The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

A NEW COMMAND

During the Passover meal, Jesus, the master and teacher of the twelve disciples, got up, wrapped a towel around his waist and began to wash the disciples’ feet. This was a dirty job normally reserved for a lowly servant. But Jesus, the obvious leader of this group, decided to wash feet to serve his disciples and make a profound point. While it’s true that the disciples had dirty feet, Jesus’ motive was far beyond the circumstances. The disciples knew this was an important night, yet none of them had bothered to wash their own, much less one another’s, feet. Jesus realized this was the perfect opportunity to show them that the way of his kingdom is very different from the way of earthly kingdoms.

Jesus came to serve and love, and so he gave his disciples a new command: “Love one another”; he then went on to say, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (13:34 – 35). It’s this kind of aspiration that Jesus wanted his disciples to pursue; its countercultural nature is just as radical today. God’s love in believers’ lives is to be evident as they show his love to a lost and broken world today, pointing toward a kingdom that is not of this world (Jn 18:36).

Jesus, thank you for your example of love and service. Please help me to love my brothers and sisters the way that you have loved me. Please help me to love the lost by leading them to the cross. Amen.