A Servant is Not Greater Than His Master

Welcome back to our series, Called to Serve. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring what it truly means to live a life of service. And here’s the truth I want us to hold onto: every believer is called to serve.

Too often we think of a “calling” as something reserved for pastors, missionaries, or those in full-time ministry. But I want us to understand that service is not the privilege of a few—it is the responsibility of us all. God has entrusted each of us with opportunities, talents, and spiritual gifts which we are commanded to use in service to one another. Simply put, we should put the needs of our brothers before our own. This is what Jesus modeled for us, and this is what the Scriptures command from us. Let me give you one example.

1 Peter 4:10 NKJV

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Notice Peter says, “As each one has received a gift”. You see, each Christian has received a gift from God and we are commanded to use it to serve one another. That’s what Peter says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another.” The word minister there means to serve. In fact, this word minister here is the same root word used to form the word for deacon. Simply put. We use our spiritual gifts to serve or minister to one another. And Peter says when we do this we are acting, “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”.

Now there are a couple words we need to investigate in this part of the verse. The first one is the word “stewards”. Let’s start with a definition.

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament οἰκονόμος

οἰκονόμος (oikonomos) Household manager

In these days, stewards, were servants who managed their master’s households. They served their master not only by taking care of his family, but also by feeding and caring for his other servants as well. They were household managers. Which is exactly what we saw last week in Jesus’ parable. He told His disciples that it was like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants and to each His work. Simply put, Jesus made His disciples stewards or managers of His household while He was away. And Peter says something similar to the believers He was writing to. He says,

1 Peter 4:10 NKJV

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

So, Peter tells His readers that they were to be good stewards. They were to be good managers, but in this verse they were to manage something specific. What were they to manage? Not money, not possessions, not influence—but something far greater, the gift they had been given. Peter says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards. Simply put, Peter tells them they were to be good stewards or managers of the gift God had given them. And in order to be a good steward they had to use the gift in service to one another.

In other words, God had given them a special resource (spiritual gift), and they were to manage that resource well. They were to minister it (the spiritual gift) to one another. Church, we all have a spiritual gift. We all have opportunities to serve. We all are called to serve. And we are all commanded to be good stewards of the talents and gifts that God has entrusted to us. In short, to manage God’s gifts well we need to use them for the benefit of each other.

Now let’s quickly talk about this word manifold before we get into our text for today. What is the manifold grace of God? The word manifold means various kinds or forms. In other words, God’s grace comes in various forms and we experience God’s grace in numerous ways. Here is the major takeaway: When we use our gift to serve others, we are expressing different aspects of HIs grace. Simply put, when believers properly use their gifts, they become channels through which God’s grace flows into the lives of others. That is what it means to be a good steward. We use what God has given us to serve one another.

When believers properly use their spiritual gift, they become channels for the grace of God to flow into the lives of others.

Ok, I realize that I got pretty detailed in explaining this verse. So, let me summarize the point of all of this. As we begin to mature as Christians the more we should realize that, our lives, our gifts, our talents, our resources, and our roles within the church aren’t meant to benefit ourselves. They are meant to benefit our brothers and sisters.

Let me put it this way, everything you do in this church is for the benefit of your brothers and sisters, not yourself. We are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has given us resources that are to be used to care for one another. If we are going to be good stewards, good managers, of the resources God has given us. We must use our resources to serve God’s people. We must allow ourselves to be channels or conduits through which the grace of God flows through us to our brothers.

And this is a hard thing for our flesh, because we want it to be about us. We want the honor and the recognition. We want those prominent roles in the church, where all eyes are on us, and we get to call the shots. But that is the opposite of how the Lord’s church should operate. The leaders of God’s church are commanded to be the servants of all.

So, when leaders in the church make it about themselves they have drifted into fleshly mindset, and this struggle isn’t new. Even the disciples wrestled with the same fleshly desire for honor and recognition.

In fact, in our our text this morning the disciples are with Jesus at the last supper, and Luke tells us that during this final meal with the Lord they were arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom. In fact, let’s read a verse from Luke’s account.

Luke 22:24 NKJV

24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

Now here is what is amazing about this. Here Jesus is with His disciples, on the eve of His crucifixion, getting ready for lay down HIs life to take away the sins of the world. And His disciples are arguing about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom.

And it’s in that very moment—while they’re caught up in their pride and worrying about being the greatest, that Jesus quietly gets up from the table, takes off His outer garment, wraps a towel around His waist, and begins to wash their feet. The King of glory stoops to serve, showing them (and us) that true greatness in Christ’s coming kingdom is not earned by being served, but in serving. That’s the picture John 13 gives us: the grace of God flowing through humble service.

And this one of the truly amazing things about our calling as servants. We are not left to guess what service looks like. The Lord Jesus Himself gave us the perfect example. His entire life demonstrated what perfect love and perfect service looks like, and John chapter 13 is a beautiful example of servant leadership in action. If the eternal Son of God is not above this type of humble service (washing feet), then neither are we.

Ok, with all that being said. I believe we are ready to jump into our text for this morning, but before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Ok, let’s begin with verse 3 from John 13.

John 13:3–4 NKJV

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.

I absolutely love the fact that John makes it clear that before Jesus ever stooped to wash feet, He knew exactly who He was. He knew the Father had given all things into His hands. He knew He had come from God and was returning to God. In other words, His service flowed from the knowledge that He was God. He was the One who held all authority, and yet He chose to lay this aside, take up a towel, and wash feet.

The hands that held all authority on heaven and earth chose to hold a slave’s towel.

Oh the humility and grace of our Savior. Praise His name.

Think about this for a second. The hands that held all authority on heaven and earth chose to hold a towel, and do the work of a slave.

And so before we go any further in this lesson, let me make this clear. This should be our mindset. This is how we approach service within the church. If you desire a leadership role or any role in Christ’s church get ready to pick up a towel.

Leadership roles in the church don’t come with a crown, they come with a towel.

In this life, those who follow Christ are called to be humble servants, pouring themselves out for their brothers and sisters. We won’t be wearing crowns in this life, because the pathway of discipleship is marked by sacrifice and service. But the promise is sure: those who take up the towel now will wear a crown in the life to come. Jesus promises His faithful servants the eternal reward of ruling with Him in the Kingdom to come. Simply put, we take on the role of humble servants in this life in order to reign in the next. And this is exactly what Jesus taught His disciples, and this is exactly what Jesus modeled for us during His life on earth.

Ok, let’s get back to our text starting at verse 4.

John 13:4–5 NKJV

4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Now, here is a detail that we need to understand. In those days it would have been customary for the host to arrange to have a slave wash the feet of his guests. Well, in this situation, there wasn’t a slave available to wash everyone’s feet.

Now, try and picture this scene in your mind. Here is Jesus with His disciples reclining at a meal. Everyone wore sandals in those days, and their feet would have been dirty for the dusty roads that they traveled. But since their was no slave to wash their feet, the disciples just assumed they weren’t getting their feet washed. I’m certain that it never occured to any of these disciples to take off their outer garment, put a towel around their waste and start washing one another’s feet. Obviously, it didn’t even occur to them to wash Jesus’ feet.

So, here they are at supper all reclining and having conversations about this that and the other, and a dispute breaks out between the disciples about who is going to be the greatest. Now picture this. Jesus without saying a word, gets up takes of His outer garment, grabs a towel and put it around His waist. This is what slaves did. They wrapped a towel around their waste to use during the foot washing process. So, Jesus assumes the position of a slave and begins to wash His disciples feet. Church, this is a demonstration of what our lives as believers should look like.

Jesus provides the perfect example of what a believer’s life should look like.

You see, every man at this table knew there was a need that wasn’t getting met. They were all aware of each other’s dirty feet, yet none of them were willing to humble themselves and to do the work of a slave. In their mind’s that kind of work was beneath them. That was a servant’s job. Slaves were responsible to wash dirty feet. So, instead of serving one another, they argued about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom. Here is the point.

The disciples were happy to rule over each other, but they weren’t ready to serve one another.

And believe me when I tell you this problem is still alive and well within the church today. We are more than happy to be put in charge of a ministry and start telling people what to do. We are fine with calling the shots and telling people exactly how something is going to be done. But become everyone’s servant, to become a foot washer. No, that’s not for me. That’s for someone else. But what the Lord calls all of us to be are humble servants. We are to be humble servants who minister our gift to one another. It is not about what we want. It is about what is best for our brother.

And when Jesus hears His disciples arguing about who is going to be the greatest, listen to what He says to them.

Luke 22:25–26 NKJV

25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.

Jesus says the “kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them”. In other words, Jesus is saying the rest of the world has leaders who rule over them. Out there in the unbelieving world those in charge rule like lords over the people. But look what He says in verse 26. “But not so among you: on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.”

Notice Jesus says, “He who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger.” That doesn’t strike us as forcefully as it would have the disciples. In their culture, the younger had no standing at all. Their opinions carried no weight; in many ways, they were treated like servants. In effect, Jesus is saying: Don’t act like the world around you. If you hold a position of leadership, don’t go lording your authority over others. Instead, take the posture of the younger—the one with no rights, no authority, no claim to status. Let the leaders among you be known not for power, but for service. Simply put, let the leaders among you act as he who serves.”

But the most beautiful thing about this whole scene is that Jesus doesn’t just correct them with words, He shows them by His actions. He shows them what servant leadership looks like.

John 13:5 NKJV

5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

This is servant leadership. The man who was clearly in charge of the group humbles himself taking on the form of a servant and washes their feet.

Leadership roles in the church don’t come with a crown, they come with a towel.

And so, while the disciples haven’t figure out the whole servant leader thing. They did have enough sense to understand that Jesus shouldn’t have been expected to wash their feet. Which explains Peter’s reaction in the next couple of verses. Let’s read on.

John 13:6–7 NKJV

6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

Ok, let’s talk about what Jesus says in verse 7. He says, “what I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this”. So, clearly Peter understood that Jesus was getting ready to wash HIs feet. There was nothing mysterious about cleaning dirty feet. But the fact that Jesus says there was something that Peter didn’t understand, let’s us know that they was a spiritual lesson behind what Jesus was doing. In other words, the Lord washing their feet was symbolic of a deeper spiritual truth. Let me put it this way.

This foot washing was a picture of a certain type of spiritual washing.

And this becomes even more clear in the next few verses. Let’s keep reading.

John 13:8–9 NKJV

8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

Now listen to what Jesus says next.

John 13:10–11 NKJV

10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

So, as these verses show us. Peter was awfully confused. First, he says Lord you will never wash my feet. Then the Lord says, if I don’t do this you will have no part with me. And then Peter has well then just wash me all over Lord. And then Jesus says, no Peter you don’t need an entire bath. He says, just your feet are dirty. In fact, let’s reread verse 10, “Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you”.

So, what on earth is going on here?

What Jesus is telling Peter is that He is already born again. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life we are born again. Titus 3:5 says God saved us according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. In other words, at the moment of faith we are washed by the Holy Spirit and we are clean forever. We never need another washing of regeneration. That is a one time deal. We are completely clean.

However, our feet get dirty. You see, our feet speak of our daily walk, and as we live our lives everyday we stumble into sin. And when we stumble into sin our fellowship with God is interrupted. That is what this whole lesson is about. He is teaching His disciples that they were are already spiritual clean. They have been born again. That was a one time deal, and they were clean forever, but when they sinned their feet got dirty and they needed a foot washing.

Simply put, the disciples needed to understand that when they sinned in their daily lives they needed Jesus to wash their feet. Here is the point. When a Christian sins in His daily walk, he needs his feet washed. You see, sin breaks our fellowship with God, and when we sin we need to confess our sins so that our fellowship can be restored.

We don’t need an entire bath; we are already clean. No sin can cause of to lose our salvation, but sin affects our relationship with God. We can lose fellowship with God, and we do lose fellowship with God every time we sin. So, when we sin there is a process to restore our fellowship. There is a process to get our feet washed. And the process is to confess our sins to God.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This is exactly what Jesus was communicating to His disciples. He was affirming that all of them (except Judas) had already been born again—they had been washed by the Holy Spirit once for all. That cleansing was a one-time work of regeneration. But Jesus also wanted them to understand that they would need continual cleansing as they walked through daily life. Their feet would get dirty, so to speak, as they stumbled and sinned. And just as He stooped to wash their feet, they would need Him to continually cleanse them, restoring fellowship and keeping their relationship with God in good standing. They needed ongoing forgiveness which is sometimes referred to a fellowship forgiveness.

Now, I’m running out of time. So, let me start to wrap up here. The Bible mentions two ways that we receive ongoing cleansing during our lives.

Confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9)

With the washing of the Water of the Word (Ephesians 4:26)

As we live the Christian life, we grow and become more like Christ by studying the Word of God. Ephesians 5:26 says that Christ sanctifies and cleanses the Church through the washing of the water of the Word.

Church, we need both of these continually at work in our lives—confession and the Word—to maintain fellowship with God and to keep our feet clean. This is the lesson Christ was teaching His disciples, and it is the same lesson He is teaching us today.

Now, let me bring this all together and leave us with one final challenge. In this passage, Jesus has taught His disciples—and us—two amazing truths. The first lesson is that in this life we are called to be humble servants of one another. Christ’s church does not operate the way the world operates. In fact, it operates in the exact opposite way. The world says greatness is found in power, position, and prestige. But Jesus says greatness is found in humility, in service, and in love.

The second lesson is that we need continual cleansing to walk in fellowship with Him. We are washed once for all when we receive eternal life, but we must keep our feet clean through confession and the Word. Only then can we serve through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So here is the challenge: Will we pick up the towel and serve? Will we confess our sins and stay clean before God? Will we live as a people marked not by pride, but by humility and holiness? That is the call of Christ in John 13—and it is the call He places on us today. Let’s close with two final verses from this passage.

John 13:15–16 NKJV

15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.

In verse 15 Jesus says, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you”. Notice He says example. Jesus isn’t telling us to literally wash one another feet. If we make this passage about literal foot washings we miss the point. The foot washing here was a symbol of something spiritual. It was a picture of how we are to serve our brothers. He was showing His disciples that they should keep each other clean by constant fellowship and teaching of the word of God. He was teaching them that they needed to forgive one another. He was teaching them that they needed to stop worrying about ruling over one another, and do slave service to one another.

If we see our brother stumbling in sin, let us go wash his feet with the water of the Word. If our brother wrongs us, and confesses His sin, let us forgive Him as God forgives us. And finally if we take on a role in the church let us reminder that we are to be servants of us. Let us take on the posture of a slave like Jesus did. Let us remember that leadership roles in the Church come with a towel not a crown.

And finally let us remember the words of Jesus, “a servant is not greater than his master”. So, if Jesus, who is greater, than all served, then let us be servants. Amen.

Let’s pray.