Explore: Serve Humbly

• The Explore the Bible lesson for Dec. 8 focuses on John 13:12-20, 33-38.

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 • The Explore the Bible lesson for Dec. 8 focuses on John 13:12-20, 33-38.

We now come to the Scriptures where we see some of the intimate and final moments Jesus spent with his disciples. Jesus did not come to make people feel a little better or change a few hearts along the way. Jesus came to begin a movement that would change the world forever.

As we begin to look at what Jesus taught here, we have to keep in mind his end goal. He wanted these men to carry his name and his message to the world. For that to happen, many aspects of their lives and attitudes needed to change. We see three ways Jesus was working to accomplish that in this week’s Bible study lesson.

Lead by example

Jesus made an impact on their lives through his own example of humility. Jesus was and is Almighty God and deserved to be treated like royalty—even better than royalty. We know Jesus never sought to be treated the way he deserved (Philippians 2). Instead, we know Jesus came to serve (Mark 10:45).

Jesus began his lesson not with words but action. He took off his outer robe, grabbed the water basin and began, one by one, to wash the feet of the disciples. This clearly was something someone else should have done. This was something no leader at that time should have done—in the opinion of the disciples.

I have tried to think about something in our world and culture that would be similar to what Jesus did that day. We do not really have a lot of the same washing rituals they did, nor do we have servants. For certain, the actions that would show others our humility would definitely have to be something no one else would be willing to do, and it would have to be of service to others. This act of service could be as simple as picking up the dishes after a fellowship meal at church all the way to being willing to be the one responsible for cleaning the restrooms. The point is, Jesus did something no else was willing to do in order to show his disciples the attitude he wanted them to have.

Identifying with Christ

This brings us to the teaching Jesus offered to show why he had done this for his disciples. The heart of this can be found in verse 20: “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” Do you pick up on what Jesus is saying here?


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Jesus repeatedly said he and the Father were “one.” Jesus identified with the Father. In other words, he wasn’t just close to the Father, just associated with the Father, or even just loved by the Father. He was completely one with God, the Father, and he very much wanted his disciples to be in this same kind of relationship with him. When people accept us and our message, Jesus said they really are accepting him. Jesus wants us to be completely in him (John 17).

Think for a moment about something that happened after Jesus ascended back to heaven with the Father. Saul was a zealous Pharisee who was persecuting followers of Christ to the point of death. Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus by shining a blinding light in his eyes. Saul asked who he was. Do you remember specifically what Jesus said? “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’” (Acts 9:5-6).

Saul had not been persecuting Jesus; he had been assaulting Christ’s followers. Jesus so identified with his followers, to do something to one of them was equivalent to doing something directly to Christ.

In the passage in our lesson, Christ’s point is once he was gone, these disciples were going to be his hands and feet here on this earth. They were going to carry the name of “Christ” with them everywhere they went. Jesus just wanted to make sure they understood what that entailed. He certainly wanted to make sure their attitudes were an accurate reflection of his character. He wanted their lives to be marked by humility, because this marked his own life.

New command

Jesus follows up both his own illustration of humility and his teaching on the same topic with an important new command for his disciples—love each other. Jesus fully intended this to become the standard for all believers. This world needs to see real love in action. I’m sad to say that this is not what people see in churches all the time. We worry about our service: What music will we play, how long will the sermon be, and what are we going to do about a nursery for the kids? The only real question we need to be asking is this, “Are we showing love for each other in such strong ways that people will be drawn to Christ because of what they see in our fellowship?”

We do not have to be experts in everything, but we have to be experts in this—our love for each other. 1 Peter 4:8 says it best: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Again, how can we be an accurate reflection of Christ in this world if we cannot consistently live in love with our fellow believers? I believe if we could get this one thing right, God really could use our churches to turn this world toward him.


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