Humility

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Part I: The Upper Room

Dearly beloved, there in the upper room, a dispute arose among the disciples, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. We can relate to that. For deep down, we all have that deep-seated desire to be number one, to be served by others, to exert our will for everyone else to follow. Marriages are strained, families are torn apart, friendships are ruined, and congregations are embattled … all because everyone wants to be regarded as the greatest.

No wonder Jesus tells His disciples in the upper room: “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

And once our Lord Jesus spoke those words, He put them into practice. He did what any one of us would do, knowing that we had only hours left to live. He laid aside His outer garments, tied a towel around His waist, poured water into a basin, and began washing the disciples’ feet. Oh, wait. That isn’t at all what we’d do. For you and I are too selfish, too full of ourselves for such menial tasks. If anything, we’d expect our friends to serve us on the final day of our life.

It’s difficult for us 21st century Americans to appreciate exactly what Jesus did for His disciples. In Biblical times, most people traveled by foot on roads and paths that were rocky, dusty, and dirty. If someone came to visit you in your home, you gave him a basin of water to wash his own feet. But no homeowner would ever do this demeaning task himself. Not even hired servants were expected to do this.

Yet, Jesus bends down and washes the disciples’ feet anyway. He, the greatest in the room, serves those who are the least. For that is His way. To love others. To serve others. To wash people clean. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

But Peter objects. Not once, but twice. First, via a question: “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Then, via a rebuke: “You shall never wash my feet.” So Jesus answers Peter: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” Then Jesus continues scrubbing until He has washed every foot around that table—24 feet in all. Finally, He puts on His outer garments, resumes His place at the table, and asks them: “Do you understand what I have done to you? … You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, 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 also should do just as I have done to you.”

What did the disciples take away from Jesus’ words that night in the upper room? Did they go around and begin washing each other’s feet? Actually, no. They didn’t. They knew Jesus was talking about greater service than washing one another’s feet.

The same is true of you, brothers and sisters. If you truly want to serve others, as Christ calls you to do, then here is how you can wash feet:

• be a faithful husband or wife to your spouse, putting the needs of your loved one ahead of your own;
• be a responsible parent to your children, bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord;
• be an honest worker, doing your job to the best of your ability;
• be a good and upright neighbor to all those whom God places in your path; and
• as opportunity allows, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned, and care for those in need.

These are the ways in which the love of Christ flows through you to those around you.

And yet, the events in the Upper Room on the night when our Lord was betrayed are not primarily about your service to others. They are chiefly about Christ’s service to you. Despite your sinfulness, He serves you just as you are. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

That’s love. Unconditional love. Selfless love. Giving love. It is a love ever directed outward … to you … to the very end. On the cross, Jesus holds nothing back. He gives it all. All unwashed sinners—even you—are there washed, cleansed, forgiven, redeemed. Just as Jesus laid aside His outer garments to wash His disciples’ feet, so also He laid aside His life to wash you clean of all your sins. There on the cross, the Master became a servant. The Good Shepherd died as a lamb. The most exalted One of all “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

You see, dear friends, tonight is all about Jesus. All about the washing, not of feet, but of hearts. Remember what Jesus told Peter? “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” Those words reveal something rather profound about Jesus’ service. For what does God the Father require of you to have a share with Jesus in His kingdom? Is it clean feet? No! It’s a clean heart.

Thus, when Jesus states that He needs to wash Peter that Peter might have a share with Him, He is pointing Peter to “the washing of water with the Word” (Ephesians 5:26), “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5), that comes in Holy Baptism.

The same is true of you. Jesus’ love on the cross comes to you personally in that water connected with His Word, for in Holy Baptism our Lord Jesus kneels down before you and washes away the dirt of your sin, creates in you a clean heart, and renews in you a right Spirit. All so that you might have a share with Him in His kingdom.

Therefore, stop clamoring to be regarded as the greatest. Instead, love and serve one another. Look anew to the Lamb of God who goes uncomplaining forth to love you to the end. And remember how your Savior still serves you. In Scripture and sermon, in Absolution and Supper, He bends down to wash you clean. To join you in your lowliness, that He might exalt you to the very heights of heaven.

Friends, look daily to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, even your sin, and humility won’t just be a concept, but will more and more become an attitude and a way of life for you. For He who daily bends down to serve you, to wash you clean, to forgive you, has filled you with Himself.

Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.