Foot Washing Devotional

John 13:1–17 (NIV)

1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7Jesus 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!”

10Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12When 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.

14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

16Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Now in the reading of John 13 and how Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, there is something immediately that stands out to me.

It’s the thought of “What would I do, if I knew that I was about to die”?

Most of us would probably try to get our stuff in order

Start planning our funeral

Spend time with our loved ones

Mark things off our bucket list that we can still do

How many of us, would choose to wash each other’s feet? Not many, if anyone.

Washing people’s feet is weird to the common person.

In biblical times it was an act of hospitality, service and love.

They would wear sandels not full blown athletic sneakers and their roads weren’t all nice and paved like you see many today.

So naturally with their sandals and unpaved roads their feet got so much nasty than ours.

They became filthy and dirty with different things getting wedged in between the toes.

I can’t imagine the water being nice and hot either as they didn’t have the water systems that we have today.

Can you imagine someone telling Jesus, my feet are too dirty for you to wash or that water is too cold for me to have my feet washed with?

The first thing that I see from Jesus washing the disciples feet is that “Jesus came to Serve, not to be served”

Jesus shows servant leadership here. This is the exact opposite of the attitude of kings and religious rulers of that day and many in our world today.

The second thing I see is that we are to show others the same kind of love that Jesus shows us.

By the washing of feet Jesus shows us an example of what sacrificial love looks like. He humbled himself and washed feet and we are to do the same.

God isn’t going to say...

“Well done good and faithful pastor”,

“Well done good and faithful missionary”

“Well done good and faithful board member”

“Well done good and faithful Sunday School teacher”

“Well done good and faithful church attender”

But at the end, hopefully he will say to each of us “Well done, good and faithful SERVANT”

The final thing I see in this passage is that it’s not showing humility if we deny someone who wants to serve us

Sometimes it can be hard to let others serve us. When Peter found out what Jesus was going to do for them, immediately he responded, “You shall never wash my feet.” (John 13:8)

In that same verse, Jesus responded by saying, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Peter was not responding out of humility, but out of pride instead.

He didn’t think that he could possibly receive what Jesus was about to do.

If he had not allowed Jesus to serve him like this, he might have missed out on one of the most important things that Jesus was trying to teach him.

We can’t assume that we are not good enough to be served by others.

If we are too prideful to accept what others want to do for us, we might completely miss what Jesus has done for us as well.

We must be humble enough to allow others to minister to us as well.

Discussion Questions

How did people in biblical times view washing feet, and why was it important?

Why did Peter initially refuse to let Jesus wash his feet, and how did Jesus respond?

What does the passage reveal about the attitude of Jesus towards serving others?

In what ways can you demonstrate sacrificial love towards others, inspired by Jesus washing the disciples' feet?

What areas of pride do you need to overcome in order to truly allow others to serve you and show humility?