Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5)
Put yourself in the Upper Room and visualize the scene of this verse: Jesus abruptly rises from dinner and just starts washing the disciples' feet! Imagine the dramatic silence: Only the sound of embarrassed breathing and the trickle of water. Foot-washing in first century Palestine was not a ceremonial thing. It was regarded as one of the most demeaning tasks anyone could perform – usually reserved for household slaves. The disciples’ feet were stinky and dirty from walking through dusty, muddy and manure-filled streets in their sandals. And since there were no household servants at this secret meeting, who was going to wash all these smelly feet? Luke’s Gospel says that the disciples were in the midst of their favorite argument --"which one of them was regarded to be the greatest" (Luke 22:24). What a set-up! Whoever washed feet in this setting would be admitting he was the low-life of the bunch!
Peter saw at once the inappropriateness of Jesus stooping down and washing his feet; and he declares, "You shall never wash my feet." At this point a new truth emerges. Up to this moment it appears that Jesus is trying to teach His disciples the spirit of love and servanthood. Jesus replies to Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Jesus doesn’t mean, "Your feet stink so bad that we’re not having dessert until they're clean." He means "Unless you are willing to let me wash away your moral filth, you may not have fellowship with me." Peter catches the point of spiritual cleansing in a flash and he cries out, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
Once Jesus is finished, and the towel is brown with dirt and manure, He asks the disciples if they understand what has just happened. And the question we need to be asking is: Do we understand what Jesus has done for us in light of his whole ministry and his death and Resurrection? Do we really understand the symbolic, spiritual significance of the whole foot-washing drama? It is one of the central principles of Christianity--allowing Jesus to bathe and cleanse us from our sins and our stink.
Put yourself in the Upper Room and visualize the scene of this verse: Jesus abruptly rises from dinner and just starts washing the disciples' feet! Imagine the dramatic silence: Only the sound of embarrassed breathing and the trickle of water. Foot-washing in first century Palestine was not a ceremonial thing. It was regarded as one of the most demeaning tasks anyone could perform – usually reserved for household slaves. The disciples’ feet were stinky and dirty from walking through dusty, muddy and manure-filled streets in their sandals. And since there were no household servants at this secret meeting, who was going to wash all these smelly feet? Luke’s Gospel says that the disciples were in the midst of their favorite argument --"which one of them was regarded to be the greatest" (Luke 22:24). What a set-up! Whoever washed feet in this setting would be admitting he was the low-life of the bunch!
Peter saw at once the inappropriateness of Jesus stooping down and washing his feet; and he declares, "You shall never wash my feet." At this point a new truth emerges. Up to this moment it appears that Jesus is trying to teach His disciples the spirit of love and servanthood. Jesus replies to Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Jesus doesn’t mean, "Your feet stink so bad that we’re not having dessert until they're clean." He means "Unless you are willing to let me wash away your moral filth, you may not have fellowship with me." Peter catches the point of spiritual cleansing in a flash and he cries out, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
Once Jesus is finished, and the towel is brown with dirt and manure, He asks the disciples if they understand what has just happened. And the question we need to be asking is: Do we understand what Jesus has done for us in light of his whole ministry and his death and Resurrection? Do we really understand the symbolic, spiritual significance of the whole foot-washing drama? It is one of the central principles of Christianity--allowing Jesus to bathe and cleanse us from our sins and our stink.
-Pastor Mark
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