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You only need to concern yourself with four things! In a world filled with all kinds of noise, how do we focus ourselves on what’s truly important? What IS truly important anyway? In this message, we look at the four central commands of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Four things he emphasized repeatedly are the things we should consider “non-negotiable.” Listen up and figure out which one is your next point of growth.

In yesterday’s passage, Jesus declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and he then does something that makes perfect sense—he gives a command. If you have all authority, you give people commands. That’s the way it works, and we understand it.

Here, however, we are told that Jesus, knowing that the Father had put all things under his power, stoops down to wash the smelly feet of his Twelve disciples… even Judas.

Now that doesn’t make sense on any level. The house most likely had a hired servant whose job it was to wash feet. If there were no servant, then each person could have done it for himself or just not done it at all. It wasn’t a life or death situation that these feet had to be washed and they had to be washed now. On top of it all, Jesus commanded all the authority in the universe. If anyone were going to wash anyone’s feet, Jesus should have been on the receiving end. On top of that, Jesus knew full well what Judas was about to do… and he washed Judas’ feet anyway!

If I had all the authority in the universe, you could find me giving commands, but you wouldn’t find me washing feet.

But I don’t. And the one who does not only did just that, but he tells me to do it for others. There is a command here. The one with all the authority has given a command, but it’s a command to show love for others the way he has shown love for us.

Here’s the bottom line. What Jesus does here demonstrates two simple principles for us.

1. Loving people is about seeing a need, however large, and initiating the action to meet that need.
2. Following Jesus is about passing on to others the love he has shown to us.

Why not do it? Today, think of one person with a need and do something to meet it. Today, think of one way Jesus has shown love to you and do something to pass that on to another.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: John 13:17… Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

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God had the power to visit Moses in a burning bush, so he has the power to visit everyone in a burning bush, but he chose to only do it once with Moses. Moses was supposed to pass on the message to others.

Jesus has the power to train disciples, but he only does it with a small group of men. They are supposed to pass on the training to others. Why is that? It’s because the special examples of God breaking into humanity and taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, are just that—special! They are the exceptions rather than the rule. The exception is that God breaks powerfully into one person’s life. The rule is that whatever your encounter with God has been, you are called to pass that on to others.

Here it is in practical terms. Everything Jesus has done for his followers has been to make them into disciples—truly devoted followers who grow more like their teacher. Everything has been about disciple-making. Disciple-making is doing what Jesus did. Therefore, Jesus is telling his disciples to pass on to others whatever he has done for them.

So what does that mean for us? I’ll get really practical. Every single thing that is true about you is something God is using to make you more like Jesus, and that means that every single thing that is true about you is something God wants you to use to help others become more like Jesus. Whoever you are you are for becoming like Jesus and helping others do so too. Whatever you can do, you can do to become more like Jesus and help others to do so too. Wherever you live, you live to become more like Jesus and to help others do so too.

Your calling is to take whatever is true about your life and turn it outward into helping others become more like Jesus.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: What’s one thing that you love about you? How can you use that to help others become more like Jesus?

Jesus isn’t interested in Peter’s feelings here. In fact, he actually says some things here that scare Peter and wound his pride some, but that’s not what we will be looking at today.

Jesus says something to Peter that I have often wondered about. He asks Peter if he loves Jesus “more than these.” What does that mean? More than what? More than the fish they are eating? More than Peter’s love for other people? Or is Jesus asking Peter if Peter’s love for Jesus surpasses other people’s love for Jesus? What’s the real question here?

Whatever the nature of the question really is, the intent is clear that the question isolates Peter. Jesus uses a little phrase to get Peter mentally alone with him. “More than these” is a phrase that would cause me to start speaking in hushed tones. I don’t want people to hear me talking about them. But in the privacy of the hushed voices, Jesus says words to Peter that shake him up.

1. Peter is to be responsible for feeding the multitudes of followers who will come soon.
2. Peter is going to be terribly persecuted and killed in a way that brings great glory to God.

Then Jesus puts the exclamation point on the statement by saying “Follow Me!” — This is what I’m telling you, Peter, and you must follow my instructions.

But good old Peter, never one to understand the first time around, allows his gaze to shift away from Jesus (I recall his gaze shifting away from Jesus once before on a stormy sea…) and toward a meandering John. “What about him, Lord? How’s he going to die?”

Jesus won’t hear of it. “Whatever I want to do in John’s life does not concern you. You follow me!”

How often do I want to follow Jesus the way others get to follow Jesus? How often do I wish others had to follow Jesus the way I have to follow Jesus?!

But the concern for other people is irrelevant. What’s that to me?

Jesus, pulls me aside, and speaking in hushed tones, says, “I have something for you to do. Follow me.”

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: Following Jesus means following him on the trail he’s blazing for you alone. Follow him his way regardless of how others seem to be following him.

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Jesus never calls this a “great commandment” or an “essential,” but he says it so often that we have to recognize this command as a huge priority for him. Simply put, it’s the command to follow Jesus.

Throughout the New Testament, the concept is repeated time and time again that the ultimate goal of the life of the human being is the imitation of Christ. Jesus is the model for what being human really is all about, so when he looks at Matthew and says, “Follow me!” he means something much more than simply, “Hey, buddy, come over here!”

It’s an old gag from the days of vaudeville for one person to say, “Walk this way” and then be followed by another person who walks not only in the same direction, but also in the same manner as the person leading the way.

It’s a common child’s game for one child to be the “leader” and the other children to follow by imitating the patterns of the first child.

We understand leadership and followership, but we fail to grasp the significance of Jesus’ words to us that we are to follow him.

Following Jesus means that we are of course to go where he goes, but also that we are to do what he does. Where does he go and what does he do? It’s really simple, actually. Jesus goes where there are people far from God and he exposes them to the powerful grace of their Heavenly Father. He speaks words of challenge and encouragement, but it’s always about demonstrating powerful grace… even when demonstrating that grace comes at great personal sacrifice.

That’s what taking up our cross means! It doesn’t mean just being willing to die for Jesus. The cross is about something far greater than simply death. The cross is about a powerful act of grace, and one person willing to live out the power of grace by giving his own life for the sake of others.

Taking up my cross isn’t about being willing to die for Jesus. It’s about being willing to die for others! Now that’s tough. But that’s what Jesus did, and I’m committed to following him.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: Who will I meet today who is far from God? How can I demonstrate the power of grace to that person?

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