A DIFFERENT PATH TO BLESSINGS
John 13:12-17 NKJV
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, 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 should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Jesus had just shocked the disciples by washing their feet. The job of washing feet was typically reserved for the lowest servant in the household. When this story was written, there were not nearly as many paved roads. Stone roadways were the best, but dirt roads were the most common. So, with people wearing sandals on dirt roads, foot washing was probably not the chore most servants were excited about. And yet Jesus washed the disciples' feet.
And Jesus did this for a reason. He acknowledged that calling Him Teacher and Lord was correct. But if He, as their Teacher and Lord, washed their feet, then they were to wash each other's feet. Jesus said that He was their example. They should do as He did to them. We know by reading about the life of Jesus that washing feet was not the only area where He was their example. But Jesus wanted to make this point clear because washing feet is a very humbling experience. By calling attention to His status as Teacher and Lord, Jesus established that He outranked the disciples. He occupied a higher position than them. So, if He could wash feet, then they should wash feet.
And just in case the disciples missed the point, Jesus reiterated the principle. The servant is not greater than his master. This was a given and easily understood in the culture of that day. Nor is the one who is sent greater than the one doing the sending. Jesus is making it abundantly clear that He was in a greater/higher position in God's Kingdom, yet He was willing to wash feet. The disciples who were in the lower position could not claim that foot washing was beneath them. If their Lord and Teacher washed feet, they were to wash feet. Jesus was the Master, and Jesus was the One sending. The message was clear. The greatest were not those who wielded power but those who served others.
Then Jesus dropped the zinger on His guys. A good zinger. He told them if they knew these things, they would be blessed if they did them. What things? The washing of the feet things. And in some translations the word for blessed is the same word as happy. So the message to the disciples was wash feet and be happy and blessed.
APPLICATION
My last sentence was a bit tongue-in-cheek. The path to blessings is not solely based on the physical foot washing. Rather, the blessings path involves helping and serving our brothers and sisters with no regard to social rank or position. Jesus, who outranks us all, was willing to adopt the role of a servant and do good to His disciples. We are blessed and happy if we refuse to get caught up with our rank and position and do something to lift others up.
Can we still wash feet? Sure. Some groups have literal foot washings as part of their culture. Is it humbling to wash feet? Absolutely. But if Jesus our Lord and Master washed feet, who are we to say that task is beneath us? Most importantly, obtaining the heart that is willing to humble ourselves and serve is on the path to blessings.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for Your example of service and humility. If You were willing to serve and give, then so am I.