Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words love and wash(ed).
Reading
John 13:1–20—Loved to the End
Optional Reading
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Keys for kids
- Zephaniah tells of the deep, tender love of God.
- God the Son, Jesus, shows His deep, tender love to His disciples.
- Jesus loves all who are His to the end.
Questions
- How did Zephaniah tell of God’s deep, tender love?
- How did Jesus show His deep, tender love?
- How long will Jesus’s love for His disciples last?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors.)
Zephaniah speaks of the tender, deep love of God for His people. The greatest way we see that love is in Jesus. In Jesus, God demonstrated His love to us, sending Him to die for us sinners. Here John shows the tender, deep love of Jesus for His disciples.
Imagine the most humbling thing you could do for another person. Then imagine someone else doing that for you. Then imagine, if you can, God Himself doing that for you. What we see here is Jesus, taking on the role of a servant and washing the dirty feet of His disciples. Notice the depth of Jesus’s knowledge. He knew his hour had come. Not – oh, wow, look at the time. Repeatedly in the gospel accounts we are told that His time, His hour had not yet come. Now it had. He knew it was time for His eternally planned sacrifice to take place. Notice also the depth of Jesus’s love. This was His special love for His own, for those the Father had given Him. He loved them to the end—to the uttermost. This act, and the talks that follow, and of course His crucifixion showed His love is to the end.
Jesus the foot washer. I hope that title makes you a little uncomfortable. Jesus shows His active submission—like a servant (see Phil 2:7, Luke 22:27). And He shows his active love.
Though Jesus did not wash your feet this action is part of his saving work that saved you. For He loves all who are His disciples to the end.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 42d (note God’s steadfast love, song), 57b
Prayer
- Give thanks for the never-ending love of God in Jesus.
- Give thanks for something from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.