Washing the feet of our children who have gone barefoot as they played outside all day takes some scrubbing to get all the dirt from between their little toes and off the bottoms of their feet, but as moms we do it so they will be clean before going to bed.  We watch the bath water turn brown as our kids become squeaky clean!  Laughter nearly always accompanied bath time, once you got them into the tub.  Getting them out was another story, because they knew bedtime, an activity they didn’t like, was soon to follow.

Imagine washing the feet of someone who has just walked dusty, mucky roads in sandals where animals as well as people traveled–not a pleasant task!  Think about it, it wasn’t just dust and dirt on those roads and pathways where people and their animals traveled each day.  That’s why it was customary in “Bible times” to provide a basin and pitcher of water at the door of most homes so you could wash the dust off your feet before entering the home.  If you were wealthy and generous in hospitality, you had a servant ready to wash the feet of all who entered your home as guests. 

This servant would stand watch, nearby the door, pitcher with water and a basin to delight the feet with a cleansing.  The servant wore an apron/towel for drying the wet feet after the washing. After a guest entered, the servant would bend down to you’re your tired, dirty feet as an act of hospitable service to you. 

Jesus used this customary, ordinary act of service as yet another teachable moment for his beloved disciples who gathered one last time with Him to celebrate Passover Meal. Jesus, their Master Teacher and Lord, lays his robe aside, puts on a apron and takes on the role of a servant. He then bends down to wash the feet of his beloved—even the feet of the one Jesus knew betrayed Him!  Let that settle into our thoughts.  Is this what Jesus meant when He taught, “Love, not only your friends, but your enemies, too”?

John 13, The Message

Washing His Disciples’ Feet

13 ^1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

^3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

⁸ Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”

Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

⁹ “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

^10-12 Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

^12-17 Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

I grew up in a church that washed feet as part of the celebration The Lord’s Supper.  Here’s why we did.  Jesus and his disciples, as Jews, celebrated the Passover Meal to remember the Exodus from Egypt’s bondage to freedom to the Promised Land—all provided by God.  Every step of the meal was steeped in significance to remember this monumental freedom.  But that night, Jesus did a new thing…he washed their feet!  ALL of them! 

Every Maundy Thursday we would gather as a church Body to do what Jesus did in remembrance of what He did for us.  In other translations, there are phrases of this passage that I remember well such as;

“Jesus demonstrated the full extent of His love… “ “Do this in remembrance to Me.” 

“This bread is my Body; This wine is my blood.”  “Take this, all of you and eat it.”

We wanted to do all that Jesus did that night to show “the full extent of His love” by showing our love for Jesus as well as each other.  I thought washing feet was not only normal; but very meaningful as the generations gathered to testify, sing as the spirit moved us in worship, as we served each other with the love of Jesus! 

As I matured spiritually, doing this holy act of service with my sisters in Christ in one room while men gathered in another room to do the same; I learned that serving each other in this way wasn’t about dirty feet.  It was more an act of leveling the playing field.  No one is more important than another in God’ Kingdom.  No one is greater than another.  And no one can boast that they have served more than Jesus served us. 

In truth, the point Jesus was trying to make to his guys who argued more than once about who was the greatest in the Kingdom, was this: “I came not to be served, but to serve.”  To be like Jesus, we follow what He did.  To reflect His love; we must be ready and willing serve in ways that show the full extent of our love for God and others He has created! 

His disciples must have watched Jesus in awe and wonder as took off His robe and left His position at the head of the Table to pick up the apron of a servant, carry a basin and pitcher of water to each pair of dusty feet.  Wait, what?!  Then they watched their Teacher bend down low to wash their feet!  And, Jesus knew about Judas and his betrayal plot.  Jesus washed his feet and served the bread and wine to him as well.  Yes, let that sink in.

Imagine it.  Thoughts of performance, competition, greed, and arrogant greatness must have slowly dissipated like fog when the sun shines bright.  As they watched Jesus serve in this way; a new attitude of humility must have permeated the room as each pair of feet were washed.  The sweet odor of the fragrant of Christ showing the “full extent of His love” replaces the smell of dirty feet.

Yes, He is God, the God who washes feet! 

That evening, Jesus’ supreme act of servanthood ushered in even greater demonstrations of His love for us.  Here’s some of the evidence:

• Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, who “came to seek and to save the lost,” willingly and obediently allowed the officers to arrest Him after the betrayal kiss of Judas.  (Luke 19:10)
• Jesus’ will ultimately show the full extent of His love as He, “who knew no sin becomes sin for us” taking our place for the punishment we deserve to pay. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Because of the love of God, Jesus will defeat death rising in resurrection power—the same power available to us to battle the enemy’s attack on our faith.  The greatest need we have is Jesus!  Jesus told us we will overcome because “Greater is HE in us than he (satan) who is in the world.”  We can live in confidence because of His greatness living in us. (1 John 4:4)
• Upon believing, God knew we would need a Helper after His Son returned to His position as King of kings and Lord of lords.  (Philippians 2) That Helper and Counselor is His Holy Spirit who is with us 24/7. John 14:26  God’s Holy Spirit helps us to have the same attitude Jesus had!
• “I am with you always—even until the end of the age.”—Jesus, Matthew 28:20

We learn that washing feet is not about dirty feet. It’s about showing the love of God in us by our willingness to help each other.  It’s changing our attitude as we seek to be more like Christ.   It’s developing a compassionate heart like the One we worship and say we believe.  In other words, washing feet may be listening to an anxious mom, serving a meal to a family in crisis, helping someone find directions by taking them there, reassuring and affirming the faith of a believer who is questioning, offering a hug and a smile as needed….the list goes on and on…there’s a lot of feet to be washed!

Jesus loves unconditionally.  Jesus served mankind as a way to show the love of God.  Jesus taught us to do the same.  The more we love Jesus, the more we love each other.  The more we become like Jesus, the sweeter and stronger our relationships become with God and others. 

All the commandments of God hang on these two:  1.  Love God, 2.  Love Others.   

Lord,

Help us to fix our attention on you, focusing on your will instead of our own.

In Jesus Name, Amen