A Debt We All Owe

In a very well-known passage in John 13, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. And then in John 13:14-15, Jesus gives His disciples this command. 

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. - John 13:14–15

That word that’s translated as ‘should’ in “you also should wash one another’s feet” is a word that refers to debt. It means to owe. Jesus is explaining to His disciples that since He washed their feet, they now owed Him a debt. And His desire was that they repay that debt by washing one another’s feet.

It’s the same with you. Because Jesus laid His life down for you, you now owe Him a debt. And His desire is that you would repay that debt by regularly serving and laying down your life for His children, for the church. You are commanded to serve other believers… in the most humble and helpful of ways.

Far too many people come to church expecting to be served instead of looking for a place to serve. Far too many people want to complain about what others are not doing, or they want to complain about how others are doing what they are doing, when they ought to be finding some way to humble themselves and serve.

So, let me ask, are you humbling yourself to serve other believers at church? Or do you go expecting to be served?

Finding a Way to Serve

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.

1 Samuel 2:18

According to Old Testament law, as a Levite, Samuel wasn’t supposed to start serving the Lord until he was 25 yrs old and he was to be released from service at 50 (Numbers 8:24–25). But Samuel’s mother had given him over to the Lord to serve Him "for his whole life" (1 Samuel 1:28). That is why Samuel was "ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod."

What service could Samuel possibly render at the tabernacle as a young boy? Did he sweep up? Did he sing or play an instrument in worship? Did he light the lamps or clean out the ashes or clean up the blood from the offerings? We don’t know. What we do know is that Samuel found some way he could serve even as a young boy, and he put his hand to the work faithfully.

In this way, Samuel reminds us that everyone can serve the Lord in some way. Everyone can do something. Have you found something that you can do at your church? Churches and ministires almost always need volunteers. Don’t wait for someone to ask you. If you want to serve, volunteer. I can almost gurantee that they will find something you can do. It may not be glamorous. It may notbe exactly what you wanted to do. But, it will be ministry.

Find your way to serve.

Your Church Needs You

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:1-4

Up to this point the apostles had done it all, but now the church had grown possibly to number as many as 10,000 including women and children. There weren’t enough apostles to go around. They needed help. If the church didn't raise up more leaders, its growth would be stunted.

There’s a lesson here for the modern church. A church can have a do-it-all pastor if they want, but they’ll never reach a lot of people. The church with the do-it-all pastor grows only to the point that his abilities are maxed out, then he becomes the bottleneck. Once the pastor is maxed out the church can’t grow anymore because people’s needs stop being met. 

What the early church needed and what the church today needs is for other faithful Christians to rise up and use their gifts to serve. How did they handle it? The church as a whole selected seven men who were full of the Spirit to serve the church. Many believe these men were the first deacons in church history. 

Verse 7 tells us the outcome. It says... "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." Two things resulted from the apostles empowering the people of God to use their gifts for ministry. First, the word of God spread. Second, the number of disciples increased rapidly. When the bottleneck was removed, the church grew rapidly. People got saved. When God’s people are empowered to do God’s work, the church grows! 

God has gifted you to serve His church as well. You may not be a deacon or a Sunday school teacher, but you can do something. And your church won't reach as many people as it can if you don’t use your gifts. It's time for you to step out of your pew and step into your gifting and serve the church. Find your place and serve!

Service Springs from Love

John 13 tells the story of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. This is how it starts. 

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

John 13:1

Why does John begin by talking about Jesus' love for His disciples? Because through this story he is going to teach us something very important about service and its relationship to love in Jesus’ life and in our own. Service springs from love and is an expression of love.

Love is the fertile soil that produces service. Why is the young mother willing to get up in the middle of the night to feed her baby? Love! What makes a man willing to wait hand and foot on his wife in her old age? Love! Or even, as we are about to start a new school year, why do our schoolteachers and administrators return each year to jobs where they have to spend their own money on supplies, are mistreated by parents, and disrespected by students? Why? It certainly isn’t the paycheck. It’s love. They love the students; and they love their jobs.

True love is humble, and self-sacrificing. This kind of love always brings you lower to serve the needs of the other person. Only service rooted in this kind of love will last. Why? Because service that stems from a sense of duty will grow cold and die before long. 

So, evaluate yourself. When was the last time you did something truly humbling or selfless to love your spouse or your kids; to serve your friends or your church? If you aren’t drawn to put their needs above your own then you probably don’t love them as you should. If selfishness and self-love have crowded out your love for others, then stoke the flames of your love again. Think of one way you can put their needs ahead of your own today.

Bragging Rights

When he was in the house, [Jesus] asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:33-35

The disciples wanted to be first and greatest. They wanted pride of place and the material success that goes along with it. This is the way of our world. In fact, it's hardwired into our sinful nature. We don't have to teach our children to be this way. It comes naturally to them. As I work with children I see it regularly. They all want to be the line leader for the day. They want to be able to do the best cartwheel in their class. They want to get better grades than their friends. Those who win often brag and those who come in last place are often made fun of.

Sadly, many of us never outgrow this behavior. Even as adults we compete to claw our way up the social or corporate ladder. Men and women have proven over and over again that they will do anything to get ahead, to be first, to be the greatest. This is the way of our world. But Jesus shows us a better way. 

He says, "I came not to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). As we read the gospels we never find Jesus bragging. Never do we see Him showing off (though the Devil tempted Him to in Matthew 4:5-7). Though He was incredibly poor in material possessions, we never find Him using His spiritual riches to leverage worldly success. (The Devil also tempted Him with worldly success in Matthew 4:8-10). Not once do we hear Jesus say, "I will restore your eyesight... for $50."

No, Jesus used His gifts to serve, teach, heal, and help other people. Let's do the same. Instead of expending so much effort trying to be first and best, let's strive to be kind, helpful and loving. Let's serve. Beware of those who use their blessings and their spiritual gifts to gain material blessings and make a name for themselves in this world. And be wary of falling into the same trap yourself.

The Ultimate Imitation of Christ

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

At any given moment most of us have a burden, some heaviness or trouble in our lives. If you are anything like me, then you are acutely aware of your own burdens and almost completely oblivious to those of anyone else around you. It's true. Serving others, thinking of others, being considerate- these aren't my natural strong suits. So when I came across this verse, I was prompted by the Spirit to ask myself this question. "Do I help bear the burdens of other believers?"

The second half of the verse reveals just how important this question really is. It tells us that if we are helping to bear burdens then we are fulfilling the law of Christ. So if we aren't, then we must be failing to fulfill Christ's law. 

Why is this so important? The ESV study Bible adds a helpful footnote here. "To bear one another's burdens is the supreme imitation of Jesus, the ultimate burden bearer" (p.2255). Think for a moment about Jesus as the ultimate burden bearer. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness." Galatians 3:13 reveals that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." But perhaps Isaiah 53:4-5 puts it best of all: 

Surely he took up (bore) our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

In Christ we have been set free from the Old Testament law; we are no longer obligated to observe times and seasons. So what is this law of Christ? We are obligated by the grace and freedom we have received through Jesus to live for God as His servants, obeying His commands. Jesus taught us that the second greatest command of God is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we are to fulfill Jesus' teaching, if we are to obey His commands, then we must bear one another's burdens.

All of us know a believer with a burden. Stop right now and think of at least one.

Now, prayerfully and considerately, do something about it. Help bear that burden. Encourage them. Pray for them. Serve them. Come alongside and mourn with them. Volunteer to help them get some work done. Give generously to them. Remember that we are called to love one another as a family- a new family, created through Jesus, as we are adopted as God's children. So do something to lighten the load of a brother or sister in Christ today. 

For further reading

• John 13:1-17 & 34- Consider Christ's service through the lens of a powerfully symbolic act.
• 2 Corinthians 8:9- The prince of heaven becomes a poor carpenter with no place to lay his head so that we might be saved.

Contaminated

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Mark 1:40-45

In the Old Testament and in life we get a clear picture of the way that contamination works. From experience we know that if you toss a piece of clean white linen into the mud, the mud doesn't miraculously become clean. On the contrary, the linen is soiled. That's the direction that contamination flows. Dirty things mar clean things. The Old Testament tells us that, much like that mud, sick people contaminate well people. This is why God gave the Israelites a lot of specific instructions on how to handle leprosy (Leviticus 13 & 14). I don't know of anywhere in the Old Testament where it says that the leprous man should touch something or someone who is clean, and upon doing so he will become clean. In fact, the Old Testament had a lot of instructions for how leprous people were to avoid coming into contact with anyone who was healthy. Leviticus 13:45-46, for example, requires certain lepers to live outside the camp and cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" to help keep people away.

But in this passage Jesus reverses the flow of contamination. When Jesus touches the leprous man, He is not contaminated with his leprosy. On the contrary, the leprous man is contaminated with Jesus' cleanness and health. Jesus has power over this illness. He has the power to remove and to restore and to make whole again. And what is perhaps even more interesting is that Jesus doesn't have to touch the man to heal him. He could have simply said, be healed. He heals from a distance elsewhere (Matthew 8:5-13). But Jesus chose to heal him by touching him. We cannot imagine what this must have meant to this man. His leprosy has placed a stigma on him. No one touches him anymore. No one hugs him, or comes near him, unless they also have the disease. But the maker of the universe walks over and enters into his uncleanness...his sickness and takes it away. What a beautiful example of God's love and of how Christ humbles Himself to enter into our circumstances to show us that love. It is downright incarnational.

Jesus has this same power over all illnesses, all weaknesses, and all sin. It is only Jesus who restores and makes clean and whole. It is only Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It is only He who can restore you to right relationship with God. Whatever your problem, whatever your illness, whatever you are lacking, rest assured that Jesus is the answer. This doesn't mean that He will do exactly what you want Him to do. Or that all your problems will go away immediately. But Jesus will set you free from your sin if you ask. He will give you the perseverance and strength to face your struggles and be victorious over them. Sometimes, He chooses to heal people through death, setting them free from their disease by leading them home to heaven. At other times, He heals them right here and now and sends them off to live for God in this world. Don't get me wrong, Jesus isn't going to pay all your bills, and beat up all your enemies, and get you a raise at work. But He alone is the storehouse that can provide for all your needs, and He alone has the wisdom to discern when to simply meet your needs and when to help you as you struggle against them. Come to Jesus. Bring your illness, your disease, your sin, and let His Spirit touch you and heal you today. And then go out and help others carry their burdens the way He has carried yours.

For further reading...

• Matthew 8:5-13: Read a story of Jesus healing from afar.
• John 1:1-18, Philippians 2:1-11, II Corinthians 8:9- Read these passages on the incarnation of Christ and see what connections you can find to Jesus' action of healing the leprous man.

Be Thankful: Serve!

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Mark 1:23-25, 29-31

In the above passage, Jesus shows His hearers, in very tangible ways, that the kingdom of God has truly come. He does this by driving demons out of those they possess and healing illnesses. Though I wouldn't quite call activities such as these routine, they were a quite common part of Jesus' ministry. The reason for this is quite simple. The Bible tells us what the kingdom of God will be like (Isaiah 29:18, 35:5-6, 53:4-5, 61). It's the world as it should be. In the kingdom no one is demon possessed, sick, lame, blind, or deaf. So one way that Jesus can prove that the kingdom of God has truly come in Him is by driving out demons and healing the sick. So this is exactly what he does! And Jesus is able to do this because He has the authority to do so. Jesus is God incarnate, God in human form, the God/man, Immanuel (God with us). He has authority over demons and over disease and so He goes about setting His children free from these shackles that sin has placed on them. 

I love that the Bible records the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, because in such an understated way she shows us how we should react to this shackle-removing work of Christ. Once Jesus heals her, what does she do? She immediately sets out to serve Him and His disciples. Our response to Christ's work really is that simple. When Christ sets us free from what entangles us, whether that be sin, illness, demon possession, or something else, the appropriate response of a thankful heart is faithful service. Thus, in Peter's mother-in-law we have an excellent picture of what all of us as Christians should be doing. Are you thankful for what Jesus has done for you? If so, have you found your place of service in the kingdom? Since Jesus is no longer on this earth, the best way we can serve Him now is by serving His bride the church, and through that service to aid the church in bringing more and more people to a saving knowledge of Him. Are you showing your thankfulness by serving the people of God?

For further reading...

• Luke 10:9, 11:20- Notice the close connection between the healing of the sick and the driving out of demons with the acknowledgment that the kingdom of God has come near.
• Matthew 11:2-6- Notice what proof Jesus gives to John the Baptist's disciples that He truly is the Messiah.
• Isaiah 29:18, 35:5-6, 53:4-5, 61- Read some Old Testament Passages about what kind of kingdom the Messiah would bring with Him.