Holy Servant Leadership

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13: 12-17).

In the time when Jesus walked on earth, people usually wore sandals. Walking on dirty, dusty, roads made their feet dirty. It was the duty of the lowest slave in the household to clean the feet of guests as they arrived. At the home the disciples used for this meal, there were no servants, and therefore, their feet were not washed. Normally, if there was no servant present to wash the guests' feet, the first one or two to arrive would wash the feet of the rest of the guests. But that did not happen here. No one volunteered. Despite the fact that everyone was aware of the uncomfortable, filthy condition of their feet as they reclined at the dinner table, no one took the initiative to do anything about it. The reason is revealed in another account of this meal. The Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record that at this supper the hearts of the disciples were consumed with something else. It led to an argument right there in front of Jesus… “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest” (Luke 22:24). While the disciples were concerned about position and power, their “Teacher and Lord” laid aside His position and power to teach them an important leadership lesson. He would soon commission them to lead the world to Him and He wanted them to know that their success would require an understanding and demonstration of holy servant leadership.

 You may be ready to dismiss today’s lesson because it deals with leadership. You may not think of yourself as a leader. But in so many ways we are all either leaders of followers. In some relationships the leadership role is very obvious. Parents lead children. Teachers lead students. Pastors lead parishioners. In other relationships the leadership role may be more subtle. In a friendship, if one of you is hurting, the other can lead them to help. In a work setting, sometimes it’s an alert employee that can lead a supervisor to the solution to a problem. I believe the most obvious and overlooked leadership opportunity exists in the life of every true disciple of Christ. We know Him, the world does not, and He has called us to lead others to Him by presenting them with His gospel truth… “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). We are His disciples because we have embraced His truth and that includes the truth that we are leaders.

The question is what kind of leader are we to be? Is there a difference between worldly leaders and Christian leaders? Jesus taught there is a big difference… “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27). Then He offered Himself as an example of true servant leadership… “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). The Holy Spirit teaches that Jesus Christ served us by meeting our greatest need, the need for sin’s atonement, through His death at Calvary. He showed leadership by taking the initiative and going to the cross even while we were still trapped in sin… “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In today’s text, Jesus called His disciples to imitate His servant leadership by confessing and forgiving sin within the fellowship of believers… “You also ought to wash one another’s feet”. The Spirit exhorts disciples to practice this kind of confession and repentance to promote healing and power within the local church as it shares the gospel with the world… “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

As we grow up into Christ the church is empowered to lead the world to Him as we imitate His…

Holy Servant Leadership.