Foot Washers

Read This Week: John 13

Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel wrapped around him. After washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. – John 13:4-5; 12-15 NIV

Of the many things He was throughout his ministry, Jesus was most certainly a servant leader. He frequently demonstrated remarkable humility and meekness for His followers and us to emulate and do likewise. Jesus had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all (Phil. 2:6). Jesus was God, yet He never flaunted or leveraged that divine privilege; in fact, He went out of his way to be an example of servanthood to those from every walk of life.

One of the most famous and compelling examples of Jesus’ sacrificial love and service to others occurs in His final moments with the disciples when He washes their feet at the Last Supper. All four Gospels describe the events of this night, but only John 13 includes the powerful imagery of the foot washing. This passage tells us that Jesus gets up from the table without speaking and begins to wash the dirty feet of his disciples. A lowly, humbling act for anyone, much less the Savior who enjoyed sovereignty over all the earth. 

Christ demonstrates the coming sacrifice of His body and blood on the cross with the bread and wine and then displays the transcendent humility it would take to offer himself up. The fact that this was a final moment of fellowship with His closest followers and that He had total authority makes this even more significant. Jesus wanted this lesson of service, grace, and love to be a lasting memory and a sustaining force in their lives and ministries. He says in verse 14: 

Now that I have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.

God wants this for us too. He desires us to be undergirded with humility and grace and postured with a servant’s heart. Following His example, we should not consider ourselves better than anyone or above any act of service that would bless another. It takes tremendous self-denial to bend down and wash another person’s feet. It is so stark in its servility that it provides a gleaming illustration of what should embody a Christ follower’s life in the world. We are foot washers, not glory seekers.

This compassion, attitude, and behavior are who we should be and how we should behave among people. We should be ready to love them in such a way that we can bend down and serve at the greatest levels of self-sacrifice. It is how they will know we follow Christ. Jesus says in verses 34-35: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

5 Comments

  1. Javaid Ahmed on November 30, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    God centered my attention on John 13 Verse 34
    34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

    What God said to me about this is
    “When I tell you to love one another I mean it in multiple ways. Not only to truly show love and understanding and kindness but to also share Me with each other. Let Me flow through each and every one of you and life you up with true love and spirit.”

    What this means to me is that God appreciates praise and He appreciates that level of love that we share with each other but also how we share Him with others. We are all vessels of God and He speaks to us and from us in so many different ways. We allow our hearts to be open and bursting with the true Love of God Himself. Let us be selfless and beaming with love.

  2. Alma on December 1, 2022 at 9:44 pm

    This week in John 13 I got a song from berseb34

    Gods love
    We praise you, we praise you we are praising you, our Lord, let’s share his love with everyone become a closer to our Lord when we share his love the stars shine bright like the moon in the sky his warmth Is like the sun shining on our face, what a loving father, we have sending his son, so we could be set free set free from our sins we praise you we praise you we are praising and our Lord Amen
    It’s so amazing how our lives changes as we get closer to our Lord. He only wants all of us to succeed.

  3. Heidi on December 2, 2022 at 8:21 am

    John 13 “Do you understand what I have done for you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you are right in doing so, for that is who I am. 14 So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet as well. 15 For I gave you [this as] an example, so that you should do [in turn] as I did to you.

    Have you ever felt like it was difficult to let someone bless you by doing something for you?
    What a beautiful scene between Jesus and His disciples, He is washing their feet, He is serving them, loving on them, it’s a spiritual time, a lot going on their, I have had the honor of washing feet, it’s a precious time for not only me and God doing it, but the person and God are interacting.
    We can love on others in different ways as we listen to God and do as He tell us what to do. It can be healing for them as God blesses them through you.
    Letting someone bless you is getting loved on from Him through them. He gives us favor, He loves us and He knows what we need. So when someone wants to bless you don’t say no, let them because God is blessing you, say thank you and thank God for loving on you through someone ❤️

    God is saying
    I love you! Continue to learn about My Love! It’s powerful miracles happen, it may not happen in the moment, but trust Me I know.
    Do everything in Love because I Am all about Love ❤️

    I love verse 17
    If you know these things, you are blessed ( happy and favored by God)if you put them into practice ( and faithfully do them).

  4. Kathy on December 3, 2022 at 1:26 pm

    Jesus has a love for all people and there is a love for His own. All disciples were and are really His own, belonging to Jesus. All disciples are His because he chose them, He gave Himself to them, and because they yielded themselves to Him. Jesus will never stop loving His own. You are His disciple and He never stops loving you. Jesus went to the cross as a victor, and not as a victim. By Jesus washing and drying the feet of His disciples, He showed true greatness. Actions speak louder than words. It also shows humility. If you do not accept the humble service of Jesus to cleanse you, you will have no part with Him. Receive Him. It’s not enough if you only serve others and refuse to be served. You must take Jesus as an example for both your attitude and action. It is in the practice of being a servant is what pleases Me. You are to love one another. Love is what identifies My disciples. Love with a servant’s heart.

    What this said to me is I need to follow Jesus’s example more. The more I draw closer to Him, the more love I will have to serve others, and will help bring others to Him. This year has been a year where I have had to ask others for help, because of my health, when before I would not do this and I was the one doing the serving. God has sent people who have blessed me , surround me and love on me for Him.

  5. reachchurch on December 5, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    This Week in the Life: John 13

    For the best experience, we suggest you listen to the first song, then the message, and then the second song.

    1. Sunday Worship: https://reachchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-1204-Worship1.wav
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    3. Sunday Worship: https://reachchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-1204-Worship2.wav

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