Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
As the disciples gathered in the room, I'm sure their minds went back to the moment they were able to see a woman who is known for her sin, kneeling at Jesus's feet, washing His feet with her tears, with her hair, with her oil. I'm sure they reflected back on that and probably thought, you know what? That situation, even though it seemed awkward, seems much more appropriate than this situation is right now.
They look over and they see that this man who they have grown to love and follow the last few years is kneeling on the floor. The same man that they called Rabbi, the same man they called Lord and Master, and then became known to them as Messiah. As they watch Him kneel on the floor and take on the servant's role, I'm sure they reflected back on all the things. How could He, who's our leader, the one that we've been following, who we would follow to our death, is now kneeling on the floor, washing our feet. I can't imagine all the thoughts that went through their minds.
You Are to Behave This Way
Peter, of course, who is so good at verbalizing every thought he had, said, "You're not going to wash my feet. It's not appropriate." Of course, Jesus responded, and Peter allowed Him to wash his feet. Keep that moment in mind as we look at our Verse of the Day today, because Jesus ended that time together with the disciples and said, "You are to behave this way to each other."
It's Matthew chapter 23, verse 11. It says, "The greatest among you must be a servant."
Our Verse is the antithesis of everything we see, not only in the church, not only in the world, but we actually can see that in the church, amongst ourselves, that it's the greatest among us that we elevate. We talk about serving, but the way I would picture it—and something that I believe God laid on my heart to share with you—is imagine all of these people following somebody, and everyone's carrying a light or a candle and they're waiting, and they're only able to follow somebody that they perceive to have the light.
Who Gets the Glory?
This is why I love candlelight services, because I love that the light starts with one person, and it spreads. That's why when we look at this verse, "The greatest among you must be a servant," we have to remember that's the power of what's behind this verse and what Jesus is saying. I encourage you to read Matthew chapter 23, a powerful chapter. And it's something that we really have to be reflective of and look in the mirror for as Christians and within the church, because the power of it is when somebody who is the greatest among us is now our servant. Guess who gets the glory? God.
You have the disciples on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came upon them, and they're speaking in languages that other people in foreign countries could understand what they were saying because they were speaking in this foreign language. It's like their words were—wait a second. These guys are simple fishermen. There's no way that they could do this. There's no way in their own power and ability. They're not well educated. How do they know my language? Who gets the glory for that? The Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon them because God gets the glory.
A Reflection of God
When we also see the converse happen, where those who are leaders and strong among us now submit and produce a servant spirit and attitude and demonstration, just like Jesus did when He washed the disciples' feet—you know who gets the glory? It doesn't make any sense to the world. It's like, wait a second, everything should be about power and authority and getting more. This doesn't make any sense. Why in the world would you choose as the greatest to humble yourself and do something that a servant would do? That is the pure reflection of an all-holy, loving, all-powerful God being willing to not only wash someone's feet but actually come to this earth to die.
The world is just about power, it's success, it's getting more—it's actually a reflection of the world instead of allowing ourselves to reflect truly the attributes of God. May we do that. May we look for opportunity. Whether you consider yourself to be the greatest or the least, may we look for opportunities to serve those around us so that we can be a reflection of the same Jesus that knelt down, knowing He was about to give everything on the cross. He still humbled Himself and knelt down and said, "But it's okay. I'm going to serve you now."
May we look for ways to serve not just one another, but serve those around us so they can see the reflection of truly a humble, gracious, loving, merciful Savior. May we do that today and live into this verse, to be seen by others of who our Savior is.
