We are here to re-create, in abbreviated form, the events of an evening two thousand years ago, when Jesus and a small band of his followers met to observe the LORD'S Passover in obedience to God's command through Moses.
On this particular Passover, though, Jesus will do things a little differently. He will take the matzah and the third cup of wine, and he will give them an additional significance that points to God's deliverance from another kind of bondage. At every Passover thereafter, his disciples will remember their physical redemption from slavery and their spiritual redemption from sin. This night is different from all other nights, even from other Passovers.
Nevertheless, Jesus must prepare them in at least one more way for what lies ahead. The apostles have heard his instruction first hand and have witnessed his numerous miracles.1 After his death, people will look to them for guidance. They will no longer just be disciples but teachers in their own right,2 responsible for many more people than ever took part in Jesus' earthly ministry. The temptation to capitalize on that role and to abuse their responsibility will be significant.
They have already exhibited an interest in position and power and, on several occasions, Jesus has had to adjust their priorities.3
By washing their feet,6 Jesus places himself in a position below that of a disciple, taking the role of a servant.7 Is it any wonder that Peter reacts so strongly?
Footwashing is a way of demonstrating the lordship of Jesus, that because no servant is greater than his master, no act of service is below the status of a disciple.13 While most churches do not practice footwashing,14 it is emblematic of other ways Jesus' followers are to put others above themselves. What opportunities have you had to serve the needs of others in the congregation since the last time you observed communion? ...How have you responded—eagerly, grudgingly, not at all? ...As you prepare to receive the elements, I encourage you to meditate on Paul's description in Phil 2 of Jesus' willingness to meet your greatest need.
[6] There is no indication that Jesus intended this act as a ritual ablution, akin to handwashing. The seder has two such ablutions, whereas the normal custom (at other rimes) is to wash the hands once before eating.
[10] Jesus reiterates his point later that evening, drawing another implication.
[11] He attempted to do the same in the garden, albeit with less success.
[14] Edgington's (1985) contention that footwashing should be an ordinance is unconvincing. Because Jesus commanded the apostles to perform this act of service for one another does not, therefore, make it incumbent upon all believers. A single text is not necessarily sufficient to establish doctrine, especially when that doctrine is conspicuously absent from parallel passages (i.e., the Synoptic accounts). Furthermore, Edgington's appeal to Paul's admonition that widows should be noted for "washing the feet of the saints" (1 Tim 5:10) is unrelated (p. 432). (Why single out widows? Where is the connection to Passover?) Moreover, in Paul's treatment of communion, he makes no mention of footwashing, certainly a significant omission if the act is an essential part of that commemoration, especially given the apostle's concern for self-centered impropriety (see the discussion in Manuel 1995, Ecclesiology unit p. 12).
Exod 12:14 This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.As the disciples gather with Jesus to celebrate the Passover seder, they know that this night is different from all other nights. The liturgy reviews God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The participants eat bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of bondage and matzah (unleavened bread) to recall the haste of Israel's departure. It is not a somber occasion, though, for the evening has a festive atmosphere, with four cups of wine representing different aspects of divine intervention. The participants recite the exodus story, sing psalms, pray, and discuss the significance of God's grace.
On this particular Passover, though, Jesus will do things a little differently. He will take the matzah and the third cup of wine, and he will give them an additional significance that points to God's deliverance from another kind of bondage. At every Passover thereafter, his disciples will remember their physical redemption from slavery and their spiritual redemption from sin. This night is different from all other nights, even from other Passovers.
Nevertheless, Jesus must prepare them in at least one more way for what lies ahead. The apostles have heard his instruction first hand and have witnessed his numerous miracles.1 After his death, people will look to them for guidance. They will no longer just be disciples but teachers in their own right,2 responsible for many more people than ever took part in Jesus' earthly ministry. The temptation to capitalize on that role and to abuse their responsibility will be significant.
They have already exhibited an interest in position and power and, on several occasions, Jesus has had to adjust their priorities.3
Matt 18:4 ...whoever humbles himself like [a] child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 20:26b ...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant[.]
Matt 23:12b ...whoever humbles himself will be exalted.Earlier this same evening "a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest" (Luke 22:24). So here, at his last seder before the crucifixion, Jesus addresses the issue one more time.
John 13:4 ...he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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.This is contrary to the normal custom and astonishes his followers.4 Disciples takes care of their teacher's needs, as Jesus' disciples had done for almost three years, not vice versa (Manuel 2012). Jesus' action, though, is even more radical, for there are limits to what a teacher can expect from his students. You see, the relationship of disciple to rabbi is identical to that of servant to master, with one exception: The student does not have to untie his rabbi's shoes or (by implication) wash his rabbi's feet.5
By washing their feet,6 Jesus places himself in a position below that of a disciple, taking the role of a servant.7 Is it any wonder that Peter reacts so strongly?
John 13:8a "No...you shall never wash my feet."Jesus indicates that for Peter to refuse his master's service constitutes rejection of the master himself.8
John 13:8b ..."Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."Even after Jesus finishes washing their feet9 and the disciples get past their initial shock, they are still puzzled. What is the point of this humiliating display?10
John 13:14 Now that I, your [Master] and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15a I have set you an example.... 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.Although the Passover celebration recalls the past, this night—even this Passover with Jesus—is different from all other nights. The rabbi is preparing his disciples for the future,11 when the reform movement he has begun expands beyond his small band of followers. However their reputations may grow, as part of the original twelve, they must never allow pride to obscure their true position in God's Kingdom... as servants of the one who served them.12
Footwashing is a way of demonstrating the lordship of Jesus, that because no servant is greater than his master, no act of service is below the status of a disciple.13 While most churches do not practice footwashing,14 it is emblematic of other ways Jesus' followers are to put others above themselves. What opportunities have you had to serve the needs of others in the congregation since the last time you observed communion? ...How have you responded—eagerly, grudgingly, not at all? ...As you prepare to receive the elements, I encourage you to meditate on Paul's description in Phil 2 of Jesus' willingness to meet your greatest need.
Phil 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be [retained], 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!As you have opportunity to serve the needs of others in the congregation, is your attitude the same as that of Christ Jesus?
Bibliography
- Alon, Gedaliah, 1984, The Jews in Their Land in the Talmudic Age. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
- Barrett, C.K., 1978, The Gospel according to St. John. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
- Brown, Raymond E., 1970, The Gospel according to John XIII-XXI. Garden City: Doubleday &
- Company, Inc.
- Edgington, Allen, 1985, "Footwashing as an Ordinance." GTJ 6/2:425-434.
- Lightfoot, John, 1979, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica. 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, reprint ed.
- Manuel, Paul (http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com), 1995, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology.
- Manuel, 2012, "The Rabbi-Talmid Relationship."
- Morris, Leon, 1971, The Gospel according to John. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Endnotes
[1] This will be among the disciples' greatest claims to authority, especially for John.Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
John 15:27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Acts 2:32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
Acts 4:20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
Acts 5:32a We are witnesses of these things....
1 Pet 5:1 ...I appeal as...a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
2 Pet 1:18 We...heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
John 21:24a This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.
1 John 1:1 That...which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life....3a We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard....5a This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.[2] They will have disciples of their own.
1 Cor 1:12 One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas [.]
1 Cor 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
1 John 2: la My dear children....As Jesus exhorted them, so they exhort their disciples to heed their instruction.
1 Cor 11:23a For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:
1 Cor 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.... 3a For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
Phil 4:9a Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice.
1 Thess 2:13 ...when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
2 Thess 3:6b keep away from every brother who. . . does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
2 Tim 1:13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching....
2 Tim 2:2 And the things you have heard me say... entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.[3] Jesus identified two determinants of greatness in the kingdom.
- Humility
Matt 18:4 ...whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
- Obedience
Matt 5:19b ...whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
- Persecution by enemies
Luke 6:23a [= Matt 5:12a] Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.
- Love for enemies
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies.... Then your reward will be great....[4] The Baptist's comment indicates how unusual Jesus' actions are.
Matt 3:1 lb But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.
Mark 1:7b ...the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.[5] Relevant passages include:
b Be 7b R Johanan Id. 2791...said in the name of R Simeon b Yohai [c. 1501: The service of the Torah [i.e., to those who teach it] is greater than the study thereof.
b Ber 8a R Hiyya b Ammi [?]...said in the name of 'Ulla [early 4th c.?]: A man should always live in the same town as his teacher.
b Ket 96a R Joshua b Levi [c. 2301 ruled: All manner of service that a slave must render to his master a student must render to his teacher except that of taking off his shoe [that the student might not be mistaken for a slave].... R Hiyya b Abba [late 2d c.] stated in the name of R Johanan [d. 2791: A man who deprives his student of [the privilege of] attending on him acts as if he has deprived him of [an act of] kidness.... R Nahman b Isaac [d. 3561 said: He also deprives him of the fear of heaven....
Der Zut 9:9 [= 59a] If you were present at the death of a sage, do not leave him until you have accompanied him to the grave....See also Alon's discussion on "Attending the Sage" (1984 2:476-478). In a family setting, the wife is responsible to wash her husband's feet, and children are responsible to wash their father's feet (Lightfoot 1979 3:390).
Joseph and Aseneth [100 b.c.e.-135 c.e.] 20:2 [Aseneth] brought water to wash his feet. 3 And Joseph said, "Let one of the virgins come and wash my feet." 4 And Aseneth said to him, "No, my Lord, because you are my lord from now on, and I (am) your maidservant... .your feet another (woman) will never wash."The gospel setting, though, is that of a rabbi and his disciples.
[6] There is no indication that Jesus intended this act as a ritual ablution, akin to handwashing. The seder has two such ablutions, whereas the normal custom (at other rimes) is to wash the hands once before eating.
Mark 7:3 The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.There is some question as to how scrupulous Jesus' disciples were in this matter.
Matt 15:2 Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat![7] Footwashing had no particular significance in Judaism, apart from being a polite service to offer guests in a society where open footwear was customary. It was a host's responsibility to see to the comfort of his guests, either by providing water so they could wash their own feet or by providing a servant to perform the task.
Gen 18:4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
Gen 19:2b You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.
Gen 24:32 So the man went to the house.... and water for him and his men to wash their feet.
Gen 43:24 The steward...gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys.
Judg 19:21b After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.
1 Sam 25:41b Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master's servants.
Luke 7:44c You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.[8] Peter's response is typically impetuous, and his request unnecessary.
John 13:9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10a Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.[9] Lightfoot suggests that, because Jesus' purpose was illustrative, he may have washed only two or three of them, perhaps Peter, James, and John (1979 3:391). Such a selective application of this act may raise the question of whether those left out have a part with Jesus, but it does eliminate the problem of washing the feet of (unclean) Judas.
[10] Jesus reiterates his point later that evening, drawing another implication.
John 15:20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.Jesus may also be making an eschatological allusion to something he said earlier.
Luke 12:37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.Barrett reads too much into this account when he asserts that "[t]he cleansing of the disciples' feet represents their cleansing from sin in the sacrificial blood of Christ...the whole redemptive work of Jesus" (1978:436, 443). Brown has a similarly sacramental interpretation: "[I]t is clear that the footwashing is something that makes it possible for the disciples to have eternal life with Jesus," although he admits that "the salvific factor is not the physical washing itself but what it symbolizes" (1970:566).
[11] He attempted to do the same in the garden, albeit with less success.
Matt 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."[12] The disciples barely have time to process Jesus' willingness to take the role of a servant to wash their feet when they witness the ultimate expression of Jesus' humiliation: his crucifixion.
Matt 20:28 ...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Phil 2:7 ...taking the very nature of a servant.... 8b...he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross![13] "Though on occasion disciples ought to perform this needful service for one another, the point of Jesus' saying is rather that they should have a readiness to perform the lowliest service" (Morris 1971:620-621).
[14] Edgington's (1985) contention that footwashing should be an ordinance is unconvincing. Because Jesus commanded the apostles to perform this act of service for one another does not, therefore, make it incumbent upon all believers. A single text is not necessarily sufficient to establish doctrine, especially when that doctrine is conspicuously absent from parallel passages (i.e., the Synoptic accounts). Furthermore, Edgington's appeal to Paul's admonition that widows should be noted for "washing the feet of the saints" (1 Tim 5:10) is unrelated (p. 432). (Why single out widows? Where is the connection to Passover?) Moreover, in Paul's treatment of communion, he makes no mention of footwashing, certainly a significant omission if the act is an essential part of that commemoration, especially given the apostle's concern for self-centered impropriety (see the discussion in Manuel 1995, Ecclesiology unit p. 12).
1 Cor 11:21 ...each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
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Jim Skaggs