John 13. As his betrayal and crucifixion drew near, Jesus was at a dinner with his disciples. “He rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and, taking a towel, all tied it around his waist. He poured water in a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.” (John 13:4-5) When I read this story, I always get this uncomfortable feeling, like something is wrong and off kilter.

As it turns out, that is exactly how everyone in the narrative was feeling also! Feet today are not something we let other people touch, they tend to be mostly off limits and quite personal. In ancient days, gentile slaves washed feet when members of the household came in for the day – feet were very dirty and dusty from open-toed sandals and walking down dirt roads. (When we lived in West Africa every bathroom had a bidet and we called it the Foot Washer, and that’s what we used it for!)

In our text today, the disciples and Jesus have dirty feet and have arrived for dinner. Presumably there was an awkward moment when they realized there was no one present to wash their feet, and they certainly were not going to do that menial, disgusting task for each other! Then imagine their horror when the Master, their Rabbi, rises and sets about washing everyone’s feet! Peter is the most aghast at the inappropriate situation, asking, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?!” (John 13:6) Yes, he is going to do exactly that, upending all conventions for who does that kind of service.

After displaying what service to others looks like, Jesus offers these instructions: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

The disciples would have been familiar with the Old Testament instructions to “Love your neighbor as you love yourselves” (Leviticus 19:18). Here Jesus is raising the bar considerably. The standard was no longer how they loved themselves, but instead how Jesus had loved them.

How did Jesus love them? By washing their feet, by serving them, by loving even the one who would betray him, and by laying his life down for them. This is not a sentimental love; it is a self-sacrificing love by which the needs of others are placed above their own. This kind of love for people is what sets disciples of Jesus apart from the world they live in.

How is God calling you to love and serve those you encounter every day?