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Love’s Last Great Lesson by the King Who Kneels
Luke 22:24-30, John 13:1-20
Believers are always arguing about how to grow God’s kingdom. Church growth gurus write books like “The Purpose Driven Church.” Church growth seminars like the “Haggai Leadership Experience” are held. Why? Because believers desire to see the church grow. And that’s a very commendable thing. And many believers have strong desires. But strong desires can us down the wrong path. Why? Strong desire but bad methodology. For example, Sarah wanted to grow the kingdom. So she got Hagar to bear children for Abraham. After all, that’s the method the ancient world resorted to. But what did God require of Abraham? Just faith and patience. To preserve his kingdom, Jacob thought he needed to some elaborate plan to placate Esau by scheming and giving many gifts to secure favor. But God already prepared Esau’s heart. All Jacob needed to do was show surrender and humility, bowing to the ground 7 times.
We see this evening in the upper room, the desire of the disciples for kingdom growth and success. But we see their worldly methodology to conquer. And then we see Christ’s demonstrated humility. What is greatness and what brings greatness? We will see this in 2 points. Firstly, he loved these proud disciples to the end. Secondly, he demonstrated loving spiritual greatness.
Firstly, he loved these proud disciples to the end. Now, the Lord just finished instituting the Lord’s supper. It was a time of reflection as they gathered around the Passover lamb, the bread of affliction, and the cup of joy. It was a love feast to remember God’s mercy. But a dark cloud hung over that meal. Jesus revealed one of them would betray him. And as if that cloud was not dark enough, there was pride and preeminence. But here, the Lord showed great love for these worldly disciples who loved themselves. In John 13:1-3, we learn that before this feast, Jesus already knew his hour had come - to die and return to God. We’re told he loved his disciples and would love them to the end. It reads - “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” But why mention it here? Don’t we already know that he loved his own? Yes, but who are his own here and why was it significant to mention it?
Luke gives the answer in Luke 22:24 - “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.” Christ loved his fighting disciples! They who fought over position. And he loved them to the end. But consider the great irony and absurdity. He’d just told them his body would be broken and blood spilled. He also just foretold his betrayal. And don’t forget. Christ had just two days ago condemned the Pharisees with 7 woes, denouncing their pride, wanting to be first., and chasing after honor. But now, they were doing the same! Coveting seats of honor, fighting over who’d be greatest. They’d learned nothing! But what were they doing? They weren’t sober or reflecting on his words. There was a strife over who’d be the greatest. The word strife shows they were debating, quarreling, maybe even shouting - who’d rank first in Christ’s kingdom.
Perhaps Peter said - “I was first to confess him! I’m the rock on which Christ would build the church.” Maybe John said, “I was on his right at the table. I’m his right hand man.” Maybe 3 of them - Peter, James, and John - finally blurted it out - “we were with him on the Mount while you all failed to exorcise that demon. We saw his face shine.” Maybe Matthew said - “we need a finance guy, I did this in the world before, I know how it works.” Or Simon the Zealot - “we need a strategist, not fishermen.” Even at this stage, after the Lord’s Supper and proximity to grace, they were still thinking like the world. They measured greatness by proximity to power, titles, recognition, and by having others serve them. No doubt, they wanted the kingdom to grow. But not how Christ would. They wanted the kingdom on their own terms. That’s why the disciples’ behavior was such a disappointment.
They loved themselves, their reputations, their positions, their futures. They wanted thrones not towels. But Christ loved them to the uttermost and he stooped down with a towel to serve them. He didn’t say - you’re not worthy! I’m throwing in the towel. I’m leaving you all to sink or swim. Neither did he say - Go away, you don’t understand my kingdom. But he loved these proud, competitive men to the end.
So when they were fighting, the Lord Jesus gave them gospel instructions not to be worldly but spiritual. He used this moment of bitter dispute to teach them. After all, they’d be the ones to proclaim the gospel. So in verses 25-27 he distinguished God’s people from the Gentile kings. The Lord said that these kings exercised lordship over the people. And they called themselves benefactors, friends of the people. But in reality, their good deeds were merely the velvet glove over the iron fist of control. They used people to build their own empires. So Jesus’ point was very clear. The world’s way is lordship. Just think of kings like Caesar, Herod, and the Pharisees. They exercised lordship - leadership, directorship, dictatorship. They loved to be called benefactors - they wanted the title and honor. And this is often the way of corporations today. In the end their service was really just self-service. And their greatness was measured by how many people bowed to them. The kingdom of God is a counter-kingdom. The usual ways of building corporations, kingdoms, governments is not the usual way with God’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom, greatness is reversed. The greatest is the youngest - the one with no status, no reputation, no claim to honor. The leader is the servant. The one who rules is the one who washes feet. This is the radical inversion of the Gospel. The world says, “Climb the ladder.” Jesus says, “Come down.” The world says, “Be served.” Jesus says, “Serve.” The world says, “Assert your rights.” Jesus says, “Take up your cross.” The world says, “Lead!” Jesus says, “Follow me.” And the Lord didn’t only command this, he embodied it. He told them he was among them as one who served. The one to whom all would bow, was ready to serve his disciples.
But then he made an astonishing promise in verses 28-30. Those who continued with him in his trials, through his humiliation, would be assigned a kingdom, where they’d eat and drink and sit on thrones judging Israel. Now notice the order - he doesn’t say - “because you’ve been so great, I give you a kingdom.” Rather, it’s a gift - I assign you a kingdom. But only if you stay with me in my trials. And how did they stay with him? Poorly, feebly, sometimes wrongly - they even wavered, Peter even denied him thrice. They fled, but they also made their way back, secretly, even if it was at a distance. They didn’t ultimately forsake him. It was not their greatness, but their union with Christ, that decided their inheritance. They’d rule, but not now; but in the hereafter. And they’d do this because they followed the servant king - not striving and fighting like the Gentile kings to gain more power and growth - but by suffering. This is counter cultural.
So the Lord loved these disciples despite their pride. He showed them that greatness was not worldly but spiritual. Greatness would come by suffering now. Beloved, what’s the desire for your life? There’s no exaltation if there’s no humiliation. Many want greatness now in our own lives. Many even well-meaning believers want greatness in God’s kingdom now. Like the disciples who were slow to learn - “Lord, when will you restore the kingdom to Israel? It’s not for you to know the times and seasons. But it’s for you to suffer.” Sometimes believers desire greatness - whether for themselves of the church, without knowing that greatness comes by suffering and humility. Christ himself would follow that path. Only after his humiliation, he’d be exalted at God’s right hand.
And so now he continued demonstrate loving spiritual greatness. That’s the second point. The instruction was important to these fighting disciples, but it wasn’t enough simply to tell them of the humble and suffering demeanor they needed to have. He demonstrated it to them. His demonstration had 3 parts - his service, his purpose, and sadly, the tragedy of the one who rejected it. We see the first - he served out of love for them. In John 13:4 onwards, he arose from supper and laid aside his outer garments - so that he was clothed only in his inner garment. He then took a towel and tied it around his waist. And after pouring water into a basin, he washed his disciples’ feet and wiped them with the towel. Every detail is loaded with theology. He arose from the supper - but he was the host, he should’ve been served. But arose to serve. He took off his outer garments, stripping down to the clothing of a household slave. Now remember, this is what Jesus’ ultimate grandfather did. David removed his kingly robes, singing and dancing in his linen garments. Michal despised him for this common behavior. But our Lord did the same. And the towel was a symbol of menial labor. He poured water and scrubbed feet - as a slave would. And to wash feet, he’d have had to kneel down - the position of a servant.
Now, we know from history that foot-washing in the ancient Near East was the work of the lowest servant in the house. It was dirty work. The roads were dusty, and sandals didn’t protect the feet. But it was a despised but necessary task. No rabbi would do it. No master would do it. No king would do it. And yet Jesus - the Son of God, the King of Glory - did it. But Peter protested - you will never wash my feet! Why? Jesus was the beloved Son on the Mount of Transfiguration! He was the one who healed people. The winds listened to him. Surely, the Christ shouldn’t be doing this work right? You see, he still didn’t understand fully the servanthood of Jesus - that this foot washing was a foreshadowing of the cross. And if he didn’t let him wash his feet here, how would he ever let him save him at the cross? Which is why the Lord said - “What I’m doing, you don’t understand but you will later. If I don’t wash you, you have no part in me.” So Peter needed to have the humility needed to let Jesus save and serve him. This is a very important lesson - and many of us still struggle against this. We struggle against it in prayer - “I can’t come to Christ in prayer, because of my sins, so I won’t come to him until I get right first!” Rubbish. If you don’t come to him in prayer, how will you ever be helped? But that’s the Gentile King spirit that refuses to come to the merciful Christ. I can do it. I can direct it myself.
And we also see the purpose of the foot-washing. He loved them that they might love. He humbled himself so that they might humble themselves. After the washing, Jesus returned to His place and asked them in verse 12 - “do you understand what I’ve done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you’re right, I am - but if I as teacher and Lord have washed your feet, you should also wash each other’s feet. My example should help you do what I’ve just done.” They were fighting over who’d be director. He did this to teach them not to fight. The command he gave - “ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” Christ was giving them a principle - not instituting a sacrament. We’re to serve one another in humble, practical, even demeaning ways. We’re to do lowly work - to get our hands dirty. We’re to give up our pride, rights, preferences, for the good of our brothers and sisters. And the mark of someone who gets this humility, knows that the servant is not greater than his master. That whatever Christ had just taught concerning humility, they’d do it. And as the Lord said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy that was set before him that he endured humiliation at the cross. And Christ was just echoing what he taught previously. When are you happy? When are you blessed? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you.
But we see that not everyone there was going to wash feet. Not everyone there would have this humble spirit. There would still be among the disciples one who’d be like a Gentile king. In verses 18-20, the Lord revealed that there was one who wasn’t willing to be cleansed. He would lift his heel against Christ. This means, he wants to crush Christ. He would be like Satan who desired to crush the Lord. This was Judas. Christ was not loved by him who had experienced his love. In verses 21-22, Jesus’ spirit was troubled. Verily, verily, I say to you - one of you will betray me. Judas experienced that love feast. He may even have experienced the loving foot wash. But the disciples are confounded. Who can it be?
Peter, who was sitting at the lowest end of the table, was directly across from John. He mouthed to him - who is it? And John, the beloved disciple, who was on his right, leaned on Jesus chest and asked him. Christ answered - “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.” This was a gesture of friendship in the ancient world. In his mercy, Jesus gave him one last chance. But we see in verse 27, that Satan had possessed him. His heart was fully and finally given over to the devil. Judas didn’t want a Christ who knelt to served and died to save. Because what he envisioned for himself was to be like the kings of the Gentiles. And Christ wouldn’t give that to him. So Jesus knowing that said - what you’re going to do, do quickly. And that very night, he went to betray Jesus. This is the terrible irony. Judas sat at the table, he had his feet washed, he heard the prayers, the promises, the warnings. He received the morsel of friendship. He experienced the show of Christ’s mercy - but didn’t receive it like the rest. And he went out into the night of betrayal.
Beloved, how can we apply this? Do we not argue about who’s first in church? Who’s better? Who’s more capable? Who’s more eloquent? Who’s not? Why not, who’s more humble? It’s because we value thrones rather than towels. So it is important for us to diagnose our pride. The disciples argued who’d be greatest. We’re are so much like them. We want to be recognized. We want to be honored. We want our opinions to prevail. We get offended when we are not consulted. We secretly envy the positions of others. We love the praise of men more than the praise of God. And perhaps in our churches, the pride takes a particular form. We’re proud of our doctrine, our confessions, our austere worship. We can argue about predestination, covenant theology, and the regulative principle with more heat than we show for the lost. We think that because we have the right theology, we’re automatically the greatest in the Kingdom. But Jesus says, “Not so with you.” Greatness is not about the rightness of your theology (though that matters). It is about the posture of your heart. It is about the towel you take, not the title you hold.
And so let us recover that kneeling attitude with the towel of service. We’re to serve each other. We’re to help. We’re to serve where there’s a need. You know what kings do? They direct. But not so with you. Is there a need somewhere? Are others too busy to cover the need that you see? Do it. This is spiritual greatness. This is what it means to be great in the Kingdom of God. And Jesus was great. He loved his own to the end. He didn’t stop loving them when they argued. He didn’t throw in the towel. And far too many are like that in churches. But Christ is our model. We’re to love to the end, even that difficult brother, the one who wronged us, not because they deserve it, but because we don’t deserve Christ’s love, and he loved us.
And we are also to be continually cleansed. Peter told Christ not to wash his feet - because he didn’t want a servant king. But Jesus said - if I don’t, you have no part with me. We must continue to want Christ to be our servant king. In heaven, when we worship him, will he still be serving us? Absolutely. He’ll be hosting the dinner and serving us. There’ll never be a time when Christ will not serve us. And so we need continual cleansing now. How do we go to him in confession of our sins? Beloved, just because we confess Christ, doesn’t mean we have a love for such cleansing. Because it demands humility from us. And just like Judas, there are some who won’t come in humility to Christ.
Love’s last great lesson by the king who kneels is the continual lesson of the gospel. We need to be humble to receive Christ’s salvation. We’ll be humble because Christ loves us. And we will love others as he loved us. And we’ll be exalted one day.
1. He Loved These Proud Disciples to the End (John 13:1-3, Luke 22:24-30)
A. His great love for worldly disciples who love themselves (John 13:1-3, Luke 22:24)
B. His gospel instruction not to be worldly but spiritual (Luke 22:25-30)
2. He Demonstrated Loving Spiritual Greatness (John 13:4-30)
A. He so loved that he served (John 13:4-11)
B. He loved them that they might love (John 13:12-20)
C. He was not loved by one who experienced his love (John 13:21-30)
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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