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The Passover feast was meant to be a time of remembrance and celebration for God's provision for His people. Jesus and His twelve closest disciples have just entered into Jerusalem to great fanfare. Not only was Jesus being celebrated as He entered the city, He was being given a welcome that could only be meant for a king.
As they enter into the upper room they have reserved, the Twelve rekindle an argument that has come up between them twice before: Which of them is the greatest? The first time they did this was over a year ago and the last time couldn't have been much more than a week before. All three times this argument has begun after Jesus predicts His coming death, burial, and resurrection. And all three times Jesus rebukes them sternly because their focus is on the wrong thing.
To counter this ego-driven conversation between His disciples, with whom He has spent three years, Jesus wraps Himself in a towel and begins to take on the neglected task of washing the disciples feet. They are appalled! It is, after all, the job of the lowest servant in the house to wash people's feet as they entered, before the meal was even served. What the disciples have neglected while they were busy arguing over their greatness, Jesus performs with a humility they are lacking.
Take some time and answer the following questions:
As you enter into this week leading up to Easter Sunday, where is your focus? Why is it there? What can you do to refocus and bring Jesus back to the forefront?
A lot of what we do in our lives is done to please ourselves or give ourselves comfort. What is one simple, humble task you can perform this week for someone else's good?
In John 13, Peter protests when Jesus moves to wash his feet. Why is this a mistake?
Take five minutes today and pray for humility in your life. Pray that you will echo the words of John the Baptist and say, "He must increase and I must decrease."