The third and fourth verses of John 13 constitute one of the most outrageous individual sentences in the entire Bible. It is like a non sequitur, in which two thoughts do not seem to go together, because they are fundamentally at odds.
The first part of the sentence says, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so . . .” (NIV). In other words, Jesus was fully aware
that He was God, that He was all-powerful, that He could do anything He wanted, that He had existed from eternity as part of the Trinity, and that He would return to His former exalted position in heaven.
At this point the usually insignificant word “so” appears. So . . . what does Jesus then say? Does He, knowing that He has all authority and power, use His superiority to arrogantly demand that His disciples pamper and cater to Him?
Here is the incongruous conclusion to that sentence: “So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.” Unexpectedly, amazingly, He who was there when the world was created assumed the position of a servant and began to wash His disciples’ dirty feet and pat them dry with a towel.
What an incredible, humble display of pure servanthood – from the One who could have rightfully demanded to be served by His disciples! It was as He had earlier said, “The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He was proving that what He had earlier said to them was true.
Even though the concepts of absolute power and lowly servanthood appear to contradict each other, both qualities unquestionably reside in God. Ultimately, God is a servant because He is love, and love by its very nature involves the giving of oneself.
Outrageous? Absolutely! Unlike the way things generally work in our world? Of course! It makes us want to shout, “Yea, Three cheers for the Son of God!” But that is just the beginning of the story,
because Jesus then asked His disciples to do something very unusual. He said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Here is the important point I do not want you to miss: It is understandable that we would want to worship the Son of God for His willingness to be a servant so we could be forgiven and reconciled with God. But
as counterintuitive as it sounds, we also ought to be thanking Him for inviting us to follow Him in order to become servants.
Too many Christian ministers in churches today see their role as one of exercising authority, rather than that of being a servant patterned after the example Jesus set for His followers. Authority can be exercised coldly and without love – and often is. However, choosing to become a servant in a way that both meets human need and glorifies God can only be done by those who have love in their heart.
Serving others is a lot harder and less popular than being served. That is why so many church members settle for sitting in the grandstands to applaud those who are down on the field of play. It is also why churches have too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. Church members who are unwilling to serve others may sing “Standing on the Promises” in church on Sunday morning, but all they are really doing is “sitting on the premises.”
It was love that motivated Jesus to assume the role of a servant in order to wash His disciples’ feet. He has now passed the towel to us.
The Paper Pulpit 
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