Foot washing- Love one another (John 13)
By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music 2/5/2026
Scriptures reading John 13:1-38
Now before the feast of
the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out
of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he
loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the
Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and
went to God; He
riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself.
(vv.1-4).
After that He poureth water
into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the
towel wherewith he was girded. Them cometh he to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto
him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou
knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou
shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. (vv.5-8).
Simon
Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He
that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and
ye are clean, but not all. (vv.5-10)…
Yet call me Master and
Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have
washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given
you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither, he that is sent
greater than he that sent him. (vv.13-16)
…Verily,
verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me…He then lying on Jesus’
breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, “ He it is, to whom I
shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he
gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of simon…(vv.21-26)…
Little children, yet a
little while I am with you, ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews,
whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give
unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one
another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye also love
one another. (vv.33-35)…
In this Gospel, the first section, chapter
1-13, describes how the Lord as God Himself, as the Son of God, came through
His incarnation to bring God into man that He might be man’s life for the
producing of the church. The second section, chapter 14-21, describes how the
Lord as the Son of Man went through His death and resurrection to bring man
into God that man and God, God and man, might be built together as a mutual
abode. This chapter 13 coming at the end of the first section is a dividing
line and a turning point.
Verse
4 the outer garments signify the Lord’ virtues and attributes in His
expression. Hence, the laying aside of His outer garments signifies the putting
off of what He is in His expression. “A towel” from a Latin word denoting a
linen towel. To girded oneself signifies to be bound and restricted with humility
(1Pet.5:5)
Verse
5 in Chapter 1-12 life came and brought forth the church, composed of the
regenerated ones. In their spirit the regenerated ones are in God and in the
heavenlies, but in their body they are still living in the flesh and walking on
the earth. Through their contact with earthly things they often become dirty.
This frustrates their fellowship with the Lord and with one another. Hence,
there is the need for the washing with the Holy Spirit, the word, and life. This is the washing away of their dirtiness
that their fellowship with the Lord and with one another may be maintained; it
is not the washing away of their sins by the blood (1John1:9). This is why,
after chapter 12, there is a need for such a sign in this chapter 13. Since
this Gospel is a book of signs, what is recorded in this chapter should be
considered a sign, having spiritual significance. Foot-washing should not be
taken merely in a physical sense, but rather in a spiritual sense.
In ancient times the
Jews wore sandals, and since their roads were dusty, their feet easily became
dirty. If, when they came to a fest, they sat at the table and stretched out
their feet, the dirt and the smell would certainly frustrate the fellowship. Hence,
for the feast to be pleasant they needed foot-washing. The Lord washed His disciples’
feet to show them that He loved them to the uttermost (v.1), and He charged
them to do the same to one another in love (vv.14,34). Today the world is dirty,
and we, the saints, are easily contaminated. For us to maintain pleasant fellowship with the Lord
and with one another, we need spiritual foot-washing-with the washing Holy Spirit,
the washing word, and the washing life—carried out both by the Lord in His love
and by one another in love. This is absolutely necessary in order for us
to live in the fellowship of the divine life, which is revealed in John’s first
Epistle, a continuation of the Gospel of John.
Verse
34 Jesus gave a new commandment,
that “you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one
another.”
The Greek word for commandment here is the same word as in Matt.5:19 and Rom.7:8,9,10,11,12,13.
However, in Matt.5 and Rom. 7 it refers to the old commandments of the law in
the Old Testament; here it refers to the new commandment given to us by the
Lord in the New Testament. Also in 14:15,21; 15:10, 12; 1John 2:3,4,7,8;3:22,23,24;4:21;5:2,3;2John
4,5,6, it refers to the new commandment given to us in the New Testament,
either by the Lord Jesus or by God. This new commandment is different from the
old commandments in the Old Testament.
Bibliography,
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim,
CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago,
IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
Roberts, Oral. Holy Bible (KJV) Tulsa, OK:
Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, Inc. 1981.
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