JOHN 13:1-5 – Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

THEME OF THE DAY: THE LOVE OF JESUS FOR HIS OWN. In reading the account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, it is easy to just “rush into the text” and get lost in the amazement of the humility of our Lord. Don’t misunderstand me. That is an awesome place to get lost and not only be amazed, but transformed into His humble servant likewise. Yet, we need to pay very close attention to the opening of the account. There we will find the motive behind the foot washing and all that Jesus did while on the earth fulfilling His Father’s will.

As the Apostle John opens the foot washing scene, he wrote – Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (John 13:1). Notice the extent of our Lord’s love for His disciples – to the end. There are two proper interpretations.

First, Jesus loves His own to the end of His earthly life. Christ is headed to the cross. Death looms, yet, He focuses on His timid and fear-filled disciples. And that was the whole of Jesus’ life – love.

The words “to the end” also means “to the fullest extent possible, overflowing, to the uttermost.” This means Christ’s love is steadfast, abundant, consistent, never ending, and it will be one of the greatest experiences we will have in heaven; to drink of the refreshing wells of Jesus’ love that knows no bottom. For all eternity, we will be learning more and more of Christ’s love, but we don’t need to wait.

As believers, we are to pursue Christ’s love; to experience more and more of it in our lives as we seek to live under its control (Ephesians 3:14-19; 2 Corinthians 5:14). And God is not reluctant to reveal His love to us. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil to the contrary. The prophet Zephaniah reminds us with the truth, the eternal and unchanging truth, of God’s thoughts and treatment of us from His love – The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for such love that will not let me go.”
QUOTE: “The love of Jesus knows no limits, boundaries, or power to transform lives.”