John 13:1-11
13: Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Reflection
As Jesus prepares the disciples for his death and the pain of his departure, what will they need? The same thing every generation of disciples needs: not a pep talk, but a deeper understanding and experience of the gospel. Therefore, Jesus loved these men “to the end” (John 13:1). No one loves us like Jesus, and nothing will ever separate us from his love (Rom. 8:31–39).
As Jesus humbly washes the disciples’ feet, it symbolizes the cleansing of the heart that Christ will accomplish for his disciples through the humiliation of his cross. Peter’s refusal to be served (John 13:8) demonstrates our natural resistance to God’s grace. Peter wasn’t being noble; he was being foolish, proud, and even self-destructive. Unless we are willing to admit that we are unclean and in need of the washing of the blood of Christ shed on the cross, we have no life in Jesus. Jesus is eager to cleanse us and meet us at the throne of grace.
Hebrews 12:3-17
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Reflection
Perhaps it is shocking to us, when reading Hebrews 12:3–4, how tough biblical Christianity is. Yet even more shocking perhaps is how soft and untested many Christians are who have not faced persecution. The writer points his readers squarely to Jesus: “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (v. 3). We are to draw courage from Jesus’ steadfast example of honoring God no matter the cost. And we too must be willing to pay the ultimate price: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (v. 4).
Believers should appreciate those who suffer and die for Christ, thanking God for their example and for the grace of Christ evident in their lives. They have known the deep privilege of suffering discipline as the children of God (vv. 5–11). “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons” (vv. 6–7). May God use this passage to help those who face trials to see them as fatherly discipline toward “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (v. 11). And may he move those who do not face persecution to pray for their brothers and sisters who do.
Psalm 94:12-15
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
When God is challenging and correcting our lives, it can be a painful process. Remember that he disciplines those he loves (Heb. 12:6), and pray that you would be humble and teachable during his loving work of transformation.