LIVING LIFE CONNECTED TO CHRIST
Living Life Connected to Christ
Who doesn’t love a strong Wi-Fi connection? With a good signal, we feel like the world is at our fingertips. We can digitally go anywhere. Unfortunately, we also know the frustration of a bad connect where the signal occasionally drops or you lose your connection completely.
We may feel a Wi-Fi connection is important, but a connection to Christ is critical. Thankfully, Jesus makes that connection possible, and He makes the connection strong. In John 13–16, Jesus shared a last meal with His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion. In that setting, Jesus gave them—and us—a goldmine of truth about humility, faithfulness, power, love, and victory. These are things we can all experience as we look to Him and choose to live our lives fully connected to Him.
As we observe Jesus in this setting and learn from Him, we will begin to understand what it means to be like Him and to live the life He died to give us. I pray this study will help us be more fruitful and abundant as we learn to live more connected to Christ.
Living Life Connected to Christ
Session 1 A Life of Humble Service John 13:3-10,14-16
Session 2 A Life of Loyalty John 13:21-27,31-35
Session 3 A Life of Trust John 13:36–14:6
Session 4 A Life of Love John 15:9-17
Session 5 A Life of Persecution John 15:18-25; 16:1-4a
Session 6 A Life of Victory John 16:19-22,27-33
1. A Life of Humble Service
Question 1:
What characteristics do you think of when it comes to a hero?
THE POINT
We reflect Christ when we serve others with humility.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
I read a lot of books about kings, swords, and medieval battles. I have discovered that these books of fantasy tend to highlight a fundamental flaw of humanity. In these fictional worlds, strong kings crush weak ones. The fastest blade wins. The frail end up serving the fearsome.
Of course, we don’t live in a time of swords and kings, but ours is still a world in which those with strength often oppress instead of support. In the real world, many in positions of power abuse it, but the strongest Person in history set a different example. Jesus walked the earth with the power of God Himself, but He didn’t crush, kill, or overwhelm. He had power the world had never seen, but He used it to serve.
That is to be our way as well. Since being connected to Christ gives us opportunity for abundance, and since being like Jesus means becoming the person God wants us to be, then we should treasure humility. The God of heaven put on flesh and served the world. And we reflect Christ powerfully when we serve with humility.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 13:3-5
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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.
God washed feet. God—THE God—wrapped a towel around His waist, poured some water, and washed some feet. Isn’t that incredible? Of course, when the God of heaven inhabited a human body and lived a life with regular people, it surely was going to lead to a few remarkable interactions, but Jesus washing His disciples’ feet has to be one of the more surprising scenes of His life.
Question 2:
What does a humble person look like?
Verse 3 helps us embrace the significance of this moment. John helps us appreciate this act of service by reminding us where Jesus came from and where He was going. Let’s not be so focused on what Jesus did on this occasion that we forget who He is. He certainly didn’t. “Jesus knew that . . . he had come from God and was returning to God” (v. 3).
Jesus knew the power He had. Of course He knew, as His disciples did, the miracles He was capable of performing. Throughout John’s Gospel of Jesus’ life, we see stunning evidence of the fact that “the Father had put all things under his power.” Jesus healed an official’s son (John 4:46-54). Jesus fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish (6:10-13).Jesus walked on water (6:19-21). Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (11:41-44). That’s what the power of God looks like. Everything had been given into Jesus’ hands; He knew it, and He demonstrated it—but He also demonstrated humility.
Verse 3 also shows us Jesus knew where He had come from and where He was returning. “Jesus knew that . . . he had come from God and was returning to God.” John’s Gospel began by pointing to the divine origin of Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (1:1-3). Jesus created everything. Jesus has authority over everything. Jesus was about to die for the sin of the world, conquer death by being resurrected, and return to heaven to rule forever. Jesus knew all this, yet with all that power and authority, what did He choose to do in this moment? He washed feet.
It’s an incredible example. We can find no greater model of humble service. We are called to be like Jesus. We have been given the privilege of being connected to the One True God who has everything in His hands. And if Jesus can work, we can work. If Jesus can die to Himself, we can do likewise. When we see how He served through His miracles, through His selfless acts like this one in John 13, and ultimately through His death on the cross, we are changed, and we are moved to be like Him. Through Jesus, we have the joy of humbly serving others.
John 13:6-10
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 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.”
I grew up in a church that practiced foot washing. Most of the time, when the church shared the Lord’s Supper, we would follow that up by washing one another’s feet. It was a vivid reminder of Jesus’ example. As a young person, my dad washed my feet; he also was the principal of my school. My fifth-grade friend, the fastest kid I knew, washed my feet. One of the pastors even washed my feet once. In that moment I thought, There is now no higher foot-washing for me. I’ve had my heels toweled off by a man of the cloth.
Peter’s experience put mine to shame. His feet were not washed by a school principal, a speedster, or a pastor. The One he had already acknowledged as the Messiah washed his feet (Matt.16:16). If we struggle with the image of God washing feet, we are not alone. Peter strongly protested. Peter had not volunteered to wash feet, yet it made much more sense for him to be washing Jesus’ feet. In typical Peter fashion, he stood his ground on the protestation: “You shall never wash my feet” (v. 8).
Peter’s foot-washing protest set Jesus up to share that He can forgive sinners and make them clean. Just as Jesus humbled Himself and took on the servant’s task of washing feet, He humbled Himself further by taking our sin as His own and dying on the cross.
The humility of Christ isn’t just the greatest example of power being used to serve others, it brings with it the most stunning and gracious outcome of serving others the world could ever know. Jesus’ humble act of dying on the cross for us was also singularly generous, for by it He offers us forgiveness, holiness, freedom, joy, and eternal life.
The gift of the gospel is a connection to Christ, friendship with Christ, and the ability to be “in” Christ. Jesus, the humble Servant, doesn’t leave us half dirty. He gives us the full measure of His forgiveness and makes us completely clean.
Question 3:
How would you explain Jesus making us completely clean to another person?
John 13:14-16
14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
Jesus pointed us to the value of service in verses 14-16: we find great worth in serving as Jesus served. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” This is another reminder of just who was doing the dirty work of washing feet that day. It was Jesus, their Master and Lord. The One with the authority was also the one with the towel. The Leader humbled Himself to serve.
He calls us to do the same. Jesus could have said that for no other reason than because He is God. He created us. What He says to do is what should be done. When the Creator speaks, the created should obey. Period. But Jesus wasn’t just ordering others to do something merely because He said so. He was calling us to be like Him.
Question 4:
Why is it so important to Jesus that we serve others?
Jesus went on to perform the greatest act of service: He sacrificed Himself. The One who told us to humble ourselves died for the very ones He commands. His death in our place melts us. But even still, He isn’t just the Creator and the Servant. In verse 17, He reminds us He is the Blesser. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Shortly before Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for our sins, He promised to bless us for our humble obedience. This reality is all over God’s Word.
- Christ has called us to reflect Him by how we serve others with humility. He modeled this service for us beautifully and clearly. He has motivated us by making us the beneficiaries of His gracious service. And He has promised to bless us as we obey. “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea” (Isa. 48:18).
- “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).
Question 5:
What are some ways our group can humbly serve others in our church and community?
SERVING OTHERS
Choose one of the following images that best represents serving others to you.
Then answer the question.
How does serving others grow your faith and draw you closer to God?
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
PHILIPPIANS 2:8
LIVE IT OUT
We reflect Christ when we serve others with humility. Choose one of the following applications:
- Make a list. Consider the ways Jesus has served you, and thank Him for those things in your time with Him this week.
- Pray for someone you can serve. Ask God to put one person on your heart whom you can serve. Decide how you can serve them, and do that this week.
- Model service as a group. Get with a group, either your small group or a group of family and friends, read John 13:1-17, and either wash each other’s feet or choose another humble act of service you can do together.
Unlike the kings of medieval days, we serve a King who chose to humble Himself to serve us. Let’s ask Jesus to empower us to humbly represent Him to those around us this week.
Teacher's Notes:
What characteristics do you think of when it
comes to a hero?
Doing the right thing when nobody sees.
Gives up their freedom/safety for your
freedom/safety.
Everyone that fights for our country.
Sometimes you got to stand up for people who
can’t stand up for themselves.
A former Canadian soldier known as one of the
world’s deadliest snipers arrived in Ukraine to help the nation defend itself
from Russia.
"I want to help them. It's as simple as
that," the Canadian man, only identified as Wali to protect his family’s
safety, told CBC. "I have to help because there are people here being
bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian."
Wali is a former sniper with the Royal Canadian
22nd Regiment who previously fought in the Afghanistan War. He has a kill distance
of over two miles and is known as one of the world’s most deadly snipers.
Yes, the world does need heroes – but more than
heroes, the world needs a Savior, and His name is Jesus. Now Jesus has powers
greater than any sharpshooter or even John Wayne, but He defeated evil through
submission to God and humble service. Our series begins in John 13.
The
Last Supper: When parents send a child away from
home—whether it’s a young child spending one night with a friend or an 18-year-old
heading to college—they often offer some “last minute” advice, things
the parent deems especially important to remember. On the night before His
arrest and crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples some “last minute” teachings,
things important for them to know. Life would be different after Jesus’
resurrection and ascension, but Jesus’ teachings in John 13–16 point to a
wonderful truth: our lives can be fruitful and abundant because we are
connected to Christ.
The
Gospel of John is very different from the other three synoptic gospels. For
example, there is no birth narrative, no parables (none at all!), no Sermon on
the Mount, no casting out demons, no baptism, temptation nor transfiguration of
Jesus. And there are many things that are not in the other three gospels. For
example, the seven “I am” statements (bread of life, light of the world etc),
the wedding at Cana (water into wine), the many controversies at the Jewish
festivals in Jerusalem, the teaching on the Holy Spirit and details about the
resurrection appearances. Very strikingly John doesn’t talk about ‘The Kingdom
of God’ but rather ‘eternal life’. And the Last Supper dialogue told to us in
John 13-17 is part of what is unique to John (with the foot-washing, the
discussion with Judas, the teaching on the Holy Spirit and the prolonged prayer
in John 17).
Why is
John so different? Scholars have debated that for centuries and there are some
interesting things to be said. However, at the end of his book John tells us
why he wrote the book, why he selected the material he did (and left out the
things he did). He says in John 20:30-31: Jesus performed many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing you may have life in his name.
John
wants us to (a) understand who Jesus is and (b) discover life as we discover
him. And we’ll see these two themes emerge from the last supper – who is Jesus
and what does it mean to have fullness of life and eternal life as we follow
him?
A Life
of Humble Service, Loyalty, Trust, Love, Persecution, and Victory
Jesus
walked the earth with all the power of God Himself, but He didn’t crush, kill,
or overwhelm. He had power the world had never seen, but He used it to serve. Jesus
tells us this morning that we reflect Him best when we serve others with
humility.
John
13:3-5
3
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had
come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off
his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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.
When
we go back to the first century, the lowest of jobs was that of foot washer.
Being a servant was low enough, but the lowest of the servants got the
assignment of washing feet. Feet back them were not wrapped in a nice cotton
sock inside an expensive athletic shoe. Nope. They were exposed to the elements
and all the nasty stuff that accumulated on the road. And someone needed to
wash all that gunk off.
God
washed feet. God—THE God—wrapped a towel around His waist, poured some water,
and washed feet. Isn’t that incredible?
What
makes powerful people a magnet for our attention?
Powerful
people are always listening. Powerful people consider how their plans affect others.
Powerful people know what their strengths are, and they are willing to share
them freely. Powerful people live in a state of gratitude. Powerful people
practice active integrity – they do what they say they will do. Powerful people
are willing to have a difficult conversation.
Personal
power never shows up as power "over" other people, it shows up as
power "with" other people.
Jesus
says, “Look – you want to live a life connected to Me – then live a life serving
others and not yourself.” Life is not about you!
What
is the connection between humility and serving others?
Humility
provides such individuals with a sense of perspective that promotes both
service and sacrifice and enables individuals to give unselfishly of themselves
to change the world. Rather than focusing on themselves, individuals with
humility recognize the value of people and the need to treat others with
respect and reverence.
1. Jesus model’s
humble service
It’s
an incredible example. We can find no greater model of humble service. We are
called to be like Jesus. We have been given the privilege of being connected to
the One True God who has everything in His hands. And if Jesus can work, we can
work. If Jesus can die to Himself, we can do likewise. When we see how He
served through His miracles, through His selfless acts like this one in John
13, and ultimately through His death on the cross, we are changed, and we are
moved to be like Him. Through Jesus, we have the joy of humbly serving others.
Believing
you are more than what you are can be devastating! Yet, understanding who you
are in Christ and choosing to serve your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ
is invigorating!
John
13:6-10
6 He
came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon
Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 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.”
What
does Jesus washing Judas Iscariot’s feet teach you about Jesus?
In washing
Judas’ feet, Jesus is showing us that we are not to be selective with our love.
We have received in abundance the boundless love of God, and so we are to
shower that love on others. Regardless of what a person says or does we are to
love them, never to hold back.
We are
to serve and treat others as better than ourselves, everyone – no matter who,
no matter how much we dislike them, no matter how embarrassed we are of their
company, no matter how angry we are with them, no matter how sinful and evil
they are we are to love them in Jesus, with the very love of Jesus.
Why do
you think humility is so hard for Christians to practice?
When
Christians embrace humility, it pleases God. The fall of Satan shows an ego
that expands unchecked will cross boundaries and eventually grow to fill the
space rightfully occupied by God.
2. Jesus
forgives and makes us completely clean.
Peter’s
foot-washing protest set Jesus up to share that He can forgive sinners and make
them clean. Just as Jesus humbled Himself and took on the servant’s task of
washing feet, He humbled Himself further by taking our sin as His own and dying
on the cross.
The
humility of Christ isn’t just the greatest example of power being used to serve
others, it brings with it the most stunning and gracious outcome of serving
others the world could ever know. Jesus’ humble act of dying on the cross for
us was also singularly generous, for by it He offers us forgiveness, holiness,
freedom, joy, and eternal life.
The
gift of the gospel is a connection to Christ, friendship with Christ, and the
ability to be “in” Christ. Jesus, the humble Servant, doesn’t leave us half
dirty. He gives us the full measure of His forgiveness and makes us completely
clean.
John 13:14-16
14
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash
one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have
done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,
nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
When
is it hardest to follow Jesus’ example of servanthood?
This
centurion is a perfect example of humble servanthood. As a result, Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
What can
help us remain humble when serving others?
God
Himself washed the disciples’ feet.
3. Jesus
calls us to humbly serve others.
Jesus
got to the heart of His illustration. He told the disciples that if He, the
Lord and Teacher, willingly washed their feet, they should wash one another’s
feet. He commanded them to serve each other in the body of Christ by following
His example. The Lord was not advocating having foot washing services but was providing
His church with a foundational mandate. Christians are called to serve each
other as He served them.
The
Leader humbled Himself to serve. He calls us to do the same. Jesus could have
said that for no other reason than because He is God. He created us. What He
says to do is what should be done. When the Creator speaks, the created should
obey. Period. But Jesus wasn’t just ordering others to do something merely
because He said so. He was calling us to be like Him.
How
does serving others grow your faith and draw you closer to God?
Serving
increases our faith. When we serve, God gives us a front row seat to watch Him
change people’s lives. Watching God work in someone else’s life increases our
faith.
Conclusion: The
Bible states, “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a
fall” (Prov.16:18). Pride will keep you from doing what is right. This is the precise
reason Jesus called for everyone that comes to Him to first deny self. Do not
let pride be your downfall. Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, and He
will exalt you in the right season (1 Pet. 5:6).
Jesus
tells us this morning that we reflect Him best when we serve others with
humility.
