“But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.”
Matthew 3:11
In the days of John the Baptist, rich households employed various levels of servants for different responsibilities around the home. Yes, there was even a servant who had the lackluster job of untying a guest’s sandals and carrying them aside.
John the Baptist couldn’t think of a better way to humble himself before the Lord than to say that he would carry his Savior’s sandals. To him, it was a vocation of humility.
But Jesus demonstrated a more amazing model of humility when He placed Himself lower than even a sandal-carrying slave. Jesus not only untied the sandals of his disciples and placed them to the side, but He went further and washed their dirty feet — a responsibility of the lowest servant on the household totem pole.
John the Baptist extolled the power and greatness of the Lord Jesus. But Jesus was the One who glorified His power by divesting Himself of it in order to wipe clean the filthy feet of common men. And in so doing, Jesus showed us what power there is in sacrificial love and humble service.
A job description for a lowly servant can be found in Philippians 2:3-4, which says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”
How appropriate that a couple of verses later we are told that Jesus took on this job description, made Himself nothing, and became a servant. Your attitude today should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
Lord, I want to be Your servant. May I serve others today as You would, always considering my brothers and sisters as better than myself. Give me Your servant’s heart, please.
