
Pastor Karen Kepkay
Foot Washing a Symbol of Love and Service
The first time I witnessed a foot washing ritual was during a wedding ceremony decades ago. After exchanging their vows and rings, the bride proceeded to sit down. She pulled her wedding gown enough to show her feet, and her beloved husband knelt down, took her beautiful white shoes off, supported her heel, and proceeded with a pitcher to pour water over her feet with a basin underneath. He used a towel to dry her feet and put her shoes back. Then, it was her turn to follow the same steps with him.
This beautiful and symbolic ritual was meaningful to the couple as a reminder to serve and love one another through their marriage. It was a great illustration of a great act of service.
It can be puzzling for some to see this type of act in a wedding, especially when the person’s feet are absolutely clean! It is also unusual when foot washing is included in a church service as an ordinance or sacrament.
For a follower of Jesus, it is easy to correlate foot washing to the night Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during an evening meal in John 13. However, for someone new to the scriptures and the cultural norms and context of His time, this humbling act can bring a lot of questions. What did Jesus really want to show the disciples then, and us today, through it? Did he want us to foot-wash each other in the literal sense? What about making it part of a church service like baptism or communion, or in a wedding?
Let’s unpack the practice of washing feet in biblical times and dive deep into our Lord’s intent on that evening described in John 13:1-17.
First let’s understand the cultural context around it.
Unlike today where we enjoy paved clean roads, and a myriad of styling shoes to use, in ancient Israel, roads were dusty and city streets were also uncleaned with refuse water from houses; and people usually wore sandals or walked bare feet. It was common for people to walk from town to town. Scripture describes Jesus and the disciples traveling by foot to villages and towns, teaching and preaching in the areas of Nazareth and Capernaum. Imagine them walking everywhere in sandals for days, and collecting dirt between their toes, and getting cuts in their feet along the way. Foot washing upon entering a home then was a practical way to clean off dirt and dust after a journey, and was considered as a gracious act to offer to any visiting guest upon arrival. It was a great way to show honor, care, welcome, and respect. This act of service was not performed by the owner of the house but rather the lowest ranking non-jewish servant or slave of the household. In the homes without servants, the host would provide water for guests to wash their own feet.
Second, let’s look at where and when the foot washing happened in John 13.
Verse 1 and 2 tell us that Jesus had gathered the disciples for an evening meal knowing He would soon leave this world to go to the Father, before Passover festivities (Some scholars assert that this was the Passover meal). It seems that the house or upper room they were in did not have a servant, and so each disciple was expected to wash their own feet, which none of them did. Perhaps they were comfortable as is, unbothered by dirty smells, and proceeded to eat around the low U-shaped table, while leaning on pillows with feet behind, pointed to the outside.
It must have been so shocking and awkward to the disciples, seeing Jesus in the middle of the supper rise up, laying his garment aside, and going around to wash the disciple’s feet. How can their Lord, Teacher, and guest of honor take on such a lowly task of washing dirt off between their toes and patting their feet dry?
Thirdly, let’s focus on what Jesus meant to show the disciples and us through his example.
Jesus demonstrated with actions the love He had for them, and us, as it says in verse 1 – “Having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Jesus’ heart was selfless and pure, and demonstrated love towards each disciple including Judas who was to betray him, by selfless service and humility.
Jesus’ foot washing was prophetic of the mission He was to complete soon after this supper. With this selfless act He pointed to the deeper reality of spiritual cleansing he was going to accomplish for us at the cross with his death and resurrection, as well as the gift of His Spirit he would give us. “His ongoing mission of loving his own, then commenced. That mission is to pour out the Holy Spirit from the Father upon all those that believe in him. This “washing” of his disciples’ hearts is nothing other than God’s love being “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us,” says Paul. (Romans 5:5)” (Kreller, 2018).
Jesus also illustrated to his disciples and us the relationship we ought to have with one another. In ancient customs, peers did not wash each other’s feet, except on rare occasions demonstrating great love. It never occurred to them to stand up and wash Jesus’ feet nor the others. Having demonstrated this to them, our Lord exemplifies and commands us today not to seek to be served or the position of honor, but to serve others in humility and love, even if it means dirty work.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Lastly, as we understand what Jesús tried to teach us through such humbling foot washing service, we see it as an example with a symbolic meaning of servant leadership and not a formal ongoing literal rite, or even ordinance or sacrament. An ordinance which is a God ordained way to remind us of our connection to Jesus and His people. It is an outward sign of an inward spiritual reality and grace received from Christ, and is clearly instituted by Christ, such as baptism and communion. Foot-washing can be taken as an outwardly sign, but does not communicate inward grace, nor was instituted by the Lord, nor has universal application for all believers.
Hence “washing each other’s feet” is an illustration and reminder of Jesús’ command of to love one another, imitating His love for us, and to demonstrate love to those around us through humble acts of service.
The Lord might not be literally asking us to wash someone else’s feet (though it could happen of course) but He does call us to look to serve others and find a need and meet it. What does it look like to you to love another person with actions, even when it is uncomfortable or costly?
If you like to go deeper and learn more about what Jesus teaches us in this passage, we invite you to watch this Weekend’s Message – To Abide Takes Humility.
- Kreller, Daniel W. The Gospel of John. A commentary noting Jewish Context. 2018.
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Zondervan. 2016.
- Guzik, David. Enduring Word Commentary