“After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.  I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” John 13:12-20

Jesus said, “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”  Jesus said this to his disciples after he had washed their feet. What Jesus has done is to assume the role of both a host (one role of foot washing was an act of hospitality by the host) and as a servant (the foot washing was generally done by the guest or by a servant of the host). Therefore it would have been shocking for Jesus to stoop down and wash the feet of his disciples – and perhaps embarrassing as well. 

The implication for us is clear.  As a church, and as people of the cross, we are to be hosts to all who come into our midst, and we are to be in service to all. Too many people in this world think that others exist for them – that they should be served by others. There are also people who think that the church exists only for them – that the church should be serving their needs only. This is not the example that Jesus has set before us in this text. Jesus will teach that if we want to be great, then we must be a servant of all. And if we want to be first, then we should find a seat at the end of the table. It is a difficult model for many in our churches today, but then the calling of Christ is not always easy.

Pastor Dave