Blogger: Jim Conkle
13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
Did you catch the subtle, but deliberate change in the order of those two words? We call Jesus our Teacher and Lord. We have all had and continue to have teachers. Some we respect greatly, and some we simply listen to until the course work is done. We even call some mentors and hold them in great esteem. Yet they all share one distinction: We filter through their teachings. We take what we believe is helpful to us, apply it and forget the rest. Just like buffet style dining where we get to choose what we take and what we leave.
Jesus turns the words around, saying “I your Lord and teacher.” While both are correct, they are profoundly different. Lordship requires full submission to the teachings of our Lord. No longer do we partake in buffet style dining, potentially missing out on the best parts of the meal. Lordship requires full obedience to the entire message of our teacher. Jesus as Lord, demands our heart and in response we submit fully to his teaching.
We see thin in Peter when he refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet. Peter filters the teaching of Jesus through his own pride and refuses the cleansing power of Christ. This is just like so many who, in prideful ignorance, refuse the cleansing of Christ’s blood and rely on their own goodness. Peter ultimately submits to the Lordship of Christ and in doing so comes to an understanding of being cleansed by Christ and laying aside ones rights to serve others. Learning to call Jesus first Lord and then teacher, allowed Peter to submit to having his feet washed. From this, he was able to grasp the lesson Jesus was teaching. However, if he had not understood Jesus as Lord, he never would have gotten the message that Jesus, the teacher, was teaching.
Does our unwillingness to obey Jesus as Lord cause us to miss the lessons he seeks to offer us as our teacher? Is he your Teacher and Lord or your Lord and Teacher? Both are correct, yet profoundly different. If Jesus had full lordship of your life how would your service to God look different? Your prayer life? Your walk?
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Friday, August 22, 2008
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1 comment:
Verse 2 strikes us all...."the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas." ( Beck) Have you ever tried going a whole day without thinking a negative thing about someone or life in general? How long can you go before you think a judgmental thought about that guy driving too close to your bumper or the long line you end up in at the store or the way a coworker lies about you? See how many hours you can make it thru your day before a negative or judgmental thought pops into your mind. A good book to read that goes with this verse is, Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer.
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