The Last Week: Do You Serve This Way?
John 13:5-7
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
I remember a specific assignment in one of my business classes at Mississippi College that had to do with researching servant leadership in the workplace. I learned about different ways CEOs would treat their employees.
One of the most familiar companies in servant leadership is the beloved Chick Fil A. Chick Fil A models this type of leadership by putting its employees first. The leaders stand firm on giving their employees a day off. "By granting employees this time off, Chick-fil-A reaps the benefit of having employees that are better able to contribute to the company. Although it is likely that this move has cost the company billions of dollars over the years, it is something they have no plans of changing." (Penn State University)
But, the greatest act of servant leadership came in the last week of Jesus's life.
So far, we have seen Jesus celebrate with friends and make a triumphal entry into a big city during His last week on earth. Today, we will see how Jesus put others before Himself. The Savior of the world, the Son of God, the King of Kings Himself, mere hours before His death, was not trying to live His best life like many of us would. Instead, He put the disciples above Himself to show the qualities of a Christ-like leader.
When Jesus lived on earth, people often had dirty feet due to walking on dirt and gravel. Therefore, they had to wash their feet. Sometimes, servants washed people's feet. Doing so meant they had to kneel before them. They had to look another person in their eyes as they washed their feet.
How could Jesus do such a thing? He is the Savior of the world; shouldn't He have others wash His feet? The natural order of things in the world would say others should serve Jesus. But Jesus's teachings and mindset were different from what the world says.
Hours before He was set to go to the cross, Jesus modeled a new kind of leadership and service. He demonstrated that a leader should serve and treat others with a Christ-like attitude.
It can be tough to think that others are beneath us or work under a boss who abuses power. We may not understand a selfless leader. Peter and the disciples did not. But we can learn from the leadership model of Jesus and become servant leader.