Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.5 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.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.But this is to fulfill the scripture:‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be one of the disciples. What would it have been like to walk with Jesus, hear him tell His stories, witness the miracles, and be one of the ones in that room that night of the last supper. When Jesus would have approached me to wash my feet, would I have been like Peter and initially refused? What would have been my reaction?
We live in a world that teaches us to only think about ourselves. It is highly unusual to think of others first and to willingly do the meaningless jobs that no one else wants to do. However, Jesus teaches us to be different and to demonstrate our love through action. I teach at a Christian school and our theme for this year's chapels has been:
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Today's scripture brought this verse to my mind. We can choose to be transformed...to be different...to do what God wants us to do...regardless of what is expected, what others do, or what we want to do.
One of the things I struggle with the most about Jesus' betrayal is that even the disciples were not immune to the outward pressures of the world. These disciples had been there. They had watched Jesus, listened to Jesus, and been in His presence. Jesus had shown them how to live and He had been the ultimate example to them. They knew him intimately and yet they still faltered. I often wonder about Judas and his decision to betray Jesus. Was it for the money? Was it jealously of Jesus' "fame"? Or was it because Judas believed that Jesus would just be released because Judas knew He didn't do anything wrong? Did Judas have second thoughts about turning Jesus in when Jesus predicted His betrayal?
2 comments:
Great post. You see "look out for number one" so much in our culture. Ultimately, it seems none of us are immune to human nature, as much as we may wish, pray, or aspire to be.
I think it's possible Judas "signed up" for discipleship for what he could get out of it. The majority of people, including the disciples, thought Jesus had come to save them by taking power - not by dying - and maybe Judas wanted in on that. Obviously we don't know for sure, but it seems that when he realized things weren't going to happen the way he had hoped/planned, he wanted out.
It reminds me of those who fill the church pews every Sunday - they are taught the Word, exposed to the Word - but maybe they're there for the wrong reasons, and never actually experience relationship with Jesus. And that is very very sad.
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