40 DAYS – Time with God – Day 14

₁Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. ₂I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. ₃Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves. ₄And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own. ₅The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:

₃₅Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “there is something we want you to do for us.”

₃₆“What is it?” Jesus asked them.

₃₇They answered, “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.”

₃₈Jesus said to them, “You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?”

₃₉“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized. ₄₀But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.”

₄₁When the other ten disciples heard about it, they became angry with James and John. ₄₂So Jesus called them all together to him and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. ₄₃This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; ₄₄and if one of you wants to be first, he must be the slave of all. ₄₅For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

₁It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

₂Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus. ₃Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. ₄So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel round his waist. ₅Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel round his waist. ₆He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?”

₇Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

₈Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!”

“If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you will no longer be my disciple.”

₉Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!”

₁₀Jesus said, “Those who have had a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. All of you are clean — all except one.” ₁₁(Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)

₁₂After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked. ₁₃“You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. ₁₄I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. ₁₅I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. ₁₆I am telling you the truth: slaves are never greater than their master, and messengers are never greater than the one who sent them. ₁₇Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!