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The Servant from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

The Lord Jesus Christ is eternal and has been here since the beginning of time. He was here when the Earth was formed and will be here when it is rebooted. He is the Commander of the army of the Lord and has legions of angels available (Joshua 5:14). That is why He could tell the apostles this: 

(Matthew 26:53 NKJV)  ...do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

Yes. He could have. A legion is a Roman army unit that, in the time of Augustus, was about 6,000 front-line soldiers and another 6,000 support troops. So Jesus had around 144,000 angels available that night. In Isaiah 37:36, a single angel killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian army in one night. When the angel rolled the stone away from Jesus' tomb, the Roman guards there shook with fear and became like "dead men" (Matthew 28:4). Angels are incredibly powerful beings. 

It's important to understand how supremely powerful, beyond our comprehension powerful, the Lord Jesus Christ is so that we can see how pitifully small our petty problems are. Jesus is far above the angels (Hebrews 1:3). You can't believe He can cover your electric bill? I can... He owns the gold on a thousand hills. God has never once had a shortage of money. Our limiting factor is how much He can trust us with before it corrupts us. But if you are faithful with the little you have, He will give you more, and there will always be enough. 

The Lord Jesus Christ has a divine, heavenly appearance mentioned a few times in Scripture. Daniel described Him like this: 

(Daniel 10:5–6 NKJV)  I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Compare that with the way the Apostle John described Him:

(Revelation 1:12–15 NKJV)  Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

He changed into His divine appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration: 

(Matthew 17:1–2 NKJV)  Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

The Lord Jesus Christ is AWESOME in the most extreme sense of the word. Yet, He laid aside His heavenly body, His divinity, His Godhood, and was born as the human son of a humble carpenter. His mother, Mary, gave birth to Him in a stable and laid Him in a feeding trough. 

What a stark contrast that had to be. The King of kings was born as a penniless pauper. Jesus grew in stature and faith. He was baptized by John in the Jordan River and driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted forty days and nights. Then He came out of the wilderness in the power of the Spirit and began His mission. 

(Philippians 2:5–8 NASB)  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(Philippians 2:9–11 NASB)  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was a walking resurrection that brought life to everyone around Him. He was like sunshine on a cloudy day. A bright light that appeared to people in horrible darkness. Crowds of people were drawn to Him. 

After praying all night, He chose twelve disciples from the crowds and called them Apostles. He poured His knowledge into these men and shared all things with them. They watched Him cast out evil spirits and raise people from the dead. He gave them power and sent them out on missions to heal the sick, cast out devils, and preach the gospel. 

Jesus worked with these men for three and a half years, but on their way to their last supper together before Jesus was crucified, they were still arguing over who was the greatest among them. 

(Luke 22:24 NKJV)  Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

This wasn't the first time, for it happened before in Luke 9:46. The "sons of thunder" brothers, James and John, had asked to be seated on His right and left in His coming kingdom (Mark 10:37). This greatly displeased the other Apostles who hadn't thought to ask. 

(Mark 10:41–45 NKJV)  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

At the last supper, it was the custom for a servant to wash the feet of the guests, but the servant was missing that night. Though the Apostles were willing to fight for the throne, none of them wanted to hold the servant's towel. So Jesus took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and began to wash the Apostle's feet one by one. It is an incredible picture of His life. The Reverend Kent Hughes wrote it beautifully:

"He lays aside his garments just as he had temporarily set aside his glorious existence. He takes a towel just as he took upon himself the form of a servant. He wraps a towel around his waist, for he had come to serve. He pours water into the basin, just as he was about to pour out his blood in order to wash away human sin. He washes his disciples’ feet just as he cleanses his children. On this remarkable occasion Jesus perfectly staged a portrayal of his whole life from birth to death to resurrection!" 

Jesus, the Awesome, became the suffering Servant. He had come from commanding an army of angels in glory to washing their feet, and these tiny humans were arguing over which of them was the greatest. What a contrast! 

Jesus' way of thinking is so radical, counter-cultural, and against our natural thinking. Even chickens have a pecking order, but we are to lay it aside as He laid His robe aside that night. Most will not do this, but incredible rewards await those who will.   

(1 Peter 5:5–7 NKJV)  ...for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time...

(Luke 14:11 NKJV)  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Lord Jesus Christ set aside heaven to become a servant and instructed us to be servants as well. So let us learn to serve one another while we have the chance. You are earning your future reward in heaven by what you do today. 

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You! Please help me get in tune with what You are doing on Earth today. Make what is important to You, important to me, and let me see others through Your eyes. I will be Your servant. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!