Every now and then, my blogs topics are more spiritual. If you have read my book, you know I am a Christian, and my faith is important to me. Often, things found in the Bible are helpful, whatever faith background you come from. I ran across one of these yesterday.
It’s the story about Jesus and Judas – yes, that bad guy who betrayed Jesus, who most of us boo when he comes on the scene.
But this is the chapter before the betrayal.
The book of John, chapter 13, tells us that Jesus and his closest friends were going to eat dinner together. Before the meal, as they were milling around, Jesus realized they hadn’t observed the Middle Eastern tradition of washing their feet when they entered the house, probably because there wasn’t a dedicated servant to help them. So Jesus took on the position of a servant and washed their feet, one by one.
Now, remember he was their leader. He even claimed to be the same as and equal to God. One of those friends in Jesus’s inner circle was Judas. Jesus knew what Judas was going to do, that he was going to betray him to be killed. And Judas himself also knew the plan he already laid out.
But Jesus still washed Judas’s feet.
Can you picture it? A small basin before Judas. Jesus bends over, running the cloth and water over the dirty feet. I’ve been in third-world countries where people and animals defecate on the street, so there may have been more than dirt.
Can you imagine Judas and how he felt? Here is Jesus, who he is going to betray, now serving him, touching him, caring for him. Was his skin crawling by this time? Or was he tempted to lean into the kindness, change his direction, confess Jesus as the Christ?
We may never know. But if we have been ill, we do know what it is like to be cared for when things are ugly, when we desperately want to care for ourselves. I’ve had people wash parts of me that are unmentionable!
It was hard, but I did lean into the care of others. I needed them. I trusted that they were who they claimed to be.
Judas needed Jesus but never humbled himself to fully trust him as his Savior.
Comment: When is it the hardest to give into the care of others? How do you overcome it?
Maggie I was just thinking about this…such a profound lesson. Its so much easier to help others than need/receive help. And many ways the Lord humbles us! He showed the way.
I’ve been on both sides.
God bless you ????
Ruth Ann
Thank you for responding! It’s always great to hear from you, and I know you ponder things deeply!
We throw around the term “servant-leader” easily, not recognizing the cost it was to Jesus to serve us, a broken and miserable humanity, even as He seeks to minister to us in love and complete devotion. This was amazing, Mags. Thanks.