The Model of Servant Leadership
Posted by Pastor Jo
On the same night in which “there arose a dispute among them [the disciples] as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest” (Luke 22:24), Jesus had given them an experience that was a visible model of servant leadership. As the disciples entered the borrowed room that had been arranged for the supper, most of them seemed primarily concerned about getting the prime position at the table. One of them was preoccupied with the betrayal he had already committed himself to accomplish. All of them passed by the basin and the towel, set near the door to enable them to wash the dust of the road off their feet. Because it was a rented room, there was no servant at the door to wash their feet; and none of the disciples was willing to take on the role of a servant, not even temporarily.
Now…Jesus “got up from supper, laid aside His garments; taking a towel, He girded Himself. Poured water into the basin, and began washing the disciples’ feet” (John 13:4-5). Jesus performed the role of a servant by washing the disciples’ feet, one at a time. Some were embarrassed, Peter so much so that he resisted. It was inconceivable to Peter that one in Jesus’ position, “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16), would be willing to act as a servant. Even today, two thousand years later, it is still astounding.
-adapted from Andrew Seidel, “Servant Leadership and Spiritual Formation.”
