Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet – John 13: 1-5

13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.² During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

On the night of the passover, before Good Friday, I want to reflect on this brief account of Christ’s compassion for his disciples, during some of the last moments before his betrayal.  After his last meal with his dearest companions and on the night of his betrayal, Jesus, in a final act of servitude, washed the feet of each of his closest friends, even the one who would come to betray him.

As I imagine how this scene would have looked, I can see how much humility this act of service encompassed, as the Son of God kneels before simple men, all sinners, and some which would go on to betray and deny their dear friend and lord.  I also reflect on the actual act of washing feet, particularly as feet are certainly not the most attractive nor cleanly part of the body.  Furthermore, the feet of the disciples were surely much like the feet of the poor, similar to those of the simple village children seen above, that are filthy dirty, unclean, unattractive.  Yet, Christ’s love looked past the filth, the dirt, the grime, and cleaned the feet of his disciples, simply because he loved them.