06/02/2023
So many time I have felt the hands of Jesus as He washed my feet. I have come to Him for forgiveness only to find that His response would be “Sit down.”, and He would proceed to wash my feet as He spoke with me of life, death, forgiveness, and eternity.
“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!””
John 13:6-9 ESV
In our most unworthy moments He washes us clean. Not as a nurse, or a parent would do for a child, but rather, as a servant would bathe his master, a host would wash the feet of an honored guest, or a wife would wash her husband’s hands and feet before bed. He approaches us in servitude, humility, and love when we deserve none of these. Jesus washes our feet… the feet of sinners. Haven’t we wept during confession of our sins, and the wrenching plea for forgiveness? Haven’t we felt the hands of Jesus on your feet during those moments of total humiliation and debasement?
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:14,16 ESV
Jesus deserves to have His feet washed by us. His life was pure, and yet He took on the sins of the world for us… a broken people; wretched in our thoughts and actions. We should weep at the thought of His suffering as He faced the whip, the cross, and death for us. Tears should continue to flow as we come to Him over and over again with yet one more sin… one more disappointment. In these moments when we should be punished, and He is justified in turning me away from us, He washes our feet, and towels them off with the pure white linen about His waist; then lovingly tells us to “Go and sin no more.” He does this knowing full well that we will need cleansing again before the cock crows. What is it about this man that fills Him with such love and humility? What did His Father see in us, and what does Jesus see in us, that is worth any sacrifice whatsoever? How can He wash our feet knowing where they have been?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 2:16-17 ESV
Oh Judas, your feet were washed by our Lord Jesus and yet you walked away… you let Satan take you where no man should ever have gone… and only for a few pieces of silver and a little pride. There was sorrow in you, but no contrition was offered at the foot of the cross. You took all He had to offer and turned your back; you pulled your feet from His hands and walked out into the dust of disgrace. Did you think you were beyond His forgiveness as He hung on the cross? Did you turn your face out of shame and allow your guilt to prohibit you from looking upon him… or was it pride; vanity? Thank God we know that his Grace and Mercy know no bounds when approached by a heart filled with contrition.
“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 57:15 ESV
There will come a day in the not too distant future when we will wash the feet of our Lord. All our sins will be gone for eternity and we will kneel before Him and take His feet in our hands with the love of a child, a host, a bride, and rub the blood from His wounds with our tears shed in thanksgiving. In that first touch of His feet we will know we are home, and that all is well… the price that was paid was great, but it took a great treasure to redeem the sins of sinners such as us, yet we kneel before Him and are redeemed. There on our knees, with the shining cloth from about our waist we will wash and dry the feet of the one whose only sin was our own, and we will weep, because the dirt that we find mixed with the blood upon His feet has come from our journey… our walk through a life torn between sin and righteousness. Thank God; the battle for our soul will have been won by He who has washed the filth from our feet so many times. This is what our belief, repentance, and contrition assure us of.
““Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land: but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””
Isaiah 1:18-20
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who you sent to live, suffer, die, and be resurrected so that we might be saved from sin and death. We thank you for all the lessons He taught us during His life, but none that are any more powerful than washing one another’s feet. We thank you for the feet we wash with our own hands, and how we resemble Christ when we obey Him in this way. Find in us a contrite spirit Lord, and forgive us our sins as our feet are held lovingly in the hands of Jesus and washed clean of sin. Then, hear the prayers of repentance rising up from those we serve, and grant us the ability to wash the feet of these penitent sinners who we kneel before with our own basins of living water. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us this much, and leads us from sin to righteousness, and into eternity with you, through your Son Jesus and the living water that flows with grace from Him. Glory be to you on the highest Father.
“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. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
John 13:12-17
Rich Forbes