Cleaning of Sins and Taking on a New Attitude: (John 13:1-20)

As we get into the first part of chapter thirteen of John we have two things going on at once, we also have one most misinterpreted piece of scripture in 21^st century America.  The reason I believe it is so misunderstood is because it is easier to believe that what Christ is saying that we should actually wash ones feet instead of allowing God to work in our hearts.  The first part of Chapter 13 we see, Christ taking off His outer garments, and put wraps and towels around His waist, He is becoming a servant to His disciples.  For if anyone were to walk in while Christ was washing the feet of His disciples, they would have thought Him to be a simple slave doing as he had been told to do.  But the washing of the feet also meant so much more, as we find out when Christ gets to Peter.

“When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; someday you will.”  “No,” Peter protested, “you will never wash my feet!”  Jesus replied, “But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me.” (John 13:6-8)  Christ tells Peter you may not understand now but you are going to one day, what Christ is doing is pointing to the Cross.   It is His blood that cleanses us from our sins, we like Peter must accept His forgiveness and His cleansing of our sins.  1^st John 1:5-10 tells us; “This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.  So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth.   But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

It is when we accept God into our hearts that we begin to allow God to change us, we are no longer living for ourselves.  Christ told His disciples “Do as I have done to you.”(Jn 13:15)  He is telling them to go and become servants; He had just washed their feet, even the feet of one who did not deserve to have his feet washed by Christ.  Christ is telling His disciples I have given you an example of what you are to do, this is not a direct order for us to go wash one another’s feet it is an example of how we are to serve one another even those who do not deserve it.  But because we want to live for ourselves and not have to truly serve God or others we say oh let us wash one another’s feet in church and we can talk about what a great experience it was and how God was truly moving in that service, then go home and do what we want to do.  Instead why don’t we go down to the local soup kitchen and take off any garment that may hinder our movement and strap on an apron and serve food to needy and wash up some dishes.  Let us go out and show people who Christ is by following His example, by accepting His love and living in the light and being the light as God is the light.