This includes: 1. Leader Preparation 2. Lesson Guide DID JESUS REALLY SAY THAT? Week 3: Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet 1. LEADER PREPARATION LESSON OVERVIEW Sometimes Jesus surprised people with his actions. Sometimes he did it with his words. In this week s lesson, we explore a moment when Jesus used both words and actions to communicate the powerful message: A servant is no greater than his master. Jesus did it by washing his disciples feet and instructing them to serve each other. LESSON OBJECTIVES 1. WHAT: When Jesus washed his disciples feet, it was a visual commandment for us to develop an others-first attitude that is demonstrated through our actions. 2. WHY: Students can see their lives and attitudes change to be more like Christ as they serve others and develop an others-first perspective. 3. HOW: Your young people will be encouraged to find practical ways in the next week to serve others or to express thanks to those who serve. PRIMARY SCRIPTURE John 13:1-20 SECONDARY SCRIPTURE Philippians 2:1-11 TEACHING PREP The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you ll definitely want to refer to it as you lead your small group lesson. Read John 13:1-20. Feet can be nasty little things. Calluses, cuts, odors not to mention they have more knobs than a kitchen. There s an entire industry focused on helping us get pretty feet! And 2,000 years ago, feet were even nastier. There was no indoor plumbing. People walked everywhere. Roads weren t paved; they were covered in dirt and rocks. And often, feet became the collectors of all things gross. Jesus and his disciples had gathered for the Passover meal, marking God s protection of the Israelites in Egypt right before the Exodus (check out Exodus 12 if your students want a deeper look at Passover). On this particular evening in John 13 what we now call the Last Supper Jesus boldly volunteered to wash the feet of his 12 disciples. Um, gross? It s not something many of us would willingly do. We might volunteer to serve food or do the dishes, but wash feet? Probably not. This was a job for a slave, not for an honored teacher.
His action then led to his important saying from this passage. I have set the example. I have served you, and now you can serve others, including the others in this room. Servants aren t greater than their master, and messengers aren t more important the one who sends them. Do these things and you will experience blessing. This was a radical idea that remains a vibrant and life-changing truth today. THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional] Text Message Questions We ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry. Why was Jesus cool with dirty feet? Come to small group tonight and see. Have you served somebody today? Tell us your story at small group tonight. Parent Email We ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs. Dear parents, This week we continued our series on some of Jesus tough sayings from the Gospel of John. We focused on John 13 (the Last Supper), when Jesus demonstrated humility by washing the disciples feet. This was a servant s job. Jesus talked a lot about serving and meeting the needs of others, and this was the ultimate object lesson for his disciples. His actions were followed by a statement: Servants are not greater than their masters, so go and follow my lead by serving others. In our groups, we encouraged our students to find ways to obey Jesus command to serve. Teenagers can serve in big and small ways; what matters is the attitude of the heart. This week, I encourage you to talk with your teenager about specific ways to serve other people. Here are some questions that could help fuel your dialogue: How do you think the disciples felt as Jesus washed their feet? How would you respond if Jesus volunteered to serve you in a way comparable to this? What kind of attitude might you develop if you served others often? What kind of attitude might you start to develop if you rarely served others? When was the last time someone did something for you that was a little humbling? When did you last do something for someone that humbled you? What impact did these experiences have on you? As a family, talk about one way that you could serve each other, a neighbor, or another family. And if it s something that s dirty or uncomfortable, that s great. Thank you for being part of the team and helping your student by putting this into practice! Have a great week!
DID JESUS REALLY SAY THAT? Week 3: Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet 2. LESSON GUIDE GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional] For this week s lesson, get a DVD or record part of the Discovery Channel s Dirty Jobs and show a clip to start your small group time. During each episode, the host tackles a realworld dirty job something that involves tasks or a location that might cause issues for those with, um, sensitive stomachs. Yeah, this show can be pretty gross. But it also can help you and your students appreciate people who clean certain places, repair certain equipment, and interact with certain animals in gross but necessary ways. As with any media you use in a small group, preview the clip you choose to show. Some episodes include moderately offensive language or situations, so use discretion with your group. Make sure that the segment you decide to show is appropriate for the age level of your small group and its gender, because a guys group may have a stronger stomach for some of the scenes than a girls group! As you begin your small group, welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, watch a clip from the show, and then Would you ever do a job this gross? Why or why not? Tell us about someone you know who has a job this dirty. What does this person do, and how much does this person enjoy the job? What might lead someone to that type of employment? Are these jobs really necessary? Why or why not? Would Jesus have ever done anything this gross? Why or why not? SAY SOMETHING LIKE: It s easy to forget that someone has to do these things. When a farm needs cleaning or when gross stuff explodes from a broken pipe, someone has to do the job. It s not fun, and most people don t want to do it, but we re all thankful for the people who dare to take on the challenge. Jesus is pretty amazing, and over the past two weeks, we ve looked at some amazing things that he said. This week, we re not only going to look at something amazing he said, we re also going to talk about something amazing that he did: a dirty job that served others. [NOTE: Take a few minutes to check in with everyone about the accountability challenge from the previous lesson. Ask your students what was hard about it, what was easy about it, and what changes the experience made in their lives. Give everyone the opportunity to continue this accountability beyond this one week. If you choose to do this, make sure to be accountable to your students and check in with them at each study or periodically.] If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your group, and you d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at ideas@simplyyouthministry.com. TEACHING POINTS The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are (1) Find the need, (2) Focus on the person, and (3) Follow Jesus example.
Remember: All throughout these lessons, it s up to you to choose (1) how many questions you use, and (2) the wording of the main points keep ours, or change the wording to make it clearer for your audience. Read John 13:1-20 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to read the text. SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Let s spend a few minutes talking about how we can serve those around us. 1. Find the need What might be a modern-day equivalent of washing someone s feet? What is a job or task that no one else wants to do but is a practical way to serve other people? Why did Jesus choose to wash his disciples feet? Couldn t he have let a servant do the job and still used the experience as an illustration? SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Jesus didn t have to wash the disciples feet, but he recognized that his action would be both tangible and symbolic. It met a practical need, but it also communicated a powerful message of humility and servanthood. Jesus could have let someone else do the foot-washing, but his action multiplied the impact of his message. 2. Focus on the person How did Jesus action communicate his love for his disciples? What s a modern-day equivalent that could send the same message to your friends? How do you think the disciples felt as Jesus washed their feet? How would you respond if Jesus volunteered to serve you in a way comparable to this? Do most people you know have a me-first attitude or an others-first attitude? Explain. How has serving others helped you develop an others-first attitude? Why is motive important in serving others? What happens when you serve others and hoping to get something in return even something as small as recognition or gratitude? SAY SOMETHING LIKE: By doing this dirty job, Jesus put himself in a new position. Because a servant was usually responsible for washing guests feet, Jesus disciples were surprised when he assumed the role. This helps to explain Peter s initial reaction in verses 6-8. Taking on the role of a servant wasn t the normal or expected behavior. 3. Follow Jesus example In verse 17, Jesus said, Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. What things was Jesus talking about, and why does God bless people who do them? Jesus told us to imitate his attitudes and actions how exactly do we go about that?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Jesus wanted his disciples and that includes us to develop a habit and lifestyle of service. He valued service to others, especially people with the greatest needs. Jesus also wants us to share his message with the people around us; that s the heart of his directive in verse 16. We can imitate Jesus actions, but the ultimate goal is to develop inner character that is consistent with Jesus character. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional] Read Philippians 2:1-11, a passage in which Paul talks about how Jesus humbled himself more than we might ever imagine humbling ourselves, and we how we have the opportunity to take on that attitude and pursue it. Why do you think Jesus humbled himself like this? When was the last time someone did something for you that was a little humbling? When did you last do something for someone that humbled you? What impact did these experiences have on you? APPLICATION SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Throughout the Bible, we read about our heart. It s a word used to talk about what happens inside us the core of who we are. God does care what we do and say, but more importantly, God cares about our hearts, and our hearts determine our attitudes. What kind of attitude might you develop if you served others often? What kind of attitude might you start to develop if you rarely served others? If you don t feel like serving other people, is it best to wait until you feel like it, or is it best to just go ahead and serve others? Explain. What dirty job might Jesus ask you to do with this attitude to serve peers at your school? What about people in your family? Who does the job that no one wants to do at church? Who are the invisible servants who take care of keeping everything and everyone clean? What could you do to come alongside those individuals to help serve? Activity [optional] Take the rest of your time to talk about ways you can serve others this week. If you meet at your church, you might be able to do a quick project before tonight ends. You might pick up all the trash or put the youth room back together something custodians may have to do. Or make the custodians a care package to thank them for all the work they do to set up chairs and clean rooms. If you are at a church where it s snowy in the winter, see if you can get there early to shovel snow. If you re considering ideas away from the church location, challenge your students to serve someone who typically doesn t get the appreciation that is deserved, such as the custodians at a local school or their parents. Students could take out the trash or do the dishes at
every meal for a week. You might have some parents wondering what you did to their kids at small groups this week! SUMMARY End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or takehome challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants accomplished with the teaching and discussion time. FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE] Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them (John 13:16-17).