John 13:1-5
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Jesus called out a group of disciples when He began His ministry. They followed Him and looked up to Him. He taught them many things, performed miracles to increase their faith, and tried to prepare them for what was to come. He was their Rabbi, Master, and Lord. But He had also come in the form of a servant. He had also given up the glory and splendor of heaven to walk this Earth towards His expected end. He came to seek and to save, to minister unto others and to give His life as a ransom.

And so now Jesus gives His disciples a very clear example of what He wanted them to be. Several times He tried to temper their pride, that desire for greatness and prominence, and instill in them the humble heart of a servant. And if Jesus—King of kings and Lord of lords, the Son of God—could stoop to this lowly task, then surely they, mere men impacted by the grace of God, could go out and follow His example.

It takes a willful act of our hearts and minds to bend low, to get to this place of humility. Pride comes much more naturally to us in our sinful state. We want to rise above and be lifted up, to be recognized and acknowledged, to be served, to be exalted to greatness. But then there is Jesus with His bucket and His towel tending carefully to the dirty feet of some common men. There is Jesus shortly after this moment subjecting Himself to an unjust trial, the scourging, the cross and the nails. There was no one greater than Jesus Christ to walk this Earth, and there was no one more humble, no one more selfless, no one more full of love and compassion. And He calls us to follow Him, to follow His example, to be conformed to His image, to take on the mantle of humility and to love and serve those around us. Are we willing to do so?