If you are anything like most people, you wish to be served — breakfast in bed, laundry done, dishes washed, or coffee delivered to the desk. You also want to have the recognition that you think you deserve. But in our lives as Christian, Jesus calls all of us to something different. If we want to be great, we must be a servant. Not only is that what Jesus said (Matthew 20), that is what Jesus modeled (John 13). We need humility like Jesus had. That is what this devotional will be aiming to teach to your family, church, or classroom during Easter or at any time during the year.
My Goals for These Object Lessons:
I designed these lessons to give you quick material to teach when you are in need of something but don’t have time for a lot of planning. On occasion, Church leadership has asked me on Saturday night to teach Sunday School the next morning without having materials available until the morning. Having these simple object lessons will help you be more prepared when you need to teach on the spur of the moment — whether in your own home, church, or ministry. This object lesson uses feet washing to demonstrate the humility of Jesus.
Materials:
- White board with markers or Chalkboard with chalk
- Baby wipes (at least one per person) OR bowls with water and washcloth and towels (two people per bowl/towel)
The Main Idea (do not read this until the time in the lesson):
We can choose to be humble because Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this by coming to this earth as a human with its limitations, washing feet to serve His disciples, and ultimately dying on a cruel cross for the sins of everyone in the world — in the past, present, and future. Jesus showed us great humility.
The Main Lesson (start here):
Good morning, kids. I would like to do a fun activity with you. I would like all of you to take off your socks and shoes! Now that you have those off, let’s make a list of words (adjectives) that describe FEET.
Write their responses on the board: **stinky, cute, ugly, big, little, dirty, clean, ticklish, funny, smelly, tired, hairy, brown, black, etc.
Now I would like you to pick a partner and then the two of you decide which one of you will be the leader.
Once you have your leader, raise your hands so I know you are ready for the next instructions. (Wait for the groups and the leaders.)
Next, the leader needs to come over to me and get 2 baby wipes (or bowls of soapy water, a washcloth, and a towel). I would like the leader to sit on the floor and the partner to sit in one of the chairs. The leader’s job is to use the baby wipes to clean the feet of his/her partner. (I assume that these instructions will give lots of feedback from the students. That’s fine. Just keep encouraging them to do it.) Clean the tops, the toes, the bottoms, in between the toes, etc. Then put the used baby wipes into the trash.
When they have finished, bring all the shoeless kids together to talk about their experiences.
- What did you think about being picked as the leader? Did that change when you heard what you were to do as the leader?
- Did you like getting your feet washed?
- How did you feel about washing someone’s feet?
- Would you like someone to wash your feet? Why or why not?
- Do you think that is a job for a leader to do? Why?
- Who would typically have a job like that?
Today we are going to see what the Bible says about having humility like Jesus. Let’s get our Bibles and read John 13:1-17.
Read John 13:1-17.
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so, He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For He knew who was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not everyone was clean.
When He 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. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
We see in these verses that Jesus — who is God — washed His disciples’ feet. He was their leader, yet He humbled Himself to do this dirty job for them. In verse 1-2 it says that He was showing them how much He loved them — until the end. In this culture people walked everywhere, and their feet became really dirty. Jesus deserved to have servants tending to His every need, yet He left the glories of Heaven, became a common man, and then lowered Himself to die a terrible and humiliating death on a cross.
Today, as we reflect on how we felt during the feet washing time and then on what Jesus did, we need to do what Jesus asked us to do. We need to have humility like Jesus did. At the end of this passage Jesus tells us to wash one another’s feet. He gave us an example so we would know that in God’s eyes we are all equal… no one is above another.
Read the Main Idea: We can choose to be humble because Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this by coming to this earth as a human with its limitations, washing feet to serve His disciples, and ultimately dying on a cruel cross for the sins of everyone in the world — in the past, present, and future.
How can we show humility like Jesus?
- Let other people go first instead of pushing through the line to be first.
- Praise others effort, even if we think we should be the ones who should be praised.
- Be friendly to everyone – not just those who you are already friends with.
- Do the jobs that people don’t like — take out the trash, clean the toilets, change the baby’s diaper.
- Include others in what you are doing — especially if they are alone.
Read the Main Idea again: We can choose to be humble because Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this by coming to this earth as a human with its limitations, washing feet to serve His disciples, and ultimately dying on a cruel cross for the sins of everyone in the world — in the past, present, and future. I hope that you will intentionally choose to be humble this week.
Let’s pray!
Find more Easter Ideas HERE or other attention getting Object Lessons HERE.
Do you desire to learn to be a more Biblically Minded Family? Follow along in our pursuits to help families live more intentionally HERE.
This devotional beautifully emphasizes the importance of humility and service, inspired by Jesus’ teachings and actions. The object lesson of washing feet is a powerful way to teach children about selflessness and love. It’s encouraging to see how practical and ready-to-use these lessons are, especially for last-minute teaching situations. The activity involving describing feet sounds engaging and fun while driving home the lesson. How can we incorporate such simple yet impactful lessons into our daily lives to reflect Jesus’ humility?