In verse 4 it says that Jesus laid aside His garments. He removed His robe and replaced it with a towel. You know, the towel he is talking about is like an apron, and it was used to protect the servant from splashing water and getting dirt on themselves. But here we have some beautiful imagery. Because we see, here, Jesus divesting Himself of His role as Lord and Master and becoming a servant. Christ was taking on the role of a servant because that was His purpose for coming to the earth for the first time. He came to serve all of mankind.
And as we know, at the end of this method of teaching by God in the flesh, revealed a major extent of His love by giving Himself, in death, sacrificing His life for the spiritual benefit of those following. Could any teacher possibly go farther? Well, this is a major reason why John 13:1 literally says in the Greek language, that “He loved them to the uttermost.” Which means to the last and to the highest degree possible. He gave His life for them.
Where was He going to leave? He was going to leave the earth and go to heaven to be back with the Father. Cosmos here means the earth. Okay, in John 12, this is the one where Jesus used it.
Brethren, it is important that we stop here for a second and understand something. Jesus Christ washed the feet of even the man who was going to betray Him, and He knew who that man was.
