John 13:6-11

Notes:

1. One of the disciples whose feet Jesus washed was Simon Peter
1. Simon Peter was hesitant
2. Jesus understood his hesitation, but reassured him that he would understand afterwards
3. But Peter decided it was too much and refused to allow Jesus to humble Himself so much
4. Jesus gave Peter an ultimatum: allow Me to wash you or you can have no claim to Me.
5. Simon’s choice was obvious: Then wash all of me!
6. Jesus: You only need your feet washed when the rest of you is clean to be completely clean.
7. Jesus: You (disciples) are clean.
8. Jesus: But not all you disciples are clean.
9. Point: For Jesus already knew the one who was betraying Him.

 

Although Jesus was washing part (the feet) of His disciples, the principle was that the rest of them had to be clean, too, for complete cleanliness. In the physical realm, that meant that the rest of their bodies had to be already clean; in the spiritual realm, it meant that their reception of Jesus had to be complete. The one who was planning to betray Jesus had already rejected Him, though his rejection was not yet clear to others. So even though he seemed to love and agree with Jesus, he was not spiritually clean. His outward reception of Jesus’ words and authority was only a “partial” spiritual cleansing. This disciple would not ultimately share in Jesus’ blessings.

 

Father, continue to remind me of these truths to help me make the right inward choices. May I not pretend to receive Your words, the words of Christ, but be against You in my heart. I know I am prone to wander, but may my wanderings never become rebellion. May my heart be Yours entirely so that when I “get my feet dirty” by negligent and sinful wandering, Christ’s cleansing of my feet makes me entirely clean, acceptable to You.

 

A side thought brought to mind by this passage: Jesus never baptized people as far as we know. He didn’t even baptize His own disciples. But many of them had been baptized by John, who prepared the way for Jesus. They had repented of their sins; they were committing their lives to God. Could it be that Jesus’ washing of their feet indicates that their former baptism was a partial cleansing, but that He completes their baptism? This is conjecture, so if you’re reading this, don’t take it too far without A LOT of humble study.