“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15
Have you ever really stopped and thought about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet? I mean really thought about it.
Because sometimes we read that story and move right past it without picturing what those feet must have looked like.
Back then, people walked everywhere in sandals. No paved sidewalks. No nice clean floors. Just dusty roads, dirt, and whatever else happened to be along the way.
By the end of the day, their feet would have been sweaty, dirty, and probably downright nasty.
And Jesus, the Son of God, got down on the floor and washed them.
Not because those feet were clean.
Because they weren’t.
Jesus wasn’t afraid of their mess.
He didn’t say, “Go clean yourself up and then I’ll come serve you.”
He grabbed a towel, knelt down, and He washed their feet.
Think about the people in that room. These weren’t twelve men who had everything figured out. They misunderstood Jesus.
Peter would deny Him.
Judas would betray Him.
And Jesus knew all of it.
Yet He still knelt!
HE CAME TO REDEEM US
Jesus didn’t wait for us to become worthy of Him.
He came down to us.
Into our mess.
For the broken, the hurting, the lost, and the people who knew they needed Him. His life showed us the Father’s love and made a way for us to be brought back to God.
He came to redeem us.
When I picture Him kneeling there with a towel in His hands, I can’t help but see the picture of what His whole life was about.
He didn’t wait for us to become clean.
He came to us while we were still dirty.
He gave His life for us.
The same hands that reached for a towel would be stretched out on that cross.
He would be beaten, mocked, pierced, and crucified.
And He willingly did it.
For me.
For you.
My Savior washed dirty feet, carried my sin, endured the cross, and died so I could be redeemed.
Then He rose again.
How do you sit with that and not feel something shift inside you?!
The King of Kings didn’t come demanding to be served.
He came to serve!!
WHO ARE WE WILLING TO SERVE?
And this is where it gets a little uncomfortable.
Jesus is our example, but what does that look like in our everyday lives?
It’s easy to serve people we like or someone we feel sorry for.
But what about the people who aren’t quite so easy?
The homeless person we pass on the way to work.
The coworker who gets on our last nerve.
You know the one.
The one who talks a little too much.
The one who somehow always smells like tuna fish.
Or the person who annoys us and frustrates us.
Those are the people we’re called to serve too.
Not because they’re always easy to love or because we agree with everything they do.
Because Jesus didn’t tell us to only serve the people who make it easy.
He showed us what it looks like.
So who are we willing to serve?
The person who needs help.
The one everyone else walks past.
The one who gets under our skin.
The one who may never thank us.
Because following Jesus can mean serving someone we’d rather avoid.
But wait, isn’t that exactly what makes it an act of love?
Our mess doesn’t always smell like tuna fish.
Some struggles are easier to see than others.
Some are easier to hide.
But every one of us needs grace.
Every one of us needs a Savior.
And Jesus came for us all.
Jesus told a story about a man who had been beaten, robbed, and left on the side of the road.
People saw him.
And they kept going.
Then a Samaritan came along.
He stopped, helped him, and cared for him.
And Jesus said,
“Go and do likewise.” — Luke 10:37
That story feels different when you put it beside the foot washing.
The Samaritan could have kept walking.
He didn’t.
Both stories show us that following Jesus means being willing to serve, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Even when we’d rather walk away.
Even when nobody notices.
Even when the person in front of us isn’t easy to love.
Jesus never promised that following Him would always be comfortable.
There will be times when people don’t understand your faith.
There will be times when doing what you know is right costs you something.
Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them because it had hated Him first.
But look at how Jesus responded when He was rejected.
He didn’t become cruel or stop loving.
He endured.
He remained faithful.
Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us to run with perseverance and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
That’s where our strength comes from.
Not from pretending the pain isn’t there.
Not from trying to prove ourselves to everyone.
We keep our eyes on Jesus.
We remember the cross.
We remember the empty tomb.
And we keep going!!
PICK UP THE TOWEL
Jesus could have walked into that room and said, “You know who I am. Someone get Me a chair.”
But He didn’t.
He chose the towel.
And He showed His disciples that greatness in God’s kingdom doesn’t look like being above everyone else.
It looks like humility.
It looks like serving.
It looks like getting low.
Not always something big.
Sometimes it’s a conversation.
A meal.
A prayer.
A helping hand.
A little patience when we’d rather lose it.
A decision to look at someone and see a person instead of a problem.
We don’t have to save the whole world.
Jesus already did that.
But we can love the person standing in front of us.
We can notice the person everyone else walks past.
We can choose humility when pride would be easier.
Because I didn’t earn His grace.
I didn’t clean myself up and become worthy of the cross.
He came for me in my mess.
And that kind of grace should change the way I live.
I want to be willing to get low.
I want to serve without needing applause.
I want to persevere when following Jesus hurts.
And when I forget what that looks like, I want to remember this picture:
**My Savior on His knees!!
A towel in His hands.
Dirty feet in front of Him.
And a love so deep that it would soon lead Him to the cross.**
Lord, never let me become so concerned with looking like a Christian that I forget to look like Christ.
Give me Your heart, Your humility, and Your compassion.
Give me the courage to love people when it’s inconvenient.
And when I see someone hurting, overlooked, or forgotten, remind me that they are someone You love.
Just like You love me.
Because I was once the one who needed saving too.
And Jesus didn’t walk past me.
He came all the way to me.
Take A Moment
Who is someone you’ve been overlooking?
Where is God asking you to choose compassion instead of judgment?
What would “picking up the towel” look like in your life this week?
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for coming to me when I couldn’t save myself. Thank You for the cross, for Your sacrifice, and for the grace I could never earn. Thank You for showing me humility when You knelt and washed dirty feet. Give me eyes to see people the way You see them. Give me courage to serve when it’s uncomfortable and strength to persevere. Keep my heart soft and my eyes fixed on You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
