Layers Of An Onion

Have any of you tried a fried blooming onion? They taste great. If you haven’t had one - they cut open a sweet Vidalia onion and dip it in batter and deep fry it and all the layers spread out. You are probably wondering why I am talking about onions and making everyone hungry; it is because onions have layers and the story, we are looking at today, has layers of understanding and truth revealed through each layer. Please turn to John 13.

I. Layer one – a simple truth – how much Jesus loves you

John is the only gospel writer to share with us this story of Jesus washing the Apostle’s feet. It takes place on Thursday night of Holy Week. The Twelve Apostles and Jesus were going to share the Passover meal together. We are told in Luke 22:7-13 how the preparations were made for this very significant meal in the Jewish faith as they remember the miracle of God delivering His people from the Egyptians.

John 13:2 begins “the evening meal was being served” then we have lots of footnotes of what was going on and finally in verse 4 John finishes the sentence “so He got up from the meal and took off His outer clothing …” There was something that normally happened when you entered a Jewish person’s home at this time in history that didn’t happen - a servant would wash people’s feet. This did not happen here because they were in a borrowed room - we call the Upper Room. Since none of the Apostles felt it was his place to wash the other Apostle’s feet, and they were of a higher class than servants, Jesus set the example and did it to His Apostles.

You may remember the story in Luke 7:36-50 Jesus was in the home of Simon the Pharisee. Simeon failed to give to Jesus the common courtesy of having Jesus’ feet washed, but a scarlet woman came into his home and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair as an act of worship.

Why did Jesus wash His disciple’s feet?

1. To follow Jewish custom.

2. Second, people’s feet get dirty and smelly and it is good hygiene to have clean feet when eating. Jewish customs for eating around a table were different than ours. Instead of sitting at a table with chairs as we do, the custom then was to recline on pillows with your head and hands near the table and feet extended out. This way Jesus could easily reach or had access to the feet of the disciples. According to the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci it shows Jesus and His disciples sitting at a table. As wonderful as his painting is, it is inaccurate at this point.

3. The third and more important reason Jesus washed His disciple’s feet, is to show them how much He loved them. In verse 1 John shares with us Jesus wanted to show the “full extent” of His love to the Apostles. Most translations have “He loved them to the end”. Does that mean, loved them to the end of His earthly life? To the end of eternity? The Greek word translated “end” can also be translated “complete or fully”. I like the 1978 NIV emphasizing how He loved them – “the full extent of His love”!

From all we can tell, Jesus spent almost every moment of about three years with these 12 men. He knew their strengths and faults and yet He loved them completely. Jesus also loves you and me even with our warts, shattered dreams and brokenness. I call this first layer of the onion illustration – a simple truth how much Jesus loved them. It was love not in words, but through action. This is how we ought to love Jesus as well. Jesus loved these disciples so much He humbled Himself to wash their feet.

Application - How will you show the full extent of your love to others? Wash dishes? Rake the leaves? Some other way.

How will you show the full extent of your love to Jesus? Witness to someone about your faith in Jesus? Begin tithing? Go on a mission trip? Something else?

II. Layer two – have fellowship with Me

Let’s peel back another layer of the onion. I was originally drawn to this passage because of the conversation between Jesus and Peter. I wanted to understand the deeper meaning of what was being said here. I have learned that and much more.

John 13:6 begins “He came to Peter.” As Jesus began washing the feet of the Apostles He came to Peter in the rotation. One scholar speculated that John was first to have his feet washed and John allowed it as an act of Jesus loving him and his love for Jesus flowed back. Remember that John refers to himself six times in his gospel account as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.