Jesus Is Lord and Master

Day 21: Lord and Master

Prayer:

O Heavenly Father, teach us the blessedness of acknowledging and submitting to the Lordship of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Show us His amazing grace and favor; reveal to us His humble servant leadership. Teach us His ways. Amen.

Scripture:

John 13:13-17: You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 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. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

It was Jesus' last night with His disciples. They did not know this, but He did. So what does He do? He tucks a towel into His belt and takes up a basin of water. One by one He kneels before each of His disciples and begins to wash their feet.

The disciples must have been stunned, not knowing what to make of this. It was all backwards. It was all wrong. Perhaps it made them feel guilty. They'd had more than one heated discussion among themselves as to which of them was the greatest of Jesus' disciples. Just shortly after Jesus had told them for the second time that He was going to die and then rise again (Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-32), the disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:1). Mark records that this question arose out of a debate among the disciples regarding that very question. When Jesus asks them what they were talking about on the road, they were all rather sheepish about it and didn't want to admit the truth (Mark 9:33-34). They'd been disputing among themselves, each jockeying for the best position, claiming their own right to be considered the greatest.

Both Matthew and Mark record an incident on the road to Jerusalem just before the Triumphal Entry. Jesus has just predicted His death for the third time, telling His disciples that when they get to Jerusalem this time, the religious leaders are going to condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles who will mock Him and spit on Him, scourge Him with the Roman equivalent of a cat-o'-nine-tails whip, and kill Him. But He assures them, He will rise again three days later. It is in this context that James and John along with their mother approach Jesus, take Him aside, and ask for a special favor (Matthew 20:20-24). They want—and their mother wants for them (What mother would not?! She even kneels down before Him.)—the special seats of highest honor, one sitting on His right hand and one on His left when He becomes King.

The blind arrogance with which they ask honestly exposes all of our hearts and our own foolish appeals: "We want You to do for us whatever we ask"! (Mark 10:35-37). Who do they think is "Lord" in this situation? They didn't know what they were asking. Thoughts of servitude and persecution, shame, pain, and ignominy (disgrace, dishonor, and humiliation) were farthest from their minds. The other disciples were incensed over this request, revealing their own desire for those positions. All the disciples were constantly displaying a one-upmanship attitude toward each other and toward those outside their circle (Mark 9:38-41, Luke 9:54) as well as a desire for recognition and honor (Matthew 19:27, cf. Luke 18:28 and Mark 10:28).

Our own initial reaction in reading this mirrors the disciples; we feel disdain and outrage toward this presumptive request. But why? Because we all want to be chosen for the visibly honorable spot. Their request—and our subsequent reaction—unmasks us. We bask in being shown honor. We dream of it. We hope for it. And if given, we rejoice in it. It feels right and good to us. It's a comfortable fit. We don't even consider how it might feel to another. If, or when, we are asked to take a low place, do a behind-the-scenes job, or worse, are simply overlooked and unnoticed, we feel an injustice has been committed against us.

Jesus' road to exaltation is quite different. It is one of service and suffering. He asks these two disciples if they are capable of walking that path. They are certain they are up for the task. The question itself seems a challenge that would boost their already-inflated egos. Oh, how riddled we are with upside-down thinking, blind to our own wretched self-centeredness, grotesquely unaware of all the subtle ways we look down on others while thinking more highly of ourselves; we have a penchant lack of others-consciousness.

Even in the middle of the final Passover supper, just after Jesus has told His disciples that He is going to suffer, that this is His last meal with them, and that one of them is going to betray Him, they begin to argue again over which of them He favored the most, and who would have the most honorable seats of power in His Kingdom (Luke 22:24). As we piece the story together from all four Gospels, Jesus, in answer, gets up and takes a towel and a basin of water. His actions speak louder than words, confronting and convicting their self-centered lust for recognition and glory.

No one said a word as Jesus went from one disciple to the next. Each one's thoughts must have been roiling with conflict as the cool water poured over their feet and they felt the hands of Jesus rubbing the grit of the day from between their toes. They should have been doing this for Him. But surely this lowly job was beneath them also as His closest followers. They were going to help Him reign. They were going to sit in seats of honor beside Him. They were to be esteemed and obeyed . . . and served by others who could only wish for such positions. The disciples weren't to be the servants in Christ's Kingdom! That would imply a more distant relationship.

The shocked silence continues to thicken, becoming more uncomfortable as Jesus passes from one to another around the room . . . until He gets to Peter. No, no, NO! He is not going to let Jesus perform such a lowly task on him. It just wouldn't be right. He at least would speak up and prove he was better than the rest, even if being better meant not allowing Jesus to serve him. Not one to just go along with the crowd, Peter blurts out what they probably all had been thinking but didn't really know how, or if, to articulate: "Lord, are You washing my feet?...You shall never wash my feet!" (John 13:6, 8).

He was essentially saying, “No, Lord.” The irony of that statement! No, Lord. It was a clear contradiction. You don't say no to someone who is your lord and your master. But Peter often thinks he knows better than the Lord, and he's not shy about saying so. Most of us, like the other disciples, hold back from voicing such things out loud, but that doesn't mean we aren't thinking them. Peter was just willing to be the honest spokesman. So he once again tries to adjust the Lord's thinking. We all do the same. We are so confident that our way of thinking is right. Even after Jesus' display of humility and servitude, Peter adamantly boasted that though all the other disciples might turn scared and run, he never would; he was confident he had the greatest commitment and would stand by Jesus to the bitter end, even accepting death himself (Mark 14:29, 31).

But with this act, using a common basin of water and a towel, Jesus is very intentionally trying to adjust His disciples' thinking—and ours, for we are no different. Jesus' teaching and way of life are so contrary to our natural desires and ways of thinking. We want the first place for ourselves; we want to be on top. Jesus addressed this ingrained propensity over and over with His disciples. His Kingdom is utterly opposite. The way we think and live is completely upside down. Jesus is teaching us how to live right-side up—or to use a Bible term, uprightly.

Jesus takes this occasion during the Passover meal to instruct all of His disciples about Kingdom living. The world turns on rulers lording it over those under them. The Great exercise their authority over the not-so-great. Christ is not looking for that kind of leader. His followers must learn to think and lead differently. They must learn to think and act out of love.  Being a leader in Christ's Kingdom requires becoming others-oriented: choosing to serve, taking the low place, rejoicing in the exaltation of others, and even seeking to promote the exaltation of others. This requires a new heart and a renewed mind. Transformed by the incredible love of God, the motivations of our hearts change from self-affirmation to love of others.

Prior to telling us that Jesus took up a towel and a basin of water, John lists the things that were in the heart and mind of Jesus. He knew His hour had come to depart from this world and return to the Father. He knew His destiny and His calling. Love for His disciples filled His heart, motivating His actions. Though an excruciating death was looming before Him, His thoughts and intentions were on how He could show love to His disciples clear up to the very end. No thoughts of self-need, only thoughts of them—what they needed and whether they would remember and experience the fullness of His love for them. He knew the spiritual forces at work in Judas' heart to betray Him. But He also knew who He Himself was before God and why He came come to earth. Jesus knew God had placed the entire world-redemptive plan in His hands, and that He was the Inheritor of all things, given to Him from His Father. He knew He had come from God and was going back to God. He knew the Father loved Him; He was fully encased in that love (John 17:21-26). His identity was firmly rooted in who He was before God, not in what others thought of Him, nor in what they might do to Him. No circumstances, no matter how diabolical and painful, could unseat His firm grip on the Truth. He knew . . . He loved . . . He knew (John 13:1-3). He didn’t have to prove it. He knew.

They would need the memory of His love in the days ahead. With his foolish boast shattered as the morning began to dawn the following day, Peter would need it to overcome his guilt at denying the Lord in His final hour when He needed him the most. The love of Christ draws us back, compels us to repent and to find shelter and comfort once again in the mercy and grace of God. The disciples would need it to speak boldly for Christ in the face of persecution—beatings and imprisonment. They would need it when they faced death for their belief in Christ. It has been recorded that when an early disciple of Christ was taken out to be executed, the other imprisoned believers would call out to them this encouragement that echoed down the stone corridors of the prison: "Remember Christ!" Yes, remember Christ: not just His example of endurance, but the greatness of His love—for you. Through Christ, God has drawn us with cords of love to Himself. He is the Master who has come to serve us.

Conforming our hearts and minds to this new paradigm necessitates receiving our well-being from a different source. The motivations of our hearts must change from self-need to love of others. Rather than needing the accolades and servitude of others to prop up our less-than-stellar egos, we must begin to redefine ourselves. That can only happen as we come to know who we are in God's mind and heart. One paraphrase puts it this way: "Jesus, being satisfied with the honor given Him by His Father, didn't need to prove His greatness to anyone."^[1]

The Wycliff translation of the New Testament in Hawaiian Pidgin puts John 13:3 in this way: "Jesus know dat his Fadda wen give him all da power ova everyting."^[2] And Jesus, when giving His disciples their final commission before ascending back into heaven after His resurrection, made this astounding claim: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Emphasis added.) After washing the disciples' feet, Jesus said, "You call Me Teacher and Lord, and that's good, because that's who I am." He is Lord. He is our Master. This is the truth about who He is: Supreme Lord over all.

One day Christ will return in all His power and glory to judge the world and to destroy the powers of evil, eradicating them forever. The name He bears at that time will be King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). All earthly powers will bow to His authority and all the powers in the spiritual realm will be subordinated to Him: ALL things in heaven and on earth and under the earth. At that time every tongue will confess that Jesus is LORD (Philippians 2:10-11, cf. with Ephesians 1:10 and Colossians 1:19-20).

A few years ago I taught these names of Jesus from the book of John to grade school and middle school children at our small local school. As I shared with them this story of Jesus washing the feet of those who followed Him, I posed this question: " A Lord who loves, a Lord who serves, a Lord who takes the lower place to lift up and care for those under Him—who wouldn't want to follow a Lord like that?" Dr. R. G. Lee said in a sermon entitled "The Name Above Every Name": “There never was a name like the name of Jesus—so representative of sacrificial love at its best."^[3] 

Based on the character of Christ and His lordship, which is always benevolent and always right, Pastor Roger D. Willmore states, "I contend that if the Christian has settled the lordship issue, then all other issues in his life are also settled. When Jesus is Lord of a person’s life, he will fulfill his duties, obligations, and responsibilities with joy. . . for the Christian that great confession [that Jesus Christ is Lord, Romans 10:9-10, Philippians 2:11] should be an everyday reality. A Christian should live moment by moment in faithful submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ." It is this moment-by-moment confession that saves us moment by moment from sin and all its ravages (Romans 10:9-10). He goes on to say, "The central message of the Bible is that “Jesus Christ is Lord. . . I must say again that the most important truth in relation to the Christian experience is the lordship of Jesus Christ."^[4]

Jesus calls us to obedience to His right-side-up Kingdom paradigm. Acknowledging His Lordship over every aspect of our lives will cut across the grain of all our entrenched self-glorying. The clear call of Jesus is this: "Follow Me." If you want to be saved from the self-centeredness of sin and all its consequences—positionally, practically, and eternally—there is only one way: submit to the Lordship of Christ. Confess Jesus as your Lord and Master every moment of every day, which means you are committed to obeying Him alone in the daily circumstances of life. Only He can set us free from our self-absorption. You will find no better Lord than He.

Family Worship:  

Memorize Romans 10:9-10 and discuss how to confess Jesus as Lord moment by moment—in the midst of a heated argument, when you are tempted to sin, etc.—and how that will save you from sin. Confessing Him as Lord in those moments of real temptation to sin means you are choosing obedience to Him as your Master rather than your own desires and feelings. This is practical, real salvation! This is how the Lordship of Jesus saves us from sin day by day, moment by moment. With your family talk about and write down the different elements that make up your lives: e.g., the things you own, your various relationships, the things you do (work, school, chores, play, etc. etc.), the ways you respond to things, etc. Over each thing you've written down, write the words "Jesus is Lord."

Pray through that list together, telling Jesus that you acknowledge Him as Lord over each particular area, submitting yourselves to Him.

Jesus Christ: Lord and Master

Scriptures:

Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who doesthe will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Emphasis my own)

Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Luke 6:46-49: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." (Emphasis my own)

John 20:24-28: Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

Acts 2:36: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Romans 10:9-10: If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Romans 14:8-9: For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

II Corinthians 4:5: For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.

II Corinthians 5:15: And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 19:11-16: Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Song: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Here is an excellent article on the Lordship of Christ: https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/books/counterfeit-cross/lordship-of-christ.php#.W9XK3hNKhE4

^[1] J. Daniel Small, The Jesus Trilogy, "Enjoying God" paraphrase, (Brinnon: Family Reclamation Project, 2018), p.

^[2] Da Jesus Book,

[3] Dr. R. G. Lee, The Name Above Every Name taken from Dr. Lee’s sermon notes, Archives, R. G. Lee Memorial Library, Union University, Jackson, TN; quoted in this website: https://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/fellows/spring03/willmore.htm

^[4] Dr. Roger D. Willmore, "The Lordship of Jesus Christ."

https://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/fellows/spring03/willmore.htm