Whose Feet Do You Need to Wash?

John 13:1–15 ESV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to 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, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 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.

Introduction: Mr. Sam Rayburn was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives longer than any other man in our history. There is a story about him that reveals the kind of man he really was.

The teenage daughter of a friend of his died suddenly one night. Early the next morning the man heard a knock on his door, and, when he opened it, there was Mr.Rayburn standing outside. The Speaker said, “J just came by to see what I could do to help.”

The Father replied in his deep grief, “I don’t think there is anything you can do, Mr. Speaker. We are making: all the arrangements.” ‘’Well,” Mr. Rayburn said, “have you had your coffee this morning?”

The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. So Mr. Rayburn said that he could at least make coffee for them. While he was working in the kitchen, the man came in and said, “Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.”

“Well, I was,” Mr. Rayburn said, “but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble, and I couldn’t come.

Motivated by Love (v. 1)

I hope you will agree with me that everything Jesus ever did here on earth was ultimately motivated by love.

He taught others motivated by love because he was always sharing the truth. Telling others the truth is the most loving thing that you can do. Paul wrote in Galatians 4:16 “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

He forgave and healed others motivated by love. Illus. Mark 2:1-10

Mark 2:1–10 ESV

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—

He even rebuked his opponents motivated by love. Revelation 3:19 says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.””

His service to others was always motivated by love.

It says that “he loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end.”

By “His own,” he is referring to his disciples. He loved them deeply. After all, he had chosen them as his disciples. He taught and trained them, cared for them, and protected them. Not to say that Jesus didn’t love others… He most definitely did.

When Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, the people standing by said, “See how he loved him!” John 11:36

But His disciples held a special place in his heart. Now he was going to demonstrate that love to them through washing their feet.

Why foot washing? We know that people in his day wore sandals. Therefore, their feet would get dirty as they walked about. If you have ever worked outside wearing flip-flops, you understand this. So the master of the house would designate one of the lowest servants in the house to perform this task.

This was not a task that the master of the home would perform. BUT THEIR MASTER DID!

Max Lucado in one of his devotionals puts it this way, “Hands that shaped the stars now wash away filth. Fingers that formed mountains now massage toes. And the One before whom all nations will one day kneel now kneels before His disciples. Hours before His own death, Jesus’ concern is singular.  He wants His disciples to know how much He loves them.

As a Christian, everything we do for Christ must be motivated by love, compelled by love, driven by love.

John 13:15 ESV

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Moved by Love (vv. 3-5)

Would you rather have someone simply say that they love you, or would you rather have them show you that they love you? Most people would say, “Both.” But what if someone said it to you but never showed it?

Jesus got up from supper.

He removed his outer clothing.

He grabbed the towel and tied it around himself.

He poured water into a basin.

He began to was his disciples feet and dry them with the towel.

Jesus could have simply assigned one of the other disciples to do this - although Jewish Rabbis had not right to demand that their disciples was their teacher’s feet. He could have found someone else to do the job and thus he could have simply pointed to the example of a servant.

No, he was moved to do it.

To be motivated to do something is one thing, to move - to act upon the motivation is something else entirely.

Warren Weirsbe wrote: “The Father had put all things into the Son’s hands, yet Jesus picked up a towel and a basin! His humility was not born of poverty, but of riches. He was rich, yet He became poor (2 Cor. 8:9).”

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 345.Measured by Love (vv. 5-11)

One thing that should be abundantly clear here is that Christ put his disciples needs before his own. He knew he was going to the cross, yet he didn’t think of himself. He was concerned about his disciples than himself and that moved him to wash their feet.

As the church of Jesus Christ, shouldn’t we follow that example? Shouldn’t we think of others first? Better yet, do we think of others first?

I’m going to meddle just a little bit here. If you want to know if a church puts others first, take a look at their annual budget. How much of the budget is devoted to missions and to reaching the lost versus how much is spent on keeping the saints comfortable while they are in church? How many line items are devoted to serving the community?

Measured by Love (vv. 6-11)

Whose feet did Jesus wash? The obvious answer is the disciples, right? Let’s dig deeper here.

Who were they? What do we know about them? Obviously they were not the most qualified people and they had some flaws.

We will start with Peter. Peter was a brash fisherman who was rough around the edges. He was impulsive. He was a hot head. We also know that he was going to deny the Lord 3 times in just a few hours. We see him refusing to allow Jesus to wash his feet at first.

Why? Is it because of Peter’s humility? Up to that point, Peter had probably never had a humble thought in his life.

David Guzik commented on this passage, “Sometimes we show a servant’s heart by accepting the service of others for us. If we only serve, and refuse to be served, it can be a sign of deeply rooted and well-hidden pride.”

Jesus washed the feet of the proud! We tend to look down upon the proud people. Proud people can only be saved by humbling themselves. But isn’t that true of everyone?

How about some of the other disciples?

Thomas. A man who unfortunately earned the title of doubter. He was a skeptic. He was always slow to accept the truth. Once he did accept the truth, he embraced it fully. Jesus washed the feet of the skeptic.

Matthew, a tax collector. An agent of the Roman government. He was considered a traitor to his own people. Like other tax collectors, he would have been a outcast to his own religion. Jesus washed the feet of the traitor.

James and John… a.k.a. The Sons of Thunder. (That was not a flattering name, B.T.W.) When the people in a certain Samaritan village rejected Christ, these guys said: “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Jesus washed the feet of these men too.

Simon the Zealot - a political radical who belonged to a group of people that wanted to use force to overthrow the Romans. Basically these guys were on the terrorist watchlist of Rome. Jesus washed this guys feet too.

I could keep going about the others, but I want to talk about the elephant in the room.

Judas...

We know that the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray the Lord. In fact, one of the other gospel writers tells us that the devil had entered into Judas.

We know that he had already struck a deal with the religious leaders for the sum of 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. Jesus knew this too.

But Jesus took that same towel and basin and washed his dirty feet too. We know that he would leave the room with clean feet and a dirty heart.

What are some lessons we can take away from all of this?

God calls us to wash the feet of others in service regardless of who they are or what they do to us. The most important way to serve them is the proclaim Christ to them. And if we are going to reach people, we must have the heart of a servant.

Illus. Bryan at the bus station. Homeless, tattoos everywhere including his face. Wheelchair bound, one leg. Struggling to understand the gospel. He had dirty feet in a spiritual sense. He needs Jesus.

SECOND, Ministry can be messy at times. It requires us to stoop down and wash some feet. Our love is measured by the extent of our willingness to wash dirty, smelly feet.

Third, cleansing is available to all, yet not all hearts are going to be cleansed. Some will reject the gospel. Notice what Jesus said in verse 10

John 13:10 ESV

Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”

Judas had been with Jesus from the very start. He had heard the teachings, he had witnessed the miracles. He knew the claims that Christ had made, yet he had an unclean heart AND REFUSED TO REPENT.

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Mandated by Love (vv 12-15)

Now Christ is specifically telling his disciples that they should wash one another’s feet.

John 13:13–15 ESV

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.

Some denominations have interpreted this as meaning that Jesus was establishing another ordinance like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. That is fine of you want to do that but I don’t think he intended it that way.

He is saying this is an example of how we ought to serve others, especially the body of Christ. The word for example means a model of behavior as an example to be imitated or to be avoided.

Are you serving Christ? Are you following his example? Are you serving the body of Christ?

Many Christians are like old flashlights that have been shoved into a drawer somewhere and forgotten about. First, you can’t shine your light if you are stashed away in a closed drawer somewhere. Second of all, what happens when the flashlight remains in the drawer? The battery dies. Eventually, the batteries leak and corrode. The flashlight becomes useless.

Illus.

There’s a clever young guy named Somebody Else,There’s nothing this guy can’t do. He is busy from morning till way late at night,Just substituting for you.

You’re asked to do this or you’re asked to do that And what is your ready reply?Get Somebody Else to do that job, He’ll do it much better than I.

So much to do in this weary old world—So much and workers so few, And Somebody Else, all weary and worn, Is still substituting for you.

The next time you’re asked to do something worthwhile, just give this ready reply: If Somebody Else can give time and support, My goodness, so can I

Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 331.We have a mandate to serve from the one who washed the feet of his disciples.

CLOSING ILLUS. I remember many years ago when I first went into ministry, I was the interim pastor of a small church in Gates county.

There was a dear lady that served in several capacities in the church. However, she had gotten discouraged and had resigned from everything - mainly due to the criticism of other church members. One night during revival services, my friend Alex McFarland was preaching.

God was moving in a mighty way and the invitation lasted nearly an hour. This lady came to the altar, weeping. She came to me and confessed that she had quit because she was more focused on the criticism than she was on Christ. Maybe you can identify with her today?

One thing is for sure, we have a mandate to serve from the one who gave the ultimate act of service at Calvary. LET’S MAKE SURE WE ARE WASHING THE FEET OF OTHERS FOR HIS SAKE.