More than 500 years before Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the prophet Zechariah painted a picture of what the future king of Israel would look like. See if this sounds familiar to how Jesus entered the city:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
Jesus knew that his entry would be making an announcement—that he indeed would be the king the nation had been waiting on for centuries. But it wouldn’t be the type of king most people were expecting. In some ways, it would be the opposite.
A few days after that triumphal entry, when the crowd cheered and laid palm tree branches along his path, Jesus would do something not very king-like at all. In fact, he did something almost exclusively reserved for a slave or a servant. In the middle dinner—in the middle of celebrating the Passover—here’s what happened, according to his friend John, who saw this firsthand:
He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 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. (John 13:4–5)
Notice a couple of things. First, Jesus did this even for Judas, who he knew was about to accept 30 pieces of silver in exchange for leading Jesus’s enemies right to him.
Secondly, Jesus didn’t just wash the dusty feet of his disciples. He went all in. He first took off his outer garment, grabbed a towel, and then filled a basin with water. These acts normally would be done by someone who was beneath these men in social status. Jesus wanted to leave no doubt about the message he was sending: he came to serve. Nothing was beneath him. And if they didn’t get that lesson from his actions, he made it clear with his words:
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:14–15)
Another Gospel writer, Luke, tells us what the disciples were doing just a little while before dinner: they were arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. Jesus washed his disciples feet in response to their argument. Do you really want to be great? Jesus was saying. Then do stuff like this.
Obviously, foot washing isn’t a common occurrence in our culture, but chances are you’ll have a clear opportunity to serve someone around you in the very near future. Perhaps it’s a neighbor in need or a colleague at work. Or maybe it’s a bit closer to home, like someone in your family. While your next step likely won’t be to grab a towel and a water basin, there will be something you can do. Let Jesus’s words guide your response: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Heavenly Father,
We can only imagine how it must have felt for the disciples to have Jesus wash their feet. Help us to see those around us like Jesus does and to serve them as he would. Help us follow the example Jesus set for us. Amen.
More than 500 years before Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the prophet Zechariah painted a picture of what the future king of Israel would look like. See if this sounds familiar to how Jesus entered the city: