As far as ministry-applicable lessons are concerned, Jesus’ upper room discourse (John 13-17) hits the ground running with the first pericope – Jesus’ washing of the disciple’s feet. (John 13:1-20. As we see Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, humble Himself in service to His followers, I cannot think of my own ministry aspirations and how they often fall woefully short, of Jesus’ example. The primary takeaway I get from the first section of the pericope is found in 13:3. Where we read “Knowing the father had given Him all things”. This is such a profound way to begin a lesson on Christ’s service. In a material economy, one would probably assume that those words would be followed by Christ’s assertion of His dominance and subjugation of those around Him. But in the Christian economy, we see that authority must be accompanied with servitude. What a great lesson for those who aspire to ministry. I think that men are often inspired to become preachers after watching our favorite charismatic speaker preach the bible to 1000s of enraptured followers, and in our prideful hearts, we aspire to similar self-exultation. But were we to follow Jesus’ example, it would be a ministry of humble foot washing that we set our aspirations upon.