This is the story of Jesus washing His disciple’s feet the night of the Last Supper. Only John mentions it.
Many churches practice foot washing as one of the ordinances of the church along with baptism and communion. Liturgical churches celebrate this on the Thursday of Passion Week, called Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday.
Illustration: Dr. Bishop…
Foot washing was customary in Bible times. The Middle East is a rocky desert and people wore sandals. When you would enter a house the lowest servant or slave would wash everyone’s feet.
You see many examples of foot washing in the Bible. Jesus had His feet washed on two special occasions.
The first is in Simon the Pharisee‘s house. Simon insulted Jesus by not washing His feet. The forgiven prostitute came and washed Jesus’s feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with fragrant oil. All out of gratitude for having her sins forgiven.
Luke 7:44–47 (NKJV) Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
After Lazarus was raised from the dead, they had a dinner at his house in Bethany. Mary, Lazarus’s sister, anointed Jesus’s feet with a perfumed ointment worth a year’s wages. She did it out of gratitude for her brother’s life.
John 12:7 (NKJV) But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.”
In this scene, Jesus flips the image. He is the one doing the washing. He is taking the servant’s role. One of the disciples should have done it, but they were too busy arguing who would be the greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus gives a living illustration of what it means to be great in the Kingdom of God.
1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. No matter what you’ve done or will do, His love is to the end.
2 And supper being ended (or during supper), the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
Jesus laid aside His garments. This reminds me of how Jesus laid aside His divinity, became a servant, and took the form of man.
Philippians 2:5–7 (NKJV) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Jesus knew Peter would betray Him. Peter would soon understand the need for ongoing forgiveness and cleansing.
8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
No fellowship, no intimacy. Some translations say ’no part of My Kingdom’. You cannot walk with God and have unconfessed sin in your life!
Psalms 66:18 (NKJV) If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
Isaiah 59:2 (NKJV) But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
Isaiah 53:5–6 (NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
Jesus already knew that both Judas and Peter would betray Him, as well as the rest of the disciples, except John. But He washed their feet anyway. Oh what love…
You may feel like a betrayer tonight. Jesus knows and He loves you anyway; He wants to fellowship with you anyway; He want to wash your feet anyway. Will you let Him? Will you let go of your pride and humble yourself before Him and let Him wash you?
What is the lesson here? Christ followers need to be cleansed from sin everyday! Not getting saved again, but getting the junk of the world washed off our lives everyday. When we walk in the world, we get contaminated, we get dirty spiritually. We have to get our feet washed daily.
The priests of Israel were cleansed in their anointing process, but each day before they began to minister, they had to go to the brass laver and wash their hands and feet. We too have to visit the cleansing waters of the grace of God every day!
The good news is that God has already provided for this.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (NKJV) Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
In a moment we will have a ministry time for you to let Jesus wash your feet. Will you let Him?
We’re gonna worship to the song “O the Blood”. As we worship, feel free to come to the altar and let Jesus cleanse you from the dust and dirt of the world that has attached itself to you. Leave clean tonight in every area.
Let me draw this service to a close with a few comments…
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
We are called to serve one another, to minister to one another, to help one another. None of us have arrived; we all need each other!
Galatians 5:13 (NKJV) For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Ephesians 5:25–26 (NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
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