Fully Devoted: JesusSample

A Meal to Remember

On Palm Sunday, Jesus was welcomed into the city with shouts of praise from the crowds. On Monday, Jesus cleared the temple courts. On Tuesday, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to warn about the coming destruction of the temple, and Judas, one of His disciples, agreed to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. While we don’t know exactly what Jesus did on Wednesday, it’s likely He took that day to slow down and withdraw from all the hurry of this last week of His life. 

On Thursday, Jesus and His disciples gather together in Jerusalem for the Passover meal, to commemorate the liberation of the Jewish people from Egypt. But this Passover is different. From now on, this meal will take on new meaning. Because the time has finally arrived for God to bring about a new exodus. This time, God will rescue His people from the power of sin and death. 

While the Passover meal is in progress, Jesus does something nobody expects. He gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, and wraps a towel around His waist. He pours water into a basin and begins to wash the feet of His disciples. At first, Peter refuses to let Jesus, his rabbi and master, wash his feet. But then he gives in. 

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:12-17 NIV 

Shortly after this radical display of humility and love, Jesus reveals to His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him. His disciples look around the room, not sure what to think or how to respond. To betray Jesus? That’s unthinkable! One of the disciples asks Jesus:

… “Lord, who is it?”

Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot … As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. John 13:25-26, 30 NIV

And then, Jesus predicts something else that His disciples are not ready to hear: “This very night you will all fall away on account of me.” 

Peter counters with his usual confidence, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

Jesus, full of grace and truth, looks at Peter and specifies, “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

But Peter, still refusing to accept it, boldly declares:

“Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. Matthew 26:31-35 NIV

Like Jesus though, we know the truth of what was about to take place. Jesus would be arrested, the disciples would scatter, and Peter would deny Jesus three times. These are the events of the Last Supper—the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before going to the cross. 

The whole time, Jesus knew what was coming. He knew that His journey would bring Him here, and that He would be betrayed, abandoned, and denied. And yet, Jesus loved His disciples. Every. Single. One. The betrayer and the denier. 

Do you remember how this whole night started? It started with Jesus taking the role of a servant and washing the feet of His disciples. Every. Single. One. That included Peter and Judas. And in less than twenty-four hours, Jesus would die on a cross to make a way for everyone to be reconciled to God. Every. Single. One. 

This is what the relentless love and scandalous grace of Jesus looks like: love that washes the feet of traitors. Grace that goes to the cross for sinners. 

Journaling Questions

• What verse or passage stands out to you the most from today’s reading? Write it in your journal.
• Have you ever been hurt by a friend or family member? What happened? Have you forgiven them? If so, what helped you get to that point? If not, what can you do to move one step closer to forgiving them?