Bible Studies

Footwashing Not Bathing

by Alok Sonawane
01/03/16
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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."

                                                                                                                        -John 13:10

I have always been intrigued by this verse though for many years I thought that the Lord was only talking about physical cleanliness.

But He says in John 15:3, "You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you."

The Word is often compared with water because of its cleansing and thirst quenching properties.

Now, our Lord said to Peter that he was already clean because he has already had a bath. Then He goes on to say that the apostles were clean because of the Word He had spoken to them; the first apostles had been 'bathed in the Word' and so were clean.

In spite of this their feet were dirty and needed to be washed.

Ephesians 6 talks about the need for our feet to be shod with the gospel of peace. And Isiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news." 'Good News' is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So feet refer to our engaging with the world, preferably to share the gospel. And in this our engaging with the world a bit of the world inevitably rubs off on us. In the practical acts of being in the world our feet get dirty and accumulate dust. Dust refers to the flesh as the flesh is formed out of dust.

Even when serving the Lord, it is very easy to give in to the flesh, i.e. - the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. In this passage the Lord was teaching His apostles humility to cleanse them from the pride of life.

We too need to be cleansed daily as we go about our daily duties and work in this world. We have been cleaned completely by the Word but our feet need to be washed a number of times daily. Our spirit is completely clean but the soul can get dirty because of the flesh. That is to say our flesh needs to be mortified and our attitudes checked and corrected as many times as required. If we don't allow our Lord Jesus Christ to do this, then He said that we have no part with Him.

We are to live in the world but not be of it. Living in this world will invariably have some effect on us and if were are not careful the dust, dirt and muck of this world can get stuck to our feet and cause us to slip and fall before we realize what's happening.

May our Lord Jesus through His Spirit cleanse us daily from the spiritual dust and grime of this world, so that we will be able to serve Him effectively and to stand in His presence one day to hear Him say, "Well done My good and faithful servant...".