Jesus gave up His rights

John 13:3,5

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ...... 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.

I would like to spend one more week on the the issue of rights.

As I study John's record of Jesus washing His disciples' feet, I learned many things that I had not seen in the same perspective before. There is the background, the context, the implications and His teaching for us. As always, Jesus demonstrated God's word instead of merely speaking it.

What did I learn?

Firstly, even though Jesus, being the Son of God and, knowing that "the Father had put all things under his power..." He humbled Himself to do the lowliest of tasks known at that time. He took on the servant's duty to wash the feet of His own disciples.

He had all the rights, not just as their Teacher, but as the Messiah, Lord of lords, King of kings and God, to require His disciples to wash His feet. They would have gladly complied. But no teaching comes close to Jesus'. He said that while no servant is greater than their master, yet He served His followers because He wanted to show the full extend of His love for them (John 13:1).

Jesus taught us with examples of how we are to serve one another (John 13:14-15 NIV). In this regard, Paul exalted us to do the same, that is, to have the same attitude of our Lord (Philippians 2:1-11 NIV), to serve each other in humility.

There is another lesson that I have learned. That Jesus had to deliberately decide to give up all His heavenly rights in order to give us this example. He "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:6-7 NIV)

Dear beloved, if Jesus gave up His rights for us, let us be determined to give up our rights for Him.

God bless.

Steven