Washed Clean to Serve Others

John 13:1-17

Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet

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.

2 And supper being ended, 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. 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."

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."

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."

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.

Jesus taught His followers by example as He washed their feet, symbolic of cleansing their sins (Psalm 51:2, 7, Ezekiel 36:25-27, Acts 22:16, Ephesians 5:26-27, Titus 3:5) from their souls as He washed the soles of their feet dirtied by the world.  The passage begins with Jesus coming to the time ending His earthly ministry as He faced the cross looming ahead in the steps of His own feet.  He was going back to His Father in Heaven (John 6:38-40, Isaiah 44:23, Ephesians 4:9-10) where He had descended into the lower parts of the earth to love those who are His all the way to the end here that they might be able to join Him there in a new beginning.  The devil who wars against the children of God who have this testimony of Jesus the Christ (Revelation 12:17) leveraged the faithless Judas to be the predetermined betrayer of the Lord to turn Him over to be crucified as was planned to draw all of His own to Himself after He ascended back to heaven from the lower part of the earth where the sacrifice was to be made.  This is when Jesus as the Master of the universe humbled Himself further by washing the sin and dirt stained feet of the disciples.  This was both a picture of the soul cleansing and of serving them as He expected them to serve one another when He left.  Peter did not understand this service and first asked not to be washed until he discovered that he needed to be cleansed to be part of Christ.  Then he overstepped grace once more to ask for his whole body to be washed.  Jesus told him that once bathed, he only neede his feet washed, likely a picture of salvation of the soul and continued cleansing of the feet walking still in the sin of the world.  But Jesus also hinted at one among them who was unclean still as one unchanged by grace, Judas the betrayer.  He then washed all their feet and taught them to do the same for others as forgiveness and the gospel which cleanses the souls of others they serve.  We are not greater than our Master and divine Lord sent by the Father, so how can we not imitate Him in likewise doing these things?  We have been washed clean to serve others.  Blessed we are if we imitate our Lord in serving others with the washing of water through the word of God (Titus 3:5) with the word of the gospel and service!