In all three of the synoptic gospels Jesus says something to this effect: “I am among you as one who serves.” The word “serves” in the original Greek is diakoneō which is where we get our English word deacon. A deacon is a servant — something we’re all called to be as followers of Jesus. And this scene in John’s gospel demonstrates for us, in a dramatic and very memorable way, what Jesus means by those words, “I am among you as one who serves.” The word deacon never actually appears in this text. Instead, we’re going to seeJesus deaconing! And how Jesus deacons will lay the foundation for how we deacon each other in the body of Christ.