25 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "You know that the rulers of the heathen lord it over them, and their great men rule as despots over them.
26 It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to hold first position among you must be your slave,
28 just as the Son of Man has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."
Bible verses about "servanthood" | Williams
Matthew 20:25-28
Mark 10:42-45
42 Then Jesus called them to Him, and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule the heathen lord it over them, and their great men rule as despots over them;
43 but this is not to be the case among you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,
44 and whoever wants to hold the first positions among you must be everybody's slave.
45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."
1 Peter 2:16
16 Live like free men, only do not make your freedom a pretext for doing evil, but live like slaves of God.
John 12:26
26 If anyone serves me, he must continue to follow me, and my servant also must go wherever I go. If anyone serves me, my Father will show him honor.
Colossians 3:17
17 And whatever you say or do, let it all be done with reference to the Lord Jesus, and through Him continue to give thanks to God the Father.
Ephesians 5:21
21 keep on living in subordination to one another out of reverence to Christ.
John 13:1-38
1 Before the Passover feast started, Jesus knew that His time had come for Him to leave the world and go to the Father, and as He had loved His own in the world He loved them to the last.
2 So Jesus, while supper was on -- although He knew that the devil had suggested to Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him --
3 because He was sure that the Father had put everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God,
4 got up from the table, took off His outer clothes, and took a towel and tied it around His waist.
5 Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel which was around His waist.
6 Thus He came to Simon Peter. Peter said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus answered him, "You do not now understand what I am doing, but by-and-by you will learn."
8 Peter said to Him, "You must never wash my feet!" Jesus answered, "Unless I do wash you, you can have no share with me."
9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, do not stop with my feet, then, but wash my hands and face too!"
10 Jesus said to him, "Anyone who has taken a bath has no need of washing anything but his feet, but he is clean all over. And you are now clean, though not all of you are."
11 For He knew who was going to betray Him; this is why He said, "You are not all clean."
12 So when He had washed their feet and had put on His clothes and taken His place at the table, He said to them again: "Do you understand what I have done to you?
13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right in calling me so, for that is what I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have set you an example, in order that you too may practice what I have done to you.
16 I most solemnly say to you, no slave is superior to his master, and no messenger is greater than the man who sends him.
17 If you know all this, happy are you if you practice it.
18 I do not mean all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but I know that the Scriptures must be fulfilled: 'The man who is eating my bread has lifted his heel against me.'
19 From now on I will tell you things before they take place, so that when they do take place, you may believe that I am the Christ.
20 I most solemnly say to you, whoever welcomes any messenger I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes Him who has sent me."
21 After saying this Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and solemnly said, "I most solemnly say to you, one of you is going to betray me."
22 The disciples kept looking at one another, but were at a loss to know which one He meant.
23 One of the disciples, whom Jesus specially loved, was sitting very close to Jesus at His right.
24 So Simon Peter nodded to him to ask Him which one it was that He meant.
25 He leaned back on Jesus' breast and said to Him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is that one to whom I give the piece of bread when I dip it in the dish." So He dipped it into the dish and took it and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot's son.
27 As soon as he took the bread, Satan took possession of Judas. Then Jesus said to him, "Make quick work of what you are to do."
28 But no one else at the table knew what He meant by this,
29 for some of them were thinking, as Judas had the purse, that Jesus meant to say to him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor.
30 So as soon as he took the piece of bread, he left the room. It was then night.
31 When he had left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him,
32 and God will through Himself glorify Him, and He will glorify Him at once.
33 Dear children, I am to be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, but, as I told the Jews, so I now tell you, you cannot just now go where I am going.
34 I give you a new command, to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you too must love one another.
35 By this everybody will know that you are my disciples, if you keep on showing love for one another."
36 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "I am going where you cannot follow me just now, but you will later follow me."
37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you."
38 Jesus answered, "You will lay down your life for me! I most solemnly say to you, before a cock crows, you will three times disown me!"
Philippians 2:1-30
1 So, if there is any appeal in our union with Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if we have any common share in the Spirit, if you have any tenderheartedness and sympathy,
2 fill up my cup of joy by living in harmony, by fostering the same disposition of love, your hearts beating in unison, your minds set on one purpose.
3 Stop acting from motives of selfish strife or petty ambition, but in humility practice treating one another as your superiors.
4 Stop looking after your own interests only but practice looking out for the interests of others too.
5 Keep on fostering the same disposition that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though He was existing in the nature of God, He did not think His being on an equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped,
7 but He laid it aside as He took on the nature of a slave and became like other men.
8 Because He was recognized as a man, in reality as well as in outward form, He finally humiliated Himself in obedience so as to die, even to die on a cross.
9 This is why God has highly exalted Him, and given Him the name that is above every other name,
10 so that in the name of Jesus everyone should kneel, in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld,
11 and everyone should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the praise of God the Father.
12 So, my dearly loved friends, as you have always been obedient, so now with reverence and awe keep on working clear down to the finishing point of your salvation not only as though I were with you but much more because I am away;
13 for it is God Himself who is at work in you to help you desire it as well as do it.
14 Practice doing everything without grumbling and disputing,
15 so that you may prove to be blameless and spotless, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverted age, in which you shine as light-bearers in the world as you continue
16 to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure.
17 Yes, even if I am pouring out my life as a libation on the sacrifice and service your faith is rendering, I am glad to do so and congratulate you upon it;
18 you too must do likewise, be glad of it, and congratulate me.
19 I hope, with the approval of the Lord Jesus, soon to send Timothy to you, so that I too may be cheered on getting the news about you.
20 For I have no one else with a heart like his who would take such genuine interest in you,
21 for most people are looking out for their own interests, not for the interests of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know his tested character, how like a son in fellowship with his father he has toiled with me like a slave in preaching the good news.
23 So I hope to send him to you just as soon as I can see how my case is going to turn out.
24 Really, I am trusting that by the help of the Lord I soon shall come myself.
25 But I think it proper now to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-laborer, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger to minister to my needs,
26 for he has been longing to see you and has been homesick because you have heard that he was sick.
27 For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another.
28 I very eagerly send him, so that when you see him you may be glad of it, and I may be less sorrowful.
29 So give him a hearty Christian welcome and hold in honor men like him,
30 because he came near dying for the sake of the Lord's work and risked his life to make up for your lack of opportunity to minister to me.
Philippians 2:7
7 but He laid it aside as He took on the nature of a slave and became like other men.
Luke 22:27
27 Which one, indeed, is the greater, the guest at the table or the servant who waits on him? Is it not the guest at the table? But I am among you as the servant who waits on you.