One of the things that stands out to me about Jesus was that he was so different than what we expect. He was continually misunderstood by those he met. As we get closer to Easter, I think of the crowds in Jerusalem that waved palm branches and shouted, “Hail to the King of Israel!” as Jesus rode by on a donkey in John 12:13 (NLT). These crowds knew that Jesus had power and authority, yet they misunderstood what he came to do. They thought he was going to free them from Roman oppression and renew the earthly kingdom of Israel.
Upside-Down Power
Jesus had different idea. He didn’t come to kick out the Romans and take over. In fact, he taught a completely different idea of power. Instead, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant” (Matt. 20:27). This was the same guy that said that “those who are first will be last” earlier in that chapter (Matt. 20:16). He didn’t discourage people who wanted to lead, he redefined leadership.
We must remember who we’re talking about. Jesus is not simply a man, he is God incarnate—as John said, “the Word became human and made his home among us” (John 1:14). God is above all and deserves all glory, yet he humbled himself and surprises us by becoming a servant! This is beautifully illustrated in John 13 when it says “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.” In this moment, when Jesus was fully aware of his divinity, what did he do?
He washed his disciples feet.
I’m not sure we would like this job, but let’s be honest—we have relatively clean feet anyway! In those days, people barely wore shoes and walked in the dirt and rocks. Washing feet was one of the most humiliating tasks and reserved for the lowest slaves. Aware that he had “authority over everything” Jesus decided to take the lowest position and wash feet.
What a lesson to us! What an indictment against all the power structures of this world that seek even more power and put themselves first. Jesus does the opposite from what we'd expect from a king, as he also said in Matthew 20, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others..." (v28).
The Power of Humility
This type of humility is seen throughout Jesus’ life and teachings. Jesus often pointed out the tension between the world’s view of power and authority and his way of humility and peace. And this humility led Jesus to the cross. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8).
The problem is that the way of humility looks like we are losing. This is why it’s so tempting to acquire power by the worlds standards. Jesus gets this. The cross looked like defeat. Paul talked about how the cross seems like foolishness to the world, yet this is precisely where Jesus fully displayed his power. He showed us what true strength looks like as he overcame death and the grave. It was the ultimate act of kindness to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Jesus gave himself as the final sacrifice, so that we might again be united with God.
Jesus came to show us a better way of life, the way of the cross. It feels upside-down and backwards to many of us, but this lifestyle of humility is what allows God to work and be glorified in our lives. It is the Jesus way.
From Peter's Blog: https://peterbales.substack.com.