It was on the Thursday between His Sunday entry into Jerusalem and His Sunday exit from the tomb that Jesus instituted what we call The Lord’s Supper. He did this as He and his disciples concluded their Passover meal together.

The food items of the Passover meal are all symbolic of Israel’s captivity in Egypt and their exodus to the Promised Land. It’s an annual feast commemorating and remembering the fact they were slaves and God set them free.

When Jesus ate His final Passover with His disciples He added two symbolic elements. The bread symbolizes His broken body and the cup symbolized His shed blood.

During their time together that evening, Jesus gave three commands. It’s important to pause and allow our minds and hearts to absorb them and, then, I encourage you to respond positively to them.

Do as I have done to you.

John 13:3-15 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

It’s actually difficult for me to completely grasp the humility of Jesus. He is the great Servant-Leader. He said that He didn’t come into the world to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

For a moment, ponder His actions. The King of kings, the Lord of lords gets down on His knees and washes the feet of each of His disciples. That’s about as menial of an act of service as a person can get. He even washed the feet of His betrayer, Judas Iscariot.

Jesus humbled Himself and took on the form of a man. He humbled Himself further and knelt on the floor washing the feet of His followers. He humbled Himself obediently to death, even death on a cross.

This was an act that went against the mindset of His disciples. Luke tells us that as they gathered for this meal they began arguing among themselves about which of them would be the greatest one in the new government they were expecting Jesus to initiate (Luke 22:24).

If we’ll admit it, the Lord washing the feet of His disciples also goes against our attitudes. And it’s symbolic of the relationship Jesus desires to have with all of us.

I have pretty feet. In fact, I’ve been told numerous times by family members and friends that my feet are pretty….ugly.

I have bunions on both feet. I have toes that are longer than they should be and toes that are shorter than they should be. I have crooked toes. I have toenails that are not very presentable. I don’t get pedicures. I don’t wear sandals or flip-flops very often. I don’t like to show off my feet. I don’t want my feet analyzed closely.

And Jesus says “Give me your feet”.

“Lord, they’re pretty ugly and they’re really dirty and I know they stink. Lord, you don’t want to see me my feet,”.

And Jesus says “Give me your feet.”

“Lord you don’t want to touch my feet. You don’t know where they’ve been. You don’t know how nasty they are.”

And Jesus says, “Yes I do. Give me your feet.”

“But Lord, you’re pure and holy and righteous. You don’t want to deal with my feet."

And Jesus says, “If you think your feet are bad…you should see your heart.”

Then Jesus says, “I don’t just want your feet. I want all of you. I want to wash you. I want to begin with your heart. I want to wash you from the inside out. I want to cleanse you. I want to purify you. I want to set you apart. I want you to be completely mine. So…give me your feet.”

What is important to get out of this scene between Jesus and Peter is the Lord does not want just a small part of us. He doesn’t want just our feet. He doesn’t want only our hands. He’s not asking for our good singing voices alone. He doesn’t need financial support.

He wants all of us.

I’m reminded of a hymn Frances R. Havergal wrote in 1874 called Take My Life, and Let It Be. In her lyrics, she covered all the bases of our lives.

1 Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days;let them flow in endless praise, let them flow in endless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee, swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee, filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose, every power as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne, it shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee, ever, only, all for thee.

When Jesus washed the feet of His disciples He was showing us our role in the Church, which brings us to the second command He gave that night.

Love Each Other

John 13:34-35 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

This may not seem all that radical or life-changing to us today. There are a lot of people that talk about and sing about love. However, in giving this command, Jesus did something nobody in the world had ever seen before—He created a group identified by one thing: LOVE

There are many groups identified by a lot of different things. Groups identify by education, denomination, hairstyle, diet, nationalities, and skin color. But the church, Jesus said, is to have one identifying factor - LOVE.

But we know that doesn’t always happen. The church can become divided by numerous issues. The leading factors that prevent church unity are pride and jealousy. In today’s world, the first thing that happens when pride swells up is one person unfriends a fellow church member on FB.

Ultimately, the problem is a lack of spiritual maturity. Babies can be selfish. Mature believers have to become more and more selfless all the time. The more we grow up in Christ, the easier it becomes to have unconditional love for others. We become more mature by learning God’s Word, praying, and being in close fellowship with other Believers.

When Jesus instructed us to take up our cross daily and follow Him, He was saying… die to self daily. He was saying to surrender your will to His will daily. He was saying to all of us it is not all about you.

Loving one another is being patient, kind, and welcoming. It means encouraging each another. It also means holding one another accountable. Ignoring blatant sin in a fellow Christian’s life is not love. It means praying for each other and listening to each other’s problems. It means as Paul said in Romans 12 - not thinking you are better than you really are. It means being honest in your evaluation of yourself.

It never means getting mad and taking your ball and going home. It doesn’t mean not talking to each other any longer.

It means interacting as a family. Paul said to treat the younger men and women as brothers and sisters, and the older men and women as fathers and mothers. In other words, treat each other with great respect. I realize brothers and sisters might bust each other’s chops a little. That’s ok. But brothers and sisters will also stand up for each other. Brothers and sisters will donate blood and kidneys to each other!

On that night when Jesus gathered with His disciples He did something that had never been done before in the history of the world. He created a group whose identifying factor is LOVE. If we can’t love one another IN the church, we’ll never be able to love anyone OUTSIDE the church.

So how are you doing with this command? I encourage you to allow the Lord to examine your heart with that question.

Then Jesus gave this command:

Do this in remembrance of Me.

Luke 22:19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

Jesus came into the world as the Perfect Lamb of God to die in our place. To pay a debt that we could not pay. So at the end of the Passover Meal, Jesus added the symbols of His body and blood, the bread and the wine. He instructs us, His followers, to take part in those communion elements to remember what He did for us.

Jesus lived a sinless life. Although He did nothing wrong, He was arrested, tortured, and crucified. On the cross, He paid the penalty for your sins and for my sins.

All who receive Him, all who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Wash my feet, Lord. But don’t stop there. Take my hands, my mind, my heart, my all.