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Staying Close to Christ, Part II, John 13:1-8
Through God’s Holy Word we are given to witness the event of the last supper, the last supper of our Lord during his earthly ministry.
At that supper he dined with the 12 but there will come a day when all those reached through the preaching of the Gospel begun by those disciples will also sit down to supper with Jesus Christ as the Marriage of the Lamb is celebrated.
At that time the union with Christ will be complete and fellowship will be without interruption for we will forever be with Christ.
But at this last supper recorded in John 13, Jesus Christ, still the teacher, engages in instruction regarding fellowship for He had much to give to his beloved disciples.
And the one thing that was most important for them to be taught was how they were to continue their relationship with Him even though He would no longer be with them in body.
So the King of Kings and Lord of Lords makes himself of no reputation, humbling himself by getting down on His knees to wash the feet of his disciples in order for this truth to be taught.
In so doing we are instructed by Christ himself in what must occur if we desire to be in and continue fellowship with our Master.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, records this in John 13:4,5.
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
There had been no one to wash the feet of Jesus and His disciples as they came to the room to dine.
Perhaps this upper room came without this extra amenity.
But as was the custom in those days supper would be enjoyed in the semi-prone position and therefore feet were prominent in a setting like we are given to see.
We know not such a condition in our culture for we hide our feet from view in such a situation, nor do we usually walk dusty trails.
But in those days it was important that feet were attended to so they would not offend others.
Wearing open sandals while walking in the dusty paths resulted in feet that needed cleansing.
So it was not proper to fellowship together in such close quarters with unclean feet.
Now as we enter the upper room we witness twelve disciples plus Jesus Christ at the low supper table.
All knew of the need for clean feet.
Perhaps each one had wondered, if anyone was going to tend to this distasteful duty.
Each one had the opportunity to serve each of the others and their Master by taking the position of servant and washing their feet.
But none moved to satisfy this important need.
Peter wash the feet of John? Certainly not! Wasn’t Peter a leader?
Andrew wash the feet of Phillip?
Certainly Judas would do no such thing!
They might deign to wash the feet of Jesus because he was their Master, but to wash the feet of other disciples!
Most unthinkable. They had their pride, didn't they?
They certainly were not inferior to any of the other disciples were they?
What was the precedence? Who was first among them?
But while they wondered they saw Jesus Christ move into a servant’s position.
And by so doing he teaches his own, most beautiful and necessary lessons.
Jesus Christ is deliberate in his service for He does all things decently and in order.
He removes his outer garments, generally taken off to work and also used as a cover for sleep. Girding himself with a towel handy for drying the feet of his disciples, he fills a basin with water and begins to wash the feet of the disciples.
All the time with 24 eyes watching intently.
24 dirty feet to wash. No speeches, no discussions, just service to those who are supposed to be serving him.
We are given to see in this passage the Lord of Glory.
The Lord whom angels fall in adoration, worship and praise.
This same Lord who left the glories of heaven we now see on his knees.
He carries a basin of water, a towel covering his nakedness and he proceeds to wipe the wet but now clean feet of his disciples.
He loves his own to the uttermost and therefore He teaches them that to have uninterrupted fellowship with him he must wash their feet to remove the dirt and grime that the feet gather as his disciples take their daily walk.
This is a picture of Jesus Christ's washing of daily sin by the word of God.
To have fellowship with Jesus Christ there must be a regular spiritual washing by the word of God.
And he teaches the principle of service without pride of one’s position or power.
He teaches that his disciples are to serve one another in humility and love therefore caring for the needs of others, instead of the position they may hold.
But Peter does not understand the significance of the principle that Jesus Christ is teaching as we see in:
John 13:6, Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Peter has watched his Lord washing the feet of his fellow disciples.
They have accepted his service in silence and without opposing Jesus Christ's humble work. But this was not to be so with Peter.
He was not going to let his Master stoop so low. No! not Peter!
Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Peter's question is a normal question from a worldly point of view.
It shows his worldly mindset.
The world says that serving is low. But Christ is high.
Therefore a person of Jesus Christ's high and lifted up position should not lower himself to serve, according to Peter!
But that is a worldly position. That is not a Christian position.
That is not the mind of God!
The Christian position is that service is high.
The Christian's position is that servanthood is the highest position in God's order of things.
To hinder someone from service is to indicate that service is of low value.
Are you one who pushes away help?
Be careful for you are pushing away someone’s desire to serve.
And to hinder God's benefits, to shun God's service is to lift up oneself with pride as if not in need of those benefits.
Does not God serve us daily? Are we not daily loaded with his benefits?
Are we not to daily serve others by sharing those benefits, sharing that found honey with others?
Peter, servanthood is the example that God continually gives us!
But Jesus admits to Peter that he knows that Peter does not know what is going on.
He admits to him that he will grow to know what this all means.
John 13:7, Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. |