- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 12,538
"If I then, [your] Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. John 13:14-15 NKJV
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ wastes no time communicating what’s foremost on His heart. To begin to show the disciples the full extent of His love, He washes their feet. This starts well, but then Peter makes a fuss. He disagrees not once but twice. If only he had listened to and obeyed the Lord Jesus without complaint.
To obey what Jesus says in today’s key verses, Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Presbyterians, and other liturgical denominations practice foot washing on Manundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. Other denominations practice foot washing as a church ordinance.
Foot washing was practiced long before Jesus, including by Abraham and his servants (2000 BC) and during the days of David (1000BC). It also was widely practiced in the early churches planted by Paul and others. Then again, it wasn’t universally practiced around the world and down through the ages.
Why don’t more Christians practice foot washing? It’s said to be humbling for the washer and humiliating for the washee (“My fee really aren’t dirty, and what if they smell?”). Perhaps, like all the first disciples, with the lone exception of Peter, we should do it unquestioningly.
Prayer: Lord, humble me to do what You would have me do.
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ wastes no time communicating what’s foremost on His heart. To begin to show the disciples the full extent of His love, He washes their feet. This starts well, but then Peter makes a fuss. He disagrees not once but twice. If only he had listened to and obeyed the Lord Jesus without complaint.
To obey what Jesus says in today’s key verses, Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Presbyterians, and other liturgical denominations practice foot washing on Manundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. Other denominations practice foot washing as a church ordinance.
Foot washing was practiced long before Jesus, including by Abraham and his servants (2000 BC) and during the days of David (1000BC). It also was widely practiced in the early churches planted by Paul and others. Then again, it wasn’t universally practiced around the world and down through the ages.
Why don’t more Christians practice foot washing? It’s said to be humbling for the washer and humiliating for the washee (“My fee really aren’t dirty, and what if they smell?”). Perhaps, like all the first disciples, with the lone exception of Peter, we should do it unquestioningly.
Prayer: Lord, humble me to do what You would have me do.
