John 1:1-5
¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV) ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The One who holds all things kneels down to wash us clean.
Thoughts
- The Love That Goes to the End (1) John begins with the motive. After all the great I AM claims of this Gospel, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus spends his last evening taking the role of the lowest servant. The basis of that love runs back to Deut 7: God set his love on Israel not because they were more or better, but because he loved them. There is nothing behind the love but he, himself. He does not love us because we are lovable; he loves us to the end. The cross is not the interruption of that love, but in fact, its full reach. If you ever wonder whether his love has a limit, look at the upper room and the towel, then let Philippians explain what you see: the love that would not grasp equality with God is the love that reaches for the towel.➤ Because his love depends upon who he is and not on who you are, you cannot earn it and you cannot lose it.
- The Freedom That Serves (2, 3) Next John shows this freedom, and the company that this love keeps. Before Jesus even acts, John identifies the betrayal already at work: the devil has put it into Judas's heart. This is no minor detail. John sets it here so that the feet Jesus washes include the feet of the man about to sell him. Jesus knows exactly who he is and where he is going. He holds all authority. Because that knowing is secure, he is free to rise and serve, even the one who will betray him. We do the opposite. When we are unsure of where we stand, we cling to our rank, and serve only where it will be noticed and returned. The insecure cannot stoop, because they are still defending the ground they stand on. Philippians points to the same freedom: the One in the form of God did not need to protect or assert his status. Because Jesus is sure of who he is and where he is going, he is ready to go all the way down. That is the mind of Christ, the mind Philippians calls us to have. ➤ True greatness is free to go low.
- The Emptying That Takes the Form of a Servant (4, 5) Here is the doing. Jesus lays aside his garments. He takes the towel. He washes dirty feet. Philippians is the telling of that same act: he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbled himself by becoming obedient. The basin and the towel put the self-emptying where we can see it, the complete emptying that reaches to the bottom at the cross. What Jesus does in the upper room is what he is: the Servant-King whose glory shows in downward love. ➤ The towel and the cross are one motion: God's glory is to go all the way down and wash what we cannot wash ourselves.
Reflection
- Whose feet do you least want to wash right now, and what are you protecting by refusing?
