John 13:5-11
On Thursday of Passion Week…commonly referred to as Maundy Thursday…
Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room just prior to His arrest and crucifixion.
Maundy is derived from the Latin word for “command,” and refers to Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Matthew starts off with the narrative [Matt. 26:20]:
Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples
John then describes what happens: [John 13:5-11]
5 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.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered,
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, hose who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.
11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.
Here they are in the upper room where Jesus initiates the Last Supper on the night before His trial…knowing that He was soon going to die by being betrayed by one of His own disciples.
And just to show you how sorrowful the disciples were concerning Jesus’ death… they’re all sitting around arguing on what will take place after Jesus’ death …they were engaged in a
Dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest [Luke 22:24]
Obviously having little understanding of what Jesus’ death meant…which may have been the reason for the second important event that occurred on Maundy Thursday …Jesus’s washing the disciple’s feet. [13:7]
John is the only gospel writer that records Jesus’ act of washing the disciple’s feet.
If you’ve been in church for any length of time, I’m sure you heard countless sermons on the various reasons why Jesus washed His disciples’ feet…that it was a simple lesson on humility…kind-a…it’s like the Parable of the Good Samaritan was teaching on social justice and the need to help the less fortunate…not hardly.
OR…maybe the emphasis is on cleanliness…the streets were dusty and dirty… roads had garbage and animal waste on them…people in those days wore sandals without socks…needless to say not something you’d want to smell at dinner time.
In the first century there were no table and chairs…you didn’t sit elevated like we sit at a table today…it was the custom to sit on the floor and recline…or lean back on cushions that were placed around the table with your feet stretched out behind you away from the table.
Having your feet washed…was a way to show honor to your guests…but it was usually done by the lowest servant in the household.
Hence the second reason why Jesus washed the disciple’s feet…what better way to demonstrate humility than by washing their feet since just prior to that the disciples had been arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest.
How sad Jesus must have been to see them bickering…with only a few hours left in His earthly body the disciples continue to demonstrate their immaturity…what does He do? Rather than scolding the apostles for their attitude and behavior He takes on the job of the lowest of servants.
This is usually the topic of most sermons when dealing with this portion of Scripture, to illustrate the importance of being humble …but I would like to suggest that there is a much deeper and profound meaning behind this act.
Here’s one of the key verses in this whole dialogue…and it’s contained in verse [7]
What I do you do not know at this moment but you will know after these things
This speaks to every person in this sanctuary…this is powerful.
God is always doing a bigger work in your life than what you can understand…and many times what He’s doing you do not know at this moment…there is much more going on in the spiritual realm of your life than your mind can comprehend.
That’s what happens when you give your life to Jesus…it no longer belongs to you. He will use you in ways you won’t fully understand…He afflicts us…He disappoints us…He frustrates our plans…He purposely brings people into our lives…why is that?
You might not realize what the Lord is doing in your life right now, but you can be assured that whatever is occurring…He is using it and you always for His good.
What is occurring in your life is often designed to teach you some important lesson …here’s the example…the spiritual meaning of the foot washing was much more important than the act itself.
In one sense we’re like the disciples…much of what Jesus said and did was not understood by them…it was not until later when it was revealed to them through the Holy Spirit.
Peter saw the action of Jesus, yet he did not fully understand the design of it…it was a symbolic act…it was intended to teach a lesson of humility in a drastic manner…God washing people’s feet…something that would be impossible for them ever to forget.
Jesus could have simply lectured them regarding their selfish behavior… commanding that they be humble…but it would have been far less impressive than when they saw God actually performing the job of a servant.
Upon arrived in the upper room, they found there was no servant to wash their feet…since no servants were there to wash their feet it never occurred to them to wash one another’s feet…but when the Lord Himself stooped to do this lowly task, they were stunned into silence.
To his credit Peter was profoundly uncomfortable with the Lord washing his feet and, never being at a loss for words, Peter protested, “You shall never wash my feet!”
It’s important to understand how fanatical Peter was in his response…in the Greek his statement to Jesus is a prohibition that was meant to last forever…he uses the strongest double negative ου μη in the Greek language…meaning…it will never happen…you will never wash my feet…hint…never say never to God.
Peter was focused on the physical act that was being performed and was appalled that His Master would be a servant to him not realizing that this was supposed to be a teaching moment…that Jesus was focused on the spiritual, not the physical.
It was common for Jesus to pass from sensible and temporal things to those which were spiritual and eternal…here Jesus is deflecting His actions to a deeper more spiritual meaning.
If we just look at the feet washing…and take it to mean that Jesus is desiring us to be humble…makes for an OK sermon…BUT…you miss the whole intent.
For the past weeks we’ve looked at what Jesus had said to the disciples…to us… through parables that have become more and more intent…He is defining in graphic terminology what a life of faith as His disciple looks like.
Jesus’ response to Peter is another example…Jesus’ statement of–If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me–is a Greek third-class conditional phrase…this is where most people lose the intensity of what Jesus is about to share …it has nothing to do with washing feet.
It goes back to Jesus’ earlier statement…What I do now you don’t understand… Peter proved that he didn’t understand what was happening.
The wording in the Greek depicts the result of what is likely to occur in the future… Jesus is telling Peter…there’s the possibility that our relationship just might be in danger…that you might be like Judas…removed as an apostle…it’s all contained in this one verse.
Here’s how a third-class conditional phrase is defined in the Greek…if ‘X’ happens then ‘Y’ is already happening.
Let’s apply it to Scripture…If “X” happens…if I do not wash you…then… “Y” is already happening …you have no part with me…this would have been blatantly obvious to Peter.
Jesus is saying…if you do not submit to My will… ‘if I do not wash you’ …then you have no part with me…you will not be My disciple…you cannot have communion with me…nor can you share in the blessings of My kingdom.
Jesus’ response is an ultimatum…either I do this, or you have nothing to do with me…it’s a black-and-white response…it’s non-negotiable…I’m not asking you Peter, I’m telling you…if I don’t do this…we’re through.
That’s some strong talk…people get so caught up on the servant thing of washing feet they overlook the seriousness of failing to grasp Jesus’ comments regarding submitting to His will…if you do not submit to My will then you have no part with Me.
Stay with me…this gets deeper…when you fail to look at this dialogue in the Greek you miss the complexity of what Jesus is referring to…it’s seen in the two words; ‘washing’ and ‘bathing’.
Peter says: wash not only my feet but my hands and my head [13:9] obviously referring to washing only parts of his body.
BUT…Jesus doesn’t have that in mind…Jesus doesn’t use the Greek word ‘wash’ indicating only certain parts of the body…He uses the Greek word ‘bathe’…He who has bathed [10] …referring to the cleansing of the whole body.
In [v 9] Peter says wash (νίπτω) my hand and head…referring to spot cleaning…in [v 10] Jesus says it’s more intense than that…being bathed (λούω) implies an over-all deep cleaning of the whole body.
He who has bathed—who is washed from head to foot, is the explanation of the process of salvation…it begins with a bath.
That initial coming to Christ is likened to a bath in which we are washed all over, completely, from head to foot.
Jesus is alluding to a very common social practice in those days…it was the custom to take a bath before you went out to a meal, but in walking through the dirty streets of the city with sandals on, your feet would be defiled so when you arrived a servant —needs only to wash his feet— [13:10] because he is already completely clean…no use taking another bath if all you need to wash is your feet.
Then look what Jesus says…this gets grossly mistranslated…Jesus says ‘you are clean’ [10] …He’s not just talking to Peter… ‘you’ is a second person plural pronoun…meaning every one of you are clean…not just Peter but all the disciples.
The primary object of the feet washing was to give the disciples an example of humility and love… BUT…the secondary purpose was to use it as a symbol of the spiritual cleansing which must be received from Him.
Jesus is saying…when you first come to me, you are bathed…you are clean all over…this is what the Bible calls justification.
The true believer is washed when he receives Christ for his salvation…unless we are purified from sin by having an over-all deep cleaning by the Spirit of Christ…having been washed in the blood…then we have no part in His salvation.
No one can have a relationship with Jesus unless they have been cleansed from sin…and no one can enter into the presence of the Lord unless he first submits to that cleansing…the washing away of all the guilt and sin up to that point in their life.
There are two erroneous notions that are being presented today…one is the mistaken idea preached that when you become a Christian, all your sins…past …present…and future…are forgiven…that’s not taught anywhere in the Bible.
Jesus’ statement…needs only to wash his feet [13:10] proves that…He’s saying because we have bathed, we are completely clean…no use taking another bath…but as you walk through life Jesus knows your ‘feet’, using feet as a symbol for sin… will become defiled during that walk, and that needs to be washed away.
Sin breaks our fellowship with God…that’s why we need to spiritually wash our ‘feet’…that is why throughout Scriptures we are encouraged to confess our sins (1 John 1:9). And the moment we do so, that original cleansing is renewed…and we go on again, restored.
He teaches us that not only do we need that initial, never-to-be-repeated cleansing, but we also need the many-times-repeated experience of forgiveness, of coming to Christ for the cleansing away of the defilement of our walk.
Then there’s the second mistaken idea that says…I need a bath all over again when I sin…that somehow I lose my salvation and have to start over in my Christian experience.
Having just given an explanation of the importance of being bathed …as it applies to salvation…He further describes how this works…the wording ‘he who has bathed’ in the Greek is a perfect tense participle meaning completed action.
It is implying that bathing is a …for those who have been bathed…they don’t need to be cleansed again…it’s a onetime cleansing…referring to eternal security.
We need only to have a minor occasional spot-cleaning to clean us from our daily sins illustrated by the wording ‘needs only to wash his feet.’
For those who are bathed…it’s a one-time never-to-be-repeated once-for-all-cleansing event…that never needs to be repeated…once bathed…you don’t need to be entirely cleansed ever again…This dialogue is far more serious than just cleaning feet.
So…just hours away from His crucifixion knowing that He will soon go to the cross to die for the sins of the world rather than being preoccupied with thoughts of His death…He is still consumed with His love for the disciples.… teaching on the importance of humility…but also sharing on the importance of being bathed in His blood implying being filled with the Holy Spirit.