As
Jesus and his disciples gathered in the upper room, the Passover celebration at
hand, his mood was heavy, his thoughts preoccupied. Knowing that the time had
come for him to live out his most climactic act of love, he meditated on this
moment with great thoughtfulness.
The table, laden with food, was low to
the ground with thin cushions surrounding it. Each of the twelve took their
spots, Jesus in the place of honor, at the head. John, a tender comfort to
Jesus during this time, sat close, sensing his teacher’s sadness.
The men carried on conversations with
one another, subconsciously aware of the heaviness of this unnamed grief, the premonition
that they were attending a farewell party and something was about to happen of
which they had no control.
Their upper bodies leaned forward
toward the table, their left hand supporting their weight. They ate with their
clean hand as they engaged in banter, their legs and sandaled feet extending
behind them. Quietly, Jesus slipped back from the table. The eyes of his
disciples glanced toward him, observing his quiet movement.
He began to disrobe, taking off his
outer garments and setting them aside. A large towel lay by the table, one that
a servant had left behind. He picked it up and wrapped it around his stripped
body, mimicking the look of a lowly servant.
Jesus found a large bowl and poured water into
it from a jug. Then he carried the bowl over to the table, stooping low to the
ground behind each disciple. Taking on the job of a menial houseboy, one by
one, he began to wash each of his disciple’s feet.
The men felt awkward and
uncomfortable. It occurred to some that they had failed to think about this
simple act of hospitality—washing feet. Whose responsibility should it have
been? Certainly none of theirs. Where was that servant who had prepared the
food and thoughtlessly overlooked this courtesy? Their faces reddened with
shame and embarrassment, as they submitted to Jesus’ act of humiliating
himself.
They were silent, all except Peter. He
never could use self-restraint when it came to questioning what Jesus was doing.
With indignation, Peter protested, saying to him, “Are you really going to wash
my feet?” Jesus insisted, responding to Peter, “Unless I wash your feet, you
won’t be able to share with me in this fellowship of servant hood.”
Stunned and humbled, Peter consented,
begging to be washed from head to toe.
Clothed in Humility
When Jesus shared in this meal with
his disciples, he wanted it to be memorable—a teachable moment. His act of
washing their feet was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Jesus, knowing that
his earthly ministry was almost over, faced his final act of humiliation. He
would submit himself to death on a Roman cross.
He chose to teach his disciples
through this pericope—this smaller story germinating in the larger story of
God’s redemption—an unforgettable lesson about servant leadership.
The first thing Jesus did was take
off his priestly robes, lay them aside, and put on the stole of a servant.
Imagine being at a private dinner party and the guest of honor taking off their
dress clothes and putting on an apron in order to bus the tables. Something
about that act would seem inappropriate, out of place, and objectionable.
That’s how it must have felt to the disciples, as they watched their Lord put
on the garments of a slave and perform an unbecoming task.
Humble people are like that. They
don’t mind taking on a lower standing than what life could afford them. Unpretentious
people don’t mind doing the chores that no body wants to do. Their joy isn’t in
being lifted up, but in lowering themselves in order to serve others.
The Posture of the
Humble
Jesus knelt, as he made his way around
the table behind each of his disciples, washing and wiping their feet. His
posture reflected the essence of humility, the idea of leveling oneself to the
stature of those with whom you are relating.
In this society, only the lowliest of
servants would engage in such an undignified job. Even peers would not offer
that act of service to one another. The disciples could hardly imagine washing
one another’s feet, let alone allowing Jesus, their teacher, to wash theirs.
After Jesus was finished, he asked
them if they understood why he did what he did. He brought up the fact that
they referred to him as “Teacher and Lord” and, he affirmed, rightfully so.
Jesus explained that his act of washing their feet took nothing away from his
authority and personhood as their teacher and Lord. Instead, he served out of
the fullness of his personhood, and now admonished them to do the same.
Humble people don’t cling to their
titles as proof of their value or worth. They don’t have to include their
credentials with their signature, or mention them in order to remind others of
their importance. People who possess true meekness throw off those designations
while freely and willingly stooping to love, serve, and honor others. And, in
so doing, they lose nothing of their own self worth.
Humble to the Nth
Degree
It
was a common courtesy in Middle Eastern culture for servants to provide jugs of
water and basins for foot washing. The roads in Palestine were dusty and coated their
sandaled feet. Though people would wash their bodies early in the day, their
feet became dirty from walking wherever they needed to go.
However, not all servants would have actually done the washing of feet, but
simply provided the resources for individuals to do their own washing. Only the
lowliest class of servants would have performed the act of foot washing.
Jesus astounded his disciples when he
modeled humility to the nth degree by performing this debasing act. He drew no
line in terms of how far he would go to serve. No act was too humiliating or beneath
him.
Only the truly self-effacing volunteer
to clean toilets, pick up garbage, change dirty diapers and care for the sick
and dying—all those jobs that involve sights and smells that are repulsive.
Humble people’s senses are insulted, just the same, but they don’t let that
override their impulse to act out of the meekness in their heart.
Humility is No
Respecter of Persons
Gathered
around the table were Jesus’ closest male companions. He had other disciples,
women and men, who traveled with him and participated in his ministry. But
these were the men that he had specifically chosen to carry on when he was
gone.
John was seated on one side of him;
Peter close by. And somewhere in the mix was Judas. John, who told this
narrative in his gospel, mentioned that the Judas had already made plans in his
heart to betray Jesus.
As Jesus made his way around the table,
he was cognizant of what was in Judas’ heart. In fact, after he had finished
washing all their feet, including Judas’, Jesus became deeply troubled and
emotional, asserting, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!’” (John
13:21)
Can you imagine washing the feet of
someone whom you knew was about to betray you and have you killed? The truly
humble don’t sift through the crowd, choosing the ones they will serve and the
ones they won’t. Humble people serve their enemies. Harder yet, humble people
serve those who pretend to be their friends.
Today is Maundy Thursday, "maundy" meaning command and referring to the new command Jesus gave to all his disciples to love one another as he loved. May we pause today and allow Jesus to wash our feet--to wash all of us; and may we humble ourselves and wash the feet of those whom God has called us to love--including our enemies.
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