THE DISCIPLE PETER - LORD, NOT MY FEET, BUT MY FEET WILL FOLLOW - PART 2 OF 4
SERIES - THE CHARACTERS IN JOHN’S GOSPEL
We are doing a 4 part series on the Apostle Peter and today come to the second Part. This wonderful, devoted man has so much to teach us.
John 13 v 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. John 13:6 He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” John 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realise now, but you shall understand hereafter.” John 13:8 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.” John 13:9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” John 13:10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you,”
This incident happened in the upper room on the night of the Passover Supper with the disciples. It was the servant’s place to wash the feet of the guests when they entered, never the other way round. Jesus washed and wiped the feet of the disciples, and then He arrived at Peter. Peter questioned the act of foot washing being performed by the Lord and Master, through utter astonishment. The Lord’s reply was enigmatic, a riddle to Peter, so he objected to His Lord washing his feet. The Lord told him the simple truth – if Peter was not washed (symbolised by the feet), then Peter could have no part with the Lord. Simon Peter’s response was his desire not only to have his feet washed but also his hands and his head. Now what does all this mean, and what is behind the story?
The act of washing the feet of others was always performed by the inferior on the greater, as all the writings of the rabbis confirm. We note this verse in Luke 7 v 44 when Jesus had been invited to the house of a Pharisee named Simon - Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.” Gill says, “This custom of washing the feet was not used by the Jews at their Passover, nor at their private entertainments, or common meals, but at the reception of strangers or travellers, who had just arrived from a journey, whereby they had contracted dirt and filth, and was a servile work, never performed by superiors to their inferiors, but by inferiors to superiors; as by the wife to the husband, by the son to the father, and by the servant to his master; and was an instance of great humility in any others, as in Abigail, who said to David, "Let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord",
Verse 6 is interesting. Just picture all the disciples relining at the table with their feet poking out (they did not sit on chairs but reclined), and Jesus taking up the basin and towel, and he begins to wash the disciples’ feet. Jesus comes to Peter but this is best understood as (Then he comes) The construction suggests Simon was not the first one Jesus arrived at, but the great bulk of ancient and modern expositors suppose that Peter was the first to whom this great grace was offered. At all events, in his impulsive manner always rushing forwards, and ready to give his Master advice, and to be the mouthpiece of the otherwise unuttered feelings of the others. Peter was the first to exclaim his amazement or disapproval. There is an emphasis on the word “You”. YOU wash my feet!! Never””
Verse 7 is another amazing verse. Peter could not have understood what that could possibly have meant. “You won’t know at this stage what I am doing but later on you will realise.” What Jesus is implying here is the cleansing of the cross through His precious blood. The cleaning of the feet pales into insignificance when compared with the cleansing of the soul to eternal life. It is physical cleansing set against spiritual cleansing. No way did Peter understand this for they did not even comprehend the Lord would die.
Here is verse 8 again - John 13 v 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.” This exchange teaches us a lovely thing about Peter. He was determined the Lord would not wash his feet for that would have been a humiliating thing for Jesus to do, demeaning in fact, but then the Lord told Peter that unless he was washed, then he could have no part in the Lord. That was the truth that hit home with Peter as we see in the next verse - John 13 v 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” Peter wanted all of Jesus. He wanted to be part of the Lord. His love and dedication embraced his Lord. The extension Peter added about the hands and the head was to reinforce his great desire to be part of his Saviour. He did not understand how that was to work but he wanted it, and soon he would know even how it worked.
The washing of the feet was symbolic of the greater cleansing that would come through Calvary. The whole person would be washed in the blood of Jesus, and the cleansed person would be able to stand in God’s presence as a wholly sinless person. Only the blood of the Lamb could purify the individual. Then the redeemed of the Lord would walk with clean feet, and work with clean hands, and think and respond with clean heads. Lord, wash my feet and my hands and my head! To end this section I want to quote a lengthy comment by Arno C Gabelein:-
[[The washing of the disciples’ feet was a great symbolical action to teach His own the gracious provision made for them during His absence. Some well meaning Christians have applied the words of our Lord, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet,” in a literal way, and teach that the Lord meant this to be done literally. The words of our Lord to Peter, “What I do, you do not realise now, but you shall understand hereafter.” (John 13 v 7), show that underneath the outward action of the Lord in washing the disciples’ feet, there is a deeper spiritual meaning. We see Him girded, with a basin of water in His blessed hands, to wash the disciples’ feet. The water explains the spiritual meaning. We have seen that the water in the third chapter of John is the type of the Word of God. It has the same meaning in this chapter. Peter first refused to have his feet washed; then when the Lord had said unto him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Then he asked Him to wash his hands and his head as well. Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you,” (John 13 v 10) contains two different words for washing; the one is “bathed” and the other “wash.” This difference is not made in the Authorized Version.) When the Lord spoke of His disciples being bathed and clean every bit, He had reference to the new birth by the water and the Spirit. They were all bathed, born again, except Judas, whom the Lord meant when He said “but not all.” (Titus 3 v 5) reads, literally translated: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the bath of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” This great work is done once for all and cannot be repeated, just as the natural birth cannot be repeated with the same individual.
The Lord washed the disciples’ feet, not their hands. Hands are for work and the feet for walking. His action has a meaning in connection with our walk in the world. We contract defilement as we pass on through this world, and defilement severs communion with the Lord. We need therefore cleansing. All disciples need it. This He has graciously provided, and the washing of the disciples’ feet typifies that needed cleansing. He uses His Word to bring this about. This is “the washing of water by the Word.” He is the Advocate with the Father to restore us to fellowship. We must come to Him with our failures, our stumbling, imperfect walk, our defilement, and place ourselves into His hands as the disciples placed their soiled feet in His loving hands. His own perfect light will then search our innermost beings and bring to light what has defiled us, so that, after cleansing, we can enjoy His fellowship and have part with Him. This necessitates confession and self-judgment from our side. If this blessed truth is not realised and enjoyed in faith, if we do not come to Him for this service of love, we are at a distance from Him.
And we are also to walk in the same spirit of serving, and wash one another’s feet. As He lovingly deals with us, so we are to deal with one another. The one that is overtaken in a fault is to be restored by him that is spiritual in the spirit of meekness. “He that would cleanse another’s feet must be at his feet to cleanse them.” How little of all this in a practical way is known among God’s people.”]]
Then a little later in the chapter we have this - John 13 v 36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow later.” John 13:37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” John 13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow until you deny Me three times.
To make sense of this incident, and the reason behind Peter’s question, we need to consider verse 33 – “Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You shall seek Me and as I said to the Jews, I now say to you also, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’” The Passover remembrance was a very busy night. We looked at the foot washing, but we also had Judas sneaking out of the meeting. Then the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper during the feast. Just a little earlier that night He told them that He was going away to prepare a place for them and that He would come back to receive them. That was John 14. Then they heard about the True Vine in John 15 and the promise of the Holy Spirit in chapters 14 and 16. It was a very full night, but in chapter 13 He revealed He was going away as He also confirmed in Chapter 14, but it was this first mention of going away that made Peter inquisitive.
The answer Jesus gave in verse 36 was that where Jesus was going, Peter was not able to follow at that time, but he would be following later on. Well, of course, that would have been a complete mystery to Peter. It was a puzzle. In fact, what the Lord was doing was revealing the way that Peter would glorify His Lord in his death. Later on, Peter would have gained the truth of that, but I am not sure when. The message in “but you shall follow later,” was a serious one that Peter could not comprehend, but Jesus was telling him he was going to die a martyr’s death. Some say it was crucifixion like they did to his Lord, but there is only one reference to Peter being crucified in all of the Church Fathers so it probably was unlikely he was crucified. Maybe after the cross Peter realised the import of the fact he was to be a martyr. In John 21 v 18 Jesus clarified the matter of Peter’s death a little more – “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished, but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
The circumstances of Peter’s death are very controversial. Nearly all references you read claim that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. This is asserted most strongly by the Roman Catholic church whose incorrect teaching that the Church was built on Peter, is fundamental to its existence. The RC church claims the Vatican is built on the remains of Peter, a lie. There is not the slightest shred of evidence that Peter was in Rome and I think very definitely, he was not in Rome because he was the Apostle to the Circumcision, that is, the Jews, not to the Gentiles. That was Paul. In fact there is no evidence whatever that Peter was crucified, and that he was crucified upside down. We do know that he was martyred around AD 67 in the reign of Nero. In a BBC documentary of 2008 AD, it focuses on the discovery of a tomb in Jerusalem that archaeologists believe contains the bones of Peter. The documentary, “The Secrets of the Twelve Disciples” ¬(Channel 4 today at 5.45pm), suggests it that is much more likely that St Peter was buried in an ossuary found in Jerusalem with the inscription Shimon Bar Jonah - Simon son of Jonah - the Hebrew name for Peter. We don’t know the facts of Peter’s death and there is no evidence except a mass of tradition very much influenced by the RC church. There was a Peter in Rome, Peter the magician and after a couple hundred years his name got linked with the Apostle Peter, so misplaced.
Returning to our chapter 13 passage, verse 37 is Peter’s reply to the words that Peter was not able to follow the Lord, spoken to him by his Lord - Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” Isn’t this so typical of Peter. He was a loving disciple but sometimes spoke too readily without thinking. Some call him “impetuous Peter”. He was so willing to follow, and to reinforce that, he declared that he would lay his life down for Jesus. I can see the other 10 disciples looking puzzled at this, not understanding the proceedings. Peter wanted to follow the Lord right then to the place where Jesus was going, but he did not understand what that place was, and the horror that lay before the Lord. He was willing to lay down his life without realising the implications of that statement.
What the Lord then said, must have shocked Peter. Here are the words in verse 38 - Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow until you deny Me three times.
Even the suggestion of it! There was no way Peter would deny the Lord he loved. He could never do that. The words of the Lord must have rocked him. Not Peter! Not three times! No response from Peter was recorded. Maybe he thought in himself, “That won’t happen so I will ignore it.” The fact is that when we least expect it, we can fall and fall badly. When we think we are strong then we are weak. Being strong means a self-confidence and a separated confidence in the Lord. I wonder if that is why He gives us trials and tribulations to make us aware of our own weaknesses, so self-confidence does not build up. McLaren wrote – “Perhaps there was as much self-confidence as faith in it. Certainly there was more self-confidence than faith in Peter’s answer, and his self-confidence collapsed when the trial came. The world and the Church hold entirely antagonistic notions about the value of self-reliance. The world says that it is a condition of power. The Church says that it is the root of weakness. Self-confidence shuts a man out from the help of God, and so shuts him out from the source of power.”
No one must even dare to judge Peter. We fail the Lord far more than he did. We are careless, selfish, occupied with our own things rather than those of the Lord. We promise things and never fulfil them. We have the best of intentions but time proves they are no better than hot air. May the Lord help us with our faulty walk and faith. May we rise up, not in confidence, but in humility, for when we are weak, then we are strong!
This ends PART 2 of Peter. Part 3 will follow on next.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
