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SYMBOL OR RITUAL? – 17

Christian Life, ,

John 13:3-5 NLT‬
[3] “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. [4] So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, [5] and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.”

‭John 13:12-17 NLT‬
[12]”After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? [13] You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. [14] And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. [15] I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. [16] I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. [17] Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.”

It amazes me how often God’s people turn spiritual truth into a religious ceremony! Jesus used ordinary human activities to illustrate profound spiritual truth but, instead of applying the truth, we like to major on the activity and turn it into a ritual.

John 13 is a case in point. Why did Jesus wash His disciples’ feet?

In the culture of His day, it was the host’s responsibility to assign a slave to wash the feet of his guests. Sandaled feet picked up dust and dirt as they walked, on paths covered with animal dung. Since they usually ate a meal reclining on cushions at a low table, dirty feet would soil one another’s clothes.

The smelly task of washing feet caked with animal dung was assigned to the lowliest of slaves. So, no one in Jesus’ group of disciples considered himself responsible to do the job, least of all Jesus, their rabbi.

However, imagine the disciples’ shock when Jesus Himself took on the role of a slave. Peter, as usual, resisted! He saw only the action, not the profound truth in what Jesus was doing.

However, Peter’s resistence brought the real meaning of Jesus’ action to the surface.

‭John 13:8-10 NLT‬
[8] “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” [9] Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” [10] Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.”

How does Jesus cleanse His people? Not literally by washing their feet but spiritually, by cleansing away the pollution of sin

‭John 15:3 NIV
[3] “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”

‭Ephesians 5:25-26 NLT‬
[25] “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.”

Without God’s Word, we would never know what God did through His Son to cleanse us from our sin. His Word is the instrument by which we learn all the truths about Him that quicken our faith and bring us into union with Jesus. So, the Word teaches us that

‭1 John 1:7 NLT‬
[7] “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

As disciples of Jesus and children of God, we are to love one another, then, as Jesus loves us. One of the practical ways in which we show that love is to build one another up in our faith.

‭1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT‬
[11] “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

‭Galatians 6:1 NLT‬
[1] “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”

“Walking” in a filthy world soils our feet. Loving each other means washing one another’s feet. We use God’s Word, which tells us of God’s solution for sin, gently to bring a fallen brother or sister back to the path that takes us to the Father.

This loving action takes courage and humility since people’s pride often deters them from acknowledging their sin. Jesus’ actions shows us that, to wash another’s “feet” means to step down into selflessness that is willing to take the consequences even to resistance and hostility, to bring another, who is walking the wrong way, back into the light.

So, literally washing another’s feet has no meaning apart from restoring one to fellowship with the Father and His children who has walked in the dung of this world.

Go ahead, then, and wash one another’s feet. We do it only as a reminder that, as members of the Jrsus’ body, we are to be as concerned about clean souls as we are about clean feet.

Jist Get The Job Done

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JUST GET THE JOB DONE 

“When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He asked them. ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.'” John 3:12-17 NIV.

How did the disciples feel as they watched their Master go from one to the other, kneeling on the floor and washing the grime from their feet and wiping them dry with a towel? How they must have winced when He untied their sandals, one by one and lifted their dirty feet into the water, each one’s conscience stabbing him because he should have been doing what Jesus was doing!

This was much more than a verbal lesson. This was a mental picture that played like a movie clip in their minds, over and over again — royalty bowing before commoners! It was not only what He did that plagued their minds but the way He did it, without a fanfare or in an attitude of “Look what I’m doing!” He simply did it as a matter of course, as though it were His duty to do it.

Yes, He did have a motive for doing the work of a slave. He did it because He loved them and because their feet were dirty and needed washing. He also did it as a visual aid so that they would clearly remember what it meant to follow Him.

Following Him as loyal disciples meant much more than doing great things like preaching and healing the sick — the things that gathered the crowds and made them ooh and aah in wonder. There were also the little things; the behind-the-scenes things that no-one else saw; that drew no crowds; that received no accolades; that were humble ministries that a slave was obliged to do, like washing His disciples’ feet or cooking breakfast for them on the beach.

Jesus did both kinds, not to draw attention to Himself but because they needed to be done to see to the needs of others and make their lives more comfortable. Isn’t that what following Jesus is all about? It’s not about office or position or recognition or rewards. It’s about doing the job because it needs to be done and someone has to do it. The accolades and rewards will come later, and from God, not from men.

Jesus’ plea that they do for one another what He did for them had nothing to do with setting up another ceremony for them to add to their religious rituals. He certainly did not come to earth for that! He wanted them to look beyond the end of their own selfish noses and to be alert to the needs of others. Whatever form that need took, whether it was for money or food or shelter or for dirty feet to be washed was of no consequence. “Just get on and do it,” was His instruction.

Isn’t that what following Jesus is all about? We all have gifts, talents and skills we can use to ease the burden that others carry. “Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 NIV. No one can meet the needs of the whole world but each one can help someone else by carrying his load.

Jesus’ instruction was simple. It’s not our job literally to wash the feet of everyone we come across and certainly not to perform a ceremony in the church. What would be the purpose of that? The really meaningful thing to would be to cook a meal for a sick friend, to take an old lady shopping because she cannot go on her own, to take care of the children when a harassed mother needs time out or to take a house-bound family to the beach when their vehicle is out of order.

It does not take much imagination to “wash” someone else’s “feet”, just a little observation and a little time given unselfishly to ease the load someone else is called to carry. But the boomerang rewards are amazing. The burden of selfish living becomes lighter and one has tiny glimpses of the heart of Jesus as He whispers, “Well done, son, daughter.”

Jesus In A Disturbing Disguise

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JESUS IN A DISTURBING DISGUISE 

“He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’

‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’

“Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray Him, and that is why He said not everyone was clean.” John 13:6-11 NIV.

Don’t you just love Peter? No one can fault him for his passion!

But as for his discernment — he was so much in the moment! And so proud! Once again he was the one to react against Jesus’ action. John said nothing about the other disciples. His focus was on Peter. Was he having a little dig at him because of their constant rivalry?

The scene on the beach after the resurrection is another one of John’s little pokes at Peter! Jesus had reinstated Peter after his ignominious denial at His trial. Assured of his love, Jesus restored His commission to Peter to care for His sheep. Not satisfied with his own task, Peter questioned Jesus about John’s future. In polite terms Jesus told him to mind his own business! And John put that in his story!

Peter’s reaction to Jesus says a lot about his character. True humility submits to the person who is willing to serve in a humble task like the one that Jesus wanted to perform on him. The amazing thing is that this kind of submission bonds the served with the server. Was Jesus using this opportunity to test the attitude of His disciples to Him? Were they humble enough to allow Him to wash their feet? It was not difficult for Him to serve them, but how difficult was it for them to accept that service?

Peter’s reaction reveals that, in spite of his passionate love for Jesus, he misunderstood the meaning of His action. He thought that Jesus was humiliating Himself and, for him that was unthinkable. Watch how he addressed Jesus as Lord! Did he use that title purposely to make it clear to Jesus that he thought He was above what He was doing?

Jesus was quick to clarify the meaning of His action. ‘Peter, this is much more than just washing your feet. This is about restoring our oneness with each other.’ Humility responding to humility as the very essence of their relationship; Master and servant — Master serving and servant humbly receiving that service so that the servant, in turn, would serve with the same heart as the Master.

Unless Peter submitted to and received what Jesus was about to do, he would never be part of who Jesus was, the Son of God, yes, but the Ebed Yahweh, the Son who came to serve in the disposition of a slave — one who had no reputation to defend because He purposely made Himself nothing. How else could He empty Himself so completely that He could hang naked on a Roman execution stake for the sins of the world?

For three and half years Jesus had been painstakingly washing His disciples with His word. From the eternal perspective they were already clean, except for Judas because he had refused the word. They only needed the daily cleansing from the dust of their walk in a sinful world. Washing their feet was the symbolic cleansing they needed by allowing the word to wash them daily.

What amazing lessons they were learning in this single, simple loving act of hospitality. To set it up as a religious ritual has no meaning because it contributes nothing to our oneness of heart with Jesus. True “washing” that reflects our unity with Him would be to serve someone whom we consider “lower” than ourselves because Jesus said that, if we do it to the least of these, His brothers, we do it to Him.

As Mother Theresa said, the lowliest to whom we minister is Jesus in a disturbing disguise!

Someone Has To Wash Feet

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SOMEONE HAS TO WASH FEET

“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

“The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” John 13:1-5 NIV.

This is such a familiar story that we can almost recite it from memory. But we don’t only know the story; we also know the ceremony. Hasn’t someone at some time washed your feet? Some churches even incorporate it into their Easter services as a ritual.

So what is it all about? Since the roads were dusty and the people wore sandals, it was the householder’s responsibility to provide water to wash their feet. They either washed their own feet or it was done by a slave.

The disciples had just been arguing about who would be the greatest in Jesus’ new government (Luke 22:24). There was no slave in the house to do the job. They were certainly not about to wash each other’s feet! Jesus’ feet, perhaps, but that was all. No one made a move before supper, and still no one made a move after supper. Was Jesus waiting for one of them to get up and do the job or did He know them well enough not to expect any of them to do the courteous thing? Not one of them was willing to be humiliated by doing a slave’s work.

These guys needed to be taught something. What was His intention? To set up a new ritual for the church to follow? Not likely since He wasn’t interested in adding to the burden the Pharisees had already put on the people. Whatever Jesus did had to fit His nature — “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29), and the nature of His yoke which was “light”.

How could Jesus, who was the Son of God, stoop down and do so menial a task? He could have left their feet dirty rather than do a slaves’ work. What Jesus did the disciples could not do for two reasons:

Firstly, He was secure in His identity. Had not He lived His entire public life out of the knowledge that He was the beloved Son of the Father? The Father had publicly affirmed Him at His baptism and given Him the mandate to represent Him in His life and work because Jesus had His unqualified approval. By washing His disciples’ feet He showed that He had nothing to prove and nothing to lose.

Secondly, He did it because He loved them. It did not matter as much to Him that He was the Son of the Most High God as that their feet were dirty and needed washing. That’s what love does — love meets someone else’s need at its own expense. Two simple reasons why it cost Him nothing to wash their feet! He did not have to swallow His pride, humiliate Himself or make a show of what He was doing. It was an act of hospitality any host would extend to his dinner guests except that, this time it was the host Himself who did the honours!

This was completely in line with the disposition of Messiah we see so clearly in Isaiah’s prophecies. He gives us glimpses of the “Ebed Yahweh” — the Servant of Jehovah — across the 66 chapters of his magnificent writing. He was the one upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested (ch 11); He would bring justice without raising His voice or trampling the weak (ch42); He would be a polished arrow hidden in the Lord’s quiver (ch 49); He would be beaten, rejected and punished for the sins of His people (ch 52, 53) and He would bring freedom and healing to His people through the power of the Spirit (ch 61).

What was Jesus doing? He was showing them the heart of a true servant; not a ceremony to be performed but the disposition of a disciple that flowed out in loving service to whoever needed it. Simple but not easy! It depends on whether that disciple has anything to defend or to prove. If we, like Jesus, are secure in our identity in God and our love for His people, we can humbly “wash” one another’s feet as Jesus did without shame or embarrassment.

Walking On The Word

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WALKING ON THE WORD

“After saying this He spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ He told him, ‘wash in the pool Siloam’ (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:6-7 NIV.

What was that; a new kind of eye salve? That was a strange way to heal a man, or was it? What was it that Jesus asked the man to put his trust in — the mud on his eyes, or in the word that He spoke?

How easy it would have been for the blind man to have been side-tracked by what Jesus did to him, and put his faith in that rather than in the simple instruction Jesus gave him. Had he not obeyed Jesus he might have sat around with mud on his eyes waiting for his miracle until the day he died.

Remember Elisha and Naaman the Syrian general? He was also given an instruction by the prophet which he pooh-poohed because it didn’t suit him. It was humiliating for him to wash in the muddy Jordan rather than in the clear stream in his homeland. He almost missed his miracle because of his silly pride!

Washing in the Jordan River and washing off the mud in the Pool of Siloam were only the means of testing the obedience of the sufferers. Acting on the word was what triggered their healing.

In John 1 John introduced Jesus as the Word who was with God from the beginning and who was God. Like the spoken word, Jesus is the manifestation of the Father in another form. He is the embodiment of what God has spoken. When He speaks He reveals and reflects the Father. Therefore, whenever He gave an instruction, the Father backed up His word by the action that brought the word to pass.

In John 8 we read that He sets us free from our slave-drivers — implied — when we put His teachings into practice. When we weave His word into our lives, we are like a wise builder who establishes his house on bedrock so that, when the storm blows in, it will not dislodge and destroy the house.

How often do we not put our faith in our faith rather than in what God has promised! Faith in the Word releases the power of God to honour His promise. The blind man’s simple obedience brought the miracle he was not even expecting.

“His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some claimed that he was. Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.'” John 9:8, 9 NIV.

Strange, isn’t it, that a blind beggar believed Jesus and risked making a fool of himself by obeying His word and was rewarded with a miracle! Yet some of the bystanders made fools of themselves by denying that the man who used to beg was the same man who now could see. How stubborn and wilfully blind can a person be to deny the obvious and forfeit the miracle of spiritual sight.

Were the people who denied the identity of the healed man afraid of the Jews? Probably, otherwise there is no reason for their foolishness unless they too, stubbornly resisted the idea that Jesus was their Messiah.

It reminds me of the men and women who stubbornly believe that the universe just “happened” when common sense screams out that everything that is made has to have a maker. Nothing just “happens”! Slime doesn’t become complex creatures who perfectly function in their environment. Behind their foolish insistence that evolution is fact is the refusal to believe in a Creator God because they do not want to be accountable to Him.

Unfortunately for those who refuse to believe the truth, it will not change or go away to suit them. Like some of the people who denied that the healed man was the erstwhile blind beggar, those who deny the existence of God rob themselves of the miracle of true sight. How surprised they would be if, in the process of acknowledging Jesus, they found out what life is really all about and experience the joy of being reconnected to their Creator!

Are you walking on the Word?