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Let’s ask the Lord’s blessing on his preached word. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, your kingdom come. Your will be done. Let your glory be put on display in our lives and in the word preached right now. Lord Jesus, wash us. Wash us with your word so that people here may be saved and people here may be sanctified. Use me, Lord, for your glory. Amen.
Preparation for today’s message. I’ve been thinking about a certain question this last week. I pose it to you. Which task that people do today is the lowliest? Out of all the necessary jobs, works or chores? Which is the most avoided, the most distasteful, the least often honored?
Sure, there are many good answers and no doubt every task has something unpleasant or laborious about it. For though work is a gift and is God glorifying, it is also under a curse, a curse of toil and vaporousness because of mankind’s fall into sin. There are many unpleasant tasks today.
Nevertheless, I submit to you that the lowliest kind of work is and always has been any kind of cleaning. For what is lower than dirt? What is more distasteful than the things you might clean? Mud, trash, bodily fluids, rotten food.
Dealing with these assaults, our five god-given senses. Touching these means that we might become dirty ourselves. We’ll have to wash ourselves afterwards. And worst of all, even when we labor long to clean something from these, what happens?
It quickly gets dirty again.
To be sure, we all love when people, objects, or and spaces are clean. But getting there is lowly work and usually avoided or given to someone else to do if at all possible.
This is why you don’t usually see people lining up to do the dishes, change a baby’s diaper, take out the trash, clean out the shower drain, wash the dog, clean up vomit, or dispose of an animal’s carcass. Generally speaking, we humans don’t like getting dirty or dealing with anything that is dirty. This is why we pay other people to do the dirty work.
This is why the great people of the earth will never be seen doing such lowly tasks. The great ones will never allow themselves to be humiliated by dealing with dirt and trash. Rather, their servants will do it. Their interns will do it. Their little siblings will do it. Whoever is lowliest on the totem pole in an organization or family will be forced to do the cleaning. But not the great ones, not the rich, not the teachers, not the leaders. But what about God? That seems like an easy question, right? Surely the holy creator, the Lord and King of the universe, he is far above any kind of cleaning work. Surely he of endless honor, glory, and praise would never allow himself to be so humbled. Surely he who is cleanness and purity in his very essence would never get his hands dirty or touch someone who is unclean. This is what the natural man thinks. But friends and brethren, this is why the good news of salvation in Jesus is such a scandal. Because what has God in fact revealed about himself in his word? That the father sent his son who is light of light, very God, a very God who is consumate in holiness. He sent his son into our world of dirt to become a human made of dirt to save humankind, a whole people made of dirt from the damning dirtiness of their own sins. And how does he do this? How is the salvation accomplished? By cleaning. by the Son himself washing us like a servant so that we would be clean both in a once and for all sense and in a regular ongoing sense. In our next passage in the Gospel of John, we will begin to see this unthinkable but wonderful truth vividly displayed and explained so that on the one hand we would believe. We would believe in Jesus and experience his cleansing and on the other we would follow his example and embrace a lifestyle of lowly and loving service towards others. Please take your Bibles and open to the Gospel of John chapter 13. I’m calling the message today when God washed our feet part one. When God washed our feet part one John 13 1-20 is our new passage Bible page 177 we’ll be focusing on verses 1 to 11 today. Before we read remember where we are in the Gospel of John. We just finished the first half of the gospel what’s called the book of signs in John 1:12. This is the record of Jesus public ministry, his public presentation by his divine words and works to Israel.
Presentation that we saw at the end of John 12 was ultimately misunderstood and rejected. We now begin the second half of John’s gospel, the book of glory in John 13 to20 where we will see Jesus private ministry to his disciples and then the glorification of the son in his suffering and his crucifixion and in his resurrection.
Now going from John 12 into John 13, we’re still at Jesus final Passover at the conclusion of his three and a half year public ministry. But now the Passover feast is officially about to begin. This is where we pick up our passage in John 13 1-20. Please follow along as I read.
Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that his hour had come that he would depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas the Scariot, the son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God up from supper and laid aside his garments. And taking a towel, he gerted himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. So he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do, you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to him,”Nne shall you wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you. For he knew the one who was betraying him. For this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when he had washed their feet and taken his garments and reclined at the table again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and lord and you are right for so I am. If I then the Lord and the teacher washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But it is that the scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me. From now on, I am telling you before it comes to pass so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives me.
and he who receives me receives him who sent [Music] me. Here we see the first part in an extended conversation that Jesus will have with his disciples in John 13 to 17. These chapters are commonly called the upper room discourse. This is because they begin in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem in which Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Passover.
These chapters are also sometimes called the farewell discourse for they represent the last conversation Jesus will have with his disciples before his death. Indeed, the content of the discussion in these chapters anticipates Jesus imminent departure. In chapters 13 to 16, Jesus gives his disciples comfort and instruction regarding how they are to go on without him living and teaching among them. And then in chapter 17, Jesus prays to the father on behalf of his disciples since he is leaving them. So day, so today we start looking at the first section of Jesus larger farewell discourse with his disciples.
And in this section, the one that we read, we encountered a surprise in multiple ways. Unlike the synoptics, John in his gospel does not focus on Jesus last Passover meal itself or on Jesus institution of the Lord’s supper. You may recognize that that’s not featured here, though it is in Luke, which we read earlier. Rather, John has us zero in on a shocking act of service from Jesus that both reveals Jesus’ glory and teaches how his disciples are to live until Jesus returns.
We can capture the main idea of John 13:1-20 in this way. Here’s the thesis.
John records Jesus spectacular display of lumb loving and humble service in footwashing so that you will believe in Jesus and obediently follow his example. Let’s now dig into this remarkable four-part opening to John’s farewell discourse from Jesus. Today we will look at the first two parts and next time we’ll look at the last two parts. We begin with the first part in verses 1 to5 where we see number one. Jesus confidently, lovingly and humbly washes feet. Jesus confidently, lovingly, and humbly washed his feet.
Look at verses 1 to3. Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that his hour had come that he would depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Jesus as a scariat, the son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knowing that the father had given all things into his hands and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God. I’ll pause right there.
Notice how verse one begins by bringing us back into the narrative that was paused back in John 12:36. Remember, we had that little mini conclusion uh in between, but well, now we’re back in the narrative. The Passover is about to begin. And according to Jewish reckoning, a new day begins at sundown rather than sunrise. So once the sun goes down on this Thursday of Passion Week, it will technically be Friday and the beginning of Passover. This is when Jesus and his disciples will then celebrate Passover by eating the Passover meal. Now notice beyond this beginning time detail, most of what appears in these beginning three verses is about what Jesus knows. Do you notice how many times that term appeared? In fact, as Jesus enters his final Passover, we learn that he continually knows five poignant truths.
He knows five pointed truths. And we’ll go through these briefly. First in verse one, Jesus is knowing that his hour had come. That is his appointed time of glorification through suffering, death, and resurrection. It has come. It is imminent. Second, also in verse one, Jesus is knowing that he would depart out of this world to his father. That is, by his death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus’ time on earth is coming to an end.
Skipping over the end of verse one for a moment to go to verse two. Jesus knows third that the devil is having already put it into the heart of Judas’s Scariot, the son of Simon to betray Jesus. Now the text doesn’t specifically say in verse two that Jesus knows this.
It’s just mentioned for the reader. Yet this gospel has regularly shown us how Jesus knows all things and all men.
Furthermore, we see later in the passage Jesus allude to Judas’s imminent betrayal. So surely this is not just for the reader. Jesus knows this as well.
This detail reminds us that Jesus is already knowing about Judas’s imminent betrayal.
Judas willfully responding to the devil’s leading and encouragement has already by this point even before the beginning of the Passover meal determined to betray Jesus and is just looking for the opportune moment. Fourth, verse three, Jesus is knowing that the father has given all things into his hands, that is Jesus’ hands. Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that phrase. John the Baptist actually said the same thing about Jesus in John 3:35. Father loves the son and has given all things into his hands or into his hand. But what what do these phrases mean to give everything into someone’s hand or hands?
Well, it’s a pretty vivid picture. To put something in someone’s hand is to give him ownership and control. You give someone power and possession of something when you put it in his hands so that he can do whatever he wants with it. And what did the father put into Jesus’ hands? Everything.
Meaning Jesus already owns everything and is in firm control of everything. As Jesus enters his final Passover, he is continually knowing this. And then fifth, verse three, Jesus is knowing that he had come forth from God and was going back to God. Sounds a little bit like the middle of verse one, but with a slight difference. Jesus is continually knowing that he is the one uniquely descended from heaven to reveal God to the world and accomplish salvation and then by what is about to occur go back to God is going back to God in heaven. He’s come forth from God.
He’s come down from heaven and he’s going back soon. Now what is the point? What is the point of these stacking details of information about what Jesus knows as he enters the Passover meal? The point is that though Jesus is about to face an unfathomably difficult ordeal, especially spiritually, he is not afraid. He is not worried. He is supremely confident.
He continually knows who he is, why he’s come, what the outcome to the darkness he will suffer will be, and where Jesus will then go back to the father’s side to enjoy unending splendor again. More than that, Jesus is in control. He is not some pathetic, helpless victim to the forces about to be unleashed on him. Nor is he a nailbiter hoping, praying that everything will turn out well. No, he is the son of God who already has everything in his hands. His death is in his hands. Judas is in his hands. Even Satan’s actions are in his hands. Indeed, one of the themes in every gospel account regarding Jesus death is that Jesus is in total control.
He’s in control of his arrest. He’s in control of his crucifixion. He’s even in control of the very moment he lays down his life and when he takes it back up as Jesus has told us earlier in John 10. Therefore, even in this dark hour, even as Jesus anticipates the horror of suffering for sin on behalf of his own, Jesus is unendingly confident in his father, in his mission success, and in his consequent glorification.
And by the way, there is a sense in which Christ and his promises given to us in salvation should make us similarly confident in our Christian missions on the earth. Now, this knowledge of Jesus frees him up toward two amazing actions also discussed in these beginning verses. The first is back at the end of verse one. And what is that action? Love.
Looking there again, it says, “Having loved his own who are in the world, he loved them to the end.” Just paying attention for a moment to that first verb phrase, having loved.
The idea is that Jesus in the past was continually and characteristically loving someone. He had his affection continually set on someone. He was feeling and acting in love towards someone.
Whom did Jesus love in this way? Verse one says, “His own.” His own who are in the world. Now, we know from John 3:16 and other verses that Jesus as God has love for the whole world, even for rebellious sinners. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why sinners are not immediately consumed even now. It’s God’s love. It’s God’s grace.
Yet there is a special infinitely deeper love that Jesus has that God has for his own. That is his chosen ones. Even the love gift given from the father to the son from eternity past for the son to save, for the son to sanctify, and then for the son to enjoy forever as a holy bride. Jesus loves his own. Though notice it says Jesus continually loved his own who were in the world. that is his own who were born into and still sojouring through the world of humanity. And what is the hum world of humanity? It is a fundamentally lost and dark world in bondage to sin and ruled over by Satan. Jesus came to save his own out of this world. Yet his own still must remain in the world for a time.
So then verse one tells us that these world pilgrims they have been the continual objects of Jesus love and affection. Obviously this would include Jesus present disciples those with him in the upper room but it also includes the rest of Jesus own the elect from every time even we who know Christ here. Now, since when has Jesus loved his own who are in the world in this way? Certainly, since Jesus began walking with them in his three and a half year ministry. But it goes back further even to the beginning of Jesus’ time on earth in the incarnation. He was loving them.
And it goes back even further than that for Ephesians 1:4 and 5. Ephesians 1:4 and5 says that Jesus own have been loved and predestined to adoption in God’s family since before the foundation of the world. In other words, Jesus has loved his own since eternity. There has never been a time that he has not continually loved them, set his affection on them. And if this has been Jesus stance toward his own in the past, will things change now that Jesus is leaving the world and going back to God? No. For verse one continues, “Having loved his own who are in the world, he loved them to the end.” Now, what does the phrase to the end mean? It doesn’t mean that Jesus love for his own stopped once Jesus left the world. Okay, I’ll love you a little bit more and then sorry. No, surely not. for how can eternal love have an end? Rather, what we probably have here is another example of John’s purposeful ambiguity. Times where he intends for the reader to consider two senses of a word or phrase because both are true. In a temporal sense, Jesus loved his own who are in the world to the end.
That is to the end of his earthly life and sojourn with them. Because Jesus has continually loved his own from eternity, he certainly would not fail to love them all the not to fail to love them at all in any way while he was with them. But there is another way to translate accurately loved them to the end. And that is he loved them to the uttermost to the max completely. And this is also true of Jesus love for his own both while he is with them in the world and after he has left them bodily to go to heaven. There is and there never will be anything lacking in Jesus love for his own. As the infinite God, as the faithful God, his love is so abundant and incessant for his own that he will always be pouring it out on them. And that includes you who are in Jesus Christ. But how is Jesus able to love his own so constantly and amazingly? That is a good question. And all we can say from verses 1 to3 is that it is tied to Jesus knowledge and power, even to his mysterious deity.
Because he is ever confident in who he is and where he is going. Jesus is freed up to love his own to the end. Doesn’t have to worry about himself. He’s freed up to love his own to the end. And there is something else to which Jesus unceasing knowledge and control frees him up. Something else aligned with and even manifesting his everlasting love. What is this something else?
We see it in verses four and five. The culmination of the clauses about Jesus knowledge in verses 1 to3. Let’s read verses four and five.
Now knowing everything that’s just been stated, he Jesus got up from supper and laid aside his garments and taking a towel, he gerted himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.
You see the connection here? To what action did did Jesus confident knowledge and control as well as his infinite love move him? To humble service even to the humblest service imaginable. Now notice when this service occurs. It says in verse four, he got up from supper.
So this means at some point during the Passover meal, maybe even around the time the disciples were arguing about which of them should be regarded as the greatest. That’s what we hear about in Luke 22:24. Sometime maybe around that time, Jesus gets up for a special and unexpected act of service. Verse four says that Jesus laid aside his garments, taking a towel, he gerted himself. Most likely this means that Jesus takes off whatever outer garments he is wearing, probably his cloak and his belt, and he only keeps on his tunic and a towel that he ties around himself like an apron. In short, the kind of outfit that Jesus is now wearing is like that of a slave ready for service. And what service does Jesus have in mind? Footwashing.
Now foot washing was a regular necessity in the ancient world. At that time most people walked wherever they needed to go and people were really poor. They walked barefoot. But most people walked in leather sandals. However, while sandals may have protected you from certain walking discomforts, they didn’t entirely protect you from dirt or sweat.
Indeed, most walking in Judea at that time was on dirt roads or otherwise dusty ground. Thus, even if you had just bathed or had only walked a short distance, you likely showed up wherever you were going, wherever you were intending to go with dirty feet. But what if you just showed up to a party or even a Passover banquet with dirty feet?
Well, going into another person’s home with dirty feet and a person wouldn’t wear his sandals inside, he he’d go inside barefoot. That would not only be uncomfortable for the guest, but likely displeasing and offensive to the host.
So, it became customary among the Jews to provide for footwashing at social engagements. For example, if you invited to someone’s home, the host would be expected to provide a pitcher, a basin, and a towel for you to wash your own feet when you arrived.
Apparently, you would hold your feet over the basin, pour water over your feet with a pitcher, and then wipe away the water with a towel. Now, a more wellto-do host would be expected not only to provide water for footwashing, but also a slave or a servant to do the task for you. Now, notably, only a slave or the lowest servant could be expected to untie sandals or wash feet. And why is that?
Because footwashing, and I think we can understand this, was seen as a degrading task not to be inflicted on anyone, anyone besides a slave or the lowest servant. After all, footwashing not only deals with dirt, but with feet, a not so honorable part of the body.
Even today, feet are almost proverbly associated with disgusting problems and bad smells, right? You think about corns or foot fungus or other things that happen with feet and you get a little grossed out. Probably probably many of you listening today would be grossed out at the prospect of touching someone else’s unwashed feet. Maybe except for your spouse’s or maybe not even then. The same understanding was in the or was in operation in the ancient world and among the Jews. To the Jews, touching people’s dirty feet and washing them is one of the lowliest, if not the lowliest task a person could do. In fact, according to some ancient rabbis, Jewish slaves could never be commanded to wash someone’s feet.
Gentile slaves could well because they’re Gentiles, but not Jewish slaves.
They have some dignity even as slaves. Yet footwashing is exactly what Jesus gets up from the banquet table to do. Now, we might ask, why was this footwashing necessary during the Passover meal? Shouldn’t they have taken care of that at the beginning? It’s a good question.
Probably the reason this happens now during the meal is that somehow the disciples failed to provide before for any footwashing. After all, Jesus told the disciples, Peter and John in particular, to make the necessary arrangements for the Passover meal in this particular upper room. That’s in Luke 22:es 8-13 before the passage we read earlier. And such arrangements would necessarily have included water for footwashing or better a servant or slave to provide the footwashing. You know, somebody who can do that at the beginning and he’ll just scadaddle. Now, the text does not say specifically that the disciples failed to provide this. But it is unlikely that Jesus would have gotten up to wash already washed feet. So apparently it wasn’t done.
Maybe footwashing is just one of those preparations that got overlooked. There were so many other things to do. Or maybe Peter and John hired a servant, but he never showed up. We don’t know. But the fishing apparently did not happen. And none of the other disciples subsequently volunteered to do the job.
And again, considering the culture, we understand why. This would just humiliate them before the other disciples. And it would sink any argument they might have for being Jesus greatest disciple. I’m not getting down to wash people’s feet. I’m the greatest. So now instead, probably the whole group is most the way through the Passover meal and they still all have their dirty feet.
Certainly, this is a discourtesy of the disciples to one another, but it’s an even greater dishonor to Jesus, their rabbi and master, who of all the people in the room should not be left with unwashed feet. This isn’t the first time though, that Jesus has been shown such discourtesy. We hear of at least one other time in Luke 7:44. Luke 7:44 Jesus rebukes a Pharisee who is hosting Jesus at the Pharisees house for having a judgmental heart towards others when this Pharisee himself won’t even provide water for Jesus’ feet. So what does Jesus do here in this situation where footwashing has not been provided? He doesn’t suddenly rebuke his disciples that we could have. rather he quietly gets up from the banquet. He dons this contemptable outfit of a slave and verse as verse 5 says then he poured water into the basin and he began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was gerted. Jesus starts doing what none of the other disciples were apparently willing to do. the master, the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of God. He puts on a slave apron. He lowers himself before all his disciples. And while they still recline at table, he goes from pair of dirty feet to pair of dirty feet. He touches these feet. He pours water on these feet. And he wipes the feet with the towel he’s wearing.
Brethren, this is the Lord and God of the universe putting his hands on human feet in a sense on our feet. How can he perform such humble service? How can he allow himself such seeming dishonor? According to verses 1 to3, this is the outcome of who he is, what he knows, and whom he has always loved. He’s not concerned about himself.
He’s freed up to even this most humble of services.
And while most of the disciples apparently just watch this occur in stunned and shamed silence, Peter is compelled to say something which launches a profound conversation in the next part of this section. And this part is verses 6 to 11 where we see number two, Jesus answers Peter and teaches about cleansing. Jesus answers Peter and teaches about cleansing. Verse six. So he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, ‘Lord, do you wash my feet? This is a rhetorical question from Peter. The original Greek more emphatically points out that there is something terribly wrong with what Peter is witnessing. Lord, do you yourself wash my feet? Basically, Peter is telling Jesus, you shouldn’t be doing this.
You should not be subjecting yourself to such an indignity. You’re great. I don’t know about everyone else’s feet, but I know about my feet. You of all people should not be forced to touch them. Jesus, what’s going on? Why are you trying to do this? Peter is distressed, confused. But in verse 7, Jesus seeks to reassure Peter. Look what Jesus says in verse 7.
Jesus answered and said to him,”What I do, you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Now, with this reply, Jesus is not merely telling Peter, “Just hang on a few minutes, explain everything when I’m done.” Yes, Jesus will provide some explanation and instruction after the foot washing is completed. But Jesus statement here is akin to others that we’ve heard in this gospel about how only at the end, only after Jesus is raised from the dead, do the disciples fully understand the significance of Jesus’ actions. Such will be the case of this footwashing scene. The full significance will not be known until much later. But this answer does not satisfy Peter as we see in the beginning of verse 8.
Peter said to him, “Never shall you wash my feet.” Peter’s refusal is even more emphatic in the original Greek, employing the strongest denial possible in the grammar of that language. More literally translated, “You absolutely could not possibly wash my feet forever. Not only will you not wash my feet, but the possibility doesn’t even exist and it will never exist.” That’s pretty strong. What is this, Peter? What are you saying? Where’s this coming from? Well, surely this is both an expression of Jesus’ humble devotion to Jesus and Peter’s immature pride.
On the one hand, Peter clearly has such a high view of Jesus and such a low view of himself that Peter cannot bear the prospect of Jesus denigrating himself by touching, let alone washing Peter’s dirty feet. This is because he loves Jesus. He recognizes how great Jesus is. On the other hand, Peter has such a high view of himself and such a low view of Jesus that Peter is not willing to trust Jesus when Peter doesn’t understand what Jesus is doing. but instead feels the need to tell Jesus, Peter’s Lord and Teacher, what Jesus should and should not do. These are kind of contradictory stances in Peter, but we can have the same with Jesus, can’t we?
Yet Jesus seizes on Peter’s reply and what now becomes an important teaching opportunity kind of mini lesson in the midst of the larger lesson that Jesus wants to accomplish. Jesus takes this teaching opportunity not only to help Peter move away from his immature devotion but also to provide those present disciples and even we today with profound teaching regarding cleansing and fellowship with Jesus.
Look at the end of verse eight.
Now Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” On the surface, Jesus word here might be regarded as a quick rebuke of Peter so that Peter will pipe down. Hey Peter, you want to keep on being my disciple? Then let me get through my special thing here and wash your feet. But Jesus is saying way more than that.
something that his disciples would only understand hereafter that is after Jesus’ cross work and resurrection have been completed. What is this greater only later understood truth?
It is, and listen closely, that unless Jesus cleanses you once and for all from your sin, you have no portion with him or in his eternal salvation. For this is what Jesus really came to do, isn’t it? Jesus didn’t come merely to wash some dirty feet at a Passover meal.
Rather, he came to spiritually wash dirty sinners in his own blood at the cross. You see, all of us spiritually are dirtridden by sin. I don’t mean literally. I don’t mean that we literally have dirt on us. I mean spiritually speaking, we are dirtridden by sin. We not only have sin dirt on us, we have sin dirt in us. It’s who we are.
We are dirty. So no matter how many times we or others try to wash ourselves, we can never be clean. Certainly never clean enough for God. We cannot do enough good works.
Cannot say enough prayers. We cannot go through enough rituals. We cannot confess enough. For even these supposed good works, they all come from those who are fundamentally stained by sin dirt. We have bad records full of sin and we have bad hearts that fundamentally love sin. In every way, we fall short of the glory of God. Even when we try and do good things, it’s not like God would do it. It’s stained by sin dirt. But who could save us? who cannot only wash away our records but give us new and clean hearts, who can clothe us with fresh white garments that cannot ever be stained. And I suppose the question is not only who could save us, but who would save us? What being of surpassing cleanness would ever want to reach down and dirty himself for us? Who would suffer the infinite indignity of touching us? Who would therefore want to clean us? Who would ever be willing to take our our excuse me all our dirtiness by sin and at the same time give us his cleanness by righteousness? Who would do that?
The answer is right here in John 13. Jesus, God the Son, says by his footwashing, I am willing to do that because I am infinitely secure.
Jesus essentially says, “In my own glorious cleanness and honor, and because I have loved you from before the foundation of the world, I am not afraid to humble myself to the lowest point so that you might be clean. I will become a man. I will take on your sin. I will die and suffer hell in your place. I will suffer the greatest pain and dishonor at the cross so that you will become clean in my blood and share eternal life with me. I will give you a clean record, my record, a record of total and complete righteousness. And I will give you a clean heart, a new heart after my own heart. This is wholly unexpected. could never be believed unless God declared it. This is the wonder of the gospel. This is the good news that needs to be declared everywhere. Yet Jesus reminds all through his words in verse eight to Peter, only those cleansed by Jesus in the way I just described have eternal life. Only those washed, only those bathed, only those cleansed by Jesus. Zealous persons in other religions are not cleansed. Those trying to keep God’s law on their own are not cleansed. Those just relying on God to be tolerant and understanding are not cleansed.
Rather, only those by repentance and faith in Jesus are made clean once and for all to share in Jesus abundant life and eternal inheritance forever. This Peter did not understand in that moment, but he did understand later and we should now too.
Now, what Peter does next in our passage is almost comical and about face on his previous emphatic rejection. Verse 9, Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” What? You just said he’s never going to wash your feet forever. Now you’re like, “Wash me other places, too.” What’s going on, Peter? Well, this is more of Peter’s misunderstanding, yet his true devotion to Jesus. Hearing that only those who Jesus washes can have ongoing fellowship with him, Peter’s now ready for Jesus to wash any place that’s not currently covered with clothes. Don’t stop at my feet.
Jesus, get my hands. Get my head. Get me anywhere you can. Peter thinks he now understands what Jesus is after. But Peter still doesn’t really know what’s going on. All Peter knows is that he loves Jesus and he does not want to miss out on him in any way. And there is something exemplary in that. Jesus therefore uses this new misunderstanding to teach a further lesson about cleansing and fellowship.
Let’s read our last two verses now verses 10 and 11. Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet but is completely clean. and you are clean, but not all of you. For he knew the one who was betraying him. For this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” Again, in verse 10, Jesus might be at first misconstrued as talking only about the present situation with Peter. Peter, I know that you and everyone else already bathed as part of getting ready for Passover. So I don’t need to wash your hands, your head, or any other part, just your feet. But Jesus adds at the end of verse 10 that in fact not everyone in the group is clean.
It says you’re all clean. Well, actually, not all of you. Indicating that Jesus is speaking about more than merely bathing in water for Passover. Actually, John reminds us in verse 11 that Jesus said what he did because Jesus was aware of his betrayer, Judas, the whole time. Again, this is reinforcing what we saw in the beginning of our passage. Jesus has total knowledge and total control. He’s not surprised at all by Judas.
But coming back to verse 10, Jesus must again in his reply to Peter be talking about a reality that is only fully understood afterwards in the future even after Jesus resurrection.
This time what Jesus is getting at is that the saved and cleansed believer, the one cleansed once and for all will at the same time still need more limited cleaning by sanctification. And this will happen throughout the believer’s life. Now notice in verse 10 that Jesus does not say that having dirty feet means that a person is now wholly unclean which we might expect but it’s actually the opposite. Jesus says one who only needs to wash his feet Jesus says is completely clean. Now it may not make perfect sense for the physical body. You might look at yourself and be like my feet are dirty.
How could you say that all of me are clean? But it does make good sense when you understand the gospel. It makes good spiritual sense.
Spiritually speaking, Jesus in verse 10 is pointing his disciples and us to the difference between justification and positional sanctification on the one side and practical or progressive sanctification on the other side.
On this first side, on the one hand, Jesus salvation for sinners is accomplished once and for all through Jesus gospel by simple and sincere faith in Jesus. A sinner is immediately justified, that is counted righteous, proclaimed as righteous before God. Also by sincere faith, a sinner is immediately sanctified. That is totally spiritually cleansed and set apart. You are now a holy one of God. These are once and for all realities accomplished through Jesus’ death and resurrection. They do not need topping up or completion by the believer. They can never fail or be lost by the believer. You do not need to get re-saved. No. If you are saved, then it’s a done deal. You are now wholly justified, forever cleansed. You are forever saved and safe in Jesus. That’s on the one side.
On the other side, on the other hand, as a believer continues to live in this world, to walk in this world as it were, he will get dirt on his feet. That is, he will find himself sinning, even at times find himself in bondage to old sin habits. Thus, practically speaking, the believer is not entirely sanctified.
Positionally speaking, yes. Practically speaking, no. Rather, he needs to grow in holiness and progress in sanctification. That is that process of being cleaned up, of being made holy. To describe this metaphorically as Jesus does here, the believer, the saved believer needs regular footwashing.
He doesn’t need to be saved again, bathed again. No, that’s already happened. He’s already clean in Christ. But them feet though, as our brother Khalif memorably preached in 2018, those dirty feet still need attention.
The marred experience of fellowship and joy, the experience marred by sin that needs attention. Fellowship needs restoration. And those entangling sins, they need new repentance and ongoing mortification. What does mortification mean? Putting to death.
This is the normal, the expected Christian experience. You are wholly justified and cleansed. Yet at the same time, you now progress in holiness and becoming more and more like Jesus, even by what we could metaphorically call footwashing. Now, here’s the key question.
Who’s responsible to bring about this ongoing limited additional cleansing in the believer’s life? Who’s responsible for this footwashing? Is it the believer himself? Yes, in one sense. As Philippians 2:12 exhorts that each of us work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are to apply full effort to follow after and to obey Christ.
putting off sin. In one sense, footwashing is your responsibility. What about the church?
Is it the church’s responsibility? In another sense, yes.
For we will see soon. One of the applications of what Jesus is talking about right here in John 13:14 is that we should wash one another’s feet. And that doesn’t just refer to general service. That even refers specifically to helping one another become more like Jesus. helping one another put off sin and put on practical righteousness. But in asking this question of who’s responsible for bringing about the spiritual footwashing, let’s pay attention to the passage again? Who’s washing Peter’s feet? Is it Peter himself? Is it the other disciples?
No, it’s Jesus.
And notice, friends and brethren, Christ is not bathing Peter here. He’s not bathing his disciples. He’s just washing their feet. And he says, “Why?” Because you’re already clean. They’ve already been made clean by faith in him. Now, all of this will have an awesome application towards humble service, which we will talk about next time.
But we must unite what we’re seeing now in verse 10 with what we saw earlier in was it the end of verse eight? Yes, at the end of verse eight.
Jesus doesn’t just wash you once and for all and your salvation. But Jesus amazingly and his incredible love and humility, he continues to wash your feet in sanctification. He’s not a oneanddone washer. Okay, I took care of the big thing. You take care of the rest. No, he’s continually coming back to wash your feet. How does he do this? By his word, by his spirit, by his church, all those things that we call the means of grace. After all, what does Philippians 2:13 say? The one right after the one I quoted just a few moments ago. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Verse 13. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Brethren, if you make any progress in sanctification, if you can look at your spiritual feet and say, “Hey, they’re not as dirty as they used to be.” Who did that for you?
you not ultimately Jesus did. Jesus washed your feet. It’s Christ in you just as Paul says.
Amen.
But now let’s consider what if you are never making progress in your sanctification. What if every time, as it were, Jesus amazingly stoops down to wash your feet in practical holiness, you respond similarly to Peter in immature ignorance and say, “You’re not going to wash my feet. I don’t want that. I will not allow that. I will not cooperate.” You might be saying that by your life. And if you are, then you need to hear Jesus reply to Peter again when Jesus says, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” Not just in a once-for-all sense, but also in an ongoing sense. Could the reason, brother or sister, friend, guest, could the reason for your seemingly never washing your feet spiritually? Could the reason be that like Judas, you’re not really clean?
You’ve never been spiritually bathed?
Now, I’m not giving you this application today to induce you towards morbid and endless introspection. Remember, your salvation if you are in Christ, it does not ultimately rest on your record, your obedience, but on your belief in him.
It’s his record. It’s his life that saves you.
But I do feel compelled to exhort you by the spirit of Christ and by this by this text that if you love Jesus and if you want to be with him and you’ve got to let him wash your feet. Take consistent and meaningful hold of his means of grace. Go to his word. Go to him in prayer. Benefit from the fellowship and ministries of his church. That’s how he washes you. Will you let him do that? Choose to actually follow him. Not just Jesus, I’m now giving the rest of my life to you, but practically every day in the various moments of the day, Jesus, I feel tempted towards this thing, but I’m going to choose to follow you instead. That’s Jesus washing your feet. Say no to the flesh. Say yes to Jesus and all that is better in him.
If you truly believe in Jesus, I know that you will do that. That is the expectation of the scriptures. When we get these kind of what otherwise might seem kind of uh sobering passages, if you really love Jesus, you’re going to obey him. We might be like, “Oh, do I really love Jesus?” That’s not meant to uh ultimately scare you. That’s meant to assure you as you actually do follow Jesus. Book of First John is all about that.
But if such exhortations as even the one I’m giving you now, if these cannot move you, if you hear that you are to let Jesus wash your feet in practical sanctification, but you say, “I can’t be bothered.” If you’re just fine with your spiritually stinky feet, then you got to be warned by Christ himself. He says, “You do not have a portion with me.
You do not have a part with me. I’m not associated with you. You don’t have my eternal life. For Jesus continually washes everyone that he accepts. Surely you would not want that to be the case for you. Look at this amazing God. He dains to touch your feet. To touch our feet. Is he not a God worthy of worship and belief and following? Do not spurn him. Do not ignore him. Do not test him with your unbelief. But believe in him. Become more like him and even follow him in his example of humble service to others.
We’ll talk more about that next aspect next time. But note what we’ve seen today. The first two parts of our amazing passage, we’ve seen number one, Jesus confidently, lovingly, and humbly washes feet. And number two, Jesus answers Peter and teaches about cleansing. Next time, we’ll talk about the example that Jesus intends for us to follow and then encouragements and clarifications regarding following his example. Let’s close in prayer.
Lord Jesus, an awesome thing has just happened here.
Jesus, you just washed our feet with your word. You got the towel. You got the basin. You got the pitcher. And you wash the feet of your own. God, I pray that that washing would be accepted and profitable by everyone who’s heard this word today. That certainly fundamentally persons who need bathing would now be bathed because they’ve heard and believed your word.
But for those who have already believed and are in just in need of footwashing, I pray God that you would fully accomplish that from this word. that we would become now more like you, more in love with you, more committed to you, more motivated to do the hard work of the discipline toward godliness so that we may fellowship with you. Lord, it is unfathomable that you, the holy God, you, the King, you, the eternal word, should be totally fine with touching our feet both physically and spiritually. Man could not conceive of such a God. Man still reacts against this kind of God and says, “No, that cannot be true.” But we are not God. We are not the ones who can tell you what you are.
You tell us who you are and what you’ve told us is amazing. Lord, in lowering yourself, what can we but confess that you have raised yourself for? What a God. What an amazing God to serve even in the humblest way. And you didn’t just do it once. You are continually serving your own who are in the world. Thank you, God. Help us not to take that for granted, but to benefit from it, to cooperate with it for our own joy and for your glory. Amen.
Amen.