Some of you have never been a part of Protestantism or Catholicism. You were born and raised in a Baptist church. As a result you may not know that two weeks ago much of Christendom celebrated “Maundy Thursday.” The Thursday before Easter is called “Maundy.” It is found on a lot of calendars – but not on the one I give you every year. On that day, in many sects of Christendom, pastors, priests, bishops and others wash people’s feet.
The word “maundy” comes from the same root which developed into “mandate” – it speaks of a command. But the word is not found in the scripture which I have just read. This Catholic doctrine has taken the word from verse 34 – “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 have love one to another.”
In some churches the washing of feet is “mandated” by ordinance – it is an ordinance in some churches. And there are some Baptists, particularly among the Primitive Baptists, who declare that any church which doesn’t practice foot washing is not a true church of Christ. But I have read this scripture many times, and I fail to see where foot-washing has been commanded. Love for the brethren – absolutely – but in our society, there are far better ways to prove one’s love than foot-washing. On the other hand we have clear and distinct commandments to maintain the ordinance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but we have no command here. Foot-washing is not an ordinance of the Lord’s church
Incidentally, I am currently re-reading two histories of our Baptistic forefathers – the Waldensians. Thursday, I read three doctrinal statements, one of which preceded the Protestant Reformation. All three declared that there are only two ordinances – baptism and the Lord’s supper. While a couple of them said that love of the brethren is proof of discipleship, none of them said that foot-washing was required to prove that love.
I am of the opinion that what Jesus did in washing the disciples’ feet was a visual parable. Like baptism, it illustrates the gospel, but without becoming an ordinance and requirement. And that is how I would like to use it this morning. I intend this for this message to be extremely simple – hopefully easy enough for a child to understand. For someone who doesn’t care about such things, he will see nothing but a silly story. But for those to whom the Lord has commissioned His parables, they will see the grace of Almighty God.
We begin with those whose feet it was that were washed.
Let’s lay aside for the moment that these men were already disciples of Christ. These men were already children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. They had been baptized by John, BECAUSE they gave evidence of regeneration – including repentance. This washing, while being used to illustrate salvation from sin, did not save or cleanse anyone. In fact, one whose feet were washed walked out of that upper room lost and eventually into hell. I wouldn’t be surprised to someday learn that Christ spent more time washing Judas’ feet than He did any of the others. But clean feet mean nothing without a heart cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eleven of these twelve were, in important ways, among the finest men in Israel. They weren’t rich; they weren’t highly educated in state-supported schools. They weren’t self-made businessmen; they weren’t elected public officials. But they men of moral character and spiritual sensibilities. They were church goers; worshippers of the one true an living God. They were waged in a war against the sins which pursued them. They were students of the written Word and disciples of the Living Word – Christ Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” These men had Abrahamic blood in their veins and Abrahamic faith in their hearts.
But despite what they had been before or after hearing John’s testimony of Christ, they were mere men. In the sight of Christ – who “needeth not that any should testify of man” – they had been born sinners. All their good character and good works were not sufficient to turn their sins into righteousness. They were spiritually filthy. “All their righteousnesses were as filthy rags.” Among them there was not a just man doing good and sinning not. God “looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God” and not one of them understood or truly sought God.” To the holy God, the feet of these men were too vile to walk on the golden pavement of the Holy of Holies. These eleven men make good illustrations of us. Each, with their own individual personalities, blending both good and bad characteristics. But not one was fit for Glory in his own condition.
So Jesus arose from His supper.
It is important to recognized that it was the Lord’s idea to wash the disciples’ feet. The owner of the house where this Passover meal took place was not a particularly hospitable host. He may have been nothing but a landlord – demanding rent for the use of his hall. There were no servants; not even the ladies who might have wanted to serve the Lord. Mary, who had earlier washed Jesus’ feet with tears and dried them with her hair, was absent. And none of the disciples offered to wash anyone’s feet – even those of Jesus.
Furthermore, none of the disciples had been begging Christ to cleanse them. Perhaps the thought never crossed their minds. They held the Lord such high regard that to consider Him kneeling before them washing and massaging their feet was beyond reason.
By nature we have more confusing and conflicting ideas about salvation than Heintz or Baskin Robins. One person thinks that God is reluctant to deal with us in our sinful filth. And the next person thinks that the Lord owes it to us to cleanse our souls. One has the idea that God must be begged, cajoled, flattered and sweet-talked into sharing redemption. Another has the notion that God’s grace CAN be bought – MUST be bought – that Jehovah can be bribed into washing our feet and our souls. Both of these men believe that they may be capable of getting Jesus up from His throne and onto His knees to do their bidding. It is the idea of pride-filled men that salvation is initiated by pride-filled men.
No sir, Jesus made the decision to serve and to cleanse, and it was a compete surprise to the disciples. In fact, I would guess that those disciples barely recognized that they needed some foot water. They had been happily walking around in those feet for some time without a drop. Probably they had all thought about washing their hands as the meal was coming up, but not one of them considered his feet. It was the Lord who saw a need and arose from the meal to become their servant. And as far as your soul is concerned that decision was made in eternity – before creation.
We see that Christ laid aside his garments to do this work.
The penman of our morning’s scripture was the John the Apostle – often called “the Apostle of Love.” If someone spends ten minutes reading John’s First Epistle, it becomes clear why he bears this moniker. And we aren’t surprised to find that love is the theme of John 13 – “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 have love one to another.” Brotherly love is a Bible doctrine – it is found throughout God’s Word including the Old Testament. In II Corinthians the Apostle Paul was on that subject, in a church desperately needing to hear it. In II Corinthians 8 Paul was using the churches of Macedonia as examples to the church in Achaia. Oh, how gracious those other brethran had been, “beseeching us to receive their love offerings.” “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord…” He then turned back to the Corinthians, encouraging them “to prove the sincerity of your love.” And then as an exclamation point, Paul said, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
We are not among those heretics who believe that Jesus was a mere man, who somehow became deity. His life did not begin at birth or at conception – as yours did. He created the universe after enjoying nothing else but the fellowship of the Trinity for the previous eons. Christ Jesus has always existed – lived – and always will. He is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,” and to him shall “be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, was praised by God through His prophet Micah. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” A little over two thousand years ago, the Second Person of the Trinity, became incarnate. “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us” – “God was manifest in the flesh.” You might say that He laid aside His royal robes in order to perform the greatest service known to man.
Christ took a towel and girded himself. This was the uniform of a servant. The glorious Son of God, whom the angels adored and praised as He created Heaven and earth… This one laid aside His beautiful seamless robe and took up a towel to gird himself. Am I mistaken in picturing Jesus’ garment without buttons, zippers, or velcro? As I perceive it, Christ had to pull His robe up over His head, before He could lay it aside. Under ordinary circumstances this was embarrassing, exposing Himself to some degree. Embarrassing or not, the work was going to be done.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” One of the many titles which the Bible applies to our Saviour – “Servant” is among them. It was not so much that He became a servant to the sinner, but he was the Servant of the God in saving the sinner.
Then Jesus took a basin and poured in the cleansing solution.
In the illustration it was water. But for our sins, water as useless as substituting chocolate pudding for shampoo. There is only one cleansing agent capable of washing away the stain of sin. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” “In Him we have redemption though His blood the forgiveness of sins.” We can be made nigh only by the blood of his cross. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” God can be propitiated (satisfied) only through the blood of His Son. Some people would like to imagine a bloodless sacrifice – like Cain’s turnips and potatoes. But a bloodless gospel is no gospel at all, according to the Word of the Lord.
Now, I know that the Book of Acts says that Christ was taken by wicked hands and was crucified and slain. But I also read that He willingly laid down his life a ransom for many. No man took His life from Him, but He laid it down. In the Old Testament illustrations He was both the sacrifice and the priest who applied the blood of the sacrifice. It is Christ Jesus who washed the disciple’s feet.
And what did those men do whose feet were cleansed?
They did absolutely nothing. They might, at first, have been shocked that their Master would do such a humbling thing. So should it shock us. If you found President Obama with a vacuum, sweeping up a White House mess, it would be more appropriate than for Jehovah to wash a man’s feet or even his soul. If the moon should blink with neon letters, “Eat at Joes” – it would be more natural than what is here. That the King of kings and Lord of lords should take form of servant is unbelievable. The disciples might have been abashed; they might gaped with wide-eyed embarrassment.
But the fact is; the only thing the disciples could do or offer to the Lord at this moment, were dirty feet. They didn’t try to clean their feet first, so that Jesus could clean already clean feet. One of them didn’t grab the basin and towel out of Jesus’ hands in order to wash his neighbor’s feet before Christ could do it. The only thing they could do was lay back and let Christ do the work. That is until Peter spoke up and was promptly shut down.
What the disciples did is precisely what happens in redemption. We contribute nothing to our own cleansing – nothing. The moment we wish to assist the Lord, He will stop. Jesus came not to clean the cleansed, but to call sinners to repentance.
Then came Jesus to Peter.
“And Peter saith unto him, Lord, doesn’t thou wash my feet?” There are millions of people who too proud to permit Jesus Christ redeemed them and cleanse. “Take your hands off me, Lord. My feet are my responsibility; give me that basin.” Others might say but without much conviction – “Lord, you are too good to cleanse my feet.” There is really no difference between these two ideas. One is the pride of self-righteous, and the other is the pride of self-abasement. But any form of pride is an abomination to God.
How truly ignorant we are. “Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” We are ignorant of how wretched we are in the sight of God, because a part of our fallen nature is spiritual blindness. And we are certainly ignorant of the depths of salvation because that is something so holy and divine that human hearts are incapable. We are like children in our understanding.
At first, Peter refused the ministry of the Lord. “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.” The rebuke was – “Peter, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” If Christ doesn’t cleanse us, then we are not fully cleansed, remaining unfit for God.
“Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” If the Lord asked you jump from the bridge below the Post Falls dam, would you? If he demanded the sacrifice of your right arm in order to be cleansed of your sins – would give it? If he wanted you to sell your house and give the proceeds to worthy missionary – would you? Or to put it another way, would sell all that you hath, giving it to poor in order to be a disciple? Then what makes you think that you are a true child of God and friend of Christ?
The words of the Lord Jesus make me think so.
Christ offered a difference between two washings. It is not seen here in our English Bibles, but in Greek there are two kinds of cleansings here. When Jesus said, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” the word He uses speaks of a thorough washing, as you might get in a bath or shower. The Lord was referring to the thorough spiritual washing which results in eternal deliverance from sin. When He spoke of washing feet, the Lord used a word which might be applied to washing before a meal. There is the initial cleansing that comes about when a sinner first turns to Christ for salvation. And then there is a constant need to return to the Lord to wash away the effects of day-to-day life in a sinful world. This is to what John refers in his first epistle – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If all someone wants is the second – the foot-washing – he will die in his sin and perish eternally in the Lake of Fire. Before all other things, it is our soul which needs blood of Christ. But what if we go for the first cleansing and ignore the second? It is an indication that the first has not occurred. That first cleansing gives to the sinner a taste of purity, and it goes along with a new heart that forever from that point hates the taint of corruption. When Christ bathes the sinner, he becomes a saint, a holy one, hater of hideous sin. And that regenerated man will long for his hands and feet to regularly cleansed by the Lord.
Examine your heart this morning – are you clean in the eyes of the holy God? In what way are you clean? Water or blood? What part of you is clean? Your feet or your heart?