If in an interview you were asked to list the great forces of evil that oppose God, what would you place on that list? Murder? Incest? Homosexuality? Adultery? Deceit? Abuse of children, spouses, or the elderly? Exploitation? Betrayal? Hate? Racism? Injustice? Abuse of power? Addiction? Materialism? Divorce? Selfishness? Self-indulgence? Rebellion? Lawlessness?
Would your list include human arrogance? No master wanted an arrogant servant. A servant exists to serve. Arrogance rises from an exaggerated sense of self-importance. As arrogance grows, serving declines. Arrogance creates the justification for refusing to serve. Arrogance takes one's eyes off the master. Arrogance places one's eyes on self.
Arrogance is the enemy of humility. Humility submits; arrogance defies. Humility looks at others; arrogance looks at self. Humility quietly recognizes "my significance is defined in my service to others;" arrogance exaggerates "my self-importance." Humility never regards service as inappropriate; arrogance regards service as appropriate only if serving benefits "me." Humility is a blessing; arrogance is a curse.
What causes an humble disciple to become an arrogant disciple? The transition from humility to arrogance can occur for many reasons. Weariness, frustration, acquired power, acquired money, a rising sense of self-importance, and injustice are a few of those reasons.
Consider Jesus' twelve disciples. The little information that we have indicates they made great sacrifices to follow Jesus. For example, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew left occupations to follow Jesus on a daily basis [Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9]. These men had jobs and an income in a poor society. When Jesus invited them to follow him, they did so immediately. Humility followed. Arrogance would have declared, "Our lives and commitments are much too important to drop everything and follow you. What can you offer us in this sea of poverty?"
Jesus gave them nothing physical. They did not follow for money; Jesus had none. They did not follow for prestige; the elite of Israel rejected Jesus. They did not follow for governing power; Jesus was not a ruler. They did not follow to climb Israel's "social ladder;" Jesus worked among the poor and outcasts. They stayed with him in good times and bad. They experienced the joy of appreciation and the sting of ingratitude.
But in less than two weeks they went from humble men who feared that their master would be killed to arrogant men who thought only of themselves. It was not a difficult transition. While they humbly followed, they often argued about which one was the most important. Jesus repeatedly [without much success] tried to teach them that God determined importance by service, not by position.
They followed Jesus in the conviction that he was the Messiah. They hoped someday he would rule as king over physical Israel. Often that hope was dim. But for one week [the last week of Jesus' life] Jesus' kingship seemed certain. That week they became arrogant men. They took their eyes off of God and saw only themselves. To rescue them from their arrogance, Jesus seized that moment to embarrass them.
John 13:1-11 states that it was the feast of the Passover. Jesus privately ate that meal with the twelve. After they were prepared to eat [or had started eating?], Jesus got up, took off his robe, put a towel around his waist, and washed the feet of each disciple. What a painful moment for the disciples! How devastating to have Jesus humble himself before their arrogance!
John 13:12-20
The question: "Do you know what I have done to you?" Why did Jesus ask it? They may have been so lost in their shock and embarrassment or so overcome by their shame that (1) they were 100% focused on their feelings or (2) 100% humiliated by their attitude. If they were reacting in either way, they were not considering lessons they needed to learn. They were reacting, not learning. Jesus' basic desire was to teach them. While they should be embarrassed, it was essential that they learn. If they were embarrassed but did not learn, Jesus accomplished little. If he did not focus them on what had happened, they easily could react in stunned embarrassment and learn little. Jesus was looking for understanding, not mere humiliation.
They were correct in calling him Teacher and Lord. He was their Teacher and Lord.
If he was willing to wash their feet, they should be willing to wash each other's feet.
He gave them this example so that they would conduct themselves as he conducted himself.
The slave is not greater than his master, and the one sent on a mission is not greater than the one who sent him. The point: "If I could treat each of you like this, in no way can you consider yourselves too good or too important to treat each other in this way."
The emphasis was not on their knowledge, but on their behavior. They would be blessed if their behavior was the behavior they saw in Jesus.
Yes. He knew who would eat his bread and lift up his heel against him.
He would tell them what was to happen before it happened in order to produce faith in the fact that he was the Messiah God sent. From this moment until Jesus' death, everything would be traumatic for the disciples--the betrayal, the arrest, the trials, the public rejection, the execution. Nothing the disciples expected to happen would happen. Everything the disciples thought could not happen would occur. If they were to believe that God was using every evil happening to work for His purposes, they must realize that Jesus was fully aware of what would happen before it occurred. They needed to understand that Jesus did not lose. He fulfilled his mission by surrendering his life. This would not be evident to them before, during, or immediately after his death. It would begin to be evident almost two months later on Pentecost (Acts 2). They became increasingly aware of those evidences as they lived and taught for the Christ in the years to come. [See 1 John 1:1-3 as an example of growing awareness.]
Those who received someone Jesus sent received Jesus. The person who received Jesus would receive the person Jesus sent.
There are many questions that we could ask and discuss about this incident on the last night of Jesus' physical life. No question is more important than this question: what should we learn from what happened when Jesus washed his disciples feet? If we ask and answer all questions but that one, Jesus teaches us nothing by washing his disciples feet.
Suggestion: time permitting, have class members share their favorite lesson and explain why that lesson is meaningful to them.
Lessons:
Suggestion: you may consider ending this class by focusing your students on the fact that humility is a personal faith issue. The issue: "Do I trust God enough to be His humble servant?" Do I believe [trust] that the God who raised His servant Jesus from the dead and exalted him as Lord and Christ will use His mighty hand to lift me up (1 Peter 5:6,7)? Jesus never took his eyes off of God, and God made him Lord and Christ. If we keep our eyes on God, He will lift us up.
Link to Student Guide Quarter 2, Lesson 5