📖 From the Bible
Jesus got up from the table and took off His outer coat. He tied a towel around His waist. He poured water into a bowl and started to wash His friends’ feet. He dried them with the towel.
4arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
This is how we tell this passage to kids. The exact words of the Bible are under “As it is in the Bible”.
John 13:4-5 · Scripture: World English Bible Updated (public domain)
Who at your house does the jobs nobody wants to do? Takes out the trash, scrubs the pots, cleans up after the dog? Usually it’s whoever didn’t get away in time. Jesus did a job like that on the last evening before He died.
Jesus was having dinner with His twelve closest friends, the ones who followed Him. He knew He would die soon. Back then, people walked everywhere in sandals, on dusty roads. Their feet were dirty and smelly. When guests came into a house, somebody had to wash their feet. It was the worst job you could get. Pretty gross, right? That evening, not one of the friends moved.
Then Jesus got up. He took off His outer coat and tied a towel around His waist. He poured water into a bowl. And He started to wash His friends’ feet, one by one. Peter got upset. “You will never wash my feet!” he said. Jesus told him that he would understand later. Then Peter changed his mind. He asked Jesus to wash not just his feet, but his hands and his head, too! That was Peter: all or nothing.
Then Jesus sat back down at the table and asked, “Do you know what I have done to you?” Then He explained that He was their Teacher, and that they should help each other the same way. “For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.” Jesus showed that the important person is the one who helps, not the one who gives the orders. And He added one more thing: “Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.”
Did you know?
Jesus said you can recognize His friends by something simple. Not by who knows the most, who talks the loudest or who wins arguments. You can tell by how they love each other and help each other. It’s easy to forget that when people argue about who’s right. But that’s the sign Jesus left us.
Look at Jesus
Think about who was kneeling on the floor: Jesus. The one His friends called Teacher took the lowest job in the room. The Bible says “he loved them to the end.” That same night, He was getting ready to give His life for them, and for us. Jesus is alive, and He still loves like that. He’s with you whenever you do something kind that nobody sees.
What about you?
Think about which job at home or at school always gets left for somebody else. Picking up toys. Taking out the trash. Wiping the board. Today, do one job like that, one nobody asked you to do. Don’t show off, and don’t wait for a thank-you. Jesus didn’t do it for applause. He wanted His friends to feel that He loved them.
Let’s talk about it
- Which chore do you like least? What would happen if someone did it for you, without saying a word?
- What did Peter say when Jesus came to wash his feet?
- Who at your house does lots of things nobody notices?
Today’s challenge
Today, quietly do one dirty job for someone at home. Don’t tell anyone it was you.
Prayer
God, thank You that Jesus showed us how to really help. Help me notice when someone needs a hand, and not wait for somebody else to do it. Amen.
Tap when you have prayed.