Foot Washing

John 13:1-17
Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he 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.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

There's a teaching here that I didn't see until recently.

Now in this time, Jews would have bathed and been ceremonially clean for a feast such as Passover. They would then walk to the place where they would celebrate the feast. During that walk, their feet would get dirty and need cleaned again before the feast. Now Jesus is talking about foot washing and indicates that all of the disciples are clean and need only their feet washed but one. We know from the beginning of this paragraph that He is referring to Judas. So you think Judas didn't bathe? No, of course not. He was a good practicing Jew and was likely just as physically clean as the rest. So what's going on here?

Obviously Jesus is speaking figuratively. Judas was different. I think it means that the rest of the Disciples were believers, or real followers of Jesus. Judas wasn't. The illustration for us means that as followers of Jesus we are free from sin. It's been forgiven and we are spiritually clean. However, we will still sin just walking through life. Can't help it on this Earth. So what's the lesson here?

Jesus says we are to wash one another's feet. James says to "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." We need to wash each other's feet. We need to confess our sins to each other. We need to forgive other's sins.

How does this work practically? If you've sinned against someone, confess it to them. If someone has sinned against you, forgive them whether they ask for it or not. We should also have someone we trust whom we can confide in and be open with. Sin gets it's strength from being hidden and confessing that brings us freedom.

One last thought. We also need to go to Jesus and have Him wash our feet. When we sin we sin against both men and God. Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Be He also desires to serve you. Sometimes we feel so ashamed to go back to Jesus and confess a sin that we've confessed a hundred times. He knows this. He wants you to be clean. Don't be like Peter. Break your pride and let Him serve you. Doing so is one way He shows you His love.