Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Greek: “eis telos”“‘To the fullest extent’
Jesus is not partaking of the Passover Lamb at the usual time, but rather, he will eat this special meal with his disciples, ahead of time…because he is the Passover Lamb - who must be offered up at exactly the right time: at Passover.
See Ch.7:30 & 8:20
We have reached the fulfillment of everything we have previously read in the Gospel. Now his hour has finally come…and to the very last second, he will not stop giving his all…to the glory of his Father: There is one more lesson he will now teach his disciples…and this one will throw through a loop, their understanding of what it truly means to be “great” in the Kingdom of Heaven…
Read Mark 10:42-45
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Supper:
Here we find Jesus with his disciples, reclining around a table shaped something like this: ]
It would have been low, with no chairs: People would “recline”, usually resting on one arm, while using the other to eat. At one end would sit the guest of honor and at the other, would be a basin and towel, ready for washing, where the servant would wait.
2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
With no asphalt roads, or half way decent footwear, the washing of a person’s feet was a dirty, yet essential part of this culture: It was the job of a servant to wash the feet of everyone more important or of higher rank. With this in mind (and in spite of everything they had already seen - the miracles…the raising from the dead…the triumphant entry into Jerusalem) this next act of Jesus’s, must have been to his disciples, shocking!
Vs.6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
For Jesus; whom all the disciples now recognize as being the Messiah - and whom all are about to realize as being God “incarnate” - to overtly and deliberately “lay aside his outer garment” and assume the position of a servant - to wash their feet, is possibly the greatest, most astounding act they have seen yet: See Philippians 2:5-8…Note: Jesus isn’t worshipping them; He is serving them! Here is a true and deliberate unveiling of the character of God!
See Matthew ch. 20:25-28:
Peter still does not understand this lesson. Yet, it is precisely because of who Jesus is - “the Christ” - “the Son of the Living God” - that he is doing this.
Here is the perfect image of the Almighty God, our creator, whom we serve. And when we too understand who we are in Christ Jesus…rooted and established in his love…secure in our sonship, humbling ourselves and serving others should become to us, an honor and a privilege.
8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Are we trusting in our own efforts…our own good works to get us to Heaven…to earn God’s favor?Because, if we are, this is rooted in pride. But, to put our trust in another, to do what we cannot do - to make us clean - takes humility…the same humility that brings us to our knees in realization that, before a Holy God, we are not - any one of us - clean. This humility is what the teachers of the Law are sadly lacking. This is why Paul later writes:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Read Romans 9:30-33
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. (How has Jesus already made them clean? This will become clearer through his words in Ch.15:3-4) And you are clean, but not every one of you.”
11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
This is sobering: For three years he has taught…shepherded…loved Judas Iscariot, while knowing his heart…and exactly what his tragic end would be…
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?
This is a hard lesson for the disciples to learn; one that goes entirely contrary to human nature: It will take Peter’s denying him three times and every single one of his disciples abandoning him in his hour of greatest need, for them to finally realize: They are not worthy to be called “great” in the Kingdom of Heaven; to echo the words of John the Baptist: They are not even worthy to untie the Lord’s sandal straps! Because Salvation is about Grace: When we receive from God, mercy and forgiveness - a pardon from sin that we do not deserve…True “greatness” can only come, through an understanding of this.
“Do you understand what I have done to you?”
Here will be the final test that the disciples must pass through…the final lesson that the Lord will teach them: And this will be the one that changes everything!
13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Again, see: Philippians 2:1-8. This is the lesson we all must learn - because this is the God that we serve: This is Jesus Christ!
16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
Again we think upon Jesus’s teaching in Mark 10:42-45. Jesus takes on the role of servant; not only to demonstrate to his disciples the attitude and behavior required of them, but also to prepare them, one final time, for the greatest act of humility and selflessness ever known to man.
18(a) I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen.
Jesus knows: In just the same way that he knows the hearts of all men (ch.2:24-25)…that he knows whose are his sheep (ch10:14)…that he knows who is his Father (ch.10:15)…that he knows when his hour has come (vs.1)…that he knows who he is…and whose he is…and where he has come from…and where he is returning to (vs.3). Jesus - the Lord knows!
Vs.18(b) But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’
Here, Jesus quotes from Psalm 41:9. King David’s anguish over his persecution from his own people - instigated by his own son; and agony of the betrayal of one who was a close friend; sharing and eating at his table. (See 2Samuel 15:10-31)
One doesn’t need to look hard to find the parallel here - except that David’s tribulation appears to be because of his own sin (Psalm 41:4): Jesus Christ is without sin.
Vs.19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
See Ch.2:22; Jesus again assures his disciples - that he knows…and will continue to assure them, through his next statement:
Vs.20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
These very disciples (who he will soon rename Apostles) will be the ones that he sends, in his name, on behalf of the Father: {the word “Apostle”, in its most literal form, meaning one who is “sent off”.}
One of You Will Betray Me
21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
It appears that the greatest enemies will always come from within - those whom once were trusted…whom once were friends; which only makes this betrayal all the more painful; and the sin, all the greater: John will reiterate this, through his words in 1John 2:18-19.
22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.
23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,
24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
The breaking and sharing of bread in this time and culture, was a expression of intimacy, trust and covenant between those who participated: In the other 3 Gospels, we read of the iconic moment where Jesus breaks bread, representative of his broken body, and gives to his disciples; to seal an everlasting covanent for our Salvation…But here is a different kind of “breaking”. Just as with King David in Psalm 41, this betrayal, by one so close, is tragic and shocking; but also very necessary: Sin must be exposed for what it is…the very worst of it… to its very core; It must be allowed to do its very worst to the Messiah…so that when he defeats it - he will defeat it thoroughly…the very worst of it…to its core.
27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. (Compare this to 1Corinthians 11:23-25)
Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Was he talking to Judas…or to Satan…or to both? We know that Judas’s mind was made up - because he had already handed it completely over to Satan. This is tragic; and no one will feel it more than the Lord…
28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.
29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.
{It is as if, for their own sakes, the disciples are being deliberately blinded to what is happening: For what is about to come, will be hard enough for them to bear…}
30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
{Remember Jesus’s words from Ch9:4 & Ch.11:9-10. Now, his hour has truly come.}
A New Commandment
Enter: the “School of Love”
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
In other words: the die is cast; there is no going back: And Jesus is not deterred: Setting his face like flint, he sees only His Father…and the glory he - Jesus - will bring to him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
See: Matthew 17:1-9: Now all people from all nations will recognize the Son of God…who is One with the Father…who is God.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
Remember Ch.8:21 - But, for these followers of Jesus, his departure will not mean death for them - as was implied to the Pharisees in Ch.8; No Jesus is going away to open up the Way to Life…
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Here, we will enter the School of Love; the example of which, will be set by its Principal: Jesus Christ himself: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Ch15:13
No other role model do we need. What we do need is to be born again (ch.3:3); for our natural, carnal lives are incapable of this kind of “agape” love. We must meet Jesus Christ at the Cross - and, as Thomas so aptly worded it, in Ch.11:16, we must die (to our old lives) with him.
Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
Here is the missing piece - to the puzzle of vs.33: Wherever Jesus is going, it is not the end - either for him - or for them!
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Peter truly does not know what he is saying here; just like his fellow disciples James and John, who after prompting their mother to ask if they could sit at Jesus’s right and left hand, are told this by Jesus:
“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” See Matthew 20:20-23
Jesus assures James and John that they will (eventually) drink from his cup - but not yet; Because none of them is ready…and who in earth would be ready? They have not yet been baptized into the Love of ch.15:13; but again, Jesus’s promise to James and John… “You shall indeed drink from my cup…” is assurance that one day they will all be ready.
But for now, we hear Peter’s rash statement - which is actually a normal and natural response, that any of us would have made if facing the same circumstance. Jesus knows this…he knows too well, the fallen hearts of humanity: Which is why in this next chapter, he will both comfort and reassure his disciples: As if to say…“You will all let me down…but fear not: I AM the Lord…and have no need for any man to hold me up…”
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