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!
While washing the disciples feet on the night He was betrayed and arrested, Jesus has an interesting conversation with Peter about what was happening. John records their conversation, and in this dialog, we can discover a powerful truth about God’s love for each of us.
As Jesus was moving through the group of disciples washing their feet, “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’” (v. 6)
Jesus responded by saying, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (v. 7)
Peter then replies, “No! You shall never wash my feet.” (v. 8a)
Jesus then tells Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (v. 8b)
With probably a little bit of shock involved, Peter then responds, “Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (v. 9)
We now come to the key part of this discussion I want to focus in on. Jesus then replies, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean.” (v. 10a)
In this conversation, we see Peter, one of Jesus’ most vocal disciples first saying that he never wants Jesus to wash him, while in the next breath asking Jesus to wash his entire body. This is amazing in my mind, not only because it gives us a glimpse into the type of person Peter was, but that it draws our attention onto an amazing spiritual truth.
When we look under the surface of this conversation, we discover this truth: When we come to God, He begins to transform our lives into the lives He created us to live.
However, like Peter’s conversation with Jesus, we must be willing to let Jesus wash us. God/Jesus knows the areas of our lives that are not clean, and we must be willing to let Him touch and clean those areas of our lives and hearts.
But with that said, God/Jesus does not want to wash our whole bodies, because He knows that some parts of our lives, our history, our character, and our mission are already in line with what He wants for us. God does not want to erase our character when He transforms our lives; He simply wants our focus to shift onto being more like Him while also being the person He created us to be.
When we accept Jesus and let Him wash us, we must be willing to let Him wash the areas that He feels need to be washed, and be okay with the areas that He says are already clean.
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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