John 13:1-20 is a passage upon which I encourage you to read and meditate this week. This will be a passage we will observe today and this coming Thursday.
We find Jesus on the night that he was betrayed and abandoned sharing a meal with the disciples who were the very people that would betray and abandon him. Ordinarily there was a designated servant who would wash the feet.
They did not sit at tables in chairs as we do in our culture, they reclined at table. In this position, someone’s feet would inevitably be in the face of someone else.
Very common was open toe sandal type shoes combined with dirt streets the feet would get filthy. With that explanation, maybe you can understand better why the washing of feet at mealtimes was so important.
Yet, there was no one to wash feet. There was no servant. . . until Jesus became one.
He rose from the table, removed his outer garment, wrapped a towel around his waist and began washing the disciples’ feet.
No outer garment and a towel wrapped around the waist was identifying act of a servant. If you were to walk into a room the servant would be easily identified for, he would not have an outer garment and have a towel wrapped around his waist.
Jesus knows what is coming in the next few hours. He knows He will be abandoned by all, even, ultimately, by the Father.
He knows the scourging that will take place. He knows the betrayal and the denials. Of all the people in that room, he should have been at the top of the list of being served, not doing the serving.
But Jesus came into this world and Isaiah described him as the suffering servant. He came to serve. Dressed in human likeness he became obedient, to death, even death on a cross. Serving those who believe.
We will return to this passage Thursday and see yet one other significant thing that happened in this setting.
Until then, S.D.G.