Easter is just around the corner, and as I was thinking about all that surrounds the death and resurrection of our Savior, my thoughts got stuck on one particular event. I am not thinking about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem or the fact that Jesus turned the tables in the temple for the second time. Instead, I am thinking of the quiet and private time that Jesus had with his disciples at the dinner that we call “the Last Supper.” Specifically, I am in awe that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet that night. 

In John chapter 13, the chapter begins with John writing, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end…” (John 13:1, NKJV) Jesus knows that his time on earth is almost complete and that he has to endure unimaginable pain very soon. But John tells us that He “loved them (the disciples) until the end.” 

We continue reading and learn that after the meal, Jesus did something that must have seemed absurd, perhaps wrong. He began to do the job of the lowest servant in the household. He began to wash the disciples’ feet. 

In his commentary, The Blue Letter Bible, Pastor David Guzik writes, “At this critical moment, at this evening before the torture of the cross, Jesus did not think of Himself. He thought about His disciples. Truly, this was loving them to the end. After all, Jesus’ disciples treated Him badly and were about to treat Him even worse, forsaking Him completely; yet He loved them.” All-knowing Jesus knew that later that night Judas would betray him and Peter would deny him, yet He still wanted to serve these men. 

Feet washing is foreign in western culture. Historically, in Jewish tradition, the lowest servant would wash the feet of the guests as they came into the house, especially for a formal meal like this; therefore this was an extraordinary act of servanthood. Because of the sandals they wore and the filthy roads on which they walked, the feet of these men had to have been very dirty and perhaps smelly. 

According to the Jewish laws and traditions regarding the relationship between a teacher and his disciples, a teacher had no right to demand or expect that his disciples would wash his feet. It was even more ludicrous that the Master, Jesus, would wash His disciple’s feet.

 Yet, Jesus wanted to exemplify a true servant’s heart by washing their dirty, stinky feet. As Jesus went around the table, washing and drying the feet of His disciples, it was a dramatic scene. Luke 22:23 says that the disciples had just entered the room debating who was greatest. By what He did, Jesus demonstrated authentic greatness. In Matthew 23:11 it is recorded that Jesus said, “But he who is the greatest among you will be your servant (NKJV).” ¹ 

Jesus wanted to exemplify a true servant’s heart by washing their dirty, stinky feet.

In a way, Jesus acted out a parable for the disciples. Jesus knew actions speak louder than words. So when He wanted to teach the proud, arguing disciples about true humility, He didn’t just say it — He showed it. He showed it in a way that illustrated His whole work on behalf of His own.

This event taught us much about service and humility. Each of its components also had great meaning in what Jesus had done and was about to do. First, Jesus rose from supper, a place of rest and comfort just as He rose from His throne in heaven, and willingly came to Earth according to His Father’s will. Secondly, Jesus laid aside His garments, taking off His covering, symbolizing that He was willing to lay aside His glory by taking off His heavenly covering. Jesus then took a towel and girded Himself, ready to work, demonstrating what it meant to take the form of a servant. He poured water into a basin, ready to clean dusty feet. On the cross He poured out His blood to cleanse us from the guilt and penalty of sin. Finally, Jesus sat down again (John 13:12) after washing their feet, just as He sat down at the right hand of God the Father after cleansing us (Guzik, Blue Letter Bible). He not only set the example for the disciples of what it meant to be a servant leader, but also symbolically demonstrated the trajectory of his purpose and ministry on Earth.

The following poem made me stop and think. Am I willing to be a servant like Jesus? Am I willing to do the jobs that no one wants to do so that the Lord can be glorified? Oh Lord, change my heart and make me want to serve like you. 

“I Wonder”

You know, Lord
How I Serve You
With great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly
I speak for You
At a women’s club.
You know how I effervesce
When I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study.
But how would I react, I wonder,
If You pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash
The calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day,
Month after month,
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.

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 Guzik, D. (n.d.). John 13 – David Guzik’s Commentary on the Bible. Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/john/john-13.cfm

 Calkin, Ruth Harms. 1974. Tell Me Again, Lord, I Forget. David C. Cook Publishing Company