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He “Laid Aside His Garments”
In the last few days of Christ’s life, He met with His disciples in the Upper Room for the Passover, Israel’s national celebration of the Exodus from bondage and slavery. Yet, all was not well. The atmosphere in the Upper Room must have been thick with tension and ill will. Not much earlier, the disciples had been fighting over who would have the highest place in heaven. Now they had come together to celebrate the Passover, which should have spoken to them of their great need of God’s saving grace in their lives and how dependent they were on Him.
Read Matthew 20:20–28. What important lesson had the disciples totally failed to grasp, even after all this time with Jesus?
As if the disciples’ attitudes hadn’t been bad enough, to top it all off there was Judas, His betrayer, acting as if nothing were wrong. In the midst of all this, when Jesus had every right to be disgusted with the whole lot of them, what does He do?
Read John 13:1–16. What lesson is Jesus giving here? Why is this in so many ways key to what it means to be a follower of Jesus?
It was the custom for the disciples to make provisions for washing their feet from the filth of the streets. This was a servant’s work. But the disciples had no servants. And none of them would stoop to this humiliating and menial task. As Jesus took off His outer garment and began to wash their feet, their hearts melted. They had declared Him to be the Son of God. That God’s Son should stoop to do the work of a slave shamed them. The text said that before doing this, He took off His outer garment, showing His willingness to lower Himself and humble Himself to whatever degree was needed in order to reach His followers.
And then, if all that wasn’t enough, knowing full well what was in Judas’s heart, He washed Judas’s feet, as well.
How “low” are you willing to go for the good of others? When was the last time you “took off your outer garment” in order to minister to the needs of those around you?
| MONDAY | June 13 |
In the last few days of Christ’s life, He met with His disciples in the Upper Room for the Passover, Israel’s national celebration of the Exodus from bondage and slavery. Yet, all was not well. The atmosphere in the Upper Room must have been thick with tension and ill will. Not much earlier, the disciples had been fighting over who would have the highest place in heaven. Now they had come together to celebrate the Passover, which should have spoken to them of their great need of God’s saving grace in their lives and how dependent they were on Him.
Read Matthew 20:20–28. What important lesson had the disciples totally failed to grasp, even after all this time with Jesus?
As if the disciples’ attitudes hadn’t been bad enough, to top it all off there was Judas, His betrayer, acting as if nothing were wrong. In the midst of all this, when Jesus had every right to be disgusted with the whole lot of them, what does He do?
Read John 13:1–16. What lesson is Jesus giving here? Why is this in so many ways key to what it means to be a follower of Jesus?
It was the custom for the disciples to make provisions for washing their feet from the filth of the streets. This was a servant’s work. But the disciples had no servants. And none of them would stoop to this humiliating and menial task. As Jesus took off His outer garment and began to wash their feet, their hearts melted. They had declared Him to be the Son of God. That God’s Son should stoop to do the work of a slave shamed them. The text said that before doing this, He took off His outer garment, showing His willingness to lower Himself and humble Himself to whatever degree was needed in order to reach His followers.
And then, if all that wasn’t enough, knowing full well what was in Judas’s heart, He washed Judas’s feet, as well.
How “low” are you willing to go for the good of others? When was the last time you “took off your outer garment” in order to minister to the needs of those around you?
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