“A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN” ST. JOHN 13:1-11

Christ’s Wonderful Act of Washing His Disciples’ Feet

We come now to this most valued section of John’s gospel, Chapter 13.  Overall, having been rejected by the populace in view of Christ’s awesome claims and wondrous miracles, Christ is now seen in this section (Chapters 13-17) teaching His own.  In this section, our Lord will instruct His own disciples in light of His imminent passion – His impending sacrificial death on a rugged cross of Calvary.  Even in view of His sacrificial death, we find Him teaching His disciples and exhibiting unusual love by washing the disciples’ feet.  He even demonstrates unusual love and service to His own despite the fact that Judas Iscariot will betray Him; Peter will ultimately deny Him, and the disciples, for the most part, will forsake Him.

What an awesome exhibition of unusual love!  What supreme service for others, for He really demonstrates Matthew 20:28, that says – “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Certainly, He served His disciples in humility in washing their feet before He ultimately served as mankind’s sacrificial Lamb on Calvary (St. John 1:29).

As Chapter 13:1 opens, we discover that the Passover feast was drawing nigh; moreover, “His hour” in which He would offer Himself as mankind’s substitute was approaching; however, the latter part of verse 1 says – “He loved them unto the end.”  Although His earthly ministry is coming to a close, the extent of His love will not cease.  Even on the eve before our Lord’s death, He exhibits love for His own – “He loved them unto the end.”  In view of the fact that His ascension marked the conclusion of His earthly ministry, His ministry of love does not stop there, for even in Heaven, He is ministering in our behalf.

As we approach verse 2, we are exposed to the awful perfidy of a Judas Iscariot.  Certainly, in his betrayal, Satan had complete mastery of his heart.  Although Judas will do his worse in his act of betraying Christ, Christ will not be distracted in verses 3 and 4, for He condescends to the level of washing the soiled feet of His disciples.  The God of all creation is exhibiting His extreme love by washing the disciples’ feet.  What an awesome act of humility and love in performing such a menial task – an act that demonstrated His extensive love for mankind.  In verse 5, our Lord proceeds to wash the feet of His disciples with water, for water in Ephesians 5:26 signifies the believers being washed by the word.  Certainly, in verses 6-8, Peter objected to Christ performing such a lowly task of washing his feet; however, Christ explains to Peter that he did not understand the significance of the act; nevertheless, Peter will understand its significance in the future when the Holy Spirit unfolds the significance of Jesus’ marvelous act of washing His disciples’ feet.

Not understanding the lesson behind Jesus’ act of humility and love in verses 8-10, Peter rushes to the conclusion that he needed an entire bath; whereas, as believers in Christ, we must be informed, as Peter,  that our daily walk must be cleansed from the defilement of sin.  As children of God, we must be aware that sin affects our fellowship, not our relationship!  Spiritually speaking, when we sin, an entire bath is not needed; however, we do need to be cleansed through the word; moreover, we need to confess our sins for fellowship, for I John 1:9, says – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  In verse 11, although Judas Iscariot’s feet were washed, he was not saved.  May God bless!