John 13

It’s so weird how much the bible talks about feet. The word is used almost 250 times, many of those times, as in John 13, in reference to the washing of feet. Washing feet was a normal custom of Bible times, as people wore open sandals and traveled by foot through a semi-arid, dusty terrain. I traveled in similar circumstances for over a month in the bush of Kenya several years ago, and let me tell you that there was nothing more refreshing at the end of the day than washing your feet...and nothing more disgusting. The sweat from your body would be running to your feet all day, making a muddy mess out of your feet as they collected dust from walking.  In Jesus’ day, disciples were to take care of the needs of their Rabbi. They would arrange for his meals, his travel arrangements, and his sleeping quarters. Yet there was one thing a disciple was not required to take care of: his feet. This was considered too gross. Too humiliating. Too disgusting. Too below them.

Jesus blows away everyone’s thinking when he models to his disciples how they are to live. He puts on the clothing of a slave and the Rabbi washes the feet of the disciples who weren’t even culturally required to touch his feet! He shows them that nothing is below them. Service requires us to set aside whatever status the world has granted us, take on the clothing of a servant, and get our hands dirty...really dirty.

Written by Kyle Stambaugh, Director of Student Ministries at New Life Church