Why Am I On Mission?
Jesus is Our Example
Served with all Humility
Jesus leads by example; by affirming this title here, He instructs the disciples to follow His example as they have already committed to doing. He reminds them that even in difficult times or in situations they consider beneath them (see note on v. 5), they must follow Him. See note on 1:38.
Served as a Slave
13:16 a servant Jesus is doing the work of a slave (see note on v. 5); He now suggests that His disciples do the same in service to others.
Jesus is also likely evoking imagery from the prophecies about the Suffering Servant (Isa 52:13–53:12). He becomes a servant to God and to others to fulfill His role as the one who (through His death and resurrection) restores God’s people into right relationship with Him (Isa 53:10, 12). He now calls His disciples to sacrifice themselves for the purposes of God. This is a vocation Paul clearly understood: He regularly called himself a slave of Christ (see note on Rom 1:1).
he who is sent John the Baptist was God’s messenger about Jesus, and Jesus’ disciples will continue to be God’s messengers to the world (see note on John 1:23). Jesus wants them to understand their role in this service. They should be humbled by it in the sense that they are not equal to Him in any way and that He—the very Son of God to whom the universe belongs—will empower them for this work.
13:17 blessed are you God will help and honor those who follow Jesus.