We will be studying this morning the account in John 13 of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. It is stunning to consider the Son of God kneeling to wash the dirty feet of the Twelve, including Peter and Judas Iscariot.
The event is remarkably multi-layered. Clearly Jesus is giving here a wonderful example of humble service of others which He expects all Christians to follow. At the same time He is acting out a parable of the cleansing power of His forthcoming death – both complete and continual. A lovely verse which brings together these glorious themes is Mark 10v45: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”.
I do not believe we should literally hold footwashing services, particularly as some form of religious ceremony. (I always suspect that the feet washed by certain religious leaders on Maundy Thursday have been ‘carefully prepared’ beforehand!). The principle surely is all of us being willing to meet any need at any time, however humbling this may be.
As I wrote these words, the ‘one minute devotion’ by C H Spurgeon for the day was on “He will guard the feet of His saints” (1 Samuel 2v9). CHS wrote of the Lord keeping our feet from falling, from wandering, from the net laid by the devil to trap us etc. May we all, with the Lord’s help, also seek to keep our own feet spiritually clean, as well as humbly helping others to keep their feet clean.
Peace and Grace
Paul