What I Have Done for You!


12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13:12-17

Some memories return without any pleasantries attached. The wash rag in the face memory is certainly one for me. My mother would decide that my face was dirty and that she had to attack the problem with a wet wash rag which she would rub mercilessly over my tender skin!

My mother was in this way like Jesus. When Jesus washes me He leaves no dirt behind. Jesus is not satisfied until the job is done and I am clean.

When Jesus washed the disciples feet on the night before He was crucified He asked them this question: “Do you understand what I have done for you?”

He still asks that question of His followers. Do you understand what Jesus has done for you? The answer to that question will never be complete until we stand before the throne in Heaven, but we can know some of it now.

The first thing Jesus did for you was to bring you into being. You didn’t arrive on the scene because of your own effort or wisdom. Your parents did play a role in your creation, but God did the creating. Jesus, the Great I Am is the reason why “I am” here.

Jesus also sustains your life every moment with another breath of fresh air. Without the next breath of air my time on this earth would come to an end in a very few minutes.

Jesus provides food and drink. A handful of seeds can make enough food to feed me for many days when it is committed to God and buried in the ground at the right time of year. When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the large crowd He was doing a quick version of what He does every day all over the world. He multiplies our food to keep us alive.

Jesus also lets me see what He is like. Jesus gives me the possibility of becoming like Him. What other god makes such an offer? That was the problem of Adam and Eve. They attempted to become like God by another means. Jesus is the only way to become like God.

So I will spend my life learning what Jesus has done for me and then I will spend eternity praising Him for it!