John 13:1-17 (NIV)
Read by: Christy Gates
In today’s passage Jesus will share the Passover meal with his disciples commemorating Israel's liberation from Egypt, their redemption from empire. This scene might be familiar to many of us because of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous imagining of the scene. But his painting doesn’t give us the right idea in terms of the world Jesus lived in.
Instead of the disciples sitting on stools with the legs under the table, they would have been almost lying down at the table, with their feet resting behind them away from the table. And just before the meal Jesus begins to do something they couldn’t have imagined, going from one disciple to the next around the outside of the table washing their feet. The job they would have expected a servant or slave to do.
----------REFLECT----------
1. What moment of this scene would have made you the most uncomfortable?
2. Jesus calls his disciples to do as he had done for them, yet one of the things that he did was wash the feet of a man that was about to betray him. How does this land with you? How willing are you to wash the feet of those who’ve done you wrong, or who likely will?
3. Knowing that the Father had put all things under his power, knowing that he’d come from God and was going to God, he stood up and humbled himself to the point of the lowest of servants. There is a lot of talk about power and identity in this cultural moment. How does Jesus' use of power challenge the way you see power and identity.
----------CONNECT----------
Find an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Start an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Resource: Howto.bible
Learn More >>
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free