"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matt 20: 26-18
"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." John 13: 13-14
In life it is very easy to do the things that make us happy, that bring us fulfillment. In serving the Lord this is the same; there are some things we do for Him that we enjoy very much. But here we have our Lord Jesus commanding us to follow His example and doing something that certainly would not make us happy! Washing others' feet! Of course He did not mean it literally, it was meant as a symbol. In those days washing others' feet was a job reserved for the slaves of the house, you can say one of the lowest jobs around, and in those days people did not wear shoes. Their feet would have been covered with plenty of dirt and grime; not a terribly enticing job!
So in our context, what does it mean for us to be a servant, to be a slave? What does it mean for us to wash another person's feet? In simple terms, it is to serve and help one another even though the work we do may not be entirely enjoyable, or perhaps even entails some sort of suffering. It means giving our lives to loving people with the love of God, even though we ourselves may not benefit a single bit from it, or even suffer for it. Again it is easy to serve when we get something out of it, but what happens when we don't? Or when we have to suffer? What is our response then? Do we withdraw our time and energy, reserving it for another time when perhaps we will enjoy it more, or suffer less? Or do we press on and do it nonetheless?
A great example of what it means to wash others' feet is the apostle Paul. He laboured and suffered many things in order to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, as well as to teach and strengthen the believers in the churches that He had planted. Before his conversion God already hinted at the future in store for Paul- "... he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." Acts 9: 15-16. Paul himself said later to the Corinthians, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." 2 Cor. 12:15. He was willing to serve and love them, even at the expense of himself. "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race..." Romans 9:3. He wished that he could be cut off in order that his fellow Jews, whom he loved so dearly, could be saved! He was a servant both to how fellow man, and more importantly, to God. We must never forget that when we serve our fellow man, just like our Lord Jesus did, we are also serving our Father in heaven. He is well pleased when He sees it. Paul was willing to do whatever God called Him to do, regardless of how he suffered for it.
God's call for all who follow Him is to wash one another's feet and be a servant to Him and to His people. And His goal for us is not that we will force ourselves grudgingly and reluctantly to serve Him and our fellow man, but that we will come to the point that no act of service is too low, too difficult, too humbling, too tiring, too time-consuming, too sacrificial, entails too much suffering, for us to do. Because at that point it is no longer about us and what we will get from it, or what we will have to give up for it. It is all about HIM- obeying Him faithfully, doing whatever He calls us to do, and doing it willingly. That's all that really matters. For us to "spend and be spent" for His sake. Again, Jesus is our supreme example. Nothing, not even the death of the cross, was too much for Him. He did it all to obey His Father. "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." John 4:34.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Phil 2:5-8
"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." John 13: 13-14
In life it is very easy to do the things that make us happy, that bring us fulfillment. In serving the Lord this is the same; there are some things we do for Him that we enjoy very much. But here we have our Lord Jesus commanding us to follow His example and doing something that certainly would not make us happy! Washing others' feet! Of course He did not mean it literally, it was meant as a symbol. In those days washing others' feet was a job reserved for the slaves of the house, you can say one of the lowest jobs around, and in those days people did not wear shoes. Their feet would have been covered with plenty of dirt and grime; not a terribly enticing job!
So in our context, what does it mean for us to be a servant, to be a slave? What does it mean for us to wash another person's feet? In simple terms, it is to serve and help one another even though the work we do may not be entirely enjoyable, or perhaps even entails some sort of suffering. It means giving our lives to loving people with the love of God, even though we ourselves may not benefit a single bit from it, or even suffer for it. Again it is easy to serve when we get something out of it, but what happens when we don't? Or when we have to suffer? What is our response then? Do we withdraw our time and energy, reserving it for another time when perhaps we will enjoy it more, or suffer less? Or do we press on and do it nonetheless?
A great example of what it means to wash others' feet is the apostle Paul. He laboured and suffered many things in order to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, as well as to teach and strengthen the believers in the churches that He had planted. Before his conversion God already hinted at the future in store for Paul- "... he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." Acts 9: 15-16. Paul himself said later to the Corinthians, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." 2 Cor. 12:15. He was willing to serve and love them, even at the expense of himself. "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race..." Romans 9:3. He wished that he could be cut off in order that his fellow Jews, whom he loved so dearly, could be saved! He was a servant both to how fellow man, and more importantly, to God. We must never forget that when we serve our fellow man, just like our Lord Jesus did, we are also serving our Father in heaven. He is well pleased when He sees it. Paul was willing to do whatever God called Him to do, regardless of how he suffered for it.
God's call for all who follow Him is to wash one another's feet and be a servant to Him and to His people. And His goal for us is not that we will force ourselves grudgingly and reluctantly to serve Him and our fellow man, but that we will come to the point that no act of service is too low, too difficult, too humbling, too tiring, too time-consuming, too sacrificial, entails too much suffering, for us to do. Because at that point it is no longer about us and what we will get from it, or what we will have to give up for it. It is all about HIM- obeying Him faithfully, doing whatever He calls us to do, and doing it willingly. That's all that really matters. For us to "spend and be spent" for His sake. Again, Jesus is our supreme example. Nothing, not even the death of the cross, was too much for Him. He did it all to obey His Father. "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." John 4:34.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Phil 2:5-8
