John 13:12-20 ESV:
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
In the verses prior to these, the mentioning of us having our
whole bodies clean was symbolic of the state of our relationships with Jesus
Christ. And this status comes about by us believing in Jesus Christ, by dying
with him to sin, and by being raised with him to walk in newness of life in
him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as servants of God and of his
righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23). For Jesus told his disciples that they were “clean,”
but not every one of them, for Judas, who betrayed the Lord Jesus to his death,
was not clean. So this is clearly speaking of spiritual cleanliness.
We also learned that we need a daily cleansing of our feet,
which is symbolic of our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. And back then I
think they used sandals to cover their feet and so their feet got dirty when
they walked outside, which they did much, because they didn’t have cars and
trucks and buses like we have today to transport ourselves from one place to
another. So foot washing was something they did because they all had dirty
feet. And symbolically this represents us needing to die to sin daily, by the
Spirit, and us walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living (see Luke 9:23-26).
So, in that context, when Jesus told his disciples that they
should do for others what he had done for them, i.e. that since he had washed
their feet that they should wash other people’s feet, he was not speaking merely
of literal foot washings. But he was speaking of us serving one another, loving
one another, and doing for one another what Jesus instructed that we should do.
So if we, as followers of Christ, are to wash one another’s feet, and this
washing of feet has to do with cleansing our daily walks, I would suggest that
this has to do with us encouraging one another in our walks of faith.
But this encouraging is not just “rah, rah, rah, great job!”
It is that, too, but it is speaking to one another the truth of God’s word so
that none of us are led astray by people in their cunning, craftiness, and
deceitful scheming who are teaching lies and who are twisting the truth and who
are leading people to believe that faith in Jesus Christ does not require dying
with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to his commands. And it is
exhorting one another daily so that not one of us is led astray by the
deceitfulness of sin. And it is helping one another to grow to maturity in our
walks of faith in our Lord.
And the point, too, is that we are to be humbling ourselves
and we are to be serving one another in the ways in which Jesus ministered to
his disciples and to the people of the world (at that time, primarily Jews). We
should be sharing the truth of the gospel with all people, even with others who
profess faith in Jesus Christ, for not all who give lip service to the Lord are
his true followers (Judas, as an example). And we should be using the spiritual
gifts we have been given to help one another to grow closer to the Lord and to
do his will, and to encourage one another to obey the Lord always.
Ministers of Our God
An Original Work /
June 21, 2011
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
Ministers of our
God,
harken to hear Him
speak.
Have you given Him
your hearts and
souls today?
Hasten to give all
to Him.
Let Him cleanse your
hearts from sin.
Cast yourselves on
His altar.
In your lives do not
falter.
Ministers of our
God,
harken to hear Him
speak.
Have you given Him
your hearts and
souls today?
Ministers of our
God,
flee from all your
idols.
Remove them from
your lives.
Be transformed
today.
Listen to the words
I say.
Give your all to
Christ today.
Let him rule within
your hearts,
cleanse from sin,
His grace impart.
Ministers of our
God,
flee from all your
idols.
Remove them from
your lives.
Be transformed
today.
Ministers of our
God,
won’t you come to
His cross?
Die to sin and
yourselves.
Penitently pray.
Humbly accept Him
today.
Let Him wash your
sins away.
Receive Him into
your hearts.
His mercy and grace
impart.
Ministers of our
God,
won’t you come to
His cross?
Die to sin and
yourselves.
Penitently pray.
Do For Others What Jesus Did For Us
An Original Work / February 14, 2025
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