John 13:16-17 16Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Jesus called for his disciples to follow his example. The timeless truth (truly, truly) in verse 16 is similar to one he gave in other settings (Matthew 10:24; Luke 6:40; John 15:20). The meaning is simple to understand, but the application is challenging. The designation of the three persons in this saying is clear in the context of Jesus’ ministry. The servant is a disciple or follower of Jesus, the master (or “lord,” kyriou) is Jesus, and the one who sent is the Father. The word for messenger is translated in other places as “apostle” (apostolos) and means the one who is sent. It likely has the broader meaning here of one who is sent out with a message. Working backward in this sequence, Jesus modeled the Father in all he did. To look at Jesus was to see God, not in physical features as a Jewish male but in spiritual ways. Jesus’ physical features came through Mary and her Jewish heritage stretching back through Abraham and all the way to Adam (Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-38). He was fully human in every way except without sin.
Jesus modeled the crucial position of humble obedience before God. Disciples must imitate Jesus in all ways, with a special focus in this passage on humble service to others. The key theme is implied in the words not greater. Servants and messengers must obey the one over them. Whatever the superior says to do, the one lower must do. In the sequence, the master unifies the servant and the one who sent. In the spiritual realm, the connection between the disciples and God is Jesus. He is the one who reveals to the world what God is like.
Jesus then gave his disciples a simple beatitude in verse 17. Those who follow his example will experience a blessing. The verse is in the form of a simple condition. The disciples were accountable for what they had learned and experienced that evening. The word if (ei) can sometimes carry the meaning of “since” and state the condition that has already been met. Behind this clause is the assumption that the disciples had seen and so became obligated to obey if they wanted to experience the outcome of the condition. If they followed through and did what Jesus did, they would experience a blessing. The blessing is not stated. We can imagine many blessings related to serving others. At the foundation of obedience to Jesus is the blessing of his presence and relationship with us through the Holy Spirit.
A secondary blessing that results from the first is the testimony of one’s relationship with Jesus that comes in service to others. The fourth person not mentioned in this sequence is the one who is served. The greatest message received by this fourth person comes because the third entity of the servant is imitating the master in humble and loving service. The blessing in this second level comes from being like Jesus in this world. The fourth entity who receives our service may not always return any appreciation or even acknowledgment of our service to them, but we will receive the spiritual blessing of knowing that Jesus is with us and we are becoming more like him in the likeness of who God created us to be.
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