"I Am…. The God Who Washes Feet”

In Jesus Holy Name Easter V 2020

Text: John 14:2-3 Redeemer

“I Am…. The God Who Washes Feet”

We live in a culture of spiritual longing. Many people are searching for that which will satisfy an inner craving for meaning and significance. Jesus makes the suggestion that if we want meaning and significance in life then we should follow His example and wash feet.

His point. When you invest in serving others rather than self-there will be satisfaction and meaning in your life. In chapters 13 and 14 of John Jesus reminds the disciples and us that eternal life is secure…so get on with living life, by serving others.

In John chapter 13 and 14 the disciples gather with Jesus for their final meal together. They are all present. Reclining around the low table, they chatter in a nervous tone. The men know that something is up. Jesus seems pensive and quiet. He talks, but it seems as if he has something on his mind, and indeed he does. Jesus, as he eats that meal, knows that before long Judas will come with a kiss. The Roman soldiers will come to arrest him. Soon he will stand before Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate. In less than twelve hours he will be hanging on a cross.

Suddenly Jesus stands up, takes off his tunic, and wraps a towel around his waist. Taking a basin of water, he goes to the end of the table and kneels down. Without a word he takes the feet of one of the disciples, brushes the dirt off, and washes them with water, one foot at a time. When he is finished, he takes the towel and wipes the feet dry. He goes to the next one and does the same thing. In the room there is silence. No one dares to speak. They cannot believe what Jesus is doing. This is the responsibility of a slave or household servant not their Rabbi.

What seems odd to us would not have seemed odd in the first century. The common shoe was a pair of sandals. The roads were dusty. Even a short trip meant that your feet ended up dirty. Dirt leaves an indelible mark on anyone who walked on the roadway. It was common in their world to provide a basin of water for visitors to wash their feet.

By washing their feet Jesus was giving them a parable, an acted-out object lesson. He wasn’t just washing their feet. He was saying, “This is who I am. This is why I have come to earth. I came as a servant, to wash dirty feet.” “I have set an example for you.” His question, “Do you understand?” No, Of course they didn’t.

So Jesus explains: I have set you an example. Serve one another as I have served you. Jesus said: I have come as a servant King. I’m not a king who will overthrow the Romans. I’m not a king who will collect taxes, build roads and castles. I’m not the king they expected. I am the king who lays down my life for my sheep. I am the God who serves His people.

Before the evening meal was complete, Jesus told them one of our most favorite bible passages that bring comfort when facing the end of life on this planet. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to with me…..” I am the gateway to heaven. I am the Good Shepherd so that you may have peace with God. I Am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes into heaven except through me.

Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes, no problem there.

Did he die on the cross and rise from the dead? Yes, indeed.

Is he is the only way of salvation? In this post Christian America there are many who are not so comfortable with that idea.

Diana Eck, a Harvard professor, wrote the book: The New Religious America It is a description of how America has become a stewpot of old and new religions. This is how her book begins:

“The huge white dome of a mosque, with its minarets, rises from the cornfields just outside Toledo, Ohio … a great Hindu temple with elephants carved in relief at the doorway stands on a hillside in the western suburbs of Nashville. A Cambodian Buddhist temple and monastery is set in the farmlands southeast of Minneapolis…”

Hinduism or Buddhism or Islam were once “over there,” across the sea, thousands of miles away. Just as Christianity has moved into those distant lands, in the same way those unfamiliar religions have come to our doorstep. Our neighbors, co-workers, and friends come from many different religious backgrounds. There is no turning back the clock to the “good old days” when the world was still “over there” on the other side of the ocean.