John 13:1-17. Washed for Service

In the mid 1950s Alan Paton wrote a book, ‘Ah, but your land is beautiful’, which is about the apartheid problems in South Africa. He wrote this soon after the dreaded ‘Pass Laws’ were introduced in 1952. This law made it a criminal offence for blacks not to carry identity Documents and prevented free movement. Paton was a courageous writer, better known for the more famous ‘Cry the beloved country’. The following is an excerpt from ‘Ah, but your land is beautiful.’

“One week before Christmas, a pastor, Isaiah Buti, has invited a white supreme court justice to visit his church where one of his servants was a member. On the evening before Good Friday, Judge Olivier set out privately for the Holy church of Zion in Bokabela. He parked his car near the church and set out to walk the short distance. The judge was welcomed at the door by Mr. Buti and was taken to a seat at the back of church.

“I am sorry to put you at the back, Judge, but I don’t want Martha to see you.”

He began to speak.

“Brothers and sisters, this is the night of the last supper. And when the supper was over, Jesus rose from the table and put a towel round himself, as I do now, in remembrance. Hannibal Mofferking, I ask you to come forward.”

The old woman was brought forward by her son Jonathan, himself a white haired man of seventy, and Mr Buti washed her feet, dried them and asked her to go in peace. Then he called for Esther Maloi, a crippled child, who was brought forwards in her chair, and then called for his own daughter Maloi Buti, who washed and dried her feet. Then both girls were told to go in peace.

“Martha Fonteyne, I ask you to come forward.”

So Martha Fonteyne, who thirty years earlier had gone to work in the home of the newly married advocate Olivier of Bloemfontein and had gone with him to Cape Town and Pretoria, where he had become a judge, and returned with him to Bloemfontein where he became Justice of the Appellate Court, now left her seat to walk to the chair before the altar. She walked with her head downcast as becomes a modest and devout woman, conscious of the honour that had been done to her by the Rev. Isaiah Buti, and then she heard him call out the name of Jan Christian Olivier, and though she was herself silent, she heard the gasp of the congregation as the great judge of Bloemfontein then walked up to the altar to wash her feet. Then Mr. Buti gave the towel to the Judge, and the Judge, as the Word says, girded himself with it, and took the dish of water and knelt at the feet of Martha Fonteyne. He took her right foot in his hands and washed it and dried it with a towel. Then he took her other foot in his hands and washed it and dried it with a towel. Then he took both her feet in his hands, with gentleness, for they were no doubt tired with much serving, and he kissed them both.

Then Martha Fonteyne and many others in the Holy church of Zion fell weeping in that holy place. The judge gave the towel and the dish to Mr Buti who said,

“Go in peace.”

Mr Buti put the shoes back on the woman’s feet and said to her also,

“Go in peace.”

And she returned to her place in a church silent except for those who wept.

A young music student visited the Beethoven Museum in Bonn, Germany. She was fascinated to see, in the music room, the very piano on which Beethoven’s greatest works were first played. She pleaded with the caretaker to let her play it just once. She plied him with a generous tip and he agreed. She played the first page of the Moonlight Sonata and then stopped. As she left she said to the caretaker,

“I suppose all the great pianists who come here want to play it, don’t they?”

The old man shook his head and told her about the visit of Paderewski, the great pianist who went on to become, for short time, Prime Minister of Poland.

“Yes, Paderewski was here a few years ago. But he said he wasn’t worthy to touch it.”

Ouch!

But Jesus deliberately decided to be publicly humiliated.

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1

Jesus knew the time for his death was fast approaching, and that this would entail pain, agony and humiliation. However John doesn’t go on to describe the crucifixion but first tells this strange story of the washing of his disciples’ feet and then his final teaching to his disciples. John is the only gospel writer not to include an account of that last supper on which our communion services are based. It is as if he is saying that what Jesus taught is more important than rituals.

So what are we meant to learn from this story?

1. Christ’s staggering love

Verse one emphasises this,

“He now showed them the full extent of his love.”

But then comes a blast of cold air. The very next verse tells of Judas’ determination to betray Jesus.

“The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.” John 13:2

Satan never forces us to do something wrong but he tempts us, often with lies. What seems so attractive and seductive is nearly always shallow or empty. This reminder is followed by a wonderful verse that describes how Jesus remains confident that his Father is in control, whatever opposition he faced.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” John 13:3

This is what it means to live by faith. Jesus knew exactly who he was, which makes his humiliating, self effacing action so astonishing – at first. His humility was so much greater than that of Judge Jan Christian Olivier because of who he is.

Notice how John has sandwiched Judas’ treachery in between an account of Jesus’ love (verse 1) and Jesus’ power (verse 3). This emphasises the horror of anyone rejecting Jesus and his love. Jesus was not insecure at all, so he was able to cope with immense humiliation.

So Jesus takes off his cloak and wraps a towel around his waist. Talk of embarrassment! Those disciples couldn’t have known where to look as their Creator, Sustainer, Saviour and Lord washes their dusty toes. Washing of feet was specifically excluded from the duties of Jewish slaves and was seldom even asked of Gentile slaves. People usually kept their shoes on.

This action of Jesus describes what genuine godly power does with its power – it serves. Jesus loves and serves.

If it was impressive for a Supreme Court Judge to wash an employee’s feet, how much more impressive it is for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to get on his knees to serve his disciples. It goes beyond words. No wonder the disciples were confused. Yet there is clearly more than a demonstration of humility, that Christian leaders must emulate, going on here.

2. Christ washes our souls

When proud Peter is approached by Jesus he says,

“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” John 13:6

Jesus insists but adds that the problem Peter has is because of his limited understanding of what he is doing!

Peter is stubborn,

“No! You shall never wash my feet.” John 13:8

But Jesus lovingly persists,

“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” John 13:8

The point is clear. All people need to be washed of the effects and penalty of sin if they are to be in God’s kingdom. Being a church member and using religious words is no guarantee that someone has been washed of their sin. Peter’s pride had again got the better of him.

I was talking with a man at a funeral recently when he arrogantly said,

“I don’t need God’s forgiveness!”

So proud yet so wrong!

Mohammed Ali had just won another World Boxing Championship and was returning home by plane. An air stewardess politely said to him,

“You need to fasten your safety belt, Sir.”

Ali replied,

“Superman don’t need no safety belt.”

To this the stewardess politely responded,

“Superman don’t need no plane either. Please fasten your seatbelt!”

Peter is still confused, he suggests that if Jesus insists on washing him he wants his hands and head washed as well. This suggests that Peter is at last grasping that something symbolic is going on here. Jesus confirms this when he says,

“A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” John 13:10

This last phrase was a reference to Judas, who was about to betray Jesus. The point is that when we come to the Lord Jesus and ask him to be our Lord and Saviour, we are baptised in his Spirit. We are symbolically washed completely clean of our sin, first spiritually then symbolically. We are made righteous in God’s eyes. Jesus has taken all our sin on that cross.

Jesus’ washing of his disciples feet would have been messy, with muddy splashes on the towel, possibly his clothes and the floor. It is a picture of the messy business Jesus was about to go through, when he accepted all of sin’s hatred and dirt onto himself as he died. He literally became the world’s greatest sinner ever known, and he willingly did that for you and me.

But when we have been cleansed by Christ, by becoming Christians, God sees us as having Christ’s righteousness. The Lord Jesus has done something for us that we could never do for ourselves. He gave us his righteousness when he took our sin. Now that is real love!

Alex Haley is the Afro-American author of ‘Roots’, a book and later television series that described how his ancestors had been captured in Africa and sold as slaves for the American plantations. In his office he had a picture showing a turtle sitting on top of a fence. He had put this picture up to remind him of an important lesson,

“If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. So when thinking, ‘Isn’t it marvellous what I have done,’ I look at that picture. That turtle got some help and so did I.”

We all needed washing – things were that bad. In Christ, God has provided a spiritual bath, a baptism that we could not do for ourselves; that’s how loved we are.

3. Christ washes us for service

Christ has washed us so that we can serve others.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15

Does Jesus mean us to go around ritually washing feet? Ironically a foot washing ceremony can represent the opposite to what Jesus intended – it can reinforce the superiority of a religious hierarchy, in a perverse sort of way. Surely Jesus is saying that we also must sacrificially love others.

One of the first children’s camps I went to as a leader made a great impression on me. At the pre-camp meeting of all the leaders, the various responsibilities for the camp were shared out. ‘Who would lead the swimming?’ Several volunteered. Who would lead and help with the various sports. There was even more enthusiasm for these roles. ‘I’m afraid we have another job that is important. Who will be responsible for cleaning the toilets?’ There was no response; all of us looked down at the floor! Then the most senior man present, the minister of a very prestigious university church, said simply,

“I’ll do that.”

Jesus surely wants us to look in the mirror. How do I measure up to verse fifteen?

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15

We shouldn’t look at the floor or look at others. I must ask, ‘What am I doing?’ But how do I know if I have a servant attitude?’ The answer is simple,

“How do I react when I am treated like one?”

Ouch!

What enabled Jesus to behave as a slave to other people? His outlook was determined by the way he thought.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” John 13:3

Jesus knew who he was and that he was safe in his Father’s hands in every situation. But haven’t we been given the very same security?

Do I come to church to get or to give? It is noticeable that those who give the most are always the ones who are most satisfied with a church. Sometimes people will say,

“I left that church or group because it wasn’t meeting my needs.”

How sad that is, for it demonstrates a wrong attitude. Do we ensure we are early at church to set up, to welcome others and to pray. Do we stay on later to serve the church and others needs? Am I giving generously of the income God has given me? Do I use the home God has given me to welcome and get to know others? Judas cared greatly for money and for this betrayed the person who loved him the most. If we understand Jesus’ love, there will be no limits on our love for one another.

4. Why are feet significant?

Is there even more to this story than demonstrating humility, forgiveness and service? Jesus hints that there is more.

“You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7

There are other clues in the text. Chapters 13-17 in John are all about Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples as he prepares them for a life of mission. Jesus expalins that he is going to send them out into the world to ‘bear fruit’ for him, to win others for him by telling others all about him.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” John 15:16

“When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, . . . he will testify about me. And you also must testify . . .” John 15:26

That our present passage also has this in mind is demonstrated by the following statement,

“I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger, greater than the one who sent him.” John 13:16

A messenger is someone sent out with a message. The disciples of Jesus were about to be commissioned,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them . . . and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19

There is another clue. Why did Jesus wash the feet and not the disciples’ hands or lips? What is the significance of feet? Looking at other Biblical references to feet gives us a clue.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace and bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.” Isaiah 52:7

“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news.” Nahum 1:15

“As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Romans 10:15

“ . . . and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:15

Clearly, in the Bible, ‘feet’ symbolise going out with the gospel.

There is another reference to feet in the New Testament that at first seems strange. In order for widows to go on the roll of those supported by the local church they had to meet various criteria.

“No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. 1 Timothy 5:9-10

Why should a widow do what no slave was expected to do? Why should it be the feet of Christians and not other people? In the light of these other references to feet in the Bible, this all makes sense. They are to be known for supporting gospel ministry, even when it hurts.

Jesus is preparing them for their lifelong mission – to represent him to the world. Having the Spirit of Christ means they are to become the servants of others and so share with others the good news of salvation through Jesus. He wants you and me to be clean, he wants our feet to be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel; Christ wants his people to be those who readily pass on the good news about Jesus.

So this short story teaches us about,

Christ’s staggering love for us.

Christ washes our souls,

Christ washes us for service,

Christ wants us to go out and share the gospel with others.

BVP