The Composition

Conceived in the spring of 1986, “Divine Servant” ® is Max’s first Christian composition. It is historically unique in the world of art, and considered a masterpiece by many. The poignant composition is now recognized around the world, and has become an international symbol of Christ’s humility and servanthood.

“Divine Servant” ® depicts Jesus Christ in the “upper room” on the night before His crucifixion, when He tried to distill the essence of His entire ministry on earth. First, He explained His life, death and resurrection through the “Lord’s Supper.” Then, Christ began to wash the disciples’ feet, starting with Simon Peter, to teach them about living lives of humility and service to others. Max’s art captures the exact moment when Peter finally submits and allows Jesus to wash his feet (Jn 13: 1 – 17).

Max’s depiction of the men is based on prayer, Scripture, archeology and reference to the ancient, authentic drawings of Jesus and Peter. Crude portraits of the men, made by a first century Christian artist, were found scratched into the walls of the catacombs beneath Rome. The foot-washing bowl, used in Max’s sculpture, has a foot stand patterned after a ceramic basin unearthed in Jerusalem, which dates back to the time of Jesus.

Max depicted Peter as a strong, muscular man, who is tense and uncomfortable, as Jesus begins to wash his feet. Jesus, by contrast, is depicted strong and lean, totally in control of the situation, determined to complete His earthly mission. He knows that He must endure the cross in a few hours. The face of Christ is hidden by his hair in Max’s composition, adding to the mystery of the work. To see the face of Christ, one must first kneel down. The world has never known a greater example of love and humility, than when God knelt down and washed the dirty feet of His creation.

The Commission

God told Max to create the “Divine Servant” ® sculpture during the most difficult and humbling time of his life. In the spring of 1986, Max’s wife, Sherry was struggling with a life-threatening illness, the Texas economy had crashed, 95% of Max’s art collectors had gone bankrupt, the Greiners were losing their home and beautiful land in Kerrville, and their marriage was stretched to the breaking point. Unable to fix any of these problems, Max desperately cried out to God.

It was on a clear April afternoon in 1986, as Max drove onto his property, that God spoke into his mind using His “still, small voice. ” God said, “Max, I want you to make a sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet.” Max immediately responded out loud, “But God, what about all these things I’m doing?”God said nothing else. Max disobeyed, not seeing how creating a sculpture of Jesus could solve all of their problems. However, he did promise God that he would someday do the sculpture; realizing God was trying to teach him about humility and servanthood. As a result, their lives continued to spiral downward. Despite the repeated prompting of the Holy Spirit and Sherry, Max continued to disobey.

In May of 1987, God started speaking to the Greiners’ longtime Methodist friend, Jim Beard, of College Station, TX. The Holy Spirit repeatedly told Jim to tell Max to stop what he was doing, and make the art. However, each time Jim gave Max this prophetic message, Max rejected it. Jim’s final “Word” from the Lord was: “Until you do this work, nothing else you do will sell.” Max still continued to disobey and nothing sold until April of 1988, when he finally yielded to God. Immediately, thousands of dollars in art sales began to pour in, saving the Greiner gallery, house and land from foreclosure.

The Creation Process

Having now been humbled, Max finally started the creation process for a 1/6 life-size small sculpture. Max prayed and searched the Scriptures before creating preliminary drawings and clay models. Then, in May of 1988, in an effort to better understand Christ’s example, Max, Sherry and Jim Beard washed each other’s feet. Max learned it is more difficult to have your feet washed, than it is to wash the feet of another. In February of 1989, Max completed the original 1/6 life-size wax sculpture, but at the time did not have the money to cast it into Bronze. However, when he offered the Bronze for sale in a letter with photographs of the original wax, orders for 24 Bronze sculptures at $1,200 each, immediately came in! Max and Sherry were stunned! The restoration of the Greiner family had begun.

In July of 1989, Herman Bailey of the Christian Television Network in Clearwater, FL, commented when he saw the small“Divine Servant”® Bronze, that the sculpture would be wonderful life-size. Max had never even dreamed of making a life-size sculpture of any of his work, due to the high cost of large Bronze sculptures. However, Herman prayed for Max at the Christian Booksellers Convention in Atlanta, for God to make it happen. Within seven months, God raised up two strangers who wanted life-size Bronze castings! By faith, they both were willing to pay $25,000 advance deposits, even though Max had never done a large Bronze sculpture before! God used the men to bring the life-size sculpture into existence. They were Jim Buick, CEO of Zondervan Publishing, and Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim of Pilgrim’s Pride Chicken. Those great men of God were prompted by the Holy Spirit.

In January of 1990, Max began work on the (105%) life-size sculpture, using two friends as live models. Dr. Wayne Rux (33 at the time) posed as Jesus, while a muscular Mike Lindley posed as Peter. During the six-month creation process, Max worked up to 14 hours a day with the assistance of employee, Jose Mendoza, to complete the original sculpture in record time, by mid July of 1990. The large sculpture was carved out of a special blend of wax. Out of 200 lbs of wax only one cup remained after completion!

God also supernaturally selected Eagle Bronze, out of nine foundries, to cast the 1200 lbs life-size Bronze. The #1 casting was delivered to Grand Rapids, MI, in October of 1990. God continues to powerfully use the “Divine Servant”® artwork around the world to communicate visually, the amazing love and humility of Jesus.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Click on the images to enlarge.