Earn Your M.B.A. As You Follow Jesus

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:1-5)

A group of 4 to 8 year-olds were asked the question; “What does love mean?” Here are some of their answers: “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.” Rebecca- age 8“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy - age 4 “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl - age 5 “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy - age 6 “Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby - age 7 “Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.” Terri - age 4 “My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare - age 6 “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.” Chris - age 7 “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy - age 6 “You really shouldn't say, “I love you.’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica - age 8

In the passage above Jesus answers the question, “What does love mean?” In the story we see Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. In Jewish culture it was the custom of the host to arrange for guests to have their feet washed as they enter the house. After a long day traveling on foot in sandals, it was a very polite, hospitable and refreshing thing to do. Usually a servant did the washing since it was seen as a menial task. But on this particular night, in a borrowed room, there is no host and consequently no servant to wash their feet. A key question of the evening was, “Who is going to wash feet?” As dinner begins, the disciples start looking like big brothers trying to get out of changing the dirty diaper of a sibling. Their uncomfortable glances to each other say, “I’m not going to do it! – You do it!” In the midst of all that awkwardness Jesus stands up and begins the task. He does it with two purposes in mind. The passage says he wanted to show the full extent of his love. So He gives a lesson on what it means to love someone else. And he sets an example for his disciples to follow. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.(John 13:15)

In the passage Jesus exemplifies three characteristics of His kind of love:

1. It’s about how you love. As far as I know, this the only time in Scripture here Jesus says, “I have set you an example. Now let that sink in. Jesus did a lot of things … He fought off temptation, He fed people, He loved the unlovely … but the only thing He ever did after which He specifically said “this is an example” is when He washed His disciples feet. That ought to tell us something about how important it is to learn to love and serve people to the fullest extent. Loving people to the fullest extent, according to Jesus’ example, means you learn to lower self. It had to be very awkward for the disciples as they realized that Jesus was willing to do for them what they weren’t willing to do for each other. He was willing to lower Himself below them. Dave Thomas, now deceased, was the founder of Wendy’s Restaurants. In one of their corporate annual reports there is a picture of Mr. Thomas holding a mop and a plastic bucket. It was a picture of what he required of all of his employees. He required each of his employees to have a MBA. That’s not MBA as in “Masters of Business Administration,” but MBA as in “Mop Bucket Attitude.” Jesus demonstrated that real love requires a MBA towards others.
2. It’s about who you love. To fully understand what Jesus did in John 13 you have to notice whose feet he washed. There are two people in the room that highlight what it means to love someone to the fullest extent. The first is Peter, who represents a friend that disappoints. Peter is the guy who in the next twelve hours will three times deny that he even knows Jesus. Jesus knows he’s going to do this but He still washes Peter’s feet. The second person is Judas, who represents an nemy who attacks. Only moments after this foot washing, Judas leaves the room and makes a deal to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus knew Judas was oing to do this, just like He knew that Peter was going to deny Him. But Jesus still hose to wash Judas’ feet.
3. It’s about why you love. Peter initially objects to Jesus washing his feet. He says, “You’re not going to wash my feet.” The answer Jesus gives to Him is unimportant. “Peter you don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.” And later wasn’t that much later. The very next day Jesus would die for Peter. Not only did Jesus wash Peter’s feet, He also washed Peter’s soul … with His own blood. Revelation 7:14 describes Christians in heaven like this: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Unless Peter was washed by His savior, the stain of sin would remain for eternity. Following the resurrection, Jesus’ menial task of foot washing must have flooded Peter’s soul with a new awareness of the depth of his Savior’s love.

Why must we endeavor to follow the example of Jesus? Our physical acts of love have spiritual implications and they lead us and other people to a closer connection with God. Every Christian, regardless of formal educational training, is required to follow the example of Jesus and work toward possessing a MBA.

May we all be graduates as we honor our Lord,

PT