The Foot Washing (John 13:2-11)

In verse 2, John mentions two opposing powers at work: one is the devil and the other is Jesus fulfilling his Father’s will. His words indicate that a conflict is about to occur.

1. The Foot Washing and the devil’s preparations

John locates the action of Jesus to the activities of the enemy. It is not clear whether ‘heart’ refers to the devil’s heart of to the heart of Judas. Literally, the text reads, ‘The devil had already put in the heart that Judas should betray him.’ It is verse 37 that mentions Satan entering into Judas, which indicates he was not there before. So the verse may mean that Satan had decided that Judas would betray Jesus. Satan had chosen his man and was now waiting for the moment to strike. However, most think it refers to the heart of Judas.

How did the devil suspect that Judas would listen to him, and what lessons can we learn from his behaviour?

First, the devil would know that Judas was not a true believer. Satan is aware of those who are delivered from his kingdom. Since Judas was the only person among the disciples who fitted this category, it is obvious why the devil chose to use him.

Second, the devil would know that Judas was already breaking one of God’s commands on a regular basis. We are told elsewhere that he stole money from the disciples’ common finances. Since he was willing to steal from Jesus, it would not be difficult to persuade Judas to betray Jesus for money.

Third, the behaviour of Judas is an example of how the evil one prepares for the future. He is astute and clever, and chooses the moment and the instrument for the attack. Judas had no idea that he was being prepared, but he was.

Fourth, the verb that John uses is a strong one, meaning to throw with force.  It is almost similar to Paul’s picture in Ephesians 6 of the fiery darts of the devil. But Judas had no shield of faith or other pieces of the spiritual armour by which he could deflect the suggestion.

As we think of this incident, there are three lessons to note. First, the devil will use a person’s sin to turn him against Christ. Just as he used Judas’ love of money to turn him against Christ, so he can use our sinful interests. Many a person has discovered that his interest in sinful pleasures has caused him to harden his heart against Christ.

Second, this incident is a reminder that it is possible to be among Jesus’ disciples but not to be of them. This is a solemn reality. The other disciples did not suspect Judas, but both Jesus and the devil knew where his heart was.

Third, this occasion was the last offer of mercy that Judas received from Jesus. When Jesus washed the feet of Judas, what thoughts must have been in their minds as it took place? In the heart of Jesus, there would be desire for Judas to be saved; in the heart of Judas, there would be derision that Jesus stooped to such a low place.

2. The Foot Washing and divine humility (13:2-6)

It is important to note that John connects the attitude of Jesus to his knowledge of his status and functions. His status was his pre-existence in heaven and his future glory in heaven; his function was that he was in control of all things, that he had been assigned this role by the heavenly Father. It is against the background of these high privileges that we are to see his humility.

This action of Jesus was not merely the action of a servant; rather, it was the duty of the lowest servant. None of the disciples seemed concerned about the washing the feet of Jesus; after all they were the government in waiting. But the true king was delighted to wash their feet. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

As we think of the action of Jesus, we are not to limit his attitude to his humanity. This was the outlook of his divine nature before he became a human. It was in heaven that Jesus first displayed his humility. This means that it is appropriate for God to help those inferior to him, for after all every creature is inferior to him and dependent upon him. In order for angels to remain in existence, they need such a God; in order for our eternity to be secure, an eternity in which we will be dependent on the grace, power and wisdom of God, we will need such a God.

In one of his parables concerning his second coming, Jesus refers to this ongoing attitude of humility. ‘Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them’ (Luke 12:37). That will be an amazing sight. But it is the nature of our God.

I think there is an important lesson from this incident for our Christian service. These men in the Upper Room were being trained for serving God. They needed an encounter with the humble Christ before they could understand how to serve God. And they needed to learn that the bigger the task (Calvary), the greater the humility. In all likelihood, Jesus was performing an acted parable for the benefit of his disciples. Jesus shows that pride has no place in the service of God. Before we can serve Jesus, we need to meet the humble Jesus.

3. The Foot Washing and our need of cleansing (13:6-11)

In the dialogue between Jesus and Peter we see that Jesus gave a particular interpretation of his actions. Before he does this he deals with the confusion of Peter.

In looking at the responses of Jesus to Peter we note his patient dealing with a dismayed disciple. Peter was shocked by Jesus’ behaviour. How could such a holy person as Jesus wash the feet of a sinful man? So Jesus gave him the assurance that later he would understand. In referring to this future time of understanding, Jesus probably refers to the days after the resurrection when much became clear to the disciples. Yet the principle also applies to believers receiving the answer in heaven concerning much that happened to them on earth. What Jesus is doing we do not understand now, but afterward we will understand.

We can also see in Peter’s response an example of a believer who uses his sense of his own unworthiness and sin to try and prevent the Lord dealing with that sin. The actions of Jesus were too gracious, and sometimes we can feel like that. Our awareness of our faults is so strong that we argue with the Lord’s promises of forgiveness and help instead of thankfully accepting them.

What happens to us when we do that? Probably similar to how Jesus dealt with Peter. The Saviour gave Peter a gentle warning that brought him back to his senses: ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’ These warnings usually take the form of loss of spiritual comfort until we realise our total dependence on the Saviour.

It is evident that Jesus intended spiritual truth to be illustrated in his actions. He distinguishes between a bath and a foot washing. If a person has a bath, he is clean. When he returns from a walk he does not need a bath, only a foot wash because of the dusty roads. Similarly, Peter already had been given a bath spiritually, so he only needed to wash his feet spiritually.

This spiritual bath occurs at conversion when a sinner is cleansed from the effects of his sin and is pardoned by God. This cleansing does not need to be repeated because the forgiveness that is given by God is never withdrawn by him. From this perspective, every believer on earth, although still a sinner, is as secure as the believers in heaven – both believers on earth and believers in heaven depend on Christ alone.

Yet the believer on earth comes in contact with the defiling things of the world in a similar way to how his feet make contact with the dirty dust. Sometimes he approaches these defiling things willingly, at other times unwillingly, at other times he is unaware that he has been defiled.

It is this second area of cleansing that is referred to in 1 John 1:8-9: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ Each time we pray, we should ask God for cleansing from defilement caused by our own folly, by defilement caused by accidental contact, and by defilement that we may not have noticed.

This action of Jesus depicts how he wishes to relate to each of his disciples. He draws near to cleanse us. If we resist his cleansing, we will not enjoy fellowship with him. Thinking about his action in the Upper Room, we can say that his cleansing will be comprehensive (all parts of the feet were cleaned), will be gentle, will remove all sign of the defilement. We should also note that this cleansing is evidence of his love – because he loves us he wants us to look our best.

4. The Foot Washing demands our imitation of Christ

Jesus also gives a practical application of his action. As their Lord he commanded his disciples to imitate him by washing one another’s feet. He is not teaching a literal imitation, although that would be appropriate in hot countries. Rather he wants each of his disciples to be alert to potential defilement in other believers. For example, James describes one such scenario in James 5:19-20: ‘My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.’ Paul describes such activity in Romans 14:19: ‘So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.’ If we see a fellow-Christian doing something that defiles him, it is our Christian responsibility to personally go and point out in a loving manner his situation. Sometimes we may need to involve others, but we cannot absolve our responsibility.

Are there any qualifications needed for foot washing? I would suggest three. First, we can only engage in foot washing after we have been cleansed ourselves (in both senses of cleansing at conversion and daily cleansing). Somebody with dirty hands cannot clean somebody else. Second, watch the temperature of the water as we foot wash the other person. It should not be too hot (with anger) or too cold (without love). Third, we should be willing to let others wash our feet.

Jesus says that engaging in foot washing is a route of spiritual blessing for his disciples: ‘If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them’ (John 13:17).