Jesus wants man to have footwashing. John 13:1-17 describes Jesus instituting footwashing, and then concluding with the command to his disciples to perpetuate it: “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you… If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” What is footwashing? Why do it?
What Is Footwashing?
The apostolic church obeyed the command of Jesus and administered footwashing. 1 Timothy 5:9-10 testifies: Let a widow be put on the list if she is not less than sixty years old and has been married only once; she must be well attested for her good works, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. Some argue that the term “washed the saints’ feet” was merely a Jewish idiom for showing hospitality, and so no actual footwashing took place in the apostolic church. This argument is untenable because the passage is part of Paul’s encyclical letter on church administration. In it Paul set the performance of works as the criteria for the grant of financial aid to widows by the church. In the passage itself, immediately preceding the term “washed the saint’s feet” is the term “shown hospitality”. Since the work of showing hospitality has already been specifically mentioned, the term “washed the saints’ feet” must refer to a different work, as otherwise that term would be otiose. Moreover, these words were in a pastoral letter of Paul to Timothy leaving him instructions on the administration of the church. The churches that Timothy served had Gentiles in their congregations. Paul would not have imposed a Jewish custom on the Gentiles.
Footwashing is administered by a minister pouring water into a basin, washing the feet of a believer in the name of Jesus, and wiping them with a towel. John 13:1-5 describes it as such: And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
Footwashing is administered after baptism. In John 13:10, in response to Peter’s request to wash not only his feet but also his hands and head, Jesus said, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.” The cleanliness Jesus referred to was not the absence of dirt but the absence of sin because he added, “And you are clean, though not all of you,” alluding to Judas who had the sinful plot of betraying him. Hence, the bath that makes one entirely clean can only refer to baptism that washes away sins. Furthermore, the Gospel of John is written in Greek and the root word translated into English as “bathed” is λούω (louo) and Acts 22:16 uses it in connection with washing away sins in baptism: And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptised, and have your sins washed away (λούω), calling on his name.
Why Do It?
Jesus said that footwashing confers a believer a share with him. When Peter, initially, refused footwashing, Jesus warned: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”[1] When the necessity of footwashing struck Peter, so fearful was he of not having a share with Jesus that he swung from one extreme end of vehement rejection to the other extreme end of excessive requisition, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”[2]
The Greek term translated into English as “share with” is μέρος μετ’ (meros meta) which means having a share of something together with another. Meros is used in Revelation 20:6 to denote a believer having a share in the first resurrection together with other martyrs and faithful believers, and in Revelation 22:19 to denote a believer having a share in the tree of life together with others who wash their robes. Meros is the neuter form of the noun. Its feminine form is μερὶς (meris) and itis used in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 to denote a believer having no share of anything with an unbeliever. Meris is also used in the Septuagint which is the Greek version of the Old Testament extant at the time of Jesus and the apostles. It appears in Joshua 22:21-28. There, for the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh who had been allocated lands east of River Jordan to have no part in the Lord means that they would have no share with the other tribes in the west in the fearing and service of the Lord by way of offerings and sacrifices. Meris is also used in 2 Samuel 20:1 and 1 Kings 12:16-17. There, for the tribes other than Judah to have no part in David means that they would have no share with the tribe of Judah in the inheritance of David. Hence, to have a part with Jesus is to have a share of something together with him.
What does Jesus have? According to Hebrews 1:2, Jesus was “appointed heir of all things”. Therefore to have a part with Jesus is to share in the inheritance of the universe together with Jesus. Ephesians 1:9-23 confirms that all things were summed up in and put in subjection under Jesus, and in him believers “have obtained an inheritance”. Indeed Roman 4.13 says that a believer is promised to be “heir of the world”, and Romans 8:17 designates believers as “fellow heirs with Christ”.
That footwashing imparts a share in the inheritance of the universe to the believer is affirmed in John 13:3-5 where the act of Jesus was prefaced by his thought: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” Immediately upon thinking that all things had been given to him and that he was going away, Jesus got up from supper, administered the footwashing and warned that he who rejected it would have no share with him. The juxtaposition of the thought, the footwashing and the warning necessarily implies that Jesus had wanted to give a share of the inheritance of the universe to his disciples before he left, and it was through the footwashing that he imparted it.
God’s plan for man is for him to be with God in a loving relationship. If God possesses all, for man to be with God, God confers on man a share of all with him. Accordingly, having a share with Jesus is being with God in terms of possession.
Misconceptions About Footwashing
- In John 13:1-17 was Jesus was practising a Jewish custom?
- In John 13:1-17 was Jesus dramatizing an object lesson on humility or other virtues?
- In John 13:1-17 did Jesus prescribe mutual footwashing?
What’s Next?
Read on about another command of Jesus to enable man to choose whether to love God and be with him: Lord’s Supper – Why? What Constitute It?
[1] Jn 13.8.
[2] Jn 13.9.