Jesus washing the disciples' feet is found in John 13:1-7. It happened on the night before the crucifixion - the very night of His betrayal (v2). Although the Lord was well aware of all the suffering that lay before Him (v1, 3), He spent this last evening serving His short-sighted followers. Although He was looking beyond the cross with great anticipation to a joyful reunion with the Father (vs1, 3), He was concerned (as always) about meeting the needs of others around Him. Although He knew that all things were “given into His hand,” the Lord of all things used those hands to serve the disciples who would soon desert Him! No wonder the Scripture says that “He loved them to the end” - to the fullest possible extent (v1). This great love was demonstrated in the act of washing their feet.
But this was not only an act of love and concern and humility - it was also an act of teaching. All of our Lord's actions (His works) as recorded in Scripture portray or dramatize His teaching (His words). What is the teaching of foot-washing?
In that culture, washing the feet of guests was the job of household servants. People wore open sandals on dusty roads, so feet got dirty. But Jesus had much more in mind that just teaching his followers to perform the common courtesy of the day, as shown by the questions He asked. He intended His washing of their feet to be symbolic of another washing - the cleansing from sin (v8-11).
A little knowledge of the culture of that day helps us to understand exactly what Jesus was teaching. In those days only the very wealthy had anything like bathtubs in their homes. Average people went to the public baths to bathe. Between visits to the public baths, feet were washed to clean off the dirt picked up in daily travels. In verse 10 our Lord referred to these two types of washing - the bath and the foot-washing. In fact, different Greek words are used to distinguish between the two washings.
Salvation and Restoration.
A believer doesn’t need to take the "bath of salvation" every day. It’s done once and for all when a person receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. From that time onward he is "clean." Because of his identification with Christ, his sins are eternally forgiven, and he is no longer "dirty" in God's sight. This is the "washing of regeneration" (Titus 3:5). The Lord told Peter that he had already received the “bath of salvation” (v10). He was clean, and so were the rest of the believing disciples. Only unbelieving Judas was not clean (v11).
Frequent foot-washing pictures the daily cleansing we need to keep us in close fellowship with the Lord. Just because we are eternally forgiven for our sins doesn't mean we’ve stopped sinning. And we haven’t become immune to the present effects of sin. We need to examine our walk along the "dusty roads" of this world every day, and come to the Lord for foot-washing.
It’s so easy for our fellowship with Him to be broken as we pick up the dust and dirt that’s all around us. We’re so easily desensitized to sin! Within a world system that operates on the principles of pleasure, possessions, power and prestige (1 John 2:16), it’s essential to come to the Lord and place our soiled feet in His hands for washing - on a daily basis. He never turns us away! "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
King David was coming to God for foot-washing when he cried, "Search me, O God, and cleanse my heart; test me and know my thoughts; see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way" (Psalm 139:23-24). We need to have David’s attitude. All too often we seem to have Peter's attitude of "Lord, just stay away from my feet! Right now I'm content to overlook the dust on my feet. They're not really very dirty. I'll wash them myself when I get around to it. Anyway, Lord, it's so humiliating for You (and for me, too!) if You have to stoop to care for my feet" (v6-8).
Union and Communion
The believer's permanent relationship to Christ is pictured in the bath. The believer's daily fellowship with Christ is pictured in the foot-washing. The bath is for union - “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The foot-washing is for communion - “with Christ” Notice the "with" instead of "in" (v8). The link of union is so strong that nothing can break it (see John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:38-39). The link of fellowship is so fragile that an unholy walk will always break it (see 1 John 1:6).
How does the Lord wash the believer's feet? It is accomplished primarily by the frequent application of His Word to our lives. The Word of God is the means by which we get the bath and the foot-washing. (See Psalm 119:93, John 15:3, Romans 10:17, 1 Peter 1:23.)
David said, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By living according to Your Word" (Psalm 119:9). Our Lord said that those who believed in Him would be kept pure and set apart for God's use by God's Word (John 17:17, 20). Both our bath and our foot-washings are accomplished through the Word of God! "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). How important it is for us to read the Bible every day!
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