Lord, Are You Washing My Feet?

 

The account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is recorded only in the gospel of John (chapter 13). Just prior to this act, John made a wonderful statement about Jesus in verse 1. 

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. 

Jesus knew exactly who He was and why He came into this world. He also knows that soon He will be with the Father again in all His glory.

Here we have the Alpha and the Omega, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the radiance of God’s glory, the One in whom dwell the fullness of the Godhead. Jesus knew His greatness, but rather than demand others serve Him, He showed us His humility by serving others.

"Do you know who I am?" How often have you heard this (or perhaps you have said it yourself)? If Jesus, in all His glory, could humble himself and stoop down, how much more should we?

In that culture at that time, a Jewish rabbi could not ask or expect his disciples to wash his feet. If Jesus had been a mortal prophet (perhaps like Moses or Elijah), His washing of the disciples' feet would have been a remarkable act. But Jesus was God in the flesh, and this humbling act serves as a reminder to us of how low He had to stoop from His glory to rescue and save us from our sins.

The washing of feet is usually done by the lowest servant or slave of the household. When the disciples were preparing for Passover, we can assume that the owner of the house only provided the furnished upper room; there were no servants, and the disciples had to do the preparation themselves (Matt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13). We also read in Mark 14:18 that they were reclining at the table. Based on what we know of the culture at that time, this sort of setting for a meal was done for formal occasions only. The Last Supper was a formal Passover meal.

If the house owner had hosted this formal meal, he would have surely also had servants wash the feet of his guests before the meal (Gen 18:4, 43:24; 1 Sam 25:41). Feet were dirty due to all the walking and the footwear of the day. And since they will be reclining at the table for the meal, everyone’s feet will be visible. It’s appropriate and hygienic to wash them before the meal.

Over the course of the meal, one topic of conversation among the disciples was who would be the greatest among them (Luke 22:24). This appears to be a frequently discussed topic because it is also mentioned in Mk 9:34 and Luke 9:46. Just like you and me, none of the disciples were willing to perform the job of a lowly servant and wash everyone’s feet before the formal meal.

Perhaps it was during this discussion that Jesus got up from the meal. What He was about to do was not simply a picture of servanthood—picture someone important or famous planting a tree: they don’t have to dig the hole, place the sapling into the hole, and what not, they only need to do the "ceremony"—He set the whole thing up. He could have gotten any of his disciples to set it up, and He only dried a few feet. That would have been enough; the disciples would have gotten the message. But 

He got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him (John 13:4-5, NLT). 

No wonder John wrote that Jesus loved them to the very end (13:1).

13:12-15. After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

Did Jesus mean the literal washing of feet? This was an act of humility (it was something that not everyone was willing to do since "it’s not my job"). No one should think of himself that he is greater than someone else (13:16). If you’re washing one another’s feet and you do it with the humility and love that Jesus had, then that is excellent indeed, and you should keep doing it. Or is foot washing simply a ritual for you to ‘display’ your humility? Imagine washing someone’s feet to show that you obey the teachings and commandments of our Lord. But then, immediately after Sunday service, you are no different from an unbeliever—you do the same things, you watch the same things, you say the same things.

If it’s simply a ritual, then you ought to stop doing it; there are other ways to display your humility. Jesus said, "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you". I don’t believe this is the only example to follow. In this 1st century culture, foot washing was not something a rabbi did, so doing it made a lot of sense, and it speaks volumes about the humility of Jesus.

Look around you. What jobs do you think are "below you"? This is not just in terms of a paying job, but it could be things around your home, your church, your offices, your shops, or your workshops. Is there anything you would not do because "that’s not your job"?

This is, of course, not the only way to show your humility. We’ll not go deep, but let’s just look at a few verses about humility (from NIV)

Moses, the friend of God (Ex. 33:11) must have been keenly aware of the fine line between pride and humility. How many of us could say this about ourselves?

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3).

Pr. 22:4. Humility is the fear of the Lord. 

Do you fear the Lord? How does the fear of the Lord manifest itself in your life?

Are you seeking the Lord? As we seek Him, we are commanded to also seek humility. 

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger (Zeph. 2:3).

Col 3:12. As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Phil. 2:3. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves

James 3:13. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

1 Peter 5:5-6. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Even if we don’t go deeper into the teachings of humility in the Bible, these few verses ought to be enough to show us that being humble is God’s command for us.