THE REAL REASON WHY JESUS WASHED THE FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES

(As guided by the Holy Spirit)

As I go through John 13:1-17, a picture of utter humility of the highest order facades my imagination. The Son of God Himself stooped so low to wash the feet of His disciples. In Hebrew culture this was not expected of even a Hebrew slave but of a gentile slave. On the other hand this kind of gesture was expected of wives towards their husbands, children towards their parents and disciples towards their teachers. But Jesus being the Husband (as we are all His brides), The Father and the Teacher did what was not expected of Him. Why? Was it sheer humility or was there a more profound reason behind it. Let’s discover.

In Exodus 12:1-13 we learn about the ORIGIN OF THE PASSOVER, FLESH AND BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE DEATH OF EVERY-FIRST BORN OF EGYPT. As we read through 1 to 13, we will notice that Exodus 12:7 mentions that the Israelites were to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. Here the Holy Spirit showed me how this was connected to John 13:8-10 where Jesus was first denied the right to wash the feet of Peter to which Jesus replied unflinchingly that if he did not allow Jesus to wash his feet he would have no part with Jesus (like its mentioned in the parable of “The Vine and the Branches” John 15:6 that if we do not remain in Him we will be thrown away and we’ll wither and then later picked up thrown into the fire and burned). Hearing this Peter said to Jesus that he wanted not just his feet but his hands and head as well to be washed, to which Jesus replied that those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. Now equating the two passages (Exodus 12:1-13 and John 13:1-17) we derive at three pictures.

PICTURE 1

PICTURE 2

PICTURE 3

Picture 1 shows what happened in Exodus 12:7 during the Passover.

Picture 2 shows Peter, before the washing of his feet by Jesus. Here, by the word “bath” in John 13:10 Jesus meant clean hands and clean head which in turn means, according to Exodus 12:7, sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Picture 3 shows Peter after his feet was washed by Jesus. “Completely protected on all sides” or in context to Exodus 12:7 we can say “Protected by the blood of the Lamb on all sides of the 

door-frame.”

This was one of the several reasons why Jesus said, on the cross, “It is FINISHED”. Here He completed the work that was left incomplete in the Old Testament.

Now coming back to John 13:14-15 we find a subtle command by Jesus, to His disciples. Here Jesus said that He being the Lord and the Teacher washed the feet of His disciples likewise even the disciples should do to one another. Jesus said that He had set an example for the disciples or we can say - all the followers of Jesus Christ to do as He has done for us. But did He just mean washing the feet of one another or did He mean being humble to one another or may be something more than that. If we look at John 15:12-14 He is commanding His disciple and what does He say to them. He says to them that there is no greater love than this, that is, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. So here if we look closely at Picture 3 we will find that Jesus did not wash the feet or the bottom door-frame by plain water but by His Blood which He shed on the Cross for us. This water just symbolizes that Blood that was about to be shed. So according to his commandment what are we supposed to do? By washing each other's feet to commemorate this event is by no means an act that provides justice to this unfathomable gesture of Love and Humility. What Jesus really expects for us is to do what He did on the cross for us - Lay down one's life for one's friends. So are we supposed to sacrifice our lives? Yes, but mostly spiritually not physically, as it has been mentioned in Romans 6:11 {So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus}. So if we lead our lives according to 1 John 2:5-6 then the glory of Jesus would shine from our deeds and character and be a light to our friends who might still be in darkness. Now the greatest question is whom did Jesus mean when he says “Friends”. Was it just the disciples or His followers or someone else that He was talking about? If we read Isaiah 61:1-3 we will find the purpose of Jesus. Among all the things that He did, there was one in particular “release from darkness for the prisoners”. Prisoner held by whom? Prisoners held by the devil; prisoners held by sin, or in simple words we can say “Sinners”. So one of the main reasons why Jesus came to this world was to free the Sinners from the bondage of Sin. Jesus once said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). And that is the reason why Jesus spent a lot of time with the tax collectors and sinners and thus was called a friend of the sinners (Matthew 11:19). Here the explanation of John 15:14-15 could have one more implication. Here Jesus calls us His Friends not Servants. So this spiritual death to sin that we would bring upon ourselves would not only benefit our friends on earth but also greatly please OUR ONE TRUE FRIEND - JESUS.

Before finishing this article I would like to mention a major point here. We have always been hearing about the humility that Jesus displayed by washing the feet of the disciples but have failed to appreciate a significant fact which has been symbolized through this activity.

This is what THE SON OF GOD, blemish free and pure in every sense, did for us. This world has not seen a greater humility than this - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

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