Do You Understand What I Have Done for You?
Series: In Person
Rubel Shelly, preaching
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
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and rightly so…” Jesus knelt on the floor with a water basin and a towel, an act of gracious compassion and unthinkable kindness. But it is more than that. Jesus washing feet is a statement about power.
Why do some people feel powerful and others completely powerless? Where does power come from? Is there any wonder why we are suspicious of power? Is power something we can get rid of?
A common assumption is that the world would be a drastically better place if the right people were in power. Who are the “right people?” If, as Lord Acton wrote, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” then are there any “right” people for power? Perhaps we find the answer where God in person quietly wipes grime off human feet.