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“And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” —John 13:14–15

John 13 — When Greatness Kneels

In John 12, Mary’s act of devotion—anointing Jesus’ feet—was shocking enough. But in John 13, Jesus turns the world upside down. The Lord and Teacher kneels before His disciples and washes their feet. In that moment, He redraws the lines between honour and humility, leadership and service, greatness and love.

Foot washing was the task of the lowest servant in the household. It was unpleasant, undignified work. People walked long distances in open sandals, on dusty roads shared with animals. By the time they arrived anywhere, their feet were filthy, cracked, and sore. Washing them meant kneeling close, touching what others avoided, and taking on the posture of a servant.

And Jesus chose that task to teach His disciples what true discipleship looks like.

The disciples had spent years debating who among them would be greatest in the kingdom. They imagined thrones, positions, honour. Jesus responded with a basin and a towel. His message was unmistakable: “This is greatness. This is leadership. This is what love looks like.”

No act of service is beneath a follower of Jesus. You cannot feed His sheep while feeding your ego. The greatest in His kingdom are those who stoop first, serve quickest, and love most sacrificially. And this is especially true for anyone called to lead. The most Christlike leaders are always the humblest servants.

What makes Jesus’ act even more astonishing is whose feet He washed. Among the twelve were two men whose choices would break His heart—Judas, who would betray Him, and Peter, who would deny Him. Jesus knew exactly what was coming. He wasn’t naïve or blindsided. Yet He knelt before them anyway. He washed the feet of the betrayer and the denier with the same tenderness as the faithful ones.

This is the kind of love Jesus calls us to embody.

When Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him, Peter—ever bold, ever eager—signalled to John to find out who it was. Perhaps he imagined he could stop the betrayal. And when Jesus spoke of going somewhere they could not follow, Peter protested again: “I’m ready to die for you.”

But Jesus saw the truth beneath the bravado. “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

Peter’s courage was sincere, but it wasn’t yet tested. Discipleship is not proven by bold declarations but by quiet, costly obedience. It is standing firm when you want to shrink back. It is holding to your convictions when others mock them. It is drawing near to the rejected, defending the vulnerable, and choosing humility over self‑protection.

It is being willing to sacrifice what matters most for the sake of Jesus.

Foot washing is more than a story. It is a calling. A way of life. A posture of the heart. Jesus kneels before His disciples so that we will learn to kneel before one another—serving with love, leading with humility, and living in a way that reflects the One who stooped to lift us all.