Blessed Feet

John 13:4,5                                                               Blessed Feet

“So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (NIV).

This was a job for a servant.  It was not a job for their teacher, their master, their Lord.  No, it was too menial a job for Jesus, and Peter told Him so in verse 6: “’No’ said Peter,  ‘you shall never wash my feet.’”  Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash your feet,  you have no part with me.’”  I believe that Jesus was showing His closest friends that He had come as a servant, not a conquering king, at least not in a worldly manner.  They knew that He had come from God.  They knew that Jesus was the Messiah.  I’m sure some of them were thinking in amazement, “But He washed my feet!”  Jesus didn’t leave them wondering for too long.  He stated in verses 14 and 15, “Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”  No one should value himself higher than any of the others.  Jesus demonstrated to His disciples that He may have come as the Messiah, but He had also come as a servant through whom all people would be blessed.  He should have been exalted by all men, yet He was ridiculed and ultimately thrown away.  He was crucified between thieves, people that the Romans threw away as not being worthy of living.  Jesus, the Messiah, had become the magnificent servant who gave His all.

Another Scripture, Ephesians 6:14,15, speaks strongly of feet:  “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (NIV).  Was Jesus readying His disciples for spreading the gospel of peace when He washed their feet?  Was His foot washing a precursor of the message given in Ephesians to shod our feet so we are ready to spread the good news He brought?

Jesus, the Messiah, washed the dirt off His disciples’ feet.  He cleaned their feet to make them ready to spread the Gospel.  His blood shed on Calvary cleansed not only our feet, but also our souls, our spirits, and our minds so that we can join the first missionaries, His disciples, in bringing souls into His Holy Kingdom,