Foot Washing Part II: It’s Dinnertime!

Recap: Yesterday, Jon began the “Foot Washing” series with a short word about love in Western culture. Today, we will look at where that love came from by examining a story in John 13...

I think it’s fair to say that Jesus’s disciples didn’t have it easy.

For starters, they were far from a homogenous group. They included all sorts of people, from fishermen to tax collectors to religious extremists. Not the kind of crowd that you’d expect to mix well.

Nevertheless, they all had remarkable encounters with Christ. So remarkable that they were moved to abandon their previous lives and devote themselves to following Him. 

And that was a whole ordeal in itself.

Still, though, it was worth it. Worth it because it was clear to them that there was something special about Jesus.

They witnessed Him do miraculous things, display a knowledge no regular man could, and live in such a way that seemed to fulfill every last aspect of the ever-extensive Jewish law.

To them, He was a rabbi among rabbis. 

Yet, I think few were prepared for what would happen shortly after their return to Jerusalem from Bethany.

The guys gathered for their usual meal together, not too long before the massive Passover Feast. At one of their recent dinners, Jesus accepted an entire bottle of expensive perfume being wiped across His feet by a promiscuous woman. That was pretty strange, but, hey, that was also Jesus. 

How could it possibly get weirder than that?

So the meal was getting started, everyone was settling in, hungry and ready for the day to end… Then Jesus took off His outer garment, wrapped a towel around His waist, and started washing the feet of the disciples.

It was an astonishing moment! Not so much the foot washing (it was a common practice in those days) but the fact that Jesus was the one doing it!

Given the sandy and dusty nature of the Near East combined with the low reclining tables people ate at in those days, foot washing was pretty important. It happened frequently and was recognized as the work of a lowly servant.

It wasn’t a lavish job but, hey, it was a living.

All in all, it was pretty clear to those in Jesus’s culture that such a job was for those on the lower rungs of the societal ladder.

Now here was Jesus, their rabbi, this man of cosmic proportions, the anointed one they had all dedicated their lives to, getting down on the ground and doing the work of a servant for them.

For the fishermen. For the tax collector. For the religious extremist. For all of them.

Why?

Jesus knew this meal together was different, that it was the beginning of the end of this phase of their ministry and life together. 

Pretty soon, one of the very men whose feet He was washing would betray and hand Him over to the authorities. From there He would be sentenced to crucifixion, setting in motion the events that would lead to His Resurrection and Ascension.

It was a pivotal moment and Jesus consecrated it by taking on the role of servant.

Peter had some opinions on all that but we’ll get into those tomorrow.

For now, be blessed.

Jon

Theophilus Newsletter

Everyday we will include the short of the day, related to the topic of the newsletter. Today: Jesus point about love with footwashing.