[August 24, 2026] What I have always found fascinating about the Bible is its uncanny and extraordinary insights into human nature, as well as its teaching on basic leadership. One such section of the Bible helps us understand an important lesson.
Bear with me, as I have copied one pertinent passage from the New Testament in the book of Luke. I have focused on this part not because it is the best, but because it illustrates the power of the Bible and the lessons we can learn from it.
My thoughts on how we can gain from this part of Luke follow. Read the following four paragraphs, and perhaps you can see that Jesus is showing us how to be a leader. The Bible is an infinite source of wisdom, and we could spend a lifetime discovering new things, and that is the wonder of the many insights that could only have been inspired by the greatness of its wisdom. If only we would listen.
Here are the passages for you to consider:
Jesus knew that the Father had put all matters into his hands, and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he rose from supper, laid aside his outer garments, and took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to dry them with the towel that was tied around him.
He came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later on you will understand.” Peter said to him, “No, you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you can have no part in me.”’
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed does not need to wash again, except for his feet, and then he is clean all over. And you are clean but not all of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When he had finished washing the disciples’ feet, he put his garments back on and resumed his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?,” he asked them. “You call me Master and Lord; and rightly so, for that is what I am. But if I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet then you should also wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, so that you should do as I have done for you.
– Luke 22:24-30
This is the beginning of the story of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. And later, to His crucifixion.
We have a major theme here. We have washing; this is a service of the lowest by the highest. The purpose of the Master, the person who is highest in the hierarchy, is actually to help, to serve, to care for those below. But he remains in the position of the master. It is interesting because Jesus tells his disciples that they cannot tell him not to wash their feet.
This means that the leader’s authority is there to serve others. The hierarchy is not abolished by Jesus in this chapter, but its very purpose is shown by its very nature. What we are learning is that sovereignty is not inherent in the individual but in the capacity to care for those most in need.
We admire genuine leaders. The principle is that leaders are not arbitrary dispensers of authority. They’re people who have enough capacity and capability to attend to the lowest in their flock. It becomes a sovereignty of care rather than a sovereignty of power.
This idea is absolutely brilliant. The separation of the person from their authority. This is why political systems built upon the strong-man model always fail for those at the bottom of the nation. And also why homes with an abusive spouse are destined to fail and be torn apart, or the seeds of destruction are sown within the children.
In this lesson, we see that while a leader’s power is subjugated to serve, those who are served must also follow the leader. The relationship is voluntarily reciprocal and powerful, and the basis of complex societies that accomplish far more than any one person’s brilliance or capability.
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Connecting key parts of the Bible is interesting. Let’s see how we can see what the past has to offer us today, and the moral foundation of leadership.