July 20
Lesson 8
Devotional
Reading:
Isaiah 53:4–6
Background
Scripture:
John 13:1–20
Printed Text:
John 13:1–20
Lesson Aims
After
participating in this lesson,
each student will be able to:
1. Summarize the account of
Jesus’ washing his disciples’
feet.
2. Explain the principle that
Jesus established when he washed
his disciples’ feet.
3. Suggest one
practical way to apply the
principle above in his or her
church.
How to Say It
Corinthians. Ko-RIN-thee-unz.
Deuteronomy. Due-ter-AHN-uh-me.
Ezekiel. Ee-ZEEK-ee-ul or
Ee-ZEEK-yul.
Isaiah. Eye-ZAY-uh.
Judas Iscariot. JOO-dus
Iss-CARE-ee-ut.
Daily Bible
Readings
Monday,
July 14—The
Suffering Servant (Isaiah
53:4–6)
Tuesday, July 15—To
the End (John 13:1–5)
Wednesday, July 16—Unless
I Wash You (John 13:6–11)
Thursday, July 17—An
Example (John 13:12–17)
Friday,
July 18—Whoever
Receives Me (John 13:18–20)
Saturday, July 19—What
Do You Want? (Matthew 20:20–23)
Sunday,
July 20—Not
to Be Served (Matthew 20:24–28)
Key Verse
I have set you an
example that you should do as I
have done for you.
—John
13:15
Why Teach This
Lesson?
One harried
housewife exclaimed, “Jesus
washed the disciples’ feet, and
I can’t even get my husband to
wash the dishes!” Though we
identify with her, we know that
aid that is coerced is not true
service.
There are many factors that
might motivate us to serve our
Lord, the church, or others.
When we think, “If I don’t do
it, nobody will,” we are
motivated by guilt. If someone
manipulates us into serving, we
may serve, but with resentment.
The only appropriate motivation
for service is love. Jesus
modeled love when he washed the
disciples’ feet. This is the
model your learners need in a
“me first” world.
Introduction
A.
Understanding Cultural Symbols
An early
misconception held by the Romans
was that Christians engaged in
cannibalism. This
misunderstanding was based on
the “eating of the body” and the
“drinking of the blood” of the
Lord’s Supper. The charge, of
course, was unfounded and even a
little ironic because the
leaders who met in Jerusalem in
Acts 15 explicitly forbade the
drinking of blood (v. 20).
This issue does illustrate,
however, that understanding
symbols and symbolic language
can be a tricky business. First,
one has to understand that
something is meant to be a
symbol and not to be taken
literally. Thankfully, the
literary and historical contexts
usually provide the information
necessary to make this
determination.
In today’s passage, Jesus washes
the disciples’ feet. This act of
service was viewed as menial by
the
Greco-Roman culture of the
first century. As a task for
low-level servants, it was not a
job that anyone would embrace
voluntarily and eagerly. Yet in
so doing Jesus created for the
church a symbol of loving
service.
B. Lesson
Background
The Passover
was one of the great pilgrimage
festivals of Jewish antiquity.
Its observance recalled God’s
first deliverance of (what would
become) the nation of Israel
from slavery (Exodus 12). By
Jesus’ day, several symbols were
used to commemorate the original
deliverance: bitter herbs,
unleavened bread, etc. Unlike
the other Gospel accounts of
Jesus’ last supper, John’s
doesn’t elaborate on any of
these symbols (compare Matthew
26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke
22:7–23). However, by mentioning
the Feast of the Passover, John
probably seeks to evoke the
symbolic meaning of the total
Passover event itself in the
light of Christ.
Jesus took two of these
symbols—unleavened bread and
fruit of the vine—in instituting
the Lord’s Supper. But that is
not the subject of today’s
lesson. Instead, we will focus
on an additional imagery that
Christ created on that fateful
night: an imagery of service.
I.
Special Feast (John
13:1–3)
A.
Passover (v. 1)
1. It
was just before the Passover
Feast. Jesus knew that the
time had come for him to leave
this world and go to the
Father. Having loved his own
who were in the world, he now
showed them the full extent of
his love.
This verse
begins the second half of
John’s Gospel. As such, it
serves as an interpretive
introduction to this
foot-washing passage and also
to Jesus’ pending death. The
first half of John’s Gospel
deals with Jesus’ public
ministry. The second half
focuses on Jesus’ concern for
his disciples and his last
week and passion.
The drama for Jesus’ passion
has already been set. The
Jewish leaders have conspired
to kill him (John 11:46–53).
Jesus has made his triumphal
entrance into Jerusalem and
predicted his own death (John
12:12–15, 23–33). Now Jesus
teaches his disciples
privately by performing a
simple act of foot-washing.
However, this act intends to
communicate something
profound, as we shall see.
