Washing the Feet

[00:00:24] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Josh. [00:00:25] Speaker B: And I'm Gabriel. [00:00:26] Speaker A: And today on reading the Gospel, we are studying the event washing feet. This is found in Luke, chapter 22, verses 24 through 30, and also in John, chapter 13, verses 1 through 20. Follow along with us in the book of John as we read now before. [00:00:49] Speaker B: 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 this world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 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, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around him. [00:01:42] Speaker A: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I am doing, you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash your feet, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, the one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That is why he said, not all of you are clean. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, do you understand what I've done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you were right, for so I am. If I, then your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you. A servant is not greater than his Master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I am telling you this now before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me. And whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. So we are in our second episode on this Passover celebration or the Lord's Supper, and there will be one more following. We come to this unique service, this washing of feet, where Jesus comes into the room. And it seems like the disciples had prepared the supper. They had got everything done, but they forgot one thing. Or maybe they didn't forget it. Maybe they couldn't find someone to do it. [00:04:19] Speaker B: Normally it was the role of the host, the master of the house. Or here they kind of rented the room or borrowed that room. And it was a private event just for the disciples. The owner of the house was not there. So technically, yeah, they forgot to figure out who's going to wash the feet. [00:04:42] Speaker A: Yeah. And when it came to servants who washed the feet, this was the lowest job. This was the worst job you could have. So it'd be the intern or, you know, the new person employed who would do this, or the person no one likes. They were the ones who washed the feet. And, you know, the reason why they washed feet is it was dirty. The feet were dirty. You walked around in sandals. And so as they would eat, they would lie down on their side. [00:05:14] Speaker B: Recline, as it is. [00:05:15] Speaker A: Yeah, recline. And they would kind of lean against each other around a circle, and their feet would be sticking out. And so the servant would just come as they're eating and cleaning everyone's feet. So they forgot to do this. And Jesus turns this into this beautiful illustration of what he's doing for us and what we need in our lives. [00:05:43] Speaker B: And I like the context. The first couple of verses in John 13 presents the backdrop of the foot washing. It says, jesus knew that his hour has come to depart, and having loved his own who are in the world, he loved them to the end. So foot washing, becoming like a servant, was the goal for that night, to teach them the lesson, because they were fighting among themselves who is the greatest, who is going to be sitting closer to the new Messiah, who they felt will be coronated sometime soon. And they hoped that would be their own master. So they'll be kind of ministers, or one of them will be the prime minister of the country. And Jesus Christ, in this context, knowing who he was, our identity is very important. If you know who you are, nobody can sway you, nobody can buy your allegiance. And the same idea is in verse three. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand, verse four, rose from the supper, laid aside the outer garments and took a towel and started washing their feet. Knowing who you are and knowing the resources and the power this time, the power from above, of heavenly Father that gave Jesus Christ that power of humility. When we think about ourselves, how important we are, our achievement, when we read our resume, we feel like we deserve something. And we don't deserve to wash someone else's feet. But when we look at Jesus Christ and we know that we are who we are by the grace of God, as Paul says, that is when humility becomes more easier, more natural. [00:07:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And you had mentioned the disciples arguing. We get that from the other story of this in Luke. It talks about the disciples arguing about who's going to be the greatest. And so as they're arguing, Jesus just gets up and starts washing their feet. And I love that he gets down to Peter, and I love what Peter does. Because I think out of all the disciples, I relate to Peter the most little impulsive, little, you know, jump to conclusions. And Peter jumps up and says, no, you're not going to wash my feet. I'm not going to let you do it. And Jesus tells him, if I don't wash your feet, you won't have any part in the kingdom to come. That's pretty serious. So this foot washing is more than just washing feet. What is this a symbol of? Why is Jesus saying this to Peter? [00:08:43] Speaker B: It is a symbol of humility, of getting down. When we wash each other's feet, we are kind of kneeling down on the same floor. We are on the same level. We don't have a pedestal when we kneel down. So one is kneeling lower than the other. We are at the same level. We receive the same grace of God. We are saved by the same blood of Jesus Christ. [00:09:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I see this event. Jesus is linking this and the way I read this, I see this as kind of like a mini baptism. The disciples had already been washed. They had already been baptized, and Jesus is now coming and just preparing their hearts like you don't. And he says the one who is bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean. That this is a time where just reminding them of the commitment that they made to follow Jesus before. [00:09:48] Speaker B: Beautiful food. Washing is a reminder of our commitments and beautiful profession of faith. When we got baptized. [00:09:57] Speaker A: Yeah, but as you said, I think it is also the servant leadership. We live in a world now where it is popular for leaders not to admit that they've done wrong. I mean, it's popular for people. You know, we teach. If a police officer stops you, don't say anything. Don't talk to them. Get a lawyer if you get in an accident and it's your fault. Don't admit that it's your fault. Just be quiet and let them figure it out. Like, we're living in the society where there's no room for admitting we mess up. But Jesus here is getting down and serving. He's doing the opposite. Not standing there, this power play, like, I'm the best, I'm the greatest, I'm right there. He's getting down to serve and do the thing that no one in the room would imagine doing. And so as we look at this, this is not just a story for us to look at. This is more than that, because Jesus commands the disciples to do this again. Right? [00:11:10] Speaker B: Yeah. I was reading in verse 4, 10, if I, then your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another feet. And the same idea is repeated. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. It's a very clear imperative. It's a commandment. And Jesus said, I'm not giving you a commandment that you. I have to figure out how to fulfill it. Look, I have given an example. You just copied. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And so there are some Christian churches that during the Lord's Supper, when they celebrate what we call communion, a memory of this event, they will wash one another's feet as a part of this. And so it's part of the memory that we do. And we do these things to remind us we do these things. It's not that washing, the act of washing the feet, saves us. No, it's the act of washing the feet shows that we have faith in the salvation of Jesus, but it also reminds us of the commitments we made to him when we were baptized, when we went under the water, died to self, and rose up from the water in a new life with Christ. [00:12:39] Speaker B: Yes, in a way or another, most Christian traditions are doing this food washing. Some is just one person doing for, you know, different people once a year. Others are doing it more often. I've seen churches who connect foot washing in the Lord's Supper. I've seen churches disconnecting. They have the Lord's Supper and they have food washing the next weekend or by the end of the service. I think Jesus Christ gave us a very clear example that food washing should be not just symbolic. So it should be a real event and should always have a meaning when the foot washing happens right before the meal. So the foot washing should be before partaking of the holy symbols and again. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Going to 1 Corinthians where Paul talks about this, talks about the Lord's supper. In chapter 11, there's counsel that if your brother has wronged you, or if you have something against a brother, get up, go make it right before you partake in the communion. And so this foot washing is supposed to be again, that recommitment, a cleansing of ourselves. And if there's something wrong, if there's a reason why we can't be clean, we should get up and go make it right before we partake in communion. [00:14:11] Speaker B: It's also the same time, it shouldn't be taken as becoming perfect first and after that having communion, because that will never happen. We are called to confess our known sins and just get over them and move forward to build our relationship with Christ that is strengthened through communion service. [00:14:35] Speaker A: Yeah, and I like your clarification, because I think there are sometimes we know we're in the wrong and we know we need to fix something and we're just delaying it. Those are the things where we know we need to make something right. Let's pray. Father God, I thank you that Jesus has given us this example that we don't have to go back to the Baptistery every single time we mess up and get re baptized over and over again, but that we can have these touch points with you where we can rededicate and recommit our lives to you. [00:15:13] Speaker B: Amen. [00:15:13] Speaker A: And I pray, Father, that we will make this literal and implement it into our Christian experience in Jesus name. Amen. [00:15:22] Speaker B: Amen.