Jesus’ remaining time with His disciples was short as Satan had already put in the heart of Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, to betray the Lord over to the Jewish authorities. Jesus knew the Father had given all things to Him, and that He came from God, and was going to God. He stood up from the supper, removed some of His garments, and put a towel around His waist. He then poured water into a basin and start ed to wash His disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel.
When Jesus came to wash the feet of Simon Peter, Peter asked Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Peter was asking Jesus why He was doing this. Jesus explained that Peter would not understand this now, but would understand it later. There are many things that we don’t understand now in our lives, but when we see Jesus we will know and understand these deeper truths. Then Peter exclaimed to Jesus, “You will never wash my feet!” Why did he say this to Jesus? I believe he was saying to Jesus that he was not worthy to have Jesus wash his feet. Peter probably felt that he was the one who should be washing Jesus’ feet.
Jesus firmly replied to Peter that if He didn’t wash his feet Peter would have no part with Him. He was telling Peter that if He didn’t wash his feet, Peter was not a true disciple of His. We must always follow Christ even though at times it seems to us not to be the best way to proceed. Jesus always knows best and it is our duty to completely follow Him or we will not be counted worthy to enter His kingdom.
Realizing his grave mistake and wanting to correct his error, Peter asks Jesus to not only wash his feet but also his hands and head, perhaps thinking this would make him cleaner in the sight of the Lord. Jesus assured Peter that all that needed to be cleaned was his feet to be fully clean. He told Peter that the disciples were clean but not all of them. They didn’t realize it at the time, but He was referring to Judas Iscariot who would betray Him.
After the Lord had finished washing the feet of His disciples, He put His garments back on and sat down to speak to them. He then asked them if they knew why He had done this to them. He said that they called Him Teacher and Lord which was which was true. If He was willing to wash their feet as their Teacher and Lord, they should be willing to wash other people’s feet. He had given them an example to follow. He told them that a servant is not greater than his master and neither is the one sent greater than the one who sent him. Jesus said that if you understand these things you will be blessed if you do them. Jesus wants us to humble ourselves and serve others. A person becomes great in His kingdom by being a servant to others. The foot washing was just an example of serving others. We can serve others in a multitude of ways.
Jesus Christ is our Lord. He is greater than we are. Therefore we are to obey His commandments. If we do we will truly be happy.