Our Daily Bread Easter: Amazing GraceShembull

A Picture of Humility

During the Easter season, my wife and I attended a church service where the people tried to model the events that Jesus and His disciples experienced on the night before He was crucified. As part of the service, the church staff members washed the feet of some of the church volunteers. As I watched, I wondered which was more humbling in our day—to wash another person’s feet or to have someone else wash yours. Both those who were serving and those being served were presenting distinct pictures of humility.

When Jesus and His disciples gathered for the Last Supper (John 13:1–20), Jesus, in humble servanthood, washed His disciples’ feet. But Simon Peter resisted, saying, “You will never ever wash my feet!” Then Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me” (13:8). Washing their feet was not a mere ritual. It could also be seen as a picture of our need of Christ’s cleansing—a cleansing that will never be realized unless we are willing to be humble before the Savior. James wrote, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We receive God’s grace when we acknowledge the greatness of God, who humbled Himself at the cross (Philippians 2:5–11).

—Bill Crowder The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the Lord of the universe.