John 13: Jesus washes his disciples feet

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.  (John 13:3-5)

The occasion of Jesus washing his disciples feet is one of the most powerful and poignant signs of the character of our God.  Creator of the universe, head of all things, more awesome than we could ever imagine, and here, washing the feet of human beings - an act of lowly servitude and submission only carried out by slaves, the lowest ranked in society.

Jesus washing his disciples feet tells us first of his love.  It is a love that is giving, that is making oneself less than the other person - putting them above.  But in Jesus' case it was this love that lead him to the cross, to not only wash feet, but to die for humanity.  And just as the act of feet-washing in first century Judea was not some humble-but-dignified activity we might imagine and holy person to do, Jesus' death was not a dignified martyrdom either, but the undignified and humiliating death of a criminal.

But as Jesus goes on to illustrate, his washing of his disciples feet was also deeply symbolic, as he continues to wash away our sins each day.  He says in response to Peter's conclusion that his hands and head as well should be washed:

Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean (13:10).

We might assume that the disciples have been baptised in the river and that this symbolic act also plays a role in this metaphor, but it too is only an outward display of an internal repentance and conversion.  We do not need to keep returning for justification - Jesus has already saved us.  But we do need to continually turn to him to realign our hearts and minds and keep walking in the light of his grace.

Finally, Jesus gives his disciples, and us as readers, a challenge - 

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. (13:14)

It can be slightly awkward when we take it literally and wash each others feet during holy week, but nothing much worse, and can be a wonderful part of remembering the events of Easter week. However, in terms of humble and sacrificial love, washing the relatively clean feet of your fellow Christian because everyone is doing it does not even come close to the type of action Jesus was performing.   To truly follow Jesus' example here, we should be willing to humble ourselves - and to lift others up whatever their status.  If we think there is a job that is to low for us, or a person to unimportant for us to love, then we are not following Jesus' example.   Are we willing to put aside our prestige and position for others, and ultimately for the Kingdom of God, and wash others' feet?

Hallelujah that we love a God who leads us by this example!