Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it in the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So he got up from supper, laid aside His outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciple’s feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.” “You will never wash my feet,” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and head.” Jesus said, “One who is bathed doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.” When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer clothing, He reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do just as I have done for you. Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
– John 13:1-17
Devotion
As Jesus earthly life is drawing to a close, He takes the time to model servant leadership to His disciples.
The Big Question
What was happening that caused Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet? (Compare Luke 22:24-27) What major lesson was He trying to convey to them? Why was this important for them as they continued on with Jesus’ mission after He left? What truth might God be speaking to you through this account of washing the disciples’ feet? What does it mean to say, “Jesus is Lord or Master?”