Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

August 28
Thursday

A PICTURE
OF HUMILITY

READ:
John 13:1-11
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the
humble. James 4:6
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

During the Easter season, my wife and I attended a church service where the participants sought to model the events that Jesus and disciples experienced on the night before he was crucified. As part of the service, the church staff members washed the feet of some of the church volunteers. As I watched, I wondered which was more humbling in our day__to wash another person's feet or to have someone else wash yours. Both those who were serving and those being served were presenting distinct pictures of humility.

When Jesus and His disciples were gathered from the Last Supper (John 13:1-20), Jesus, in humble servanthood, washed his disciples' feet. But Simon Peter resisted, saying, "You shall never wash my feet!" then Jesus answered, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me" (13:8). Washing their feet was not a mere ritual. It could also be seen as a picture of our need of Christ's cleansing__a cleansing that will never be realized unless we are willing to be humble before the Savior.

James wrote, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). We receive God's when we acknowledge the greatness of God, who humbled Himself at the cross (Phil. 2:5-11). __Bill Crowder

```````````````````````````My faith looks up to Thee,````````````````````````
``````````````````````Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine;````````````````````
``````````````````Now hear me when I pray, take all my sin away,```````````````
```````````````O let me from this day be wholly Thine! __Pulmer````````````````
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The most powerful position on earth is kneeling
before the Lord of the universe.

************************************Today's Bible Reading __ John 13:1-11*********************************

1 Now before the Feast of
the Passover, when Jesus
knew that His hour had come
that He should depart from
this world to the Father,
having loved his own who
were in the world, He loved
them to the end.

2 And supper being ended,
the devil having already put
it into the heart of Judas
Iscariot, Simon's son, to
betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing
that the Father had given all
things into His hands, and
that He had come from God
and was going to God, 4 rose
from supper and laid aside
His garments, took a towel
and girded Himself. 5 After
that, he poured water into a
basin and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe
them with the towel with
which he was girded.

6 Then He came to Simon
Peter. and Peter said to Him,
"Lord, are You washing my
feet?


7 Jesus answered and said to
him, "What I am doing you
do not understand now, but
you will know after this."

8 Peter said to Him, "You
shall never wash my feet!"
Jesus answered him, "If I do
not wash you, you have no
part with Me."

9 Simon Peter said to Him,
"Lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my
head!"

10 Jesus said to him, "He
who is bathed needs only to
wash his feet, but is
completely clean; and you
are clean, but not all of you."

11 For He knew who would
betray Him; therefore He
said, "You are not all clean."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In ancient Israel, the task of foot-washing was necessary because of the
open shoes worn in streets filled with dirt and refuse. Because it was
such an unpleasant task, it was usually assigned to the lowest servant in
the house. Here Jesus Himself performed this menial job (John 13:3-5).