John carefully lays out the circumstances before he tells the story of how Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Jesus knew His time on this earth was short, knew Judas was the betrayer, knew He came from God and was going back to God. With all that in mind, He used the remaining time to emphasize what is important.
Washing the feet was a custom of the time. With dusty roads and sandals, the practice was necessary to keep dirt out of the house, as well as for the comfort of guests. Since they were in a borrowed space, there were no servants to perform this task, and no one offered to do it.
Jesus prepares the basin, towel, and makes His way around the room. Eventually, He comes to Peter. While not the first person Jesus ministers to, he is the first to object. It must have seemed out of place to him. After all, Jesus was the Master. He should not be doing such a menial task.
The Lord tells him, "What I am doing you do not understand NOW, but you WILL KNOW after this." Jesus is indicating to him that this action represents more than the normal custom of the day. Peter declares, "You shall never wash my feet!"
He's informed that if Jesus does not wash his feet, he will have no part in Him. This sends Peter in the other direction. He goes from one extreme to the other. Now, he wants Jesus to wash not only his feet, but also his hands and head.
The Master is so patient, and tells Peter that one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. He then says something interesting. "...and you are clean, but not all of you." Judas is present at this time.
Jesus is illustrating an important principle. He is the only one qualified to cleanse us from sin. After we receive Him as our Savior, we walk through this world's dust and dirt. People get messy in their relationships with us. If we harbor unforgiveness, we retain that filth. I John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Principle: Instead of imitating Jesus' outward illustration of foot washing, we're to mimic His forgiveness of those who hurt us.
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If you are visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 A.M. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Rte. 611), in Warrington, PA. The church phone number is (215) 343-7686. We look forward to meeting you!
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