John 13:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
5 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. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
There have been moments in my life when different trials have blindsided me.
Things like heart disease resulting in urgent triple bypass surgery, unexpected job loss, or a host of other sudden situations where I just felt utterly caught off guard by what I believed and understood to be true about God. Ever been there?
Recently, I was reading the gospel of John, chapter 13.
You know the story. The disciples and Jesus met in the upper room to celebrate the Passover.
We call this the Last Supper.
As the disciples gathered in the room, there was no servant to wash feet.
This would have been absolutely unheard of in Middle East culture where everyone’s feet would get dirty and dusty.
You could feel the tension in the room.
The disciples anxiously looked at each other, wondering who would take the place of a servant and wash feet.
Then Rabbi Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and began washing feet.
Peter was appalled!
Maybe he even felt a bit guilty for not being willing to be the one who would serve others.
In any case, he questioned the Lord with the words, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
We could paraphrase, “Lord are You really going to be the one to wash our feet?
In Peter’s mind, this didn’t make any sense; how could the Lord of the universe stoop so low?
Then Jesus spoke these profound words, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Those words are so profound!
Though Peter may have left everything to follow Jesus, watched in amazement as He saw Him transfigured at the top of the holy mount, and unashamedly proclaimed “Thou are the Christ the Son of the living God,” he could not begin to understand the staggering spiritual significance of Christ’s act of humility,
when He laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
Even today, are we no different than Peter in that we too have allegedly left everything behind, allegedly we also have sacrificed much of ourselves and unashamedly proclaimed our deep faith, we are the Body of Christ the church?
How well do we, like Peter, and probably the rest of the assembled disciples, grasp the profound significance of the words Jesus spoke in the Upper Room?
With all the volume of information we have available in the 21st century, that those first disciples did not have, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7), do we still struggle so hard to understand Jesus’ acts?
1 Corinthians 8:1-6 New American Standard Bible 1995
Take Care with Your Liberty
8 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge [a]makes arrogant, but love edifies. 2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that [b]there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
Affiliation, disaffiliation, clashes of our wills against God’s will, personalities and ideologies crashing and smashing and grinding together as earthquakes, hurt feelings, who wants to offend our greatest enemy being sin when we are so fearful of offending each other over use of correct pronouns, gender identity.
By the shock-horror of the cruel Cross, the distressing denial of His Lord at the unjust trial, the bewildering amazement at His glorious Resurrection, the really breathtaking baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the astonishing inclusion of the Gentiles into the family of God, and the many hidden mysteries of the Church that were almost entirely revealed to the apostle Paul,
were all enfolded, yet enshrouded in one simple act – when Jesus rose from the Passover supper, poured water into a basin, began to wash the disciples’ feet.
No wonder the Lord answered Peter and answers His church still today: “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterward you will know.”
The manifestation of God’s love towards the fallen race of man at Calvary as the entire floodgates of God’s wrath was poured out on His dearly-beloved and only-begotten Son, was beyond Peter’s comprehension at that time, but by the power of the Holy Spirit he, and in turn us, would later receive illumination.
For a time, in those ancient of days, before the birth of the church at Pentecost neither he nor any of the gathered disciples minimally understood the spiritual significance of what they had witnessed, although afterwards things would be made plain – but with the passage of 2000 + years, is it any more plainer to us?
What appeared as a series of bizarre and unaccountable circumstances that defied reality, reason, was later to be recognized as the necessary prerequisite to the glorious gospel of grace.
And as the unveiling of God’s plans and purposes continued to unfold before their eyes, they gained spiritual understanding and developed a deepening awareness of God perfect plans and purposes for humanity, but have we also?
When, like the apostle Peter, we come face to face with a whole series of bizarre circumstances that seem to shake, shatter our lives, divide and disaffiliate our churches, we may not understand the reason for life’s twists and turns but we can trust Him, knowing that His ways are perfect and His grace is sufficient.
Like the disciples on that night before the Cross, we may not be comfortable with the Words Jesus speaks to us, with the truth he tries to convey, with the shock-horror that we witness or the unjust way that life seems to be unfolding.
We may not understand the spiritual significance of all that is happening in our life and the lives of those we care about, but can we come to our place, our own Upper Rooms together and trust our Heavenly Father for He is still in control?
He knows the end from the beginning and all His ways are perfect, ours are not?
Although we may not know the meaning and mystery of all that we are called upon to bear in this world, let us remember that we may not understand what is happening now, but hereafter, by God’s Gospel, we shall know as we are known.
May we learn, as Peter did, that there is One God, One faith, One Baptism that what may be shadowed to our understanding today is being used by God to work together for good, to His praise and for our eternal benefit. (Romans 8:26-39)
Often in our lives, we believe God is moving in one direction only to discover the plan is completely different, there is no rhyme or reason or rationale to be seen.
Trusting God in Uncertainty
Uncertainty can leave us feeling vulnerable and afraid.
But in the midst of life’s unknowns, we have a trustworthy anchor: God’s unwavering presence and faithfulness. (Hebrews 6:17-20)
17 [a]In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, [b]interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have [c]taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 [d]This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters [e]within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
When we are faced with uncertainty, do we remember that God is in control?
God is faithful, and his plans for us are good?
As the Body of Christ, we can absolutely, implicitly, trust the Lord to strengthen us, and to help us, upholding us all with his righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10)?
In the face of uncertainty and the unknown, we find comfort in the reliability of God’s character and faithfulness.
God is our refuge and strength, always present to help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
With the Lord by our side, we need never fear the future. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [his] throne; love and faithfulness” surround him.
When we face uncertain times, let’s lean on God’s promises? Can we draw near to God in prayer, seeking his guidance and wisdom. In the Lord’s embrace, we can find the assurance that he’s leading us on a path of purpose and fulfillment?
The questions could go on endlessly.
When the persistent reality we face is that things don’t seem to turn out like we anticipate, feeling disappointed with God, asking, “Did I really truly hear those profound words from Him?” “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7) realizing after 2000 years, we still do not get it?
The bigger question is, “How do I trust a God I don’t understand?”
In order to trust God when we don’t understand, we have to be brutally honest with our feelings.
We can’t deny or numb feelings of disappointment, hoping they’ll go away.
Instead, we must authentically dump them at the feet of Jesus.
Remember the story of Lazarus dying found in John 11.
Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters, felt devastated and disappointed that Jesus hadn’t shown up in time.
Both of them said to Jesus, “If only you had been here.”
They were honest in their feelings. Jesus felt deep empathy for them and wept with them. No judgment. nor condemnation – just entering into their sorrow even though moments later, He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead.
When we feel disappointed with God’s response, we must cling not to all our disparities of personalities, ideologies, but what we know about His character.
Returning to what all ideologies know to be true will help settle our souls.
The Gospel …
John 14:6 New American Standard Bible 1995
6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
If we always understood God, He wouldn’t be God. He would be our equal.
Yet, all we still today, have each again inexplicably fallen into another trap:
Isaiah 53:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Suffering Servant
53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [b]be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [c]sorrows and acquainted with [d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Isaiah 53:4-6 New American Standard Bible 1995
4 Surely our [a]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [b]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[c]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [d]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [e]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [f]fall on Him.
All we still have not struggled enough to understand the message of Calvary as Jesus did throughout his earthly ministry now being summed up by John 13:7.
We just do not “get it!”
Do we even want to “get it?”
One has to wonder how much like Peter in that Upper Room we are right now!
The simple truth is the Gospel is not a Gospel of Peter or about Peter or those in that Upper Room at the moment Jesus got up and divested himself of his cloak.
It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ-ONE GOD ONE GOSPEL ONE TRUTH FOR US ALL!
Instead, He is vastly beyond our imagination. Yet, according to His Word; He is always good and just. He loves us. He is faithful, He will do what’s best for us.
The truth is that our trust muscles are strengthened ONLY as we go through life’s disappointments – TOGETHER!
We each walk by faith and not excuses, explanations, and irrational rationale.
If we continue to come together, (Philippians 2:1-18) authentically bring our feelings before God and together nonjudgmentally cling to what we know to be true about His character, our One faith will grow stronger even in our suffering.
As we each lean into Jesus, He will whisper reassurance to our broken hearts.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
As you reflect on your affiliated and or disaffiliated life so far, what have been situations that have arisen that have made it difficult for you to max trust God?
What do you feel God is inviting you to do in this season to bolster your faith?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Matthew 6:6-13 New American Standard Bible 1995
6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day [a]our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [b]evil. [c][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
Heavenly Father, thank You for this precious picture in the upper room, when in humble submission to the Father’s will, the Lord Jesus laid aside His garment and began to wash the feet of His bewildered disciples. Lord, there are many times in my life that I do not understand the reason that You allow certain things to happen, but help me to simply trust You in all things and enable me to pray, “Thy will not mine be done.” Open my understanding to all that You are seeking to teach me, and may I grow in grace as I submit to Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 