It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, 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, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their 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. Very truly I tell you, 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.
John 13:1-17
I was struck this morning by a couple of phrases Jesus uses in John 13. In the first verses of the chapter, He famously washes his disciples’ feet.
In verse 7, before Simon Peter objects, he says to him, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
For some reason, that line stopped me today. What exactly would Peter understand later? When does he understand it exactly? What would he know later about what is happening that he doesn’t know right now? (And why didn’t He just tell him right away?)
But Jesus isn’t done. A few verses later, after Jesus has washed every pair of dirty feet in the room, he sits back down (verse 12) and asks,“Do you understand what I have done for you?”
Did the disciples understand? Or more importantly, do I understand? Even 2,000 years later, do I fully understand what just happened when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples?
Oh, I’ve heard the sermons. I’ve read the story countless times. I’ve uttered the phrase, “washed the disciples’ feet” probably hundreds of times in my life. And I know the point is service, humility, and loving one another. And I believe that to be true.
But now I’m starting to wonder if I truly understand what all this means to me and how I live life.
Do I really comprehend what it means that the King of the universe knelt down, took the posture of a servant, and washed feet that would soon run from him?
Of course, Jesus does go on to explain his actions in verse 15, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
In other words, this isn’t just something I am to understand about what happened (as weighty as that might be in itself), but I am to live it out in my life each day.
Here is how Paul says it in Philippians 2, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others.”
So all of this has me wondering today… Do I fully understand what it means that Jesus knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples? Or how wide and deep is his example of service for us to follow? Or what it means that no servant is greater than his master?
Maybe this is a question we all need to spend time focusing on today: Do you understand what I have done for you?
Prayer
Jesus, you washed the feet of your disciples and called it an example for us to follow. Even more, you laid down your very life for me so that I can be forgiven through faith. By your Spirit, help me understand. And grant me the strength to do the same. Amen.