I Have Set An Example Before You
John 13:1-17
“It was just before the ‘Passover Feast. Jesus, knew He would soon leave this world and those He loved, and He would now show them the full extent of His love“. (verse 1~NIV) The King James says, “He loved them to the end“. The ‘Greek word for end is Telos. “Specifically, in this verse, its meaning is ‘the utmost (the greatest) degree’ of an act, as of the love of Christ towards His Disciples.” Taken from my Hebrew~Greek Study Bible
“The evening meal was being served….Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waste. After He poured water into a basin, He began to wash His Disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around His waste.”
Peter said (when Jesus came to him), ‘Lord you shall never wash my feet’.
Jesus told Peter, ‘unless I wash you, you have no part with me’.
Then Peter said, ‘not just my feet, but my hands and head as well’.
Jesus said to Peter, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean, though not every one of you (Jesus is speaking of Judas, who would betray Him).’ Peter not only submits to Jesus, but he begs to be washed by Him.
“When Jesus had finished washing the Disciples feet, He said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done for you? 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 an example for you. Do what I have done for 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.” Receive the lesson of Christ. The Matthew Henry Commentary says, “Duties are mutual; we must both accept help from the brethren, and afford help to our brethren“. Jesus provided His Disciples with an excellent illustration of genuine love and humility…the task of a servant….washing their feet.
John 13:18-30
As we read on, we find Jesus predicting His betrayal by Judas. He reveals this to His Disciples, so that when it happens, they will BELIEVE in Him..in who He is……‘and as soon as Judas had taken the bread (see also Psalm 41:9), he went out’ (to betray Jesus).
John 13:31-38
Jesus had already been glorified through the miracles He had done. Now He seems to be speaking of being glorified in a more wonderful way, though it will be through His suffering. He begins to tell His Disciples that He will only be with them a little longer. He tells them that where He is going, they cannot come with Him. And before He reveals to Peter, Peter’s own denial…He gives the Disciples a new command. It is to “Love one another as He has loved them.” Jesus says, ”BY THIS, ALL MEN WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”
In Day 18, we talked about ‘following’ Christ. Today, in verse 36, Peter says to Jesus, “Lord where are you going (that we cannot follow you)?” Jesus now makes it clear that there will be a time that they will be able to follow Him. More of Jesus’ answer will be revealed to the Disciples in chapter 14.
In the last verse of chapter 13, Jesus reveals Peter’s denial….
Thought to Ponder: But do not let your heart be troubled……..
Scripture to Ponder: John 14
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under Bible Studies, Sharing The Gospel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
