Washing Each Other’s Feet
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Central Text:
John 13:12-15:
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.
Hello Dear Readers,
Today we are going to be talking about helping each other as a Church.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, ensuring the unity and “cleanliness” of the Church body is a must.
In our central text Jesus washes His disciples’ feet in order to convey a very important message to them.
This message is one that we as disciples of Christ should learn to follow.
1.Do we understand what Jesus was doing?
Jesus asked the disciples if they understood what He was doing.
Jesus then proceeded to explain that He is their Lord and Savior and since He washed the disciples’ feet, they should wash each other’s feet.
Jesus was giving His disciples an example of how Christians should treat each other.
If Jesus, who is God and left his glory in Heaven to become human for our sake, humbled himself to wash His disciples feet, how much more should we humble ourselves to help each other.
The act of washing feet was a symbolic act meant to represent the way we should be of service to other Christian’s to deliver the message of the Gospel.
We have one mission: to spread the Gospel.
The message of Jesus Christ.
This mission requires teamwork.
We are a team in Christ.
The goal of a team is to complete a designated mission or to win in whatever activity they are competing in.
A good team understands that all players are necessary to achieve their goal.
That in reality, there is no star player because if that player were the only one in the team, he/she would not be able to complete the mission by their self.
1 Corinthians 3:7 says “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”
In other words no Christian, no person for that matter, is more than another person.
It is true that some do more than others or may be at a higher level than others.
But it is important to remember to help others work for the Lord as well.
For a team with good team members, there should be a compromise from each person in the team to use each person according to their strengths.
There should not be a person who is upset if his/her teammate is chosen to do a certain task if they are the best choice for the job.
As Christians, your brother’s/sister’s win is your win!
That is the message that Jesus was giving his disciples:
Be humble and do not have a higher concept of yourselves than you should.
Romans 12:3 gives this message beautifully:
“…. I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
As part of a team we need to be honest about what we are truly good at, what we are truly not good at, and remember that is impossible for us to be good at everything.
Jesus himself came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
So we should be ready to be a helping hand for our brother or sister in Christ whenever necessary, even if we have to be a stepping stone for them.
By this I don’t mean to allow ourselves to be trampled by others.
Instead I mean that we should purposely be doors of opportunities to spread the Gospel for other Christians.
2. Why wash only the feet?
Peter did not want to allow Jesus to wash his feet.
Once Jesus explained that it was necessary for Him to do so, Peter asked Jesus to not only wash his feet, but also his face and his hands (John 13:9).
Jesus told Peter that they did not have a necessity of being completely washed because they were already clean.
Only their feet needed to be washed.
Why were their feet in need of being washed?
Because our feet are in constant contact with the ground.
Romans 10:15 says that the feet of those who carry the Gospel are beautiful.
As carriers of the Gospel our feet will travel into many places, collecting the dust and dirt from the ground.
As Christians our feet are beautiful because we carry the Word of the Lord.
We need to maintain our feet beautiful by constantly washing each other’s feet.
Why can’t we wash our own feet?
Because we have blind spots.
Everyone has things about themselves they do not see.
David asked the Lord in Psalm 19:12 to be cleansed of his hidden faults.
David was aware that there were sins and faults that he could not see in himself.
That is what our brothers and sisters in Christ and there for.
They can see the “sins” and “faults” in us, that we may not be aware of.
It is our job to gently and humbly point out these faults to our brothers and sisters in Christ with the purpose of helping them grow (Galatians 6:1).
In this way we wash each other’s feet thoroughly, making sure that no spot on our feet is left unwashed.
3. How Do We Wash Each Others’ Feet?
There are various ways to be of service to our brethren in Christ.
Here are some of the ways we can wash our brothers’ and sisters’ feet:
- Teaching them more about the Word of God.
Let us wash each others’ feet by preparing one another to preach and teach others better.
- Help them get back on the path when they are headed in the wrong direction (Galatians 6:1)
When a Christian’s feet get dirty by the sin of this world, gently and humbly correct and bring them back to the right path.
- Be an instrument of growth for their ministry.
Pray for others’ ministries, offer to help them with anything they may need, and be a strong supporter of others.
These are just 3 examples of how to wash each other’s feet.
The point is that we as the Church of Christ should always be working on teaching each other, lifting each other up, and supporting each other in our ministry and daily Christian journey.
We should worry about putting Jesus in the spotlight, never ourselves.
This is why serving one another is so important.
It’s not only a great help to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but it is also a great way to remind ourselves that we are on equal standing before the Lord.
All in all
We all have the same mission (to spread the Gospel).
We should also work with the same vision so that we can be a good team full of good team members.
Let us wash each other’s feet as Jesus has given us the example to follow and carry the Gospel to all ends of the Earth as a unit.
Moving Forward
If you liked this post and want to learn more information and strategies for Spiritual Growth through the Seven Areas of Spiritual Growth , join the RTK Newsletter below!
The next post coming up is one you will not want to miss!
Come back Next Monday April 1st at 12n to read “5 Ways to Avoid the Sin that So Easily Trips Us Up.”
Learn how to overcome those weaknesses in your life that seem IMPOSSIBLE to conquer!
While you wait for that,
Here’s a Question: How difficult is it for you to put yourself aside to give another person a chance to do something or have a position within the church that you really want to do/have?
Let me know in the comments below!
Until Next Time.
God Bless,
Ashley
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Check out more About the Seven Areas Below!
3 Ways to Add Worship Into Your Daily Routine
5 Ways to Get to Know Your Church Members Better
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