Jesus Washes The Disciples’ Feet
Public Meeting, Week 1, Semester 2/23
It’s not just demeaning
John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
Notice how the passage starts. Jesus knew his hour had come, which is John’s unique way of talking about the cross. This was Thursday night. Jesus had precious little time left before he would be killed. And like anyone else in a similar situation, you think of your loved ones when you’re close to death. Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Toward the end of his life, Jesus had one thing on his mind and it was those he loved. That’s the context where we see Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. What are we to make of that?
Suppose you had a really good friend who is moving overseas and you’re never going to see them again. It’s quite normal to want to do something nice for them or get them a farewell gift right? It might be something expensive to show how much they mean to you. It can be something handmade as a reminder of your friendship. It can be anything at all, but ultimately the meaning is not found in the thing itself but in the relationship you guys have.
“This is not just a lesson from Jesus to teach us to serve others. That is secondary.”
That’s what we have here in John 13. This is not just a lesson from Jesus to teach us to serve others. Of course, we should serve others in humility. Of course, this is an example for us to follow. Just like Jesus caring for the sick, looking out for the weak, and even prioritizing time with kids. But all that is secondary.
When Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, he is teaching them something about the cross. In other words, Jesus’ washing his disciples’ feet is a parable about the cross. So if all we take away from this passage is how we should humbly serve others and we don’t see the cross, it will be just like me pointing to my wedding ring as a fashion statement or as a keychain. I’m not just missing the point. I’m not honouring my wife.
We think we know better
To get the point of our passage we need to know first of all that washing someone’s feet is not just demeaning, it’s offensive. Even if you were a Jewish slave, you would not be expected to do this for your master. It’s really something even slaves don’t do. And you get the sense of it when Jesus comes to Peter.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”
If you look closely at how Peter reacts when it’s his turn, it’s not the fact that Jesus is washing feet that is the emphasis. It’s that Jesus wants to wash Peter’s feet. Do you wash my feet? You shall never wash my feet. Think about it this way. The challenge for Peter is not will you follow my example and wash other people’s feet, even though that comes up later. The challenge for Peter is will you let me wash your feet. Think on this for a minute. Why in the world would Peter refuse so harshly?
The answer becomes clear when we consider this isn’t the first time Peter refused to go along with Jesus.
Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
You see, Peter had a picture of Jesus and a vision of God which doesn’t involve being killed by his enemies and doing things that are humiliating. Who in their right mind wants a Prime Minister who is just a complete loser? Would you vote for someone like that? This is why Peter could not allow Jesus to wash his feet. He still doesn’t get it. Look at Jesus’ response.
8 Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
It may have gone unnoticed but I think this here is the most shocking thing in the passage. Much more than the act of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet itself. The sting is not in what is done but in what is said about what is done. Like our present for a friend we’ll never see again, the meaning is not in the thing itself, but what it represents. Notice how Peter does a complete 180 in response to what Jesus says. The point is this:
We have to be washed by Jesus to be loved by God.
Or look at it from Peter’s perspective. What Jesus is saying to Peter is that he can’t have Jesus as Lord if he doesn’t accept Jesus as a servant. Why? It’s exactly what happened at the cross! We can’t have a Christ who saves if we don’t accept a Christ who suffers and dies. If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. This whole account is a picture of the cross.
By forcing them to have their feet washed by him, Jesus is confronting their limited understanding of who God is and how God works. Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is only one aspect of how God’s ways are not our ways. There are many more examples.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’
1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
“But the truth is even as Christians, we have more in common with the Peter who refused than the Peter who accepted.”
We often think we know better, but we don’t. Knowing what we know now about the cross and salvation, it’s easy to think ‘if it were me, I’d let Jesus wash my feet.’ But the truth is even as Christians, we have more in common with the Peter who refused than the Peter who accepted. We see this in two areas - suffering and forgiveness.
Do you see suffering as a gift of God’s kindness such that you can rejoice in your suffering (Rom. 5:3)? Or is suffering an obstacle between you and God? If we are aggrieved when God sends suffering our way, are we not like Peter saying ‘you shall never wash my feet?’
Do your sins ever cause you to doubt your salvation? If our assurance is based on our performance, are we not like Peter saying ‘you shall never wash my feet; I’ll wash them myself?’ Think about it. We can go out on the street right now and wash a thousand dirty feet of the homeless and still be saying to God, you shall never wash my feet.
Don’t do that. Come to Jesus who on the cross suffered our humiliation and bore our shame. Who washed us not just with water but by his own blood.