If you notice, it appears that we have skipped a day. We just went from Tuesday to Thursday. Why is that? We don't know how Jesus spent Wednesday. It could be He and the disciples were busy preparing for the Passover meal. It could be that Jesus got alone and spent the day praying because He knew what was coming in the next few hours. We don't know for sure what Jesus did on Wednesday, but we do know for sure what Jesus did on Thursday.
Thursday was the day that Jesus gathered with His disciples in the upper room to have the Passover meal together.
The Passover meal was a big deal to the Jewish people. It was a meal that reminded the Israelites of how God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt thousands of years earlier. Moses goes to Pharaoh and says I want you to let God's people go, and the Pharaoh refuses. God sends plagues down upon the Egyptians. The final plague was the plague of the death angel.
Every firstborn from every house would die on this night unless you have put the blood of a lamb over the doorframe of your home. When the death angel came by, he would Passover that house and not enter in. The blood of the lamb saved the people. Jesus uses this meal to reveal that He is the ultimate Lamb of God whose blood will be poured out for the forgiveness of our sins, so when we die, the death angel will pass over us, and we will go to heaven to be with Him.
The disciples are starting to arrive for this meal. Now, there is supposed to be a servant who will take a basin of water and a towel and wash each person's feet before the meal, but that person didn't show up. Streets in the first century weren't paved, and there was no sewer system, so the streets were filthy, and the only kind of footwear they had were open-toed sandals. The meal they were about to partake of would take them about 3 hours to eat, so getting their feet clean would be kind of important if you wanted to enjoy the meal.
Back in the first century, they didn't sit at tables like we have today. No, they reclined at the table. That means they would lie down on the floor, and they would rest their head in their hand. The table would be about 4 inches off the ground, so the person sitting next to you would have their feet in close proximity to your face.
When the disciples came into the room, not one of them reached for the pitcher of water or for the servant's towel. The disciples all had stubborn hearts, inflated egos, and dirty feet. The detail in John 13 in the original Greek is fascinating because verse 2 should read like this: “The food was finally served."
Jesus had given them ample time to be a servant, but they all decided they would rather eat with someone else's dirty feet in their face than meet the need and take up the towel.
At the meal, Judas sat next to Jesus at the seat of honor. We know this because Jesus had a conversation with Judas, where he dipped bread into some sauce. They dipped it at the same time, and Jesus looked at Judas and told him that he was going to betray him, but Judas lied and said that wasn't true. But we know that in just a few short hours, Jesus will be betrayed by Judas with a kiss.
Jesus will, then, be beaten and mocked and spit upon. He will be nailed to a cross, but here is Jesus at His last meal, offering the seat of honor to His betrayer.
As the meal was being served, Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 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.
You can be sure Jesus knows the future of the feet that He is washing. These 24 feet will not spend the next day following their Master or defending His cause. These feet will run away in His time of greatest need. One set of feet will betray Him, one set of feet will deny ever knowing Him, and the rest will desert Him. He knows what they are about to do, and He still washes their feet.
After the Passover meal was served, Jesus took unleavened bread and broke it and gave it to His disciples. Jesus is going to take a couple of common objects and make them uncommon. This is something we are encouraged to do as believers.
There should be elements for the Lord's Supper somewhere near you. Please make sure everyone has them before we continue. We will take these together in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made for us that enabled us to be forgiven of our sin.
Press pause until everyone has the elements.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke off and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way, after supper, He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
At the time when Jesus shared this with the disciples, they did not understand what He was saying to them. But in a few hours, some of the disciples will watch from a distance as Jesus’ body is broken and beaten for the sins of the world. Then they will understand what He was talking about.
When you pause to think about all He has done for you and the life He has saved you from and called you to, it is difficult to find reasons not serve him and the people he has placed in your life.
Are you a servant? Do you put the needs of other people ahead of yourself, or when something needs to be done, do you look for someone else to do it?
Let's pray. “God, help me to be a servant. Help me to be the kind of person who takes up the towel and serves those around me. Thank you for serving me and for putting my needs ahead of your own. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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