SO…

Over recent weeks we at City:Base have been thinking about humility and the humility of Jesus.

As it is Holy Week, it is only appropriate that we look at Jesus’ last week and simply one of the greatest, most extravagant acts of humility the world has ever or is ever likely to see.

“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.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he 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.” John 13: 1-5

there are two really quick things I want to reflect on, in this well known passage of scripture.

The first is the word “so”. Quite simply “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.”

So: ‘because of’, ‘as a consequence of ‘ 

Surely it would make more sense for Jesus, knowing that all things had been put under his power, He decides to lord it over his followers, use this power for his own benefit, manipulate and control those around him… I dare say this is closer to how I would behave…

No Jesus takes off his outer clothing and washes his disciples feet, not in order to gain power over all things, but because He has power over all things. Staggering.

However, what is even more astonishing still is who’s feet he washes. It is not an accident or coincidence that John reminds us of Jesus’ omniscience, saying “the devil had already prompted Judas to betray Him”, just before Jesus washes His disciples feet – John is telling us that, even in the knowledge of Judas’ coming betrayal Jesus washes Judas’ feet! Unbelievable.

I don’t know about you but I find it hard to comprehend the humility of Jesus in leaving heaven and giving up His very nature of God in order to become a man and obedient to death (Philippians 2)… even though that is the full extent of Jesus’ humility I find it near impossible to understand.

But in my most humble of moments I can begin to imagine how difficult it is to do something nice to someone who has been mean to you… How much further does Jesus go than this?

He washes the feet of the man who will betray him, in full knowledge of that forthcoming betrayal.

And this is just a fraction of the love and humility Jesus will show by the end of the week.