2025
The God Who Kneels
Passage: John 13:1-11
“Nowhere in the entire Bible does the child of God feel that he is walking on more holy ground. For here, more than in many other portions of Scripture, he hears the voice of Jesus leading him into a greater understanding of his new place before the Father and consequently also of his new position in the world. These chapters contain teaching about heaven, the new commandment, the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the mutual union of Christ with the disciples and the disciples with Christ, and prayer.” —James Montgomery Boice (writing about John 13-17)
Sermon Outline:
- The person of Jesus
- The washing of Jesus
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Have you ever had a job that seemed “beneath” you by the world’s standards? If not, why have you avoided these types of jobs and if so, what was the experience like?
Read John 13:1-11 . What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
Jesus is the full representation of God, fully revealing God’s character to a watching world. Jesus is God and in this passage we see God on bended knee washing the disciples’ feet. Severian of Gabala (AD 400) wrote, “He who wraps the heavens in clouds wrapped round himself a towel. He who pours the water into the rivers and pools tipped…water into a basin. And he before whom every knee bends in heaven and on earth and under the earth knelt to wash the feet of his disciples.” Consider what God does with his power in this passage as a physical sign of his coming crucifixion. What does this reveal of God’s character, power, and love for his people?
To Peter, Jesus explains you don’t need a bath, just your feet washed. We are fully washed clean when we come to faith in Jesus, yet continue to need renewal (our spiritual feet washed from sin) in living the Christian life on this side of eternity. How were you first introduced to practicing confession and repentance – receiving Jesus’s cleansing?
Imagine you are at this meal with Jesus. He gets up, takes off his outer clothing, gets the water bowl, and comes to you to wash your feet. How would you respond? Do you pull back? Or why do you receive his washing?
In repentance we acknowledge our need for Jesus’s saving rescue. How have you experienced God’s grace in realizing you cannot validate yourself? What has it looked like to surrender to this saving grace? How have you grown in confidence in God’s acceptance of you?
What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8, 9