Serve One Another as Christ Did (John 13:12-17)

The Call to Service (vv. 14–16)

The morning sermon on John 13:1–11 explored foot washing as a visual parable of Christ's sacrifice at the cross: just as Jesus humbled Himself to clean His disciples' feet, He would soon humble Himself to an infinitely greater degree to cleanse their souls from sin. But in verses 12–17, Jesus applies the foot washing in a different direction — not as a picture of sacrifice but as a pattern of service.

Jesus builds His argument from the lesser to the greater. The disciples rightly acknowledge Him as Lord and Teacher — He is the superior, they the inferior. And so He reasons: if someone so exalted would stoop to perform the lowliest service imaginable, how much more should they do the same for one another? He reinforces the point in verse 16 with the solemn formula "I tell you the truth" — a phrase Jesus reserves for matters of special importance — followed by the proverb: "No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." The repetition is deliberate. This is not padding; it is emphasis. Foot washing as mutual service is among the last things Jesus teaches His disciples before the cross.

Crucially, Jesus is not commanding a literal once-a-year foot-washing ceremony. The Roman Catholic tradition of popes and bishops washing feet on the Thursday before Easter is a fine thing as far as it goes, but it does not go nearly far enough. A mechanical act once a year falls well short of what Jesus demands. The foot washing stands for all kinds of service we do for one another. The principle at its heart is humility and service to fellow believers in any and every way that is needed. We can never say of any act of service, "That's beneath me" — because washing feet was not beneath Christ. And if the foot washing itself pictures an even lowlier act of service — dying on the cross — then how can any of us dare hesitate to serve our brothers and sisters?

The Manner of Our Service

Apart from the cross itself, there is probably no clearer place in Scripture where Jesus shows us what it means to serve one another. He speaks of "the fellowship of the cleansed" — those He has washed are to be characterised by the same love, self-denial, and humble service that marked their Master. Three qualities stand out.

Humbly

Jesus' call to service runs squarely against the grain of the world's thinking, which teaches us to assert ourselves, stand up for our rights, and refuse to be a doormat. Sadly, the church is not always different. Even in a small congregation, there can be a spirit of competition — people who like to think they have influence, status, or the inside track; who see themselves as the power behind the throne. Jesus confronted this repeatedly among the Twelve, who argued openly about which of them was the greatest (Luke 9:46). His answer was always the same: true greatness in the kingdom means wrapping a towel around your waist and washing feet.

In practice, humble service means saying yes to whatever needs to be done — helping older people with laundry and cleaning, taking a turn on the church cleaning rota and doing it well, pouring hours into developing a biblical and enjoyable programme for children, whether in youth club, stay and play for the tots, or Sunday school. We can never say a task is beneath our gifts or unworthy of our status. If the Son of God washed feet, no job is too small for us.

Humble service also means serving those Jesus calls "the least of these brothers of mine." Churches attract all kinds of people — some stay for years, others pass through for a week. We need to be ready to welcome and serve each one. As J.C. Ryle comments on this passage, Jesus would have us delight to do anything that can promote their happiness, rejoicing in kindnesses even in little things, even when it costs self-sacrifice and self-denial.

Sacrificially

Jesus gave up glory and power — things that were His by right — in order to serve. We too must be prepared to make sacrifices. Does our service cost us anything? When did we last really put ourselves out for the sake of our brothers and sisters? And when we do serve sacrificially, the temptation is to feel proud of it. Jesus' example shows us we have nothing to be proud about — we are simply following our Master, and not even doing it very well. We are all busy; it is a sacrifice for all of us to take time out to wash one another's feet. But that is what we are called to do, because that is how Jesus served.

Indiscriminately

There is nothing wrong with having favourites — even Jesus was closer to Peter, James, and John than to the other disciples, and closer to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus than to other followers. What is forbidden is favouritism: serving only the people we warm to while neglecting those we find difficult. Perhaps someone in the congregation has hurt us, said something cruel, or made no secret of their dislike for us. Does that exempt us from washing their feet?

Jesus washed all the disciples' feet — including Judas, about whom verse 2 says the devil had already prompted him to betray Jesus. He knelt before the man whose feet would carry him to the garden with the soldiers and their clubs. What makes this even more striking is that Jesus was the only one in the room who knew Judas was a traitor. He was not washing Judas's feet to impress the others with His magnanimity — no one suspected a thing. How torturously hard it must have been. And yet He did it. If we are serving as Jesus served, we will not pick and choose. We will not limit our help to those we like or those who deserve it.

Blessed If You Do Them (v. 17)

One might expect this vivid, extraordinary example of service to have ended the disciples' petty squabbling about who was the greatest. It did not. Luke 22:24 records that after the meal a dispute arose among them about which of them was considered the greatest. Even after Jesus had knelt before them and commanded them to do the same, they still argued about status.

It is easy to feel superior to the disciples — and yet are we really so different? Jesus has not literally knelt before us, but He has done far more: He has died on the cross. The reality of which the foot washing was only a picture has been accomplished. We live on the other side of the cross. And yet we so often fail to serve one another according to the example Christ has given us.

Verse 17 issues a pointed challenge, especially to those in the Reformed tradition who rightly prize doctrinal understanding: "If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Jesus does not say we are blessed if we know — He says we are blessed if we do. Knowledge of the truth is essential, but blessing comes only when we put that knowledge into practice. After an object lesson like the cross, how can we fail to serve one another? May the Lord give us new strength, grace, and humility to wash one another's feet as He calls us to.

This sermon is part of the One Another Commands series at Covenant Christian Fellowship, Galway. The companion morning message, Serve One Another (John 13:1–17), explores the foot washing as a picture of Christ's sacrifice.