Friday | Week 11
How can we show the most honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? We submit to him and we follow his example in submitting to others. The idea of submission in today’s America is completely foreign, and frankly, unacceptable. It’s a bad word. Americans are not wired to submit. We are wired to follow the American dream. We are wired to compete and to succeed at all costs. We celebrate and admire the best and brightest in our society. We look to the rich and famous to push our culture and our “norms” forward. Submitting to someone else is a bad word in America, 2020.
Read More
Thursday | Week 11
I love weddings. I am privileged to be able to attend a few each year. I totally melt when the bride walks down the aisle. I love watching and experiencing all of the emotion involved, because two people fell in love! One wedding, in particular, stands out to me after reading John 13 and the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.
Read More
Wednesday | Week 11
In John 13, we read of a social interaction that was totally inappropriate according to first-century culture. Kenneth Gangel writes, “Never in Jewish, Greek, or Roman society would a superior wash the feet of inferiors.” I like to imagine the reaction of the disciples. We read that Peter was reluctant to allow Jesus an opportunity to wash his feet. This is understandable. Maybe his feet were especially dirty that day. Maybe he was a bit ashamed that he didn’t think to grab the bucket and the towel first. Maybe he was totally shocked that the King of kings would kneel to wash the feet of a fisherman. Eventually, Peter submitted to Jesus’ teaching and surrendered his dirty feet into the purest of hands. Jesus washed Peter’s feet.
Read More
Tuesday | Week 11
Jesus: Washing
The dusty roads that the disciples walked daily with Jesus must have stuck to their bodies, sand in their hair and all over their faces, but most certainly dirty feet. Sandals were the fashion statement of the day, and as Jesus bent down to wash their filthy, smelly feet, it was more than just an act to make them physically clean. He was most likely stripped to a loincloth, like that of a slave, as he used his own clothes to wipe the mud away.
Read More
Monday | Week 11
John 13 begins with the narrator sharing that the Passover was near. In the Book of John, Jesus’ death is intricately connected to the Passover and Exodus events (see Exodus 12–14). Jesus knows that his “hour”—the time for his betrayal, death, and resurrection—had come. This is the setting for the last meal that Jesus would share with his disciples.
Read More
