Information Related to "Spiritual Lessons in Foot Washing"
| Audio/Video |
Spiritual Lessons in Foot Washing By Graemme Marshall Christ washed His disciples' feet and told us to do likewise. What lessons can we learn from this practice?
s a young boy, I lived in an isolated forestry village. Our home had neither running water nor electricity. A bath was a once-a-week luxury. A nightly ritual before bed was to sit on the back step with a basin of warm water and wash our feet. As boys, we ran around barefoot and invariably our feet were encrusted with dirt or mud.
When Joseph welcomed his brothers to a banquet, the steward provided water for them to wash their feet before supper was served (Genesis 43:24). The story of the old man from Ephraim who housed the traveling Levite and his concubine (see Judges 19:16-21) similarly records, "So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their [own] feet, and ate and drank" (Judges 19:21). But in Christ's directive there is an "above and beyond" requirement to actively participate in the washing of another's feet. This is something we do during Passover. Our annual Passover foot washing therefore teaches these important lessons: Jesus Christ set us an example
Jesus instituted this ordinance for His disciples, to illustrate His willingness to unconditionally serve and love us. He commands that we humble ourselves and follow His example. Beyond that, we should want to follow His example because we love Him and desire to be like Him. Otherwise, we risk going through the motions just because we are told to do it. Humility and service are required
Jesus Christ said, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me" -- you can't have a relationship with Me. With Jesus Christ's explanation, we understand that the act helps to build a relationship with the individual whose feet we are washing. Paul illustrates the humility of Christ by showing He gave up His divinity to become a man (Philippians 2:5-8). In that humble state, He instructed His disciples to likewise "wash one another's feet." To be Christ's servants we must be spiritually clean Although the primary lessons are humility, love and service, there is another lesson we can learn about being clean spiritually and being an influence on others, which helps them to be spiritually clean. When Christ told Peter that, unless Peter submitted to the foot washing, he would have no part in Christ, Peter responded, "'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!' Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean'" (John 13:9-10).
Washing another person's feet also reminds us that we are involved in helping others to be spiritually clean. The book of Hebrews exhorts baptized members who have been "washed with water" to consider others, exhorting them in fellowship (Hebrews 10:22-25). The book of Hebrews, in contrasting the Old Testament sacrificial system, says Christ's sacrifice cleanses our conscience from dead works so we may serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). The apostle John wrote that on confession of sin we receive forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In our annual self-reflection, it helps to consider the cleansing we need through Christ's sacrifice, the cleansing that we have received, and the cleansing we help others to seek. Our annual foot washing ceremony helps reinforce these lessons. Further reading To learn more about Passover and the Holy Days of God, request or download our free booklet . Copyright 2010 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||
Related Information:
Other Articles by Graemme Marshall
Origin of article "Spiritual Lessons in Foot Washing"
Keywords: foot washing Passover humility service spiritually clean
Foot washing: