Servant

 Day 15: Servant

Matthew 12:15-17

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered then not to make him know. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.”

What was Jesus aware of? That the Pharisees were trying to decided their plan to destroy him. Yikes. He was aware that they wanted to kill him but he didn’t want to stop doing what he was called to do. He stayed true to who He was and the plan God had for his life. What was that plan? To tell us about the Father. And tell us that we are so loved by the Father that Jesus was willing to risk his life to tell us. 

Let Jesus be our example in how to serve:

Matthew 20:26b-28

Jesus said, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We all need to be on the consistent and constant lookout in how we can serve others, letting Christ be our example. He fed, he listened, he taught, he prayed, he healed. I hope we realized if all of us had this attitude, we would all be cared for. 

I think there is no greater moment of seeing Jesus’s heart to serve his people than this….

John 13:1-5

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 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 and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

You know that question that loves to get tossed around: if you knew you only had one day left what would you do? Well, here is Jesus’s answer. First of all, let us recognize that there were 1,000s following him; these 12 were the priority. Second of all, he washed Judas’s feet too. Third of all, he washed their feet?? Say what?? You remember even Peter was freaked out by that. The power and authority He knew He had and the choice he made. He goes on to teach them and to pray for them. In John 17 he prays for them and then he prays for those to come- that’s us. 

Gracious God, thank you for sending Jesus. Help us to serve one another and feel his presence and strength and power as we do. Amen..