Information Related to "The Lesson of Foot-Washing"
| Audio/Video |
The Lesson of Foot Washing
Ancient Israel had to learn a painful, tragic lesson at Jericho. On the evening before His death, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, then instructed that His followers would continue this practice to help us remember. What are we to learn from this simple but profound observance?
by Jerold Aust
Peter was puzzled as Jesus of Nazareth knelt down to wash His disciples’ feet. Jesus and the 12 apostles had gathered in a private room. He had earlier directed Peter and John to prepare their last meal together. It was during this time that Jesus instituted the symbols of the New Testament Passover: The unleavened bread would represent His broken body and the wine would signify His blood that He would lose less than a day later.
Peter was watching, fascinated, as Jesus bent down to wash His disciples’ feet. This was unusual, even strange, to see a teacher washing His followers’ feet.
Peter had observed Jesus rising during supper to remove His outer garment and wrap a towel around His waist. Peter well knew this was an act customarily performed by slaves or servants. In that day, whenever guests were invited to a home, the lowliest household slave or servant washed the guests’ feet. (John 1:27 and Luke 7:44 refer to this custom.) In this case, since this was a private gathering, no servants were present to carry out the menial job of removing sandals and washing the feet of guests.
Wasn’t Jesus too good for this?
What was Jesus doing? Surely it was beneath Him to abase Himself in this way. As Jesus moved from one disciple to another, the room probably quieted. All eyes followed Jesus’ every move. The disciples shifted their positions to watch Him lift the pitcher of water and pour it into a basin.
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "The Lesson of Foot-Washing"
Other Articles by Jerold Aust
Foot washing: