as it is described above.  How else is love exhibited?  Love can also be demonstrated in acts of service and by spending time with others.  Again, Jesus is our model to follow, as He spent so much time with His disciples, loving them and showing them how to love.  He was a servant to them, a teacher, a disciplinarian, a provider, a friend, and their Savior.  Love strengthens a relationship.  After taking this in depth look at love, we should all examine our relationships with our spouses, parents, children, other relatives, and friends.  Do your words, actions and thoughts show how much you love them? 

Take the steps needed to make sure that you are reflecting God’s love and acting like the disciple of Jesus that you are!