Text: John 13:33-35
(33) Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
(34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
(35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
God prepares you for what you will face in life by teaching you how to serve others with Love & Humility.
The Passover – The Last Supper (John 13:1–38)[1]
The disciples crowded through the door into the large upper room, eager to eat the Passover supper with Jesus.
Peter and John had arrived early to make everything ready, and the room was filled with the scent of roasted lamb, fresh-baked unleavened bread, vegetables, and vinegar. No one had eaten since noon, and now it was late evening. Everyone was hungry.
They all hurried to take their places, reclining on mats and cushions around a low table. No doubt many of them tried to sit as close to Jesus as possible. John had taken advantage of his role as organizer of the meal to ensure he was right next to Jesus.
Judas sat on the other side of Jesus. Both sat in places of honor…
However, No one made use of the large ceremonial jars full of water and the towels by the door they had just entered. Their feet were soiled with the dust, debris, and filth from the roads and streets they just walked.
There was no servant present and not one of the disciples was willing or thoughtful enough to take on that lowly role and wash the other’s feet.
When they had all gathered, Jesus said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15–16).
Jesus broke the bread and passed it around the table, telling them this bread was His body, which was broken for them. He passed around the cup of wine, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19–20).
The moment was solemn and holy.
Yet a low, muttered argument started up among the disciples. Perhaps those relegated to the far end of the table were casting envious glances at John, Judas and the others who had positioned themselves closest to Jesus.
The old argument was flaring up again…
Somehow, despite following the humble Jesus, there developed a debate and a point of contention among the disciples. In their pride they began to argue among themselves:
“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest” (Luke 22:24).
Jesus took one last opportunity and turned it into a teachable moment.
At other times, Jesus had stopped them and taught them the greatest of them should be the servant of all, but His words had not reached them.
Jesus decided to send a much stronger message and without whispering a word, Jesus rose from supper, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured a basin full of water, and approached the table. He knelt at the feet of the first disciple, placed his foot into the basin, washed it clean, and then dried it with the towel around His waist.
A hush settled over the room.
Embarrassment. Confusion. Conviction.
Jesus was preaching a message more powerful than any other—one that would change the disciples’ lives forever. Actions speak louder than words.
Jesus Served His Disciples Because He Loved Them
Jesus loved His disciples enough to humble Himself and wash their feet. Jesus did not just tell His disciples He loved them; love moved Him to action.
Many people are happy to be served, but few are happy to serve.
Do you want to know if you have a heart for others?
How do you respond when you are asked to serve others?
In Jesus’ day, the lowliest servant or slave was expected to wash feet. That task was dirty and demeaning, yet Jesus willingly served because it was needed.
He saw a need and loved His disciples enough to meet that need.
Jesus loved His disciples enough to give them a powerful object lesson.
He knows that infighting will tear His church apart.
You will not be who Jesus called you to be as long as you are wrapped up in petty positional politics.
The church has no time to be weighed down with popularity contests and posturing.
Jesus loves you too much to let that be your future.
He loved His disciples too much to see them distracted by such selfish ambitions. So, He lovingly humbled Himself and intervened.
This was no surprise; Jesus had already shown humility and was about to example it even further:
Philippians 2:7–8, He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus loved His disciples enough to wash their feet, and He loved you enough to die on the cross for you.
Jesus Corrected Peter’s Objections
All the other disciples seem to have submitted without protest, but when Jesus reached Simon Peter, Simon Peter asked in disbelief, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” (John 13:6).
The use of the honorific “Lord” is noteworthy here. Clearly, Peter was focused on the disconnect between Jesus’ status as his Lord and Jesus’ humble actions of a servant. Peter could not understand what was happening. In his typical brash way, Peter protested, “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (John 13:8).
Why do you think Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet?
Peter probably had been thinking he was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Maybe he had even been arguing that exact point with the other disciples. After all, didn’t Jesus give Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven? (See Matthew 16:18–19.)
Yet in that moment, Peter was getting a very different picture of what leadership of the church might look like.
He was either so convicted that he felt unworthy of Jesus’ service, or he was recoiling from the idea that the greatest in the Kingdom might be expected to serve in this way.
Jesus corrected Peter: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.”
Peter replied: “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
Jesus Modeled Service and Humility
Jesus now had His disciples’ undivided attention.
His words would sink in deep.
He asked them if they knew what He had done to them. Were they self-aware enough to take the lesson to heart?
Jesus drove the lesson home:
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”[2]
They learned a lesson that they never forgot.
I Will Serve Others in Love and Humility as Jesus Directs Me
That lesson is just as much for us today as it was for them then.
Pride and the desire for higher position is just as much an issue in the church today as it was among the disciples in the first century AD.
If we are not careful, we can engage in hero worship, putting leaders on a pedestal only Jesus should occupy.
And if leaders are not careful, they can begin to think they belong there.
Jesus’ example brings us back to the reality He taught His disciples another time when they were disputing about who should be the greatest. “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
Never forget that the greatest among us is to be the servant of all.
The most important person in the Church is not at the top, but at bottom, humbly serving everyone out of love.
Your greatness in God’s Kingdom is directly related to how many people you love and serve; not how many people love and serve you.
Jesus Prepares Us
Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples of what was coming.
He even tried to brace them for another great shock.
One of those sitting around the table, who had just eaten the Passover supper with Him and whose feet He had just washed was going to betray Him.
Someone in the room—someone in Jesus’ small circle of disciples—was a traitor.
Jesus told them to brace them and to prove His deity and foreknowledge: “Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”[3]
Here again is one of Jesus’ numerous “I AM” statements sown throughout the Book of John, the Gospel that heavily focuses on Jesus’ deity.
Jesus knew Judas’s betrayal would shake the other disciples, but it may also increase their faith, understanding He had a plan all along.
Finally, Jesus dipped a piece of bread into the wine vinegar and handed it to Judas. Immediately, Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus told him, “That thou doest, do quickly.”
Judas left immediately, and Scripture records it was night. Judas stepped out of light into darkness, literally and figuratively.
Jesus Gave a New Command to Love One Another as He Loved Us
Even as hatred and greed drove Judas into darkness, in the upper room Jesus was talking about love.
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).
It seems strange that Jesus mentioned a new commandment, considering how much He had already taught about love.
Love the Lord thy God.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love your enemies.
But this was the first time Jesus specifically told the disciples to love one another.
Perhaps, in light of their earlier arguing over position, He felt it was necessary to spell it out.
He did not simply say, “Love one another,” but He added, “as I have loved you.”
The love we are to show one another is a humble, self-sacrificing love. This kind of love would impel Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and die for them.
The kind of love we are supposed to have for each other is both challenging and inspiring.
Of all the proofs of discipleship, selfless love for one another is the one Jesus points to above all others.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
No wonder I Corinthians 13 says no matter how eloquent and spiritually gifted we are, without love we are nothing.
If we give all we have to the poor or even our bodies to be burned, without love we are nothing.
A life of humble, loving, self-sacrifice is the most eloquent proof of discipleship.
Just as Jesus Prepared the Disciples,
He Prepares Us for What We Will Face
Jesus knew He was giving His disciples a seemingly impossible mission.
Soon He would be gone, leaving them with the task of spreading the gospel across the world and establishing God’s kingdom on earth.
But Jesus did not leave them unprepared. He lived His life as an example in front of them. They saw how He was moved with compassion and healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead.
They saw how He pitied the crowds and fed them with bread and fish.
They saw how He took authority over demonic spirits. Even they had gone out two by two, preaching, healing, and casting out demons. They had seen how Jesus humbly ministered to the simplest needs.
Jesus walked in supernatural power and served in menial tasks.
Then Jesus gave them hope by promising that He would rise again on the third day as a convincing testimony to His deity.
He promised them the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost would teach them all things and bring all things He had spoken to them to their remembrance (John 14:26).
The Holy Ghost would give them power to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Through the power of the Holy Ghost, the early church would turn their world upside down.
Just as Jesus prepared His disciples, He also prepares us.
We have His life of love as an example through the pages of Scripture. We can experience His authority and also feel the calling to meet the simplest needs of those around us through humble service.
And we too can receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit living in us, speaking through us, and empowering us to change our world.
Amy Carmichael, “One can give without loving but cannot love without giving.”
Bishop Edwin S. Harper, “Jesus didn’t give His apostles scepters, but He gave them towels because He commissioned them to serve, not to be a Lord over God’s heritage.”
[1] SOURCE: UPCI Quarterly. Fall 2024. Lesson 1.4
[2] John 13:13–15
[3] John 13:19
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 