Why did Jesus wash his disciples feet?

Answer 1

Jesus washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:1-17) occurred in the upper room, just prior to the Last Supper and has significance in three ways. For Jesus, it was the display of His humility and His servanthood. For the disciples, the washing of their feet was in direct contrast to their heart attitudes at that time. For us, washing feet is symbolic of our role in the body of Christ.

Walking in sandals on the filthy roads of Palestine in the first century made it imperative that feet be washed before a communal meal, especially since people reclined at a low table and feet were very much in evidence. When Jesus rose from the table and began to wash the feet of the disciples (John 13:4), He was doing the work of the lowliest of servants. The disciples must have been stunned at this act of humility and condescension, that Christ, their Lord and master, should wash the feet of His disciples, when it was their proper work to have washed His. But when Jesus came to earth the first time, He came not as King and Conqueror, but as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. As He revealed in Matthew 20:28, He came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The humility expressed by His act with towel and basin foreshadowed His ultimate act of humility and love on the cross.

Jesus' attitude of servanthood was in direct contrast to that of the disciples, who had recently been arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greater (Luke 22:24). Since there was no servant present to wash their feet, it would never have occurred to them to wash one another's feet. When the Lord Himself stooped to this lowly task, they were stunned into silence. To his credit, though, Peter was profoundly uncomfortable with the Lord washing his feet, and never being at a loss for words, Peter protested: "You shall never wash my feet!"

Then Jesus said something that must have further shocked Peter: "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (John 13:8), prompting Peter, whose love for the Savior was genuine, to request a complete washing. Then Jesus explained the true meaning of being washed by Him. Peter had experienced the cleansing of salvation and did not need to be washed again in the spiritual sense. Salvation is a one-time act of justification by faith, but the lifelong process of sanctification is one of washing from the stain of sin we experience as we walk through the world. Peter and the disciples-all except Judas, who never belonged to Christ-needed only this temporal cleansing.

This truth is just one of several from this incident that Christians can apply to their own lives. First, when we come to Christ for the washing of our sins, we can be sure that is permanent and complete. No act can cleanse us further from our sin, as our sin has been exchanged for the perfect righteousness of Christ on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). But we do need continual cleansing from the effects of living in the flesh in a sin-cursed world. The continual washing of sanctification is done by the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, through the "washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26) of God, given to us to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Further, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, He told them (and us) "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). As His followers, we are to emulate Him, serving one another in lowliness of heart and mind, seeking to build one another up in humility and love. When we seek the preeminence, we displease the Lord who promised that true greatness in His kingdom is attained by those with a servant's heart (Mark 9:35,10:44). Then, the Lord promised, we will be greatly blessed (John 13:17).

Answer 2

Jesus washed his disciples' feet as a symbolic gesture of humility and service, teaching them to serve one another with love and humility. It also served as an example of the kind of selfless love that his followers should have for one another.

Answer 3

A:In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), the Last Supper takes place on the evening of the day of the Passover - it is the Jewish Seder feast. John's Gospel moves the chronology (eg John 19:14) so that Jesus was crucified on the day of Preparation for the Passover and was the sacrificial lamb of the Passover tradition. Therefore this gospel omits the ritual Last Supper, merely mentioning that Jesus and the disciples had their evening meal, then Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. John does not say where this took place, but it is traditionally in the upper room where the risen Jesus would later meet the disciples.

Answer 4

A:There is one very important difference between the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and the Gospel of John. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus sat down to celebrate the Passover feast with his disciples on the evening before his crucifixion, but on the other hand they do not mention Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. This seder meal is now known as the last supper. However, John's Gospel changes quite a lot of the story, including the timing and sequence of events. There is no Last Supper because, in this gospel, Friday evening is the time for the Passover feast, and Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover feast (John 19:14: "And it was the preparation of the Passover ..."). Instead, the disciples finished their normal evening meal and then Jesus got up and washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:4-5).

In verses 13:8-10, John has Jesus explain that the act of washing their feet was an act of spiritual cleaning. It was also an opportunity for John to tell his readers that Jesus knew one of them would betray him (John 13:11: "For he knew who should betray him: therefore said he, ye are not all clean"). Finally, it was a symbolic act of humility, in which Jesus was teaching the disciples to act with the same humility towards each other (John 13:13-15).

Answer 5

A:

In the synoptic gospels, the Last Supper was the celebration of the Last Supper. In these gospels, there is no mention of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Hebrew days are counted from evening to evening, so Jesus was crucified at 9 am, the third hour, on the day of the Passover.

For theological reasons the author of John's Gospel changed both the day and time of day for the crucifixion, which took place on the "day of preparation." Notice that there is no mention of a Last Supper (because it was not yet the Passover), but after the normal meal Jesus washed the feet of the apostles. He was crucified at 12 noon, the sixth hour, and spent only three hours on the cross.

Thus we have two different stories of the last twenty four hours in the life of Jesus. In the first one, there was a Last Supper but no washing of feet. In the second one, there is no Last Supper but Jesus washed the feet of the apostles.

Answer 6

In John 13, in the New Testament of The Bible, it is written that Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. The only disciple who speaks on the occasion is Simon Peter, who is reluctant to let his master and teacher wash his feet - out of humility.

Judas Iscariot his feet are also washed by Jesus and both he and Jesus know that he will betray Jesus, as the devil has already made his advance in Judas and Jesus knows because he is God.

How Judas felt, presuming for the sake of argument that all of what is written actually happened, can only be guessed at since the Gospel of Judas is not recorded in the Bible and the actual Gospel of Judas does not mention this event.

My guess is Judas felt a lot of different emotions where they key one must have been shame, for he knew he was bound to betray his teacher who was now washing his feet (a very degrading practice in that time).

Answer 7

In John's Gospel, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples on the evening before his crucifixion. For John, this was the day before the Jewish Passover feast.

Answer 8

Jesus washed the feet of his Disciples the day before he was crucified. That day has come to be known as Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin word for command.

Answer 9

humbling yourself

Answer 10

Hygine