The fact that he was at the table in the first place is astounding. He wasn't naive; he wasn't oblivious. He knew. He understood. He was keenly aware. He had authority over everything. And yet, he still chose to sit down at the table.
John chapter 13 amazes me. I return to it again and again and just wrestle through every line over and over in my head and my heart. Jesus knew that he had authority over everything. Hey, if I knew that about myself, I'd subject everything and everyone quickly. No more disobedience. No more selfish whining. I'm the king. If I knew I was in charge, I'd put people in their place. You wouldn't find me sitting at a table having dinner with a bunch of nobody's; with a tax collector and a terrorist, some scaly fishermen and a betrayer. I wouldn't sit for it! But Jesus, he's at the table.
This is the same Jesus that in John chapter 1 is described eternally… he is the essence of life himself. Without Jesus nothing has been made. Because of Jesus, however, there is a mind-boggling universe, a wondrous planet earth, and there is a tremendous history of humanity. John chapter 1 also describes Jesus as the essence of communication. He is the Word himself. Without Jesus there is no relationship, no understanding, no ability to know.
And so, in John chapter 13, Jesus knew. He knew he was in charge. He knew he could decreate in an instant everything he had made just as much as he knew that he could sit with much more powerful humans than he was at that moment. Did the thought ever occur to him to throw a tantrum and flick Saturn into a tailspin? Did it ever cross his mind to squash with his finger those who annoyed him? Did he get annoyed? He had all power, all might, all infinity-authority… and he chose to take on flesh, dirty his feet walking on this planet, and sit down for dinner with a rag-tag army.
The fact that he got up from the table amazes me… because it means that he was there in the first place. God. There. At the table. With people like me. All in order to show the full extent of his love.