Getting Down on the Floor
Having the Mind of Christ — Devotion 2 of 10
John 13:3-5, 14-15 — “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... If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”
Opening Reflection
Foot washing was a servant’s task, usually left to the lowest household slave, reserved for the dust and grime no one else wanted to touch. On the night before His death, Jesus took up the towel Himself. What makes this scene so striking is not only what He did, but what He knew while doing it - that the Father had given all things into His hands.
Jesus was not scrambling for significance or stooping because He had nothing better to offer. The opposite is true. He knew exactly who He was and where He had come from, and that settled identity freed Him to kneel. He did not need the basin to prove anything. He simply loved His own to the end.
This is the second picture of the mind of Christ: humility that flows from identity, not the absence of it. Knowing who you are in God does not make you too important to serve - it is what makes true service possible at all.
Taking a Devotional View
John is careful to tell us what Jesus knew before he tells us what Jesus did (John 13:3). The sequence matters. Because Jesus knew His identity and His destination were secure, He was free to lay aside His outer garments and take the lowest position in the room. Insecurity clings to status. Security can set it down.
Jesus turns His example into a command: “you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (v.14). The mind of Christ therefore moves from identity to action. Because our standing with God is secure in Him, we are free to look for the towel and basin nearest at hand - the unglamorous, unnoticed service no one is competing to perform.
Key Thoughts & Takeaways
Key Thoughts
- Jesus washed feet knowing the Father had given all things into His hands (John 13:3).
- His security in His identity, not the lack of it, freed Him to take the lowest position.
- He turned His example into a direct command for His followers (John 13:14-15).
- True humility serves the unnoticed task, not just the visible one.
Ask Yourself
- What “lowest task” in my home, church, or workplace do I tend to avoid?
- Does my sense of identity in Christ make me more willing to serve, or less?
- Who is someone I could quietly serve this week in an unnoticed way?
- What keeps me from picking up the towel when the opportunity is right in front of me?
Jesus, You knelt when You had every right to be served. Teach me to find my security so fully in You that I am free to take the lowest place without resentment. Show me the towel and basin You have set before me today. In Your name, amen.