Washing the Disciples Feet – John 13:1-17

The Story in a Nutshell

The story continues…

Passover was only six days away and Jesus already knew that his time to leave this world and return to his Father had arrived.  So, before he left he wanted to show the full extent of his love for his disciples. 

It was nearing time for dinner and the disciples were assembling.  As they gathered, Jesus knew that he had been given authority over all things by the Father, that he had come from God, and that he would return to God.  Further, the Devil had already enticed Judas to carry out his plan to betray Jesus.

When all the disciples were seated, Jesus got up from the table, removed his robe (outer garment), and wrapped a towel around his waist.  He then poured water into a basin and began washing the disciple’s feet.  But, when he got to Simon Peter there was a problem. 

“Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?” Peter asked.  

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now, but someday you will.”

Then, Peter protested!  “No!  You will never wash my feet!”

Jesus responded, “If I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

“Okay”, said Peter.  “Then wash my hands and head as well, not just my feet.”

“A person does not need to be washed all over to be completely clean,” said Jesus.  “You are clean, but that is not true for everyone here.” (Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him).

After Jesus washed the disciple’s feet, he put on his robe and returned to the table.  Then he asked them, “Do you understand what I am doing for you?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and that is true.  Since I the Lord and Teacher have washed your feet you should wash each other’s feet as well.  I have given you an example to follow.  Go and do unto others as I have done unto you.  Just as the servant is not greater than the master, the messenger is not greater than the one sending the message.  You know these things.  Now go out and do them.  That is the pathway of blessing.”

To be continued…

What did you learn from the story?

If you want to gain a full understanding of the complete story, and for help in answering some of the questions below, you may want to have the following items as additional resources:  a Bible, a dictionary, and a Bible commentary on the Book of John (optional).

To gain a better understanding of the full story and to help answer questions below, it may be helpful to have the following resources:  a Bible, a dictionary, and a Bible commentary on the Book of John.

1. What did Jesus know before the Passover celebration was to begin?
2. What did Jesus want to do for his disciples?
3. What had the Devil done to Judas?
4. What does the word entice mean? 
5. What was Judas promised for betraying Jesus? 
6. What did Jesus know about himself?
7. What did Jesus do during the dinner?
8. Did the disciples understand why Jesus was washing their feet?
9. What did Jesus mean when he said, “If I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me?”
10. Why did Jesus tell Peter that a person does not need to be washed to be completely clean?
11. What did Jesus mean when he said that Peter was clean, but not everyone here is clean?
12. What was the purpose of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet?
13. What did you learn about God, Jesus, and people from the story?

Have questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible? An excellent source for answers to your questions is gotquestions.org. Check it out. gotquestions.org.

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