Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet

["Click here for John's account"]

When the feast was prepared and the 12 Disciples and Jesus was assembled there in the upper room, Jesus took a pitcher of water and washed the Disciples feet. It was customary for the host to pour water over the feet of the guests to remove the dust of the road and sooth the aching feet. But we must ask this question, Why did Jesus do this? Three reasons are suggested, all three could incorporate within them the tradition we just spoke about.

  1. Jesus did this to demonstrate His love for the Disciples. The traditional foot washing was not always motivated out of love. It's like our present day handshake. Jesus truly loved His Disciples, yes, even Judas. He had "called" or "chosen" them. He allowed them their imperfections. Verse 1 says, "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."
  2. Jesus washed their feet to demonstrate His humility. Before the foot washing, John makes this statement about Jesus, "The Father had given all things unto His hands and He has come from God and was going back to God." Jesus, Son of God, the Messiah, the Second Person of the Trinity, rose from the table, laid aside His outer garments, wrapped a towel around Himself, poured water into a basin and began washing the Disciples feet. Certainly humility was demonstrated here. It is a lesson we must learn if we are to be useful in the Lord's work. So here Christ demonstrated that he who would be first must be servant to all.
  3. Jesus symbolized by the foot washing, the spiritual washing they would receive through Him, later. The cleansing of the soul from the pollutants of sin is symbolized by the cleansing of the feet from the dust of the street.

This symbolism Jesus tried to explain to Peter. When Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet, Peter drew back and Jesus said to him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." Jesus was explaining to Peter that it was only through the cleansing of the blood of the cross can we become part of Jesus and thus part of God's plan of salvation purchased by Christ.

There is also a part of this that often goes unnoticed. Jesus said first to Peter, "What I am doing, you do not now know." Peter should not oppose what Jesus was doing simply because he did not, at that time, understand. Hebrews 11 says, "We should be aware of the darkness that we labor in and our inability to judge what God does and should be sparing and modest in our censures of His proceedings."

So it was Thursday of the last week of Christ. They had met in an upper Room to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. Jesus took water and proceeded to wash the Disciple's feet. When He got to Peter, Peter objected and Jesus told Peter that he could not, as yet, understand why He was doing it for he could only see thru a glass darkly, but later he would understand. How much later? After the coming of Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not understandable to the carnal mind. Only by the "enlightenment" of the Holy Spirit can we conceive our sinfulness, our need of salvation, and understand the plan that God has for forgiveness.

After He washed their feet, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?" In the washing of their feet, what was Christ looking for in the Disciples? He was looking for submission and obedience. He could easily have explained to them before He started that He was demonstrating an act of humility, but He choose not to. He chose, rather, to test their submission to His will. Many times He will test us in this way. He told Abraham to leave his home and go where he did not know. Abraham obeyed. He told Philip to go down the road toward Gaza and didn't even tell him what to look for. These commands are tests of obedience.

But Jesus was a Teacher. It was not His will to keep them or us, ignorant. So He explained to them, "I did this as an example to you." "You should do as I have done." What was the sum of what He did?

  1. He demonstrated His love.
  2. He demonstrated His humility.
  3. He proclaimed His spiritual cleansing.
  4. He set an example.

Can we do any less?


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