WHEN THE KING OF KINGS BENT HIS KNEES
John 13:1, “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well !” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he 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. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
There was a reason why Jesus did this. Luke also tells us of that night.
Luke 22:24, “A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus is the King of The Universe. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. There is none above Him. At His command, the worlds were made. At His word, the sun and the moon, the lights of Heaven were formed and put into place. At His command, Heaven comes to attention, angels obey, and the Earth trembles.
There is none beside Him. There is none before Him. There is no opposite of Him. He is the almighty, all powerful God. If He gave the word, the Heavens would roll up like a scroll, the stars would stop shining. As He walked among us on this Earth that His word had made, though fashioned as a man, He could have said the words, “Bow to me,” and every man woman and child, from Caesar, the emperor of the Roman Empire, to the High Priest and the Pharisees of Israel would have had no choice but to bow before Him.
The kings and princes of this world, no matter their wealth and power, could never compare to the smallest part of His Glory and majesty. The most righteous man or woman who ever lived among us, the purest in heart, is as filthy rags when compared to His goodness. He alone is perfect in all His ways. He is holiness. He is righteousness.
While on the Earth, He commanded the storms, and they obeyed Him. He gave orders to demons, and they jumped at His commands.
What Glory, what power, what tremendous authority!
Yet there was a day when the King of Kings bent His knees. On that day, in an Upper Room, he girded himself with a towel. He poured water into a basin. He knelt down in front of each of the disciples, and did what a servant in that day would do. He washed their feet.
The apostles were dull in understanding. Not one of them understood the ministry Jesus had called them to. Even on that night, hours before His crucifixion, most believe He would stand up to Rome, and deliver Israel. Then they would be elevated into places of authority with Him. They did not yet understand His will. They did not understand His purpose for coming into the world.
The day would come, and will yet come, that He will appear in His power and glory. The majesty of His appearing will be so great that the Mount of Olives will split in two. The nations will tremble and bow before Him.
That is what the religious leaders, the High Priest, the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees were expecting. The messiah would be royalty, the Son of David, from the lineage of the Kings of Judah. He certainly would not be born to a poor, lower class family. He would come from better stock, possess a better pedigree. Would the prophesied King of Israel be raised in a carpenter’s shop in the lowly town of Nazareth? At that time, people said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” No. The religious leaders could not accept that. He would be born among the powerful, among the wealthy, among the educated upper crust of society.
But He chose another way, and the way He came into the world was an offense to the Pharisees and Sadducees. It was offensive to the nobility, the wealthy and educated, who saw their selves by birthright, breeding and education, better than everyone around them.
But, more than that, what really offended the religious leaders and the nobility of that day were the men Jesus had chosen to be His apostles. When the Messiah came, would He place men into leadership roles who had the background of the twelve apostles? Surely not.
The Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees were experts in the law. They knew the Old Testament backwards and forwards. They were trained from the time they were children, by the greatest teachers in Israel. They were honed, chosen, selected to be the leaders of Israel. They, alone, were the final arbitrators of anything in the Word of God. They were above the common Israelites. They wore their phylacteries long. They wore the borders of their prayer garments wide. They stood out in holiness and purity. They had standards that were higher than the ones found in the Bible. Standards handed down to them by their elders.
If the Messiah was going to choose apostles, surely He would choose from among them. Surely the Messiah would choose a Doctor of the Law over an uneducated fisherman. Surely He would choose a righteous Pharisee, who kept the traditions of the elders, over a cheating tax collector. Surely He would choose sophisticated men over the unsophisticated. Why the Apostles did not even wash their hands before they ate! How crude!
I am afraid that attitude is in the world today. For God to choose you, you need a doctorate of Theology. You need a pedigree. But God still chooses who He wants to choose.
1 Cor. 1: 27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
The world saw rough fishermen, common men. But Jesus saw apostles. He saw men who would one day turn the world upside down. The world saw a hated tax collector, but Jesus saw Matthew, the writer of the first New Testament book. They were not educated, but Jesus chose them. They were not nobility, but Jesus chose them. They were not men with great pedigrees, but Jesus chose them. Of course one among them was educated. One among them did have a pedigree, who hailed from the upper crust of society. His name was Judas.
Someone put together what a professional management consultant would say about them, had Jesus submitted the resumes of the twelve apostles to them.
To: Jesus, Son of Joseph Woodcrafter’s Carpenter Shop Nazareth 25922. From: Jordan Management Consultants
Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely, Jordan Management Consultants.
But, you see, Jesus does not care about your last name. He does not care about your pedigree. He does not care about your PHD or THD. He will take a nobody from Nowherseville, from Forgotten Avenue, whose address is Zero. He will take the former drug addict, He will take the former prostitute, He will take the common, foolish things of this world, and use them to confound the wise. He was not a Pharisee. He was lower class, the son (as it was supposed) of a carpenter.
Look at the reaction of the people when Jesus preached in His own town:
Mark 6:1 “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, a Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
But Jesus chose a common life, a common family, a common upbringing. And when He chose His men, He chose common men.
And the Bible says they were arguing among themselves who would be the greatest among them. James and John went so far as political maneuvering, coming to Jesus, requesting to be on His right and left side when He comes into His kingdom. I am convinced John will be granted this, but that is another Bible study. But how angry the other apostles were when they heard about it! How angry the apostles must have been at Peter, who was loud and obnoxious, abrasive, he declared openly that the others might deny The Lord, but he would never deny Him. The disciples did not understand what Spirit they were of. Even on the way to Jerusalem, where Jesus was to die, James and John wanted to call down fire from Heaven to destroy the Samaritans.
This happens today. Sometimes we do not realize what the call of Jesus means, and we fall into politics, political maneuverings. I have been to ministers meetings that rivaled any meeting of the Republicans and Democrats. I have seen men tear down other men, jostling for a position in a man-made organization. That is not the will of God, and it grieves His Spirit.
But Jesus took a towel, and girded Himself with it. He took water and poured it into a basin. He knelt down, He, The King of Kings bent His knees before these common men, these men with their infightings, their politics, and their failure to understand. He washed their feet.
We are not to be like the world. We are not to fight among each other, jostling for position, fighting for our own point of view.
After He washed their feet, He gave them a new command.
John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
John could not make it any clearer than this. If you hate your brother or sister, you do not love God. Let God be true, but every man a liar. You can say you love your brother, but if you tear him down, seek his hurt, then you do not love him. And you do not love God, either.
Gal. 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
What? I thought you were supposed to “set him down,” shun him, ignore him, and drive him away from the church with a spirit of righteous indignation. We can’t have any sinners around here after all. No. We are to restore him in the spirit of meekness, considering ourselves, lest we should also be tempted. If we look at our fallen brother in self-righteousness, it is arrogance and pride. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
1 John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
This is self-explanatory. You cannot talk your way into Heaven. Love is more than words. If you truly love a person, you will bless that person, do good things for that person, pray for that person.
1 Corinthians 13:1, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.”
