God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. --James 4:6
In my last posting we saw that in John 13, the author made a shift in his narrative. He started taking us in a new direction. He even began with a prologue, much like he did in the first chapter of his Gospel.
If we zoom out and take kind of a "bird's eye view" of the entire chapter, we see a kind of poetic structure to John's narrative. You'll recall that in Jewish poetry, instead of rhyme and meter, there is parallelism. That's where the lines correspond in meaning or form. There is also a structural form known as chiasmus, an inverted or mirror-like arrangement (A-B-B'-A'), which emphasizes the central idea of a passage and creates a symmetrical pattern. This pattern is common in Psalms and prophetic texts, guiding the reader to pivotal theological or poetic points.
Now, I am not saying that we should read this passage as a poem. I'm only saying that there is a poetic symmetry in the text, showing poetic form emphasizing parallelism and chiastic structure.
A--Jesus knew He would go to the Father, that His time had come, but loving His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. (John 13:1)
B-- The devil entered Judas, who would betray Him. (John 13:2)
C--Jesus humbles Himself, lays aside His garments, and begins to wash the disciples' feet. (John 13:3-5)
D--Peter objects to Jesus washing his feet, leading Jesus to explain. (John 13:6-8)
D'--Peter, realizing the significant of being washed by Jesus, asks for a complete immersion. (John 13:9-11)
C'--Jesus resumes His role as Master and Teacher, having given them an example in humility. (John 13:12-17)
B'--Jesus identifies His betrayer. (John 13:18-30)
A'--Jesus speaks of His glorification and commands the disciples to show love one to another. (John 13:31-35)
Think of Russian nesting dolls: when you open up the first, there is another one inside, and another, and another. When you put it all together, each part fits together perfectly within the whole. I hope that this little exercise has deepened your appreciation of John's writing and has caused you to read this passage in a new light.
Now that we have kind of shown the outline, let's focus in a bit and discuss the subject of foot washing. In our culture in 21st century America, we don't have a proper appreciation of the art of washing other people's feet. Why? Well, for one thing, most of us wear shoes most of the time. We certainly wear them when we are out in public or at our jobs. So when we get home and undress or step in the shower, our feet are not caked with grit and grime so much. Many cultures teach that people should remove their shoes before coming into the home, so as not to track in dirt, mud, or animal feces. Is this a problem for our bare feet? Not so much in this day and age.
For another thing, we are not an agrarian society. In 21st century America, we don't walk to work among cows, sheep, and other livestock. Cars have replaced horses as the primary mode of transportation, so unless we have a pet in the home, our lives are pretty much animal-free.
Contrast this with 1st century life in the Middle East. They were an agrarian society; most people lived and worked around animals, and even in the city it was not uncommon to share the road with livestock. One thing about animals--when nature calls, they will answer, no matter where they are or who they are with. Imagine going to the Temple and having to step over piles of animal dung, even in the Court of the Gentiles where Jesus flipped tables and used a whip to drive out the livestock that they were selling at an obscene profit.
They also didn't have closed-toed shoes. If you weren't barefoot in Jesus's day, you wore sandals. These sandals were your only protection from what was on the ground. That's why it was so profound when John the Baptist said he was not worthy to loosen the straps of Jesus's sandals in John 1:27. With this in mind, let's read John 13:3-11 together.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hand, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."
Michael Lee Aday, better known by his stage name Meat Loaf, sang this: "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that." Yet we see Jesus, who set aside His glory in heaven to take on human flesh and walk among us as a man, set aside His robes and take a basin of water and a towel--the towel that covered Him--and perform a task that only the lowliest servant would be expected to do.
This was not a ceremonial act. Jesus didn't merely sprinkle a few drops of water on each man, and dab at it with the clean towel.
Jesus was all in.
If the disciples had walked in a mud puddle, Jesus washed the mud off.
The towel which covered Jesus was no longer covering Him, and by the time He had finished, it was no longer clean.
How many of us are ever willing to lay aside our position or prestige and stand exposed before a problem, and then roll up our sleeves (so to speak) and get our hands dirty to deal with that problem? The critical test of a Christian leader, says NT Wright, "is whether the same leader is ready, without a word of either complaining or boasting, to stay behind after the meeting and do the washing-up or put out the garbage...The truly Christlike leader is known by the ease and spontaneity with which he or she does the little, annoying, messy things--the things which in the ancient world the slave would do, that things which in our world we always secretly hope someone else will do so we won't have to waste our time, to demean ourselves."
Then we get to Peter, who thought it wise at that very moment to dictate to Jesus what He should be doing. His words might have sounded like humility, but his tone was one of superiority. "No, Jesus," he protested. "You shouldn't be washing my feet. I should be washing your feet." In the other Gospel accounts, Jesus made the point that none of them had offered to wash His feet at the beginning of the meeting. So the unanswered question was, "Well, why didn't you?"
Jesus is making a point here, and Peter was not quite getting it. "If you do not accept My cleansing, you have no part of Me." We all need daily cleansing. Commentator David Guzik writes:
Peter had to accept this from Jesus. He became a pattern for us. If we do not accept the humble service of Jesus to cleanse us, we have no part with Him. Peter preached the good news of the kingdom and cast out devils in Jesus’ name — and still needed his feet washed. Peter saw Jesus transfigured in His glory together with Moses and Elijah, an amazing spiritual experience — and still needed his feet washed. Peter’s own feet walked on the water in an amazing act of faith — and still needed his feet washed. This foot washing was a powerful lesson in humility, but it was more than that. It also shows that Jesus has no fellowship, no deep connection with those who have not been cleansed by Him.
So Peter asks Jesus to wash him completely. Scottish Biblical scholar and commentator Marcus Dods said, "A moment ago he told his Master He was doing too much: now he tells Him He is doing too little.” Beware of dictating to Jesus what actions He should take; we should never superimpose our will upon His. Many times, Jesus wants to minister to us through the touch of another of His servants, yet we refuse them, believing we are not worthy. Other times we want God to move in a situation so fervently that we demand He show Himself in a way that satisfies our own dreams and wishes. Both occasions mark personal sin in us, and we should be ready to root out that sin of pride within us.
David Guzik said, "Decades later, when Peter wrote to Christians about humility, he put it like this:' Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility' (1 Peter 5:5). More literally, Peter wrote: 'wrap the apron of humility around yourself.' What Jesus did here remained in his mind and heart."
Finally, we see that Jesus also washed the feet of Judas. The lesson here is that we should, in all humility, be a servant, even to our enemies. Not all who come to church and hear the word and receive the ministry of help and healing walk away repentant. We see that the devil finds a foothold even in the most intimate and meaningful spiritual event.
When Jesus answered Peter, who had asked for a new cleansing, He explained that if you are washed by the blood of the Lamb, you are clean; you need only a periodic partial clearing of the mud and muck of the world from your hands and feet, or maybe your clothes need changing. However, not everyone that comes to Jesus walks away fully cleansed. If the heart is evil and there is no repentance, no amount of washing will make that person truly clean. Jesus famously said, "Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they be trampled underfoot." In modern parlance we might say, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it will still wallow in mud."
To walk as Jesus walked means to put aside any pretense, any prestige, any positional authority, and serve in His name. Even if it gets our hands dirty.
