John 13:1 “It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end. The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.”
All the disciples knew that Judas had been a problem for years! Why Jesus had been willing to trust Judas with the money box was more than any of the other disciples could imagine! It was an open secret that Judas would “appropriate” amounts of money for his own use, although where the money was going was more than anybody could say. The word on the street was that only today someone had seen Judas heading off to meet with the priests, and that couldn’t mean anything good! Everybody knew that the Sanhedrin was already nervous at Jesus’s teachings and his popularity. It wouldn’t surprise any of the disciples if Judas was really cooking up something dreadful…..And yet…
And yet, that night Jesus invited all of the disciples, including Judas, to share the Passover meal with him. Wouldn’t you know it, nobody remembered to arrange for a servant to do the obnoxious tasks such as washing the dirt and grime of Jerusalem off the disciples’ feet. And none of the disicples were ready to tackle that job! Why, whoever was stupid enough to pick up that towel and that basin was automatically indicating that they felt they were less than the other disciples. James and John’s mother had already been trying to manipulate Jesus into promising that her sons were going to be his number one and number two men in his new kingdom. Nope! Somebody else could pick up that towel, thank you very much!
And so all the disciples entered the room and sat down, acutely conscious of everybody else’s smelly feet. WHEW! What a way to begin a celebration! They could scarcely concentrate on the smell of the food because of the smell of their own feet. And then Jesus did the unthinkable! Jesus got up and in a familiar gesture, wrapped the towel around his waste, took the basin and began washing all of the disciple’s feet, starting with Peter. And over the protests of Peter and everyone else, Jesus went around the room and washed all of the disciples’ feet, including those of Judas Iscariot.
Was Jesus so stupid that he had no idea what Judas was planning? Far from it! Jesus was acutely aware that Judas had already done a deal with the priests and the Sanhedrin and that sometime in the next few hours, soldiers would be coming to arrest him. So WHY, WHY,WHY did Jesus wash Judas’ feet?
I believe that when Jesus washed Judas’ feet, he was fulfilling the prophecies about the Messiah as Suffering Servant. Jesus came as both the Son of God and the Son of Man, and Jesus knew where he was about to go. Jesus was about to leave this world and return to his Heavenly Father. Jesus’ time was growing desperately short, and there were still many things he needed to teach the disciples. Chief among these lessons was the call to servanthood leadership. No lectures would have been sufficient, but to their dying days, none of the disciples would ever forget the touch of Jesus’s hands on their feet as he tenderly and lovingly washed them. So many times leter in their lives they would long for just one second of that touch! John 13:14 “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.“
But Jesus also had a special reason for washing Judas’ feet. I believe that in washing Judas’ feet, Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to repent. Really, everybody in Jerusalem knew who Jesus was and where the disciples and he hung out. The soldiers could have taken Jesus in at any time, and they didn’t need Judas to identify Jesus. Perhaps the priests wanted to make use of Judas so that they could distance themselves further from the horror of the act they were about to commit. “Look, even one of his own disciples was willing to bring a complaint against him. What could we do? We had to investigate.” No, amazing as it might seem, even as Jesus was washing Judas’ feet, I believe that Jesus was silently begging his Father to change Judas’ heart. But Judas had already hardened his heart and left the gathering as soon as Jesus handed him the tell – tale piece of bread that indicated that Jesus knew of Judas’ desire to betray him.
Today we have witnessed various acts of contrition by different groups throughout America. There are arguments about the validity of these acts when the people who are carrying them out are not the people who perpetrated the injustice in the first place. There are even questions about whether or not the people to whom apologies have been rendered were worthy of the apologies. And these are good questions.
But consider this: none of us can earn our way into heaven. Had Jesus not lived a sinless life and died, shedding his blood for us, none of us would have any chance of measuring up at all. If Jesus died for all of us, and we know that we are unworthy, what are we then to do if we are to be imitaters of Jesus?
One writer in the Olive Tree Blog put it well when he said, “I am to serve, love, and do for others like Jesus did for me. I am to put down my own needs, my own pride, and serve others, even those who will betray me. Even those who will turn their backs on me. I am to love and serve as our Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ loved and served me.”
PRAYER: Father, please help us to be like Jesus. Help us to forgive and serve, whether or not those we serve are worthy. And Father, direct us so that we will serve the people you most want us to go to. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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