I don’t know about you, but for me it has been exciting to read the book of John again. Having chapter-by-chapter reminders of how amazing the God is we serve has been a joy and gift these last couple of weeks. I think it’s easy to forget how much power is in these pages as we read about Jesus’ ministry on earth. The miracles, sacrifice, unconditional love, grace, truth, and mighty wisdom of our Lord shines through in the book of John. As empowering as His word is, it is also rather sobering to be mid-story and also know the end. To know Jesus will soon die on the cross because of my sin, my brokenness, my need for a Savior.
While we have seen different examples of Jesus’ love throughout the first twelve chapters of John, He shows the full extent of His love in John 13. Think for a minute…what are the times or experiences in your life where you felt the most loved? Was it when your parents showed up to your end-of-the-year parties at school, brought you home the toy you’d been dreaming of, sang you to sleep or read stories to you each night as a child? Maybe it was on your wedding day surrounded by everyone you love, at your college graduation, or at church on Sunday. Hopefully you have countless times in which you felt immense love from your loved ones. In the same way that some memories are set apart in your mind because of the amount of love you felt at the time, John 13 is set apart in this narrative as Jesus displays just how far His love goes.
As a child I was taught the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet, but I never fully grasped its meaning until I became an adult.
John 13:1 says, “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.”
How did Jesus do this? He probably could have gotten by with telling each disciple what He loved most about them or sharing a favorite memory of their time together. But no, in true “Go big or go home” fashion, Jesus does this:
“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.” John 13:3-5
Being the imperfect human I am, sometimes I read these words and think to myself, “Hasn’t Jesus done enough?” He dedicates his entire life on earth to ministering and doing His Father’s work, yet He still chooses to spend the last hours of His life performing selfless acts? But then I remember, everything Jesus did on earth was to accomplish God’s work and help people know His Father.
Maybe you read this and identify with Peter, who protests as Jesus comes to his dirty, sandal-tanned feet. In Peter’s eyes, Jesus should never be doing such a menial task for anyone. Jesus comforts Peter and explains the washing of his feet is necessary to belong to Jesus, to which Peter responds (verse 9), “…Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
Peter misses the point, as we all often do, and further explains in verse 10:
“…A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.”
Are you seeing it? Is it making sense? Jesus has already explained He is the only way to the Father, the Messiah they’ve been waiting for, and the source of living water. Now He is taking one last opportunity to show them what He has been trying to teach. Jesus is the only way for us to be entirely clean.
As a follower of Christ, I appreciate this gesture for more than one reason, one of which being that Jesus did all in His power to keep us from being confused. He really wanted/wants His people to understand who He is and what He has to offer us. Even though dying on the cross to save us from our own sin is enough, He has always known His children fully. Thus He knows we are stubborn and need as much information as possible to even try to wrap our heads around this seemingly impossible scenario. So he gets up from the table, gets down on the floor, and washes their feet, because no other servant is qualified for the job. In the same way, in no other way can we know God than through his Son.
While the end has already begun for Jesus, we know the mocking and ridicule will only get worse. I am reminded again by the way Jesus lives that true satisfaction and fulfilment come from the Father and nothing else. Jesus lived His life on earth with his glass full because he knew his Father’s love was enough to sustain Him. While naysayers spread gossip, skeptics refused to believe the truth in front of them, and haters plotted his death, He stayed cool as a cucumber. In the midst of one of his closest companions betraying Him for a handful of change, Jesus remains steadfast. Why? Because He knew he was not defined by any of the mumbo jumbo and chaos going on around him, even when the chaos was his pending death on the cross. His confidence withstood the pressures around Him because He knew His position and value remained constant in the eyes of His father.
Application questions for today:
- In what ways are you trying to make yourself “entirely clean” on your own?
- Does your confidence come from Jesus, or something else? What can you do to live your life with a “full glass”?
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