Servant King, Servant people (John 13 : 1-17)

Jesus, now finishing his public ministry, joins the disciples in the upper room to have a final meal with them before His betrayal and being taken to the cross. During the meal, Jesus does something very out of the ordinary – He dresses up as a servant, take some water and cloths, and begins to wash the feet of the disciples. His first teaching is He reminds Peter that if Jesus does not serve us, we have no part with Him, meaning that we must allow Jesus to serve us by paying for our sins, because after all He is the Servant King and this is the only way by which we can have a part with Jesus by accepting His free gift of life in order that we can be saved. The second teaching that Jesus gives us as He washes the feet of his disciples is that for us it is an example of how we should live for others. It is not the greatest, most charismatic person who seeks power that Jesus looks to as great in His kingdom. Instead, it is the one who takes the lowly position. It is the one who is the servant of all – that is the one who is the greatest in the kingdom of God. We look to this example of Jesus washing feet, realising that if our King is not above such a task, nor are we. We should live lives of servanthood for His glory, as His ambassadors.