Places of the Passion – The Upper Room starts us down the road to the cross. Over the span of the next six weeks, you and I are going to visit some places where most of us have been before. Well, we haven’t exactly been at these places, but we’ve heard about them so many times we can close our eyes and almost see them. We’re going to visit the places where our Lord Jesus spent the most important 72 hours of his life on earth, the places he was on a Thursday we call Maundy, a Friday we call Good, a Saturday we call Holy, and a Sunday we call Easter.
Job of a Slave
The evening meal was being served. Maybe Jesus waited a few minutes to see if any of them would make the first move, but nobody moved. So 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 (vv. 4,5). It was a servant’s job, really a slave’s job. He unlaced the sandals and washed the dust off. The job only took a few minutes; there were only 12 people there. When Jesus had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 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 (vv. 12-15).
What Will You Do?
Did they really understand what Jesus had done? Not that night they didn’t. Judas never understood. And it took the rest of them awhile. Eventually they did, and when they finally understood that life with Jesus meant imitating Jesus and caring more about others than about themselves, they gave themselves up so they could tell everyone about Jesus.
- They all wore out the odometer on their sandals walking from one city to the next.
- They all spoke up when speaking up wasn’t the thing to do.
- They all did prison time, and they all died as martyrs—except one, and he died as an exile.
- They did what they did so that people could hear about Jesus’ forgiveness and love.
- They did what they did not because they wanted to get something for themselves, but because they wanted to give something away.
- They did what they did to serve people—and Jesus had showed them how.
Attitude Adjustment
Brothers and sisters, do you understand what Jesus did in that upper room? I have a sneaking suspicion you do know, and I know too. We know how Jesus wants us to treat the people who live and work around us. St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: . . . he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Php 2:3-5,8). I feel pretty bad when I read those words because too many times my attitude isn’t like that of Christ Jesus. Do you know what I mean? Do you sometimes wonder how Jesus wants you to treat other people? Do you catch yourself being so involved with your own life and your own troubles that you really don’t think too much about the people around you? If that’s a problem for you, then watch Jesus wash the feet of his followers. Come and visit the upper room. It’s a place of service where Jesus urges us to imitate him.
Want to hear more? Watch our Ash Wednesday message taken from John 13, Places of the Passion – The Upper Room.
Topic(s): Lent
Book(s): John
Series: Places of the Passion
Tag(s): Lent
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg