John 13:1-17 Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
“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.
And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 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. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore, He said, “You are not all clean.”
So, when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
We’re skipping the very last part of John 12 and we’ll return to it tomorrow. But today is Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to love. If anyone ever set an example of divine love, Jesus did.
“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.”
Love never quits! Jesus isn’t stupid; he knows that the scribes and Pharisees have been plotting against him for months or even years and that Judas Iscariot already has agreed to betray him. What we might fail to realize is that Jesus loves Judas just as much as he does the other disciples who are NOT plotting against him. By this time, Jesus has sent Judas out along with the other disciples to preach, teach, heal, and cast out demons. Presumably, Judas has done all these things as well as have the other disciples. Jesus is going to love Judas to the very end of Judas’ life, whether or not Judas repents and refuses to betray him. So Jesus, washes Judas’ feet along with all the other disciples’ feet.
“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 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.”
Love serves! Face it, folks, the disciples have goofed! Usually, there is always a very junior servant assigned to wash the feet of everyone who is coming to share a meal. You won’t catch upper-level servants washing feet. But there’s a major problem: there are no extra people at this supper, only Jesus and the disciples. While somebody should have been washing feet as the group arrives, nobody volunteers. The disciples are already arguing as to their eventual positions in Jesus’ kingdom. In a country where everyone wears sandals and garbage disposal is handled by dumping it in the street, anyone coming in from town will have filthy smelly feet. The very last thing any of these guys want to do is to lower themselves to cleaning donkey and chicken manure, rotting fruit, and human feces off someone else’s feet. Now Jesus is voluntarily stripping himself down to his loin cloth and then tying a towel around himself and WASHING THOSE STINKY FEET! The disciples are blown away, horrified, and embarrassed. Suddenly, the disciples see that all those arguments about “who’s most important?” are worthless and shameful. These guys have missed an opportunity that will never come again, the opportunity to wash Jesus’ feet as well as those of the other disciples.
While John is the one who is telling this story, it’s quite possible that when John witnessed Jesus doing this, he quietly wept. John was the disciple who was closest to Jesus, and of all the disciples, John might have truly believed Jesus when Jesus was foretelling his coming sacrificial death. John could have washed everyone else’s feet, but he failed to do so, persisting in the senseless competition for positions in the Kingdom of God.
“So, when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
Love follows Jesus’ example. Again, we must watch Jesus and see what he is doing. Jesus strips himself of the robes that might mark him as a prophet or a teacher, reducing himself to his basic humanity. Very few of us look impressive in our underwear! If we are going to serve like Jesus, we can’t haul our social or professional position, our education, our financial status, or our religious standing into the situation. Jesus is fulfilling the most basic need, one that should have been handled before the meal. Why has Jesus waited until after the meal is over? Jesus has been giving the disciples as much opportunity as possible for them to do the right thing; too bad the disciples have totally blown it. When we serve like Jesus, we must act like Jesus, the One who is washing feet even as he knows that in a few hours, he’s going to be dragged off, tortured, interrogated, and crucified. We must keep serving, no matter what is happening or about to happen in our lives.
Love never quits. Love serves. Love follows Jesus’ example. This same night, Jesus is going to tell his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” When we love like Jesus, we will serve like him and lay down our lives for him. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You and to serve selflessly, stripping ourselves of everything that would impress others. Help us to never quit loving and to follow your example. In Your mighty and precious Name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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