FOCUS Day Thirty-Nine | John 13:1-17 by Abigail
DAY THIRTY-NINE | John 13:1-17 by Abigail
Jesus knew that the night before Passover would be his last night on earth before leaving this world to return to the Father’s side. All throughout his time with his disciples, Jesus had demonstrated a deep and tender love for them. And now he longed to show them the full measure of his love. Before their evening meal had begun, the accuser had already planted betrayal into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Now Jesus was fully aware that the Father had placed all things under his control, for he had come from God and was about to go back to be with him. So he got up from the meal and took off his outer robe, and took a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ dirty feet and dry them with his towel.
But when Jesus got to Simon Peter, he objected and said, “I can’t let you wash my dirty feet—you’re my Lord!”
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.”
Peter looked at Jesus and said, “You’ll never wash my dirty feet—never!”
“But Peter, if you don’t allow me to wash your feet,” Jesus responded, “then you will not be able to share life with me.”
So Peter said, “Lord, in that case, don’t just wash my feet, wash my hands and my head too!”
Jesus said to him, “You are already clean. You’ve been washed completely and you just need your feet to be cleansed—but that can’t be said of all of you.” For Jesus knew which one was about to betray him, and that’s why he told them that not all of them were clean.
After washing their feet, he put his robe on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I just did?” Jesus said. “You’ve called me your teacher and lord, and you’re right, for that’s who I am. So if I’m your teacher and lord and have just washed your dirty feet, then you should follow the example that I’ve set for you and wash one another’s dirty feet. Now do for each other what I have just done for you. I speak to you timeless truth: a servant is not superior to his master, and an apostle is never greater than the one who sent him. So now put into practice what I have done for you, and you will experience a life of happiness enriched with untold blessings!”
Humble King
This story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet used to be my favorite of the Bible. I used to have it almost completely memorized. It was one of the scriptures that amazed me by Jesus’s great love and humility.
I was so astounded by this love that the Son of God has for us. Jesus did the service of washing the twelve’s feet. This job usually was done by the lowest of servants, because it meant washing off the dirty things from their street, like garage and animal dung.
The fact that Jesus, the Lord of everything, did this to His disciples was crazy enough. But Jesus washed the feet of the one who would turn Him in for only 30 pieces of silver! That was astonishing at 4 years old and it still is 10 years later.
Apparently, Simon Peter thought the same thing. When Jesus is about to wash Peter’s feet, he says, “‘I can’t let you wash my dirty feet—you’re my Lord!’ Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.’ Peter looked at Jesus and said, ‘You’ll never wash my dirty feet—never!’”
This is such an amazing part of the story. And it is a part I think I can relate with the most. Often I find myself in situations where I am trying to reason with Jesus because I don’t think I am ready or worthy for what He is doing.
The truth is we aren’t. We aren’t really ready or worthy for what Jesus has for us. But through Him, we can be made clean. After Peter tells Jesus, “You’ll never wash my dirty feet—never!”, Jesus tells him, “But Peter, if you don’t allow me to wash your feet, then you will not be able to share life with me.”
This is still how He often answers our refusal to what He has for us and is calling us into. He knows that we will betray Him and are dirty with sin, but He wants to wash that away, clean us and give us gifts that will let us share life with Him on a whole new level.
He tells us, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.” Jesus likes to call us into amazing things that we don’t understand, so we have to trust that He knows what He’s doing. We can trust that even when we don’t understand what or why Jesus does the things He does, it is the best thing. Jesus will bring us closer to Him through what He does. Remember that the Father only gives good gifts to His children.
After He is done washing their feet, He says, “You’ve called me your teacher and lord, and you’re right, for that’s who I am. So if I’m your teacher and lord and have just washed your dirty feet, then you should follow the example that I’ve set for you and wash one another’s dirty feet. Now do for each other what I have just done for you. I speak to you timeless truth: a servant is not superior to his master, and an apostle is never greater than the one who sent him. So now put into practice what I have done for you, and you will experience a life of happiness enriched with untold blessings!”
He goes back and tells them why He has washed their feet. This was also a part of Jesus loving till the end, and is one of the most important things that He ever taught them. In that moment of serving them, He was embodying “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” He was teaching them that the highest kings serve, and that’s what makes them the highest.
Jesus set the example of doing what the lowest would do. I don’t really remember the first time I washed someone’s feet, but I do remember feeling so honored that I got to serve and love others like Jesus did. Over the course of following Jesus, He has lead me to wash others’ feet.
Jesus invites us to do as He does and show that we are His by serving and loving others. Jesus was cleaning their feet showing that He would love and clean even their dirtiest parts.
He taught me how to first literally wash people’s feet (Sometimes when God wanted me to show them that I was family with them, or as a part of sending them out, as they would feel called to spread the good news to other parts of the world) . Now He is teaching me to spirituality wash their feet (Loving them at their worst and serving them at their messiest). Sometimes, it is still washing their feet . Sometimes it is even cleaning their bathrooms or watching their kids. For my mom, it looks like loving the homeless or little kids, and through her living that out, she has taught me to do the same.
My prayer is that we can learn how to trust Jesus when He loves us in ways we don’t understand. And that we can also learn how to love and serve in the messiest places and ways. We can let Jesus teach us how to serve others.
