Read John 13:1-17
Back in Glenburn I was taking out
the trash for our church. It just so happened that I was late for the usual
truck that goes by the end of the main driveway on Hudson Rd. But the church
was on the corner of Hudson and Lakeview and I knew that the other truck was
coming down Lakeview in a little while so I would just take the trash out that
way. But “out that way” meant going right down the center aisle of the
sanctuary with the big bags of trash in order to use the door closest to that
second driveway.
I began to apologize to God for bringing the messy stuff into his sanctuary, and I almost considered going back, outside the usual door, and around the long way. But then I realized that God was not uncomfortable with messy stuff. In fact that is why he came into the world, to take out our trash! To take the trash out of our lives!
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. That was a dirty job usually assigned to the lowest slaves in the house. It’s hard to figure out just how dirty of a job it might have been. I tried to find good information on sanitary conditions in 1st Century Jerusalem, but didn’t find much. Even Google let me down! So I am left to my imagination and I think about what it would have been like to walk about in a city like Jerusalem back in the day. The roads were not pavement and concrete, just cobblestones or dirt. There were probably no garbage trucks hauling stuff away. All kinds of animals were lead through the streets. There probably was not much of a sewage system either, perhaps just an open gutter along the streets. But there were religious rules about personal cleanliness so I guess people didn’t just throw stuff out their windows as in Medieval Europe, but who knows if everybody followed the rules? So you’re walking around in that in sandals, or even barefoot and your feet can get pretty dirty, even smeared with stuff.
Who would volunteer to wash that off? Today, in many homes people are asked to remove their shoes at the door and leave the dirty stuff right there in the mud room. But in sandals? You could take your sandals off at the door, but that wouldn’t actually solve the whole problem because as you know, sandals are open toed, flat soled, and with no sides to really keep grime off your feet. Therefore, proper etiquette taught that guests, begrimed from journeying through the dusty streets, should on arrival have their feet washed by a slave.
This was a particularly humble task. It was considered so humiliating that it was included in a list of works which a Jewish slave should not be required to perform.1 In other words the Jews decided that was work more suitable for Gentile dogs. But Jesus the master rabbi, did what no other rabbi had ever thought of. He volunteered to do this work. He became the lowest of servants to set an example of how God wants his leadership team to behave towards the people he has given them to care for. And I am willing to bet that he did it with a smile. This is how he showed them the full extent of his love. It foreshadows his death on the cross in which he volunteered to stoop even lower and reveal his love for us even more dramatically.
But at the dinner, Peter saw what was going on. Notice again the reading at verse 5 & 6. It says “Jesus began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter.” Peter was not the first one Jesus washed. And the reactions of those other disciples are not recorded. I wonder if they were thinking the same way as Peter but were not as outspoken? Or were they surprised and taken aback, not knowing what to say? But Peter, seeing what was going on, had time to think about it and he usually did speak his mind anyway.
He had a strong sense of right and wrong. And in his mind this was just not right! It reminds me of the time that John the Baptist said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” In the same way, while Peter understood the custom, that somebody was supposed to wash everybody’s feet, Peter objected to the idea that it would be Jesus offering to wash Peter’s feet. He didn’t want Jesus to stoop so low. He didn’t want Jesus to get beneath his dignity.
Then Jesus says, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” This reveals how it is that we must be cleansed of our sin by Jesus himself. We are helpless sinners for whom no amount of good works, religious exercises, or Christian ministries can atone. Only the blood of Christ can save us—his sacrifice offered for us on the cross, and received by an act of simple, personal faith. So we let Christ come to us and allow him to wash us. There is literally no sin which he cannot cleanse in this way. All guilt can be forgiven, even that which we would be ashamed to mention to any other person. “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” And more important than any outward sign such as foot washing or the Lord’s Supper, is the actual spiritual work of Jesus’ blood cleansing us from sin in our hearts. Even Judas’ feet were washed by the water in the bowl, but apparently that ministry had no effect on his heart that was not washed by the blood of Christ.
Jesus’ act of lowly slave duty fulfilled Jesus’ own words. He never preached what he did not also practice. In Matthew 20: 26-28 he had said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” So in keeping with this truth, Jesus acted as the slave for each of his disciples. And as for greatness, it ought to be easy to think of the people in your life that you regard as truly great people. I am sure the greatest and most loved among us are not famous people who have accomplished much, and not bosses or employers who demanded respect instead of earning it. Truly we can agree with Jesus because of our own experience that the people we regard as greatest in our lives are the ones who love us most and offer themselves to serve.
In addition, it is not just that Jesus did something to illustrate his willingness to do something we could not do for ourselves. It is not just that Jesus talked about the importance of our acceptance of the service he offers us in his grace. It is not just that Jesus taught us how to be great people. Jesus also did something and acted in a way that we normally would not see ourselves doing for anyone else. Then he told us that we should! Jesus turned this very menial task into a spiritual work of grace. Paul spoke to the same issue in Col. 3:22-24 when he said, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
That means that anything at all that you might do in this world, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is a spiritual work if you are doing it for the glory of God. Serve the Lord in everything you do and it is all spiritual. Do you pray for the church? That’s a spiritual work. Do you clean the toilets in the church? That’s a spiritual work too. Jesus would be willing to do it if he were here. He already proved that at the Last Supper by what he did do. So no matter what you do to serve the Lord, whether it is here on this property digging in the garden, in somebody else’s house as a gift of ministry, or caring for your own family in something as simple as doing the dishes, if it is a gift of humble service offered to the Lord as an act of otherish love, it is sacred and spiritual and it makes you a great person.
That’s why I’m pretty sure that after Jesus did that and set an example for his followers that they should be willing to serve each other in even the most menial of tasks, they did continue to wash each other’s feet in the early church. It was a necessary part of that culture. But by Jesus’ command, instead of foot washing being delegated to the lowliest slave, it was reassigned to the leaders of the church, to help them see themselves as serving in true humility. True humility was no longer humiliating.
Today, foot washing is no longer a cultural norm for good hospitality! What Jesus is talking about there is not that we shall literally continue to wash each other’s feet. But we should literally continue to offer genuine hospitality and be eager to serve one another in meaningful ways. That is still possible. It is still important to do. And it is still expected of us.
In keeping with this thought I would like to take some time now to circulate among you my friends and pray for you, asking God to bless you according to the spiritual gifts he has given you. Actually, I wouldn’t mind washing your feet. But that is not necessary in today’s culture. We must do only what is needed and what truly blesses. Amen.
1Milne, Bruce, The Message of John in commentary series, The Bible Speaks Today, p. 196.
I began to apologize to God for bringing the messy stuff into his sanctuary, and I almost considered going back, outside the usual door, and around the long way. But then I realized that God was not uncomfortable with messy stuff. In fact that is why he came into the world, to take out our trash! To take the trash out of our lives!
Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. That was a dirty job usually assigned to the lowest slaves in the house. It’s hard to figure out just how dirty of a job it might have been. I tried to find good information on sanitary conditions in 1st Century Jerusalem, but didn’t find much. Even Google let me down! So I am left to my imagination and I think about what it would have been like to walk about in a city like Jerusalem back in the day. The roads were not pavement and concrete, just cobblestones or dirt. There were probably no garbage trucks hauling stuff away. All kinds of animals were lead through the streets. There probably was not much of a sewage system either, perhaps just an open gutter along the streets. But there were religious rules about personal cleanliness so I guess people didn’t just throw stuff out their windows as in Medieval Europe, but who knows if everybody followed the rules? So you’re walking around in that in sandals, or even barefoot and your feet can get pretty dirty, even smeared with stuff.
Who would volunteer to wash that off? Today, in many homes people are asked to remove their shoes at the door and leave the dirty stuff right there in the mud room. But in sandals? You could take your sandals off at the door, but that wouldn’t actually solve the whole problem because as you know, sandals are open toed, flat soled, and with no sides to really keep grime off your feet. Therefore, proper etiquette taught that guests, begrimed from journeying through the dusty streets, should on arrival have their feet washed by a slave.
This was a particularly humble task. It was considered so humiliating that it was included in a list of works which a Jewish slave should not be required to perform.1 In other words the Jews decided that was work more suitable for Gentile dogs. But Jesus the master rabbi, did what no other rabbi had ever thought of. He volunteered to do this work. He became the lowest of servants to set an example of how God wants his leadership team to behave towards the people he has given them to care for. And I am willing to bet that he did it with a smile. This is how he showed them the full extent of his love. It foreshadows his death on the cross in which he volunteered to stoop even lower and reveal his love for us even more dramatically.
But at the dinner, Peter saw what was going on. Notice again the reading at verse 5 & 6. It says “Jesus began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter.” Peter was not the first one Jesus washed. And the reactions of those other disciples are not recorded. I wonder if they were thinking the same way as Peter but were not as outspoken? Or were they surprised and taken aback, not knowing what to say? But Peter, seeing what was going on, had time to think about it and he usually did speak his mind anyway.
He had a strong sense of right and wrong. And in his mind this was just not right! It reminds me of the time that John the Baptist said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” In the same way, while Peter understood the custom, that somebody was supposed to wash everybody’s feet, Peter objected to the idea that it would be Jesus offering to wash Peter’s feet. He didn’t want Jesus to stoop so low. He didn’t want Jesus to get beneath his dignity.
Then Jesus says, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” This reveals how it is that we must be cleansed of our sin by Jesus himself. We are helpless sinners for whom no amount of good works, religious exercises, or Christian ministries can atone. Only the blood of Christ can save us—his sacrifice offered for us on the cross, and received by an act of simple, personal faith. So we let Christ come to us and allow him to wash us. There is literally no sin which he cannot cleanse in this way. All guilt can be forgiven, even that which we would be ashamed to mention to any other person. “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” And more important than any outward sign such as foot washing or the Lord’s Supper, is the actual spiritual work of Jesus’ blood cleansing us from sin in our hearts. Even Judas’ feet were washed by the water in the bowl, but apparently that ministry had no effect on his heart that was not washed by the blood of Christ.
Jesus’ act of lowly slave duty fulfilled Jesus’ own words. He never preached what he did not also practice. In Matthew 20: 26-28 he had said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” So in keeping with this truth, Jesus acted as the slave for each of his disciples. And as for greatness, it ought to be easy to think of the people in your life that you regard as truly great people. I am sure the greatest and most loved among us are not famous people who have accomplished much, and not bosses or employers who demanded respect instead of earning it. Truly we can agree with Jesus because of our own experience that the people we regard as greatest in our lives are the ones who love us most and offer themselves to serve.
In addition, it is not just that Jesus did something to illustrate his willingness to do something we could not do for ourselves. It is not just that Jesus talked about the importance of our acceptance of the service he offers us in his grace. It is not just that Jesus taught us how to be great people. Jesus also did something and acted in a way that we normally would not see ourselves doing for anyone else. Then he told us that we should! Jesus turned this very menial task into a spiritual work of grace. Paul spoke to the same issue in Col. 3:22-24 when he said, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
That means that anything at all that you might do in this world, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is a spiritual work if you are doing it for the glory of God. Serve the Lord in everything you do and it is all spiritual. Do you pray for the church? That’s a spiritual work. Do you clean the toilets in the church? That’s a spiritual work too. Jesus would be willing to do it if he were here. He already proved that at the Last Supper by what he did do. So no matter what you do to serve the Lord, whether it is here on this property digging in the garden, in somebody else’s house as a gift of ministry, or caring for your own family in something as simple as doing the dishes, if it is a gift of humble service offered to the Lord as an act of otherish love, it is sacred and spiritual and it makes you a great person.
That’s why I’m pretty sure that after Jesus did that and set an example for his followers that they should be willing to serve each other in even the most menial of tasks, they did continue to wash each other’s feet in the early church. It was a necessary part of that culture. But by Jesus’ command, instead of foot washing being delegated to the lowliest slave, it was reassigned to the leaders of the church, to help them see themselves as serving in true humility. True humility was no longer humiliating.
Today, foot washing is no longer a cultural norm for good hospitality! What Jesus is talking about there is not that we shall literally continue to wash each other’s feet. But we should literally continue to offer genuine hospitality and be eager to serve one another in meaningful ways. That is still possible. It is still important to do. And it is still expected of us.
In keeping with this thought I would like to take some time now to circulate among you my friends and pray for you, asking God to bless you according to the spiritual gifts he has given you. Actually, I wouldn’t mind washing your feet. But that is not necessary in today’s culture. We must do only what is needed and what truly blesses. Amen.
1Milne, Bruce, The Message of John in commentary series, The Bible Speaks Today, p. 196.
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