Today's text reminds me that Jesus never exhorted His disciples to do anything that He Himself had not done before their very eyes. I would like to note a couple of examples from today's chapter of scripture. Teaching them them the higher calling of a servant-hood, Jesus washed the disciples feet this final night that He spent with them. As the Lord and Teacher had washed their feet, He called upon them to do as they had seen Him do, to wash one another's feet and to be a servant of all. As believers we are also reminded of a "grace truth" as we read the feet washing account. In Christ and through the power of His blood we are clean. We have been "bathed". But like the disciples, whose feet became dirty as they walked the dusty roads of life, periodically needing to wash their feet, .As He taught them this night He said something that I must mention briefly because of its implied significance. In the 17th verse Jesus says, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." Knowledge is one thing while practice is another. When the Spirit of God takes our acquired knowledge of Christ-likeness moves it from our heads to our hearts and actions we are greatly blessed. Oh, the blessedness of Christ living in us! And here is one more example of Christ living that which He called His disciples to do. In verse 34 He tells them that He is giving them a new commandment. They are to love one another, as He had loved them. If we go back to the first verse of the chapter we see a statement describing how He had loved them. We read there that "He loved them to the end". May our love for one another be likened unto the enduring love of Christ.
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