Introduction
In Numbers 20:10-12, we find the passage where Moses struck the rock: “And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?’ And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice, and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. And Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”
At the waters of Meribah, Moses’ sin was twofold. First, he spoke rashly, implying that God’s glory and power originated with himself and Aaron, revealing a sense of pride. Second, he acted impulsively by striking the rock twice instead of speaking to it, as God had instructed. By both speaking and acting rashly, Moses demonstrated a lack of complete trust in God in that moment, thereby rebelling against God’s command. Faith and obedience are always the appropriate responses to God’s Word. Additionally, Moses failed to honor God in the eyes of the people; he chose not to fear and obey Him, allowing pride to take hold. The Bible tells us in Numbers 12:3 that Moses was a very meek man. However, due to his actions at the waters of Meribah, he missed the incredible blessing of entering the Promised Land of Canaan. Our Lord Jesus Christ exemplified the utmost humility during His time on earth. In this blog, we will explore the example of humility demonstrated by the Lord Jesus in John 13, where He washes His disciples’ feet. We should all apply these lessons to our Christian lives to avoid missing the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. Instead of following Moses’ example at the waters of Meribah, let us follow the example set by the Lord Jesus and follow all the commandments He gives to His children.
Be Humble and Follow All the Commandments of the Lord
When we achieve success, it is important to honor the Lord, show Him reverence, and obey His commands. We should not take credit for our achievements or consider ourselves special, believing that our intelligence and qualities are the reasons the Lord chooses us to be leaders. Spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, healing, and others, are granted by God’s mercy and are gifts of the Holy Spirit. We must always acknowledge the Lord Jesus in every aspect of our lives and practice humility, just as He demonstrated humility in all things to the Father, even to the point of dying on the cross. In John 13:1-8, the Lord Jesus teaches us a powerful lesson in humility by washing His disciples’ feet. This act can be interpreted both literally and spiritually; in either case, we should strive to be humble and avoid putting others down.
John 13:1 And before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, in the world having loved His own, He loved them to the end.
Comments John 13:1. “… Jesus knowing.” The time of the feast is coming close by, and the beloved Son of God’s departure time also; the beloved Son of God knows very well that His time approaches because of the feast. This feast will point out the time for Him; the Father has already told Him that the feast must pass first before His departure time comes.
“… He would depart out of this world to the Father.” The reunion time between the Father and the beloved Son is approaching. The beloved Son of God has known that He would have to depart from His disciples soon and return to the Father.
“In the world having loved His own.” The beloved Son of God has developed a human feeling of love and attachment towards His disciples, and departing from them has also saddened His heart.
“He loved them to the end.” He has His love for all who belong to Him until eternity, not only until the end of His human life on earth.
2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas of Simon Iscariot, that he should betray Him,
Comments John 13:2. Let all believers also understand that the devil cannot touch you if your heart belongs to the beloved Son of God. But the heart of Judas was never with the beloved Son of God; he always looked only for his own. He had heard the teaching from the beloved Son of God Himself, but that teaching never had an impact on his heart at all.
3 knowing that the Father has given Him all things into the hands, and that He came forth from God, and departs to God,
Comments John 13:3. “Knowing that the Father has given Him …” The beloved Son of God knows full well that the Father has given everything to Him, and He has all authority over everything. He can make decisions as He pleases; this authority has been given to Him from the Father. This is because the beloved Son of God is an obedient Son, and the Father loves Him more than all; that is why the verse states, “the Father has given Him all things into the hands.”
“… and that He came forth from God.” The beloved Son of God in human form also knows full well where He is coming from and the duty that He has received, and that after He finishes the work, He will return to the Father.
4 rises from the supper, and lays aside the tunic; and having taken a towel, girded Himself.
Comments John 13:4. “Rises from the supper.” This supper is the last Passover supper before the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion (see Matthew 26:14-39). In human form, the beloved Son of God also humbles Himself to all. All readers can see here how the beloved Son of God is among His disciples; His humility and mercy are also shown.
“… girded Himself.” When the beloved Son of God has girded Himself, He has accepted His duty to take care of them all. By girding Himself, He has shown to all, with all His power, that He will help them, and they can always come to Him when they need it. He is always available and waiting to help them.
5 Afterwards He pours water into the basin, and began to wash and to wipe the feet of the disciples, with the towel with which He was girded.
Comments John 13:5. As the verse has told all believers, the beloved Son of God has accepted His duty as a servant, His duty to everyone, by cleansing them to be pure. He provides everything for cleansing, and after He washed them, He wiped them as a father would do for his children. The love of the beloved Son of God for all humans is greater than the earthly father can do for their own children because, being the Savior, He is also a servant to take care of them as well. Therefore, all who come to Him will receive the same love and treatment as His disciples received, but only if you come with a true heart, meditate on His teaching, and follow His example towards one another.
6 Then He comes to Simon Peter who says to Him, Lord, do Thou wash my feet?
Comments John 13:6. Peter’s question is normal for all humans; as a disciple, when the Master wants to wash his feet, it touches his heart, prompting him to ask what is happening to his own Master. However, the actions of the beloved Son of God have taught all disciples that a true leader must also be willing to do all things for the followers. All His disciples have seen here an example of a true Master. Peter himself has received this, the humbleness of his Master versus the heart of a common man.
7 Jesus answered and said to him, That I do, you do not perceive just now; however, you will come to know after these.
Comments John 13:7. The beloved Son of God has also answered all of His disciples here. Whatever the beloved Son of God has taught them, they may not understand now. But when the beloved Son of God has been lifted up on high, they all will understand the true meaning of His act of humbleness shown here.
8 Peter says to Him, Thou might not wash my feet to the age. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.
Comments John 13:8. Peter has spoken here from his heart. He knows that he himself is not worthy of His master to serve him as a servant. But the beloved Son of God has told all that if you do not accept His humbleness and mercy, you also have no part in His work. Therefore, by giving them the example, the beloved Son of God has taught them all that the true master must not think of themselves first but of those who are under their authority. His disciples must learn this because they will go and work among people and serve as an example for those who come after them.
From this act of humility, the Lord taught the disciples an important lesson. Should Christians literally follow the Lord Jesus’s example of foot washing? At Bible Commentary Forever Ministries, we believe in the Holy Spirit’s word-by-word dictation of the Bible. Therefore, to ensure we receive all the blessings of the Lord God Almighty and remain firm in our faith, it is essential to accept the Bible as it is written and to follow all the commandments outlined in the Word of God. This includes addressing today’s controversial topics, such as women’s roles in ministry, the practice of women covering their heads while praying in the Holy Spirit, and the practice of foot washing. All believers should practice the foot washing example as well because humbling yourselves to be a servant would show that you follow the beloved Son of God’s teaching. The Lord Jesus’ humility toward humans is shown here, when the beloved Son of God in human form has shown to all that He has accepted being 100% real human and has accepted the role of a servant to serve all humans and give everyone a chance to be saved. The Church of God has historically practiced foot-washing. Still, because of pride, humans have canceled this tradition by practicing what they believe is the right thing to do, treating what the beloved Son of God has shown them as a sign of humility only, not as the action that needs to be done. So they say that if you are humble in your heart, you have already followed what the beloved Son of God has taught you, which is not the correct way of interpreting this example of humbleness the Lord gave. The beloved Son of God has cleaned His disciples’ feet and wiped them, and in doing so, He has shown humbleness in Him toward all humans. The best time to practice foot-washing is during the Holy Communion.
The apostles were the first to testify about the Lord Jesus and proclaim the good news, as we can learn from the Book of Acts. One might wonder how the disciples learned to be certain about the Trinity of God, the virgin birth of the beloved Son of God, and all the commandments. We must remember that all the apostles shared certain key experiences: they accompanied the Lord Jesus throughout His ministry on earth; they witnessed His death on the cross, His burial, His bodily resurrection, and His bodily ascension into heaven; and afterward, they all received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit revealed to them all things related to faith in the Lord Jesus, including who the true Father of the beloved Son of God is, and also that Mary was a virgin when she carried the beloved Son of God in her womb. No man had union with her; man cannot use the mother of the beloved Son of God, and she must remain a virgin until she gave birth.
Conclusions
The Father calls the Lord Jesus His beloved Son and His servant (Matthew 12:18, Acts 3:13, Acts 3:26). We learn from our Lord Jesus that we must be humble in all things, regardless of our positions in life, and avoid putting anyone down. The Bible, in its original writings, we believe was dictated word-by-word by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must carefully follow all the commandments entrusted to us in Scripture. By allowing the Holy Spirit—rather than human culture and traditions—to guide us, we can follow the Lord’s commandments with humility and maintain our faith until the end of our journey. At Bible Commentary Forever Ministries, as followers of the Lord Jesus, we encourage everyone to adhere to the Lord’s commandments as written and to follow the Lord Jesus’ examples. By doing so, we can experience the abundant blessings He has prepared for us in the Promised Land. The greatest blessing of the Promised Land is eternal life with our Lord Jesus in His kingdom. We do not want to miss out on these precious blessings and must keep our faith strong until the end of our time on earth. Therefore, we encourage everyone reading this blog to humble themselves, as the apostles did, and to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can teach us about our true faith in the Lord Jesus, who we serve, and how to be pleasing to the Lord truly.
Meditation Tasks
- We invite all readers to meditate on the resurrection and second coming of our Lord Jesus, and to review our articles, “The Bodily Resurrection of the Lord Jesus” and “The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.”
- Additionally, we encourage all readers to thoroughly consider our article, “The Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”