Humbleness, Holiness and Happiness

John 13:1–11
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

George Washington Carver, the scientist who developed hundreds of useful products from the peanut said: “When I was young, I asked God to tell me the mystery of the universe, but God answered, “That knowledge is reserved for me alone” so I said, “God, tell me … More

Humility

Chapter 13 gives an account of the Last Supper and of the beginning of the Lord’s farewell message to His disciples. They met together in the Upper Room to observe the Passover. Jesus knew that “His hour was come” (v. 1), and that Judas would soon betray Him (v. 2). Jesus knew that he had come from God and would go back to God (v. 3). In His last few hours together with them, Jesus taught His disciples the importance of humbleness and holiness which lead to happiness.

1. Humbleness (vv. 4-5) The disciples must have been shocked when Jesus took the towel and wash basin to wash their feet. It was customary in Palestine for a servant to wash the feet of guests because the streets were dusty, and people wore sandals without socks. Since there was no servant present and the disciples were too proud to perform this menial task, the Lord did it. He gave them an unforgettable lesson in humility, and by His actions, rebuked their selfishness and pride and told them how to have a close family.

2. Holiness (vv. 6-11) As Peter watched the Lord wash his friends’ feet, he strongly objected to this act of humility. Jesus explained that when a sinner trusts the Savior he is “bathed all over” as his sins are washed away and forgiven. However, as the believer walks in the world, it is easy to become defiled (have dirty feet). He does not need to be bathed again but simply needs to have that defilement cleansed (I John 1:9) so he can have a clear conscience.

3. Happiness (vv. 12-17) We can see how humbleness and holiness will bring true happiness. Jesus knew that he was going to die soon, and he was having His final meal with His family. What would you want to tell your family if you knew this was your last meal?

Application

The world asks, “How many people work for you?” but the Lord asks “For how many people do I work?" Lord, help me to humble myself and roll up my sleeves to help others! I should be willing to do any job that the Lord gives me to do, if I am mentally capable and physically able to do it in a way that will glorify Christ.

John 13:1-11 (English Standard Version)

Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (Space required at line 39, column 24) in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/magpie6-1/rss_fetch.inc on line 230

Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/rss/esvLookup.php on line 15

View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »