1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 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.
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.
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. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Read John 13:1-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
At the conclusion of His teaching the disciples about washing each other’s feet, Jesus shares a powerful statement that applies to not only what they just experienced and heard, but this statement also applies to basically everything else Jesus taught them over the previous 3+ years of ministry. John ends this portion of his gospel by telling us Jesus concluded by saying, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (v. 17)
The context of this verse is Jesus sharing about humbly following His example and washing the feet of other believers. In our discussion on this verse and promise, we must keep this context in our minds. At the most basic level, Jesus promises us that we will be blessed if we follow His example in our own lives.
Another teaching that is shared in this context is the one Jesus shares in the verse right before this one. In verse 16, Jesus tells His followers, “no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” When we move through life with the idea in our minds that we are humbly following Jesus who is greater than we are, it frees us up when we face rejection or hostility because we can lean on the truth that we have something better waiting in our future.
But also, when we look at some other details and truth shared in this event, we can see even more context for this promise Jesus shares. Further down in the chapter, Jesus tells His followers, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
We can take Jesus’ promise about blessing us for obeying His words and apply it to this new command as well. In some ways, this promise in verse 17 becomes a key for gaining blessing from every teaching Jesus shared.
However, with this promise, we must not begin thinking that obedience will always immediately translate into the blessing that we desire. God has many ways of blessing us and it would be foolish of us to limit what we are willing to call blessings. Also, we should not obey simply to get a blessing. While we can start here, we must not stay here because this path leads to legalism.
Instead, the frame we must use when looking at this promise is obeying Jesus because we are amazed at what He has done for us. Our obedience is a “Thank You” for having already blessed us. Any future blessing God wants to bring into our lives as a result of our obedience is simply extra toppings on the big way He has already blessed everyone who follows Jesus and believes in Him: The biggest blessing is the assurance and gift of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. There is nothing God can bless us with that surpasses this, and nothing we can truly give Jesus that equals what He has already given to us.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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