3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Read it again and again and again. Jesus was from God and returning to God. He was the Son of God and therefore God. He had all things under his power, yet he stripped off his outer garments and washed the disciples feet. This was the job of the lowest servant. Not the job of the Rabbi.
While reading I am reminded that Jesus laid aside his Godly attributes to come to earth as a baby.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus 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!”
10 Jesus 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.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
Peter once again argues with the Lord during a teaching moment. I am so like him. As I read the exchange I get the the conviction that Christ is speaking of cleansing from sin in verse 8. In verse 10 I feel Christ is speaking that once you are saved you do not need to be saved again every time you sin. You merely need a foot washing or cleansing from the present sins. I get this because of vs 7 where Christ said he would understand later. I read this passage in light of my knowledge of the entire gospel message and I can see the parallels.
12 When 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. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Now we are back to servant leadership. I do not believe that we are to go around washing one another's feet. The teaching here is that there should be no task to low for anyone of us. And I also believe there is the idea of forgiving your brother's offenses as well.
I hope all reading this had a Merry Christmas.
God Bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment