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.
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