John 13:5-11
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” (John 13:6)
Some of us claim to live in a classless society, and we like that. However, we do have a sense of hierarchy so we recognize that respect is due certain people. That is how society runs smoothly. We may show respect to employers, teachers, doctors, and generally to older people. We may not always feel they deserve respect, but if we are smart we show them respect. We do have a saying, “The boss may not always be right, but he’s always the boss.”
During Jesus’ final meeting with his disciples before the crucifixion, he did a very strange thing. He was the one they called Master, and yet he began to act like their servant. He took off his outer garment, picked up a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet. This would be like the host taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves to wash the dishes after a banquet.
We don’t know where Peter was in the lineup. We don’t know if he had already seen Jesus wash some of the others’ feat. What we do know is what Peter said when Jesus came to him. His emphasis would be something like this: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Or we could say it like this: “Are you, my Lord, going to wash your servant’s feet?” We know that Peter still had some steps to maturity that he had to take. He would still deny the Lord. But at this point, he was well aware of their relationship.
That being true, Peter still had a problem: he did not understand the significance of what Jesus was doing. Probably, none of the others understood either, but Peter was the voice of the disciples. He could raise the question, but he needed to stop and hear the answer.
Peter wanted to serve the Lord, but he needed to allow the Lord to serve him. Jesus wanted to demonstrate servant-leadership. Yes, he wanted to show them how to act as leaders, but he wanted to show them something else. He wanted to show them how to receive service. They would be the pioneers of this new movement called Christianity, and they would be under tremendous pressure at times. They would need to let the Lord serve them, renew their spirits, and refresh them for the way ahead.
Have you learned to receive service from the Lord? Have you learned to let him serve you, renew you, and refresh you? The Christian life is not about us frantically serving the Lord. We do want to serve him, but we need to let him serve us.
Prayer: Lord, may I learn this lesson. help me to wait before your day by day for you to refresh my soul, and let me receive your service when it comes through others as well.
