Jesus washes His disciples' feet

Jesus washes His disciples’ feet

(a sermon delivered to the pre-dawn service on October 2, 2012)

Bible verses: John 13:1-20

These verses record that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet before eating the Passover supper, before His crucifixion.  Beasley-Murray stated that this event is an action parable in which Jesus demonstrated His obedience and humility by action.  Yes, washing His disciples’ feet was an action of humility; underlying that action allegorically was an even bigger action of humility.  In these verses, we can examine the motive of His humility, the practice of His humility, and the result of His humility.

The motive of His humility in washing His disciples’ feet appears in verses 1 and 3. Verse 1 says that Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to return to His father and Jesus loved His own people, even to the end.  His action of humility was an expression of His love for His people. And, in verse 3, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God,” as He washed His disciples’ feet. Jesus knew that He is the Second Person of the Triune God, the Son of God, who has all the powers of the heavens and the earth. As God, He wanted to show His disciples Who He is.  In Matthew 11:29, in describing Who He is, Jesus did not choose words of glory, power and honor, but just said that He is “gentle and humble.”  Of all the attributes that can be ascribed to Jesus, He chose gentleness and humility to describe Himself. Revealing the humble God to His disciples was an expression of Jesus’ love for them. When someone with no power lowers himself, he cannot truly be said to be humble; he is just recognizing his position. When One with all the powers of the heavens and the earth lowers Himself, that is a true expression of humility.

How did Jesus express His humility? In Philippians 2:6-8, Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Jesus’ humility was demonstrated by His obedience in becoming a man and dying on the cross and this humility was expressed allegorically in the event of John 13.

In verse 4, Jesus “got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.” An outer clothing of His day was ankle-length, whereas an inner garment was somewhat shorter, coming down to the knees only.  A servant of the day would wear a short garment as his outer clothing. When Jesus took off His outer clothing, He revealed His servanthood.

The word used for “took off” is τίθημι (tithḗmi) in the original language of Greek and was not the word typically used to denote the action of taking off one’s clothing.  The usual word for taking off clothing was αποτίθημι (apotithḗmi), but John chose to use the word τίθημι (tithḗmi) instead.  The word τίθημι (tithḗmi) is used elsewhere in the Bible in the sense of laying down one’s life (John 10:18) or burying a dead body (John 19:41-42, Acts 13:29). In John 10:18, Jesus said that He has the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. The word τίθημι (tithḗmi) has the meaning of laying down one’s life. When Jesus took off His outer clothing in John 13, He was in a way implying His imminent death.

After Jesus took off His outer clothing, He then washed His disciples’ feet. What of Jesus washes and cleanses us? First, His words make us clean. In John 15:3, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” And in Ephesians 5:25-26, Jesus gave Himself up to make the Church holy, “by the washing with water through the word.” Second, His blood makes us clean. “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” (I John 1:7). “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14).

After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus then “put on” His clothes. The Greek word used for “put on” is λαμβανω (lambano), which is not the usual word used for putting on clothes. This is the word Jesus used in John 10:18, when He said He has the authority to “take up His life” again. His act of “putting on” (λαμβανω (lambano)) His clothes implied that His death was not going to end with a simple death by shedding of blood, but was to be triumphant with resurrection.

Jesus’ washing of His disciples’ feet was certainly an expression of His humility.  Even greater humility was His obedience unto death on the cross, shedding blood on the cross and then resurrecting on the third day.  His death and resurrection were implied in His act of “taking off” (τίθημι (tithḗmi)) and “putting on” ((λαμβανω (lambano)) His clothes to wash His disciples’ feet.

His humility produced great results not only for His disciples of the day, but also for us of the present age. I will list but two of them here.  First, in John 13:8, Jesus told Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” Because Jesus washed Peter and the other disciples, they got to have a part with Jesus. As Jesus said not all of them were clean, Judas Iscariot was excepted. To have a part with Jesus means to have an inheritance with Him. “We have obtained an inheritance in Him, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11).

In Genesis 13:17, as God promised Abraham his inheritance, He told him, “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” In Deuteronomy 11:24, God made a similar promise to the Israelites, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours.” The place where we set our foot of faith, with the feet made clean by Jesus, will be our inheritance.  Within our inheritance, we have the privilege of enjoying the victory and the power of Jesus, as our own. God placed all things under Jesus’ feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church (Ephesians 1:22). Jesus has authority over all things and we, by virtue of being His body the church, are likewise over all things.  That is because we are His body, His feet. As God promised in Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,” we will have the power to destroy Satan under our feet.

Second, in John 13:15, Jesus said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Having been washed by Jesus, we need to follow His example.  There are two things for us to do in following His example. One is that although we have the power and authority given to us by Jesus, we need to lower ourselves and be humble. Jesus, being in very nature God Himself, did not hesitate to humble Himself to take on the shape of the servant and obey unto death. Likewise, even though empowered, we should not hesitate to be His servants and serve Him humbly. We should remember the humility of John the Baptist, who said that he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ shoes. We should ponder the humility of a certain sinner woman, who loved Jesus to wet His feet with her tears, washed them with her hair and poured precious perfume on them.

Another example that Jesus set for us to follow is, as Jesus stated in verses 16 ~ 20, that just as Jesus did the work of the One who sent Him, we should likewise do the work of Him who sent us. What Jesus did was to reveal to people God the Father who sent Him, to demonstrate the love and character of God the Father, and to lead people into His wings of grace. He then sent His disciples to do the same work and today is sending us to do likewise. In Isaiah 52:7, it is declared, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”  Our feet that have been cleansed by Jesus should be such beautiful feet that bring the good news and proclaim how God loves us and declare that He reigns.  Our feet should do the work that expands His reign and His kingdom.

Dearly beloved, have you been made clean by Jesus’ words and by His blood?  If so, rejoice in the belief that you have an inheritance in Jesus. And, do the work that Jesus is sending you for, thus serving one another in the church in humility and bringing the good news of God’s love to those outside the church, so that your feet may be the beautiful feet that participate in expanding God’s kingdom. Let this morning be one with a new determination to follow Jesus’ example in humility and service.