Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneySample

 Wash Some Feet  

Jesus always strived to glorify the Father’s name rather than His own earthly reputation. Because Jesus knew that the Father had prepared a throne for Him in heaven, He didn’t need to defend His earthly rights. For instance, Jesus ate with tax collectors. By eating in the house of those viewed as outright sinners by the religious leaders, Jesus was ruining His reputation. Jesus’ concern was not for His name, but that the Father would be glorified as sinners repented. Even in front of His own disciples, Jesus humbled Himself and washed their feet. He didn’t care how humiliating it was because, the following day, Jesus would suffer even greater humiliation as He hung on the cross. When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus was only humiliated in front of 12 people, His disciples. But the next day, not only would His robe be removed, He would have no garment at all to cover Himself with. He would not kneel only before His disciples, but would be nailed to a cross in front of the entire world. Washing His disciples’ feet was not so humiliating compared to what was soon to come in His crucifixion.

Notice the difference between Christ and ourselves. Christ’s first response is always humility. For us, it’s often pride. We don’t want our names to be viewed poorly. In fact, we are often striving to make our names greater. Christ’s example of washing His disciples’ feet invites us to evaluate our own hearts. To what extent are you willing to be humbled for the glory of God’s name? A mature disciple is one who doesn’t need to be honored by the world. Their desire is to only honor God. Those used by God are committed to putting God’s name above all else. After nearly 400 years without a prophet in Israel, John the Baptist appeared on the scene. Certainly, the Jews gave him great deference and honor. Instead of being honored by men, however, John the Baptist chose to live in the wilderness and die alone in prison. Yet John the Baptist was the greatest man because he knew that he must decrease in importance so that all the focus would be put on Christ (John 3:30).

As Jesus and His disciples travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the disciples were fighting among themselves. Jesus had just told them that He would be put to death in Jerusalem. Instead of preparing their hearts for what was about to happen, the disciples were arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus rebuked them saying that if they wanted to be the greatest they had to become a servant, and if they wanted to be exalted they needed to live in humility. A few days later, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the crowd shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna!” As the disciples witnessed this scene, perhaps they were thinking that this was the moment when Jesus would take control of the land, and they would rule with Him. What an amazing accomplishment for a bunch of village men. Unfortunately, the disciples were caught up in the earthly accolades instead of identifying with the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus’ teaching turns the world’s view upside down. He says, “To be great you must become a servant.” Don’t let the temptations of this world lead you astray and into disobedience. Many who serve the Lord focus on what’s in it for them. Satan is always trying to buy your calling. He even tried it with Jesus by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would only worship him. If the disciples had thought, “I want to glorify God’s name and not my own,” then they would have been willing to wash each other’s’ feet. Because His disciples weren’t willing, Jesus humbled Himself and washed their feet. 

Application:  Whose feet do you need to wash?