Title: Washing the Disciples’ Feet

Read: John 13:1-17

Scripture Reading: John13:1-5

​“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. ² And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”

Main idea: The way to follow Jesus is to serve others humbly. Today we ought to think of foot washing as an example of servant leadership.

Foot washing
Foot washing was so menial that according to some Jewish sources, Jewish slaves were exempt and the job kept for Gentiles. Jewish book of Joseph and Asenath, Joseph’s bride, Asenath, is so overcome with love for Joseph that she offers to wash his feet. When Joseph protests and sends for a servant girl, Asenath interrupts him. “No, my Lord, because you are my lord from now on and I (am) your maidservant. For your feet are my feet and your hands are my hands … another woman will never wash your feet” (J. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, London: Darton, Longman, Todd, 1985, 2:234).

“Jesus knew that His hour had come” (John 13:1)
For many Christians, the Gospel of John is the spiritual high point of the entire New Testament, which is why John is often recommended as a first book to read for those new to Christian faith. Within John, the chapters that present Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples, his arrest, and his crucifixion are especially precious to believers’ hearts. Jesus was fully aware that his time had come to leave this world and return to his Father, he devoted his last hours to teaching and encouraging his disciples. It is now the night of the Passover Feast, at which Jesus would celebrate his Last Supper with the disciples. Sometime before the supper, the devil had persuaded Judas to betray Jesus and thus bring about his death. Jesus’ hour is the showdown between the powers of evil and the love of God that will conquer them in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Having emphasized Jesus’ love, John also emphasizes his knowledge, sovereign power, and divine identity. Jesus was fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power.

“He loved them to the end” (John 13:1-2)
Jesus approaches his hour filled with love for his disciples. John expresses the intensity and extent of Jesus’ love through the phrase: He loved them to the end. The Greek word for “end” (telos) has several meaning. Here it means that Jesus loves to the end of his own mortal life. “End” here also means the maximum: Jesus loves to the greatest extent by giving his life on the cross. And “end” means the goal or that which completes something. Jesus’ love on the cross brings the Father’s mission of salvation to its goal.

“Rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself” (John 13:3-4)
In Jesus’ day in that culture, people often traveled by foot, walking either barefoot or with sandals. Travelers’ feet would become dirty, and it was an act of hospitality to offer guests water for washing their feet (Gen 18:4; Luke 7:44). Culturally, the underside of the foot was considered a dishonorable part of the body. The washing of another’s feet was performed by a person of lower status or by a slave (1 Sam 25:41). When John the Baptist desired to give expression to his feeling of unworthiness in comparison to Christ, he could think of no better way to express this than to say that he deemed himself unworthy of kneeling down in front of Jesus in order to unloose his sandal straps and remove the sandals, in view to washing the Master’s feet (Mark 1:7). During the supper, Jesus interprets the meaning of his cross with a symbolic action. After removing his outer garments and wrapping a towel around himself, Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and wipe them.

“Jesus began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel” (John 13:5)
One of the disciples should have performed this foot washing task. But none was willing. These men were too proud. The question, “Who among us is the greatest?” seems to have occupied their minds and hearts again and again. The fact that greatness is measured with the scale of service had not registered with them. There was water in the pitcher. Yet no one stirred. Each disciple was hoping that someone else would make the first move. In the Upper Room there was no Servant. It was in the midst of such men — with Judas the betrayer in their midst — that Jesus was about to set an example of humility and service. This reference to Judas, makes the deed stand out in all its true greatness. John writes that after they were seated, Jesus “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:4-5).

Jesus’ washing His disciple’s feet is a symbol of His death
The foot washing here has several meanings. It is a symbol of Jesus’ death. By washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus, “the master and teacher” (John 13:14), performs the degrading work of a slave. Similarly, by dying on the cross, Jesus, the divine Word through whom “All things were made through Him” (John 1:3), will descend to the most miserable depths for others’ sake. The foot washing is a humble service meant to point to Jesus’ death (John 13:7). One must be washed by Jesus to have a part in him. Foot washing is symbolic of something more than a gesture of fellowship and humble service. Jesus is not simply giving them a lesson in humble service (this will come in John 13:14); he is doing something that symbolizes his greater act of sacrifice on the cross (John 13:7). Only after “the hour” when Jesus is resurrected from the dead will any of this make sense, that is, Peter will understand the meaning after the crucifixion and resurrection.

“You shall never wash my feet!” (John 13:8)
Notice, Peter protested “You shall never wash my feet.” Seeing the Master behave like a slave must have confused Peter. Peter illustrates the extremes of human nature. He vowed that the Lord would never wash his feet. Jesus said, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8), means that the question is not simply one of washing, but a question of who does the washing. The language of having a “part” means to have a share in his inheritance (Rom 8:17; Eph 3:6; 1 Pet 1:4). Jesus meant that unless he washed away Peter’s sins by his death on the cross, then Peter could have no relationship with him. Peter must participate in the work of Jesus (John 13:8-9). This was more than just a physical service; there was double meaning in “wash,” referring to not just physical but spiritual cleansing. Washing is the result of the cleansing of the Cross (1 John 1:7). Without accepting the cleansing Jesus offered, there could be no sharing in his Kingdom. He lacks a cleansing that only Jesus can supply. Peter knew that the Lord was performing the physical act, but he did not understand the spiritual significance. It is only the death of Jesus (and its acceptance by the believer) that brings eternal life. Jesus speaks gently but firmly as he did to Peter and to all, “Come, for unless I wash you, you cannot share in my inheritance.”

Application
The sequence of events that John writes in Jesus’ foot-washing, we can see how closely they correspond to Jesus’ ministry in the world. First of all, Jesus rose from his seat, just as he rose from his heavenly throne in order to come into the world. Second, he “laid aside his garments.” This closely echoes Paul’s words in describing how Christ set aside his glory: “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Phil 2:6). Third, Jesus took a towel and tied it around his waist. Likewise, Paul tells that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). Fourth, Jesus “poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, just as in a few hours he was to pour out his blood for the washing away of human sin by the atonement” (1 John 1:7). And fifth, Jesus completed his enacted parable by rising again and taking his seat, which corresponds with Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into glory after the finished work of his cross. Hebrews 1:3 says, “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

In this chapter we’re reminded about the upcoming betrayal by Judas. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas, knowing well what he was going to do (John 13:2). Judas is in league with Satan at this point, but Jesus still stoops before him as a humble servant and washes his feet. Judas had rejected the life-giving, cleansing words of Jesus (John 6:63; 15:3), so he was yet in his sins. Judas did have his feet literally washed, but he did not enter into the meaning of the event. Jesus does not call us to a life of leisure but of labor. The cost of discipleship is high, but it’s worth it. God’s blessing comes to the disciple—the one who follows Jesus into a life of humble service. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master (Matthew 10:24). A Christian widow’s practice of “washing the feet of the saints” (1 Tim. 5:10) speaks of her humble slave-like service to other believers. Not to follow the example of Jesus is to exalt oneself above Him and to live in pride. Jesus is reinforcing the importance of this truth. Servants should not consider themselves to be greater than their masters; if this is so, what is applicable to the master (sacrifice) is likewise applicable to the servant.

Let’s pray together
Heavenly Father, the way to follow You is to serve others humbly. Help us Lord you be our example in everything and whatever we do. In Jesus Name Amen.