Saturday middays are often made of small, unglamorous work. A load of laundry. The dishes from breakfast. Someone’s shoes left in the hallway again. Nobody claps for any of it, and most of it will need doing again tomorrow.
John tells us about a night when Jesus did that kind of work.
“Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” — John 13:3–5 (KJV)
He knew who He was
Look at the order John gives us. First, Jesus knew. He knew the Father had given all things into His hands. He knew where He came from and where He was going. And then, knowing all that, He got up and picked up a towel.
We usually think it works the other way. We assume people serve because they have no choice, or because they’re trying to earn a place. Jesus served because He already had His place. Nothing about kneeling at a basin could make Him smaller, because He was completely sure of the Father’s love.
That’s good news for anyone whose Saturday is full of chores that feel invisible. Your worth isn’t being measured by how impressive your work is. If you belong to Him, you’re already held. That frees you to do the small thing without needing it to prove anything.
Dusty feet, real people
Feet in that world were dirty. Roads were dust and dirt, and sandals didn’t keep much out. Washing them was usually a servant’s job, and in that upper room nobody had volunteered. Twelve men reclined around the table, and every one of them let it go.
So the Lord of all things went around the room on His knees. He washed Peter, who would deny Him that very night. He washed Judas, who had already decided to betray Him. John says simply that “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). This is what that love looked like with its sleeves rolled up.
Letting Him wash us
Peter didn’t like it. “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” And then, firmly, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:6–8).
Some of us are much better at serving than at being served. We’d rather carry the basin than hold out our dusty feet. But following Jesus begins with letting Him do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Before we wash anyone else’s feet, we let Him kneel in front of the mess we brought in from the road, and we let Him make us clean.
Then pass it on
After He sat back down, He said this:
“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” — John 13:14–15 (KJV)
Your basin and towel today might look ordinary. Folding someone else’s clothes without sighing about it. Making lunch for a family that won’t say thank you. Visiting a neighbor who repeats the same stories. Picking up the job nobody in the room volunteered for, and doing it gladly, because He did it first.
Jesus said He “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Mark 10:45). Every quiet act of love done in His name is a small echo of that night.
A midday prayer
Lord Jesus, You knew all things were in Your hands, and You picked up a towel. Wash me first. Then let the small work in front of me today be done with Your kind of love, without needing anyone to notice. Amen.