Introduction

The Passover began on Thursday evening that year. The other gospels record that the celebration had been prepared earlier in the day (Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:3-6). Jesus had arranged a secret place for them to have their meal together (Mk 14:13-16; Lk 22:8-13). Jesus deliberately hid the location of the meeting site from the disciples so that Judas Iscariot could not report their location to the priests until after the meal had been eaten. It was vital to Him that He be able to observe Passover with them, present His final teachings and pray for them (Jn 13-17). Although, He had sent Peter and John to prepare the room and the meal. While Peter and John were busy doing those things, Jesus and the other disciples spent the day elsewhere. On that final evening in the upper room, Jesus modeled an attitude that belongs in the heart of every true disciple: a love for God and others that is so strong it causes us to cast aside our desire for honor and take the lowliest place of service. Before the Passover meal was served, Jesus picked up a towel and washbasin, knelt, and then one by one washed the sweat and dust off His disciples’ feet, showing His love for them to the end, as He humbly demonstrated how we should care for one another. Jesus’ love and humble sacrifice caused Him to take on the dirt of our lives, so that we can do the same for one another.

Loving Until the End (Jn. 13:1-3)

• In these first three verses, we learn five things that Jesus was thinking about before He washed the disciple’s feet:
1. Jesus knew that “His hour had come” (v1). That means Jesus was fully aware not only of God’s plan but of His timetable. He knew He would be arrested that night and executed the next day, which makes His actions that evening even more amazing.
2. He knew where He would go after He died. John said Jesus knew “He would pass over, out of this world to the Father” (v1)
3. Judas had already decided to betray Jesus. John describes it as “…the devil having now cast into [his] heart that he should give Him over” (v2). (Jn 13:18, 21, 26).
4. Jesus knew “that the Father gave all things into His hands” (v3, literal). That statement assures us that Jesus was no victim. He voluntarily gave His life for us. The Father had already given Him complete authority to act as He willed. Jesus could have escaped the cross at any moment (Mt 26:53), but He freely chose to endure it.
5. Jesus knew “He came out from God” and would go “back to God.” That means He fully understood that He was God’s divine Son sent by the Father to earth and that He would return to heaven after His death and resurrection. His identity and His future were secure.
• Jesus lived His life in anticipation of this hour. Yet, he knew when it had not yet come (Jn. 2:4). Jesus enjoyed special protection because His hour had not yet come (Jn 7:30, 8:20). However, now Jesus knew that His hour had come (vs. 1, Jn 12:23-27).
• Jesus’ public ministry was over. In close to 24 hours, Jesus would hang on the cross. This was the beginning of the end, and Jesus used these last precious hours to serve and prepare His disciples.
• Jesus loved His disciples. He led, taught, cared for, and protected them. What Jesus gave them was already more than any other teacher or leader would or could give his followers.
• He loved them to the end (vs. 1): Jesus had loved His own. But He hadn’t finished loving them. So, he would love them to the end. The idea behind the phrase to the end is “to the fullest extent, to the uttermost.”
• To the end means a love that will never end. Jesus will never stop loving His own. It isn’t a love that comes and goes that is here today and gone tomorrow.
• To the end means a love that reaches to the fullest extent. Some translations have “He loved them to the uttermost.”

Humble Sacrifice (Jn. 13:4-5)

• It’s Passover. If anyone should have their feet washed, it should be the rabbi. But Jesus flips the script on religion with relationship.
• Jesus was only hours away from His gruesome death, and He knew it. Still, at this moment, His highest priority was not what lay ahead for Him but caring for His disciples and spending these last hours making sure that they heard the most valuable aspects of the past few years with Him on Earth. He did not only sacrifice His life but His emotions, fear, and time of mourning for His own.
• Jesus did not think of Himself. Instead, he thought about His disciples. Indeed, this was loving them to the end.
• Jesus’ greatness did not prevent Him from serving others. On the contrary, it allowed Him to do the lowliest job with no loss of dignity.
• As Jesus will soon explain (vs7-10), this was a symbolic act declaring that He would continue to wash away those sins that occur as believers go through the temptations and struggles of daily life.
• Every believer must first experience an initial washing which Jesus will soon call a “bath” (v10). This is the cleansing of our sins which happens when someone receives the righteousness of faith (Ro 4:3-5).
• However, as mistakes or bad choices are made, we need another kind of washing. We need forgiveness for specific sins, and this is what Jesus was modeling by washing His disciples’ feet. He declared He would be our Advocate before the Father (1 Jn 1:8-2:2).
• Jesus will go on to tell us He wants us to wash one another’s feet (vs. 15), but He primarily washed His disciples’ feet to symbolize His ongoing forgiveness of their sins. We may assume that His command to wash one another’s feet includes repeatedly forgiving each other (Mt 18:21-22, 35) and restoring those who sin (Gal 6:1-2).
• When Jesus laid aside His garments, it had to remind Him of what awaited Him in just a few hours, when He would be stripped of His garments and be crucified.
• Luke 22:23 tells us that the disciples entered this room arguing about who was the greatest.
• Jesus knew actions speak louder than words. So, when He wanted to teach the proud, arguing disciples about true humility, He didn’t just tell them – He showed them. He showed it in a way that illustrated His whole work on behalf of His own.
· Jesus rose from supper, a place of rest and comfort. Likewise, Jesus rose from His throne in heaven, a place of rest and comfort.
· Jesus laid aside His garments, taking off His covering. So likewise, Jesus laid aside His glory, removing His heavenly covering.
· Jesus took a towel and girded Himself, being ready to work. So, likewise, Jesus took the form of a servant and came prepared to work.
· Jesus poured water into a basin, ready to clean. So, likewise, Jesus poured out His blood to cleanse us from the guilt and penalty of sin.
· Jesus sat down again (Jn. 13:12) after washing their feet. So, likewise, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father after cleansing us.

Choosing to Get Dirty (Jn.13:12-17)

• Do you know what I have done to you (vs. 12): Jesus’ entire life was an example to the disciples. Therefore, he felt it was important to specifically draw attention to the lesson of what He had just done. The washing of their feet meant something, and Jesus would not leave the understanding of that for them to figure out.
• You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am (vs. 13): Jesus recognized and encouraged the disciples’ commitment to Him. He was their Teacher, and He was their Lord.
• You also ought to wash one another’s feet (vs. 14-15): Jesus commanded them to show one another the same humble, sacrificial love. The example of Jesus should mark their attitude and their action. This is true for every follower of Jesus Christ (all who call Him Teacher and Lord), but even more so for those who desire to be leaders among God’s people.
• He washed their feet to teach them that ongoing sins need to be cleansed and that they should continually forgive one another, and He also washed their feet to model the fact that humble service to others was neither beneath Him nor them.
• If those qualities were not beneath their Teacher and Lord, they were undoubtedly not beneath His disciples. And to show them that there were no lower limits on whom they might serve, He revealed the great distance between Himself and them. He compared it to the distance between a master and a slave.
• If He, the Master, could serve the slaves, they should never consider themselves too good or too important to serve someone in need. Nor should they ever think of themselves as being independent of Him. They would never be anything but His representatives.
• Knowing how difficult it would be to live out this command, He said, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Nevertheless, they would have to strive to maintain these attitudes because pride will always attempt to replace humility, and the desire to be served will always attempt to replace the desire to serve others.
• So, He concluded with a promise. If they would follow His example and continue to do so, they would be “blessed.” Blessed means to experience the happiness which comes when someone receives an abundance of the good things given by God. Jesus told them that a lifestyle of humble service to others produces true happiness.

Conclusion

Jesus then took a towel and girded Himself. Finally, Jesus poured water into a basin. One by one He knelt in front of the disciples as He took His time removing the sweat, dirt, and grime from their feet. The disciples would later look back at this moment, with less shock and more humble gratefulness for they saw with their own eyes the sacrifice Jesus made to carry their dirt to the end. To love them to the end. He has done this for all of us. His example challenges us to do this for one another and to recognize that none of us are beneath the position of humble servant. Jesus’ love and humble sacrifice caused Him to take on the dirt of our lives, so that we can do the same for one another.

Discussion Questions

1. In your life, how have you seen Jesus’ love to the end?
2. Jesus’ act of humble service must have been hard to receive. Have you ever struggled receiving a gift humbly? If so, what was it?
3. What does it mean to be a humble servant?