“… [Jesus] rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:4-5.

It is this majestic person Jesus who “rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.” Christ, being the eternal God in heaven, laid aside His heavenly robes along with His prerogatives as God and became a Man, and not just a Man but a servant, to minister to mankind.

“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28.

Having removed His outer garment, which would have impeded the washing of feet, and having girded Himself with a towel as a servant would, He began to wash the disciple’s feet and to dry them with the towel around His waist.

“Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.’” John 13:6-7.

“Then He came to Simon Peter.” Peter must have sat there in wonder and thought, “This is not right!” A person’s Lord and Teacher would never act this way, it is for the servants or the even the disciples to wash His feet, certainly not Lord of all, which he understood Christ to be.

“Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ Then Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” John 6:67-69.

Peter, always the outspoken one, puts his foot in his mouth and blurts it out, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” spoiling the beautiful visual image that the Lord was creating.

Too often many Christians speak out of turn because they want to sound important, or they say inappropriate things when the Holy Spirit has warned them not to. It is extremely important to bring the tongue under control.

“Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’” John 13:8.

Peter blunders on, ignoring Jesus’ gentle answer; “You shall never wash my feet!” his words are emphatic in both outbursts. The omniscient Christ is trying to make a point, yet Peter argues with Him.

The Apostle Peter should be an inspiration to all of us who have managed to do something profoundly stupid in word or deed. We can take comfort in knowing that even the greatest of them has misspoken, and Peter often, it might be added.

The true Christian must grasp the fact that sins they commit will not get them thrown out of heaven, however that does not mean that they will not suffer for them.

If one commits murder, expect to pay for that murder in the here and now, the murderer may spend the rest of their life in prison or be put to death.

If they steal, rape, or engage in deviant behavior, expect punishment from the state, and/or expect it to affect the rest of their life. If there is a rest of their life, God also sees and avenges the innocent.

“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.” 1 Peter 4:14-15.

“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” Romans 13:3-5.

The lesser sinful acts of foolishness can often be fixed with an apology, or repayment, or a confession of guilt of sorts.

A good rule for a public offense is that it requires a public apology; a private offense calls for a private apology.

Oftentimes the offense is so bad that when an apology or other appropriate deed has been done it becomes obvious nothing else will help; it is then that you must rely on God to heal the problem.

In every case, when we recognize our offense, it must be taken to God in prayer, and then corrected as soon as possible. The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to correct; just make sure your response is appropriate.

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:10-14.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

Peter then responds to Jesus’ statement, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

“Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’” John 13:9.

Again, Peter overshoots the runway, now asking for too much. The Lord’s reply though gives us a much deeper meaning to this foot washing than we would have gotten had he said nothing.

So the Lord is able to take an interruption in what He was doing to expand on the subject.

Nevertheless, Peter’s outburst should be a lesson to us all, Christian or otherwise; listen carefully to the things a person is saying before you react.

It is a terrible habit men have of formulating an answer while listening to someone, though they are not really listening.

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20.

Watch a panel discussion on something controversial on television; and listen to them talk over each other as the subject heats up. You will get little or nothing from the discussion, so what is the point of listening?

Jesus’ reply next is very important, so please consider His words carefully as you read them, and think on them throughout your day.

“Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’” John 13:10.

When Jesus says, “He who is bathed…” the wording He uses has the meaning, he who has taken a bath; whereas when He says, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” the term He uses has the meaning of a washing, such as the feet, not a bath.

After a person takes a bath or shower, they are clean head to toe, however if they walk barefoot too long, the feet are the first to become dirty.

This is where this whole foot washing thing started. Folks would wear sandals during the day and by the time they got home their feet were dusty and dirty; so the servant or some menial would wash their feet. These are things I am sure you are aware of, so now let us examine the meaning or type which Christ’s example gives us.

Jesus told the disciples that when a person is bathed they are clean. Being bathed in this case is meant to be a picture of salvation. This interpretation is verified by the fact that Jesus said that you are completely clean, but not all of you, meaning Judas who was not clean.

The indication in this verse is that one need bathe only once, but the feet would need to be cleaned often. The Christian then is cleansed of their sin once and this cleansing does not need to be repeated because they are washed away once and for all.

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…” Hebrews 10:12.

“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14.

Foot washing on the other hand is a continuous action and symbolizes cleansing by the water of the word, which is again administered by Christ through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is permanent and does not need continuously to be repeated.

Our daily walk through this life soils us and we need the cleansing that the Scriptures give us as the Holy Spirit applies the word of God to our conscience.

When God’s word is applied to our conscience, it brings repentance and confession of our sins, which keeps an open relationship between us and the Father.

“For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, ‘You are not all clean.’” John 13:11.

Judas is the contrast between those who were bathed and one who is a pretender. Nevertheless Jesus did wash this man’s feet along with the others; but it did no good.

The pretender will sit next to you in church, well dressed and friendly, they sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, and make lovely prayers.

They, like Judas, may have a place of importance in the church; they are alive on the outside and dead on the inside. Often only the Holy Spirit will tell you the person’s heart condition.

I once read a very lovely prayer, thinking that the one who uttered it must have been quite godly; until I found that it was prayed by Adolph Hitler.

This is how good the pretender can be, and ministers would do well to preach strong salvation messages on hell occasionally to shake these folks out of their complacency. They are in every church.

Nor should the minister lay hands on someone as a public recognition of their Christian faith without first getting to know them and becoming certain of their salvation.

“Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.” 1 Timothy 5:22.

Washing of Water, John 13:4-11 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 2-26-13, updated on 1-9-18.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.