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Footwashing Ritual
(From Forerunner Commentary)

John 13:1-5  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) During the evening of Nisan 14, Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover, commonly known as the "Last Supper." After the meal was served, Jesus rolled up His sleeves, as it were, tied a towel around His waist and washed His disciples' feet. Later in the evening, after He predicted that one of the disciples would betray Him (verses 21-26), Jesus introduced the symbols of bread and wine as part of the Passover service (Mark 14:18-24). Following this example, the church places the footwashing ritual first in the annual service. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Footwashing

John 13:1-5  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) While His disciples ate the Passover meal, Jesus arose and washed the disciples' feet. Considered a very lowly responsibility in that culture, footwashing was performed by servants when visitors entered a house. By performing this act of humility, Jesus shows us how we should serve each other. He commands Christians everywhere and throughout all ages to follow His example. Earl L. Henn (1934-1997) Holy Days: Passover

John 13:6-11  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Passover, in part, is an annual renewal of our initial washing through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ from the defilement of sin. It serves not only as a reminder of this, but also that our daily walk, symbolically represented by our dirty feet, needs to be cleaned as it becomes defiled. John W. Ritenbaugh The Beatitudes, Part 6: The Pure in Heart

John 13:10  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Christians are "bathed"—made perfectly clean—at baptism (Acts 22:16; I Corinthians 6:11; Revelation 1:5). The footwashing acts as a yearly renewal of our baptism, our commitment to living God's way of life. As Jesus says, we do not need to be fully immersed again to renew our vow—to be recleansed from sin; we need only to have our feet washed to remove the dirt and dust we collect in our walk through life. It was for this reason that Jesus insisted that Peter allow Him to wash his feet (John 13:6-9). Richard T. Ritenbaugh Footwashing

John 13:10-11  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The footwashing is simply a ritual, a ceremony, a symbolic act that outwardly manifests an inward attitude and conviction. In the example of Judas Iscariot, we see that though he went through the ritual, he was not really clean. The ritual could not remove the terrible sin that he was about to commit against his Creator. Because he had not repented of his sin, footwashing was meaningless to Judas. Paul writes, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves" (II Corinthians 13:5). Isaiah urges, "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings" (Isaiah 1:16). In his psalm of repentance, on the other hand, David beseeches God, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:2). Thus, we see that this rededication to God at Passover is a shared effort between us and God. We renew our faith in Christ's sacrifice, redevote ourselves to the New Covenant, repent of our spiritual failings, and seek forgiveness, and He forgives us and cleanses us of our sins. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Footwashing

 

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