POWER AND LOVE

Passage: John 13:1-11

Key verse: 1

NIV

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Festival.(A) Jesus knew that the hour had come(B) for him to leave this world and go to the Father.(C) Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.(D) 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,(E) and that he had come from God(F) and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.(G) 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,(H) drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”(I)

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,(J) though not every one of you.”(K) 11 For he knew who was going to betray him,(L) and that was why he said not every one was clean.

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The gospel writer states that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God” (3). Jesus, however, never used his power to dominate or manipulate another person. Rather, Jesus chose the path of love and took on the role of a servant, washing his disciples’ feet.

What makes Jesus so powerful is not a fear of retributive justice, but his willingness to restore and take what others deem useless or dirty and make it beautiful. He doesn’t ignore the parts of our lives that we prefer to keep hidden, the parts that we think that if God knew about, we would not be acceptable to him or others. Jesus came to fully embrace all of who we are. It is in washing our feet that he shines light to even the darkest parts of our life. In fact, Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” We must let Jesus wash our feet and love us to the end.

Prayer: Lord, your sacrificial love reaches my innermost being. Thank you for such love.

One Word: Jesus washes our feet.