SERMON: “Clean Feet: The Washings of Christ” (John 13:2–17)
“Clean Feet: The Washings
of Christ”
(John 13:2–17)
Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name” Text: John 13:2–17
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: March
17, 2024
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: AM Service
I.
Introduction
The Lord took Nabal’s life shortly after that (v. 38). David then heard that Nabal had died, and he reflected
upon her lovely example. So, he sent
servants again, this time, with a marriage proposal. She responded in the most interesting way:
She said, “Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord’s
servants” (v. 41). This was a sign that
this humble woman accepted the proposal.
Foot-washing may seem like a strange practice to us, but it
was an expected custom in that culture.
We see it in our passage this morning, which obviously provides a
precious picture of the Savior’s love for us.
What does it mean, though? This
morning, we’ll consider how foot-washing demonstrates the service of Christ,
the cleansing of Christ, and then the service of Christians.
II.
The Service of Christ (vv. 2–5)
During supper, the
devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to
betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,
and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from
supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began
to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was
girded.
This takes place during the Last Supper, which is the best
way to understand this.[1] The other Gospels cover the important aspects
this Thursday evening, such as the institution of communion. John instead focuses here on another aspect
of the meal that the other Gospels don’t cover.
Some wonder if foot-washing is also an institution of the Lord, although
we will see that this isn’t the case.
Before we explain that, note that a certain apostle is with
them. We read that Satan had already put
the idea of betrayal into Judas’s heart (v. 2).
Jesus, of course, knew this (cf. v. 27; 6:70), but He chose to wash even
Judas’s feet.
This verse gives us a glimpse of temptation. James 1:13–15 says, “Let no one say when he
is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and
He Himself does not tempt anyone. But
each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth
to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” God did not produce the temptation within
Judas — Satan did — but Judas still has the opportunity respond to Jesus’s
service and to turn from his sin. Jesus
shows all His disciples love, even the tempted ones.
This again demonstrates Jesus’s divine knowledge, as we read
next. Remember, even John the Baptist
demonstrated prophetic insight on this; he said, “The Father loves the Son and
has given all things into His hand” (John 3:35). Jesus knew this, and He also knew “He had
come forth from God and was going back to God.”
Jesus understood His own pre-existence and divine origin.
Where does Jesus’s knowledge lead Him? As Matthew Henry notes here, “I am of opinion
that this was added for the purpose of informing us whence Christ obtained such
a well-regulated composure of mind. It
was because, having already obtained a victory over death, he raised his mind
to the glorious triumph which was speedily to follow.”[2] The Lord’s divine knowledge gave Him the
ability to complete His mission and serve His disciples.
Note, then, that Jesus’s knowledge also leads Him to
humility. If anyone in that room had
cause for pride, it was He. Yet, we see
that knowledge need not always puff up; as the Apostle Paul later says, “Knowledge
makes arrogant, but love edifies” (1 Cor. 8:1).
Here, v. 1 reveals that Jesus loves His disciples to the uttermost, so
we can see the example of the more excellent way in our Lord. He serves because He loves.
So, we read about this striking image of the Master in
foot-washing. Consider the dusty road
conditions would leave the sandaled-feet of travelers in need of washing. So, this service was typically offered to
dinner guests at the beginning of a meal.
Because of how people reclined on couches at the table, with their heads
near the food and their feet behind them, a slave could walk around with a water
basin and offer this service. Sometimes,
in homes, “Wives often washed their husbands’ feet, and children washed their
parents’ feet,” though most washed their own feet.[3] In the case of rabbis and students, disciples
would “perform menial tasks of labor, but touching feet was clearly not
expected.”[4] At a feast like this, usually the lowliest
slave would have this task, and one study notes that the meal position could
allow guests to ignore “the one washing their feet.”[5]
Yet, it wasn’t a slave who washed the disciples’ feet this
evening, but their King, and they aren’t ignoring this act! The text says that Jesus “got up from supper,
and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began
to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was
girded” (Vv. 4–5). John utilizes vivid
grammar here[6] as
Jesus arises, removes His outer garments in a show of vulnerability,[7]
and prepares this undignified task. He
serves them, much to their amazement.
III.
The Cleansing of Christ (vv. 6–11)
So He came to
Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you
do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my
feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not
only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs
only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all
of you.” For He knew the one who was
betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
There seems to be a sense in the text here that Jesus didn’t
start with Peter. One commentary notes, “Chrysostom conjectures that he first washed
the feet of Judas, who readily admitted the honour, and was pleased to see his
Master so disparage himself.”[8] Well, whether Jesus started with someone else
or came straight to Peter, Peter would not have this service done for him.
Why? Peter’s reticence is understandable, if not
also with an underlying stroke of pride.
As Peter earlier confessed, this is the Christ, the Son of the Living
God (Matt. 16:16). Here, Peter calls Him
“Lord.” He recognizes he’s of lower
stature than Christ. So, he asks Jesus,
“[A]re You going to wash my feet?” (LSB),
emphasizing each of the pronouns.
Jesus, of course, is
doing this to convey a deeper meaning. Jesus
replies, “What I do you do not realize
now,” emphasizing the pronouns back to Peter.[9] Yet, Jesus gives him hope that he will come
to a fuller understanding later. This is
a call to faith in the moment, to trust His word even when there isn’t
understanding.
Peter, however, doesn’t accept this call to faith. He contradicts Jesus in his typical,
impulsive fashion. He emphatically
asserts that Jesus will never, ever wash his feet! If Peter was excusable for questioning our
Lord a moment ago, he now shows his pride, refusing to yield to anything he
doesn’t like.
So, Jesus warns, “If I do not wash you, you have no part
with Me.” People must receive the cleansing of Christ, spiritually speaking. Consider the New Covenant promise in Ezekiel
36:25 — “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” As Paul says of the formerly unrighteous
Corinthians, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11).” He
also says in Titus 2:14 that Jesus “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every
lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession,
zealous for good deeds.” The work of
Christ cleanses us of unrighteousness, purifying us for inclusion in this New
Covenant community.
Peter didn’t yet understand all this. However, he understood the potential
declaration against him, for having “no part” with a person was a common, semitic
expression (Deut. 12:12; 2 Sam. 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16). It meant to lose the particular blessings of
heirship, which has eschatological or end-times implications.[10] Peter realizes that he has grievously
overstated his objections.
So, Peter overcorrects into another error. He says, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Perhaps he is just thinking he wants extra
cleansing. Whatever his justification,
before he was saying Jesus is doing too much, and now, he says Jesus isn’t
doing enough![11] It’s much better for us if we just say, “Yes,
Lord, and amen,” and we leave it at that.
So, Jesus explains, “He who has bathed needs only to wash
his feet, but is completely clean.” This
brings us to the two cleansings of Christ.
The first is for salvation, where a person is washed completely and
comes into the covenant community. It is
the washing of regeneration, washing away our sins. This is the picture provided in baptism, for
we who believe have been spiritually baptized in the redemption of Christ (Acts
22:16; Rom. 6:3–4).
The second is that of progressive sanctification. To “sanctify” is to set apart, and that is
certainly that happens in a moment at regeneration, the first cleansing. However, we still need to experience the
ongoing, sanctifying influence of Christ as we walk through this dirty, dusty
world. As MacArthur explains here, “Believers
are justified and granted imputed righteousness (Phil. 3:8, 9), but still need
sanctification and personal righteousness (Phil. 3:12–14)”[12] This always begins with repentance from sin,
and our Lord promises to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is not the equivalent of salvation. Christ’s washing here is the ongoing work of
sanctification. We don’t sanctify
ourselves; Christ does the washing.
So, there are two washings. That’s why Jesus switches to the plural
pronoun to address them as a group. The
old KJV has the advantage here, translating it “ye are clean” instead of
“thou art clean.” Perhaps a better
translation for today is “y’all are clean.”
Of course, there is a minor difference between them and
us. They are in transition, still
experiencing regeneration through their observance to the Old Covenant and now,
through their observance to Christ. But,
still before the cross and without the giving of the Holy Spirit, they still
lack what we usually mean when we talk about salvation in a New Covenant sense. At Pentecost, they will receive the fulness
of the promise because they are all clean.
Except, not all of them were clean, right? The next verse reminds us that Jesus already
knew of Judas’s betrayal; He knew from the beginning (John 6:64; 13:2). Judas still lacked regeneration. He could have taken a cue from the foot
washing and from Peter’s excitement and asked that the Lord forgive him. After all, Jesus continues to show him grace,
but he is so intent on his sin that he misses it.
I hope you don’t miss the reminders of the Lord’s grace in
your life. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you
think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not
knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” Sometimes, it’s tempting to think that the
open doors before you are God’s approval of your actions. However, He is giving you grace and kindness
to lead you to repentance. If you
haven’t accepted His love and forgiveness yet, please go to Him in prayer,
confessing your sinfulness and your desire for Him to cleanse you every way He
can!
For the rest of His disciples, our Lord gives a final
message. This is based on His love and
service. We should seek to serve as He
has, bringing us to our final point.
IV.
The Service of Christians (vv. 12–17)
So when He had
washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He
said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are
right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord
and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should
do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say
to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater
than the one who sent him. If you know
these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
After this stunning display of service, our Lord grabbed His
outer garments and resumed His seated position.
It was common back then for teachers to sit while they teach. Considering what happened, they might have
held their breath while waiting for Him to speak.
He began by asking them an important question: “Do you know
what I have done to you?” Of course, the
answer was no — He had already said in v. 7, “What I do you do not
realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Yet, Jesus still wanted them to consider the
true purpose of His service to them. As
one commentator noted, “The footwashing was shocking to Jesus’ disciples, but
not half as shocking as the notion of a Messiah who would die the hideous and
shameful death of crucifixion, the death of the damned.”[13] They needed to consider this later.
Yet, there was an aspect of this that they could receive
now. He begins in v. 13, “You call Me
Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so
I am.” He is a teacher, but also Lord,
the title of deity in the Old Testament; this is one reason Peter (and the rest
of us) should listen when He speaks!
Yet, the point of this statement is in the next verse: “If I then, the
Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s
feet.” He argues argumentum a majori ad minus “which means in essence that if a
greater thing is true, how much more is the lesser true.”[14] He states this as an ought, almost as
though He leaves His disciples in His debt (cf. Matt. 18:30).
What is He commanding, though? Some Christians have taken this as the institution
of foot-washing in the church. They look
to 1 Timothy 5:10, a verse which
suggests that widows took it washing the feet of some of the members. Ambrose practiced this in the church
of Milan, the pope observes this ceremony annually on Thursday during the
Passion Week,[15] and
there are foot-washing Baptists today.
In many parts of the world, there are still foot-washing customs. And certainly, if someone needs such a
service, two Christians can uniquely demonstrate the love of Christ to each
other in this way.
However, in v. 15, Jesus says, “For I gave you an example
that you also should do as I did to you.”
It does not seem that the Lord intended the specific act of foot-washing
to be a sacrament or an ordinance of the church, like baptism or the Lord’s
Supper. Rather, this is an instructional
example of service, signifying any one of a variety of ministries we might employ
for one another.
This can begin with meeting practical needs. As one commentary notes, “Did Peter not
recall this incident when in 1 Peter 5:5 he exhorts all to “gird yourselves
with humility…?”[16] We could certainly wash feet where needed,
which is probably what is noted in 1
Timothy 5:10. Yet, as that isn’t what’s
most necessary in our cultural context, there are many other ways in which we
might show servant-like service to one another through the practice of our
spiritual gifts. We should “regard one
another as more important than yourselves” (Phillip. 2:3), do all things
without “grumbling or disputing” (2:14), and remember our Lord’s example and
that we are not greater than He.
This can also include helping each other with our
struggles. As Matthew Henry notes,
We cannot satisfy for one another’s sins, this is peculiar to Christ,
but we may help to purify one another from sin. We must in the first place wash ourselves;
this charity must begin at home (Mt. 7:5), but it must not end there; we must
sorrow for the failings and follies of our brethren, much more for their gross
pollutions (1 Co. 5:2), must wash our brethren’s polluted feet in tears. We must faithfully reprove them, and do what
we can to bring them to repentance (Gal. 6:1), and we must admonish them, to
prevent their falling into the mire; this is washing their feet.[17]
As we consider these
ways in which we can serve, let’s conclude this message.
V.
Conclusion
Christ promises us a blessing in v. 17 if we both know and
do these things. Again, we see the
charge to both listen and do.
There is true joy in knowing and obeying God’s Word, but it’s more than
that — there is true joy in serving one another. This joy comes through knowing that the Lord
is using us to do His work in someone else’s life, a distinct privilege which
assures us of the working of the Spirit through us.
This is one reason regular church attendance and membership
is important. In a moment or two, we are
going to welcome some familiar faces to the official membership of the
church. Before we do that, though, I
hope this message challenges you to consider the various ways you can each
contribute to the ministry of the church.
I also hope you don’t miss the larger part of this. Such service begins with the cleansings of Christ. If you’re an unbeliever, you need Him to wash you in regeneration. If you’re a believer, you need Him to continue to sanctify you. Hopefully, the Lord can use us to communicate the need for both cleansings of Christ.
[1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne
House, The Nelson Study Bible: New King
James Version, (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Jn 13:2.
[2] John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Gospel according to John, (Bellingham, WA: Logos
Bible Software, 2010), 2:55–56.
[3] Edwin A. Blum, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 320.
[4] Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, The New American Commentary, (Nashville: Broadman &
Holman Publishers, 2002), 25B:79.
[5] Ibid, 80.
[6] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn
13:4.
[7] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study
Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Jn 13:4.
[8] Matthew Henry, Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume,
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2006.
[9] Robertson, Jn 13:7.
[10] Borchert, 25B:81.
[11] Robertson, Jn 13:9.
[12] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1611.
[13] D. A. Carson, The
Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Leicester,
England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 467.
[14] Ronald L. Trail, An
Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries, (Dallas, TX: SIL
International, 2018), 179.
[15] Henry, 2007.
[16] Robertson, Jn 13:4.
[17] Henry, 2007.
