“After that [Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
John 13:5
Have you ever experienced an injury or illness that made it hard to go about your daily routine? Several years ago, I shattered my heel bone and was laid up for months—couldn’t walk, couldn’t drive, could barely work. It was frustrating and humbling. If “handicap” is defined as “a disadvantage in filling a role in life relative to a peer group,” I certainly fit that description at that time.
Author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada (herself someone who is paralyzed) says, “Jesus Himself was handicapped …. Although He was God, He made Himself nothing.… Yet it was through His very weakness that the Lord was able to triumph.”
I don’t usually think of Jesus in those terms. But our reading today affirms that Jesus gave up the glory He had in heaven to serve you and me. He served us not by washing our feet, but by doing for us what we cannot do on our own: washing away our record of sin and clothing us with His righteousness. Because of the gospel, our weakness is our strength, and disability is transformed into a display of God’s glory.
Author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada (herself someone who is paralyzed) says, “Jesus Himself was handicapped …. Although He was God, He made Himself nothing.… Yet it was through His very weakness that the Lord was able to triumph.”
I don’t usually think of Jesus in those terms. But our reading today affirms that Jesus gave up the glory He had in heaven to serve you and me. He served us not by washing our feet, but by doing for us what we cannot do on our own: washing away our record of sin and clothing us with His righteousness. Because of the gospel, our weakness is our strength, and disability is transformed into a display of God’s glory.
Scripture Focus
Philippians 2:1-11
Insight
“If you’re struggling today, know that you are in an elite fellowship with Jesus Christ, the one who chose to be handicapped for your sake.”(Joni Eareckson Tada, 2020)
Bible In A Year
- Job 39-40
- Psalm 61
- Luke 24
