Silence settled over the room as I got up from the table and grabbed a towel along with a washbasin of water. I knelt in front of one of my friends seated at the table and asked, “May I wash your feet?” She responded yes, took off her shoes and socks, and put her feet in the lukewarm water. With a washcloth, I gently washed her feet, dried them, and then moved to the next person at the table. When I had worked my way around the table, I had gone through the process twelve times.
Why did I wash 24 feet? It was Maundy Thursday, the day the Church remembers Jesus’ final supper with His disciples before His crucifixion—the time He washed twelve pairs of feet before going to the Garden of Gethsemane. I was only a high school student, but a teen with a heart for Jesus and His Word. I wanted to mark this day with more than a church service, so I researched what a Jewish Seder meal included and invited twelve of my friends to join me.
A book from the library told me what to buy and how to cook it. I purchased ingredients at the grocery store that I had never eaten before like horseradish and matzo. My mother helped me figure out how to cook the lamb and we set our big table for thirteen. I’m not of Jewish descent so all of this came new to me. I’m sure I didn’t do everything correctly. But my friends and I entered into the Bible in a way we had never experienced before.
At the meal, I read the account of the Last Supper from Luke 22. I explained the various elements of the meal as best as I could with information from the library book. After we had eaten, I read John 13 where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. Then I explained that I wanted to do the same for them. Honestly, I approached this time with more than a little anxiety. First of all, I do not like touching feet! Second, I wondered how my friends would react. Would they allow me to wash their feet? Would they think I was weird? (A serious concern for any teen!)
I was rather surprised when all twelve of my friends allowed me to do this service. The atmosphere changed in the room. We weren’t just a bunch of crazy teenagers. We weren’t simply a group of naïve kids. We were focused on Christ. Our minds were fixed on His sacrifice and service for us.
Yes, I was the one who did the washing—and given my aversion to feet, it was a sacrifice. But we all knew this could not compare to the sacrifice of Jesus.
The Full Extent of His Love
Years later, I read the account of Jesus’ foot-washing in a translation I hadn’t read before:
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1 (NIV 84)
I still have that Bible, and I can see the yellow highlighter I used on the words, “the full extent of His love.” Most Bible versions now translate this phrase as “he loved them to the end,” which could be understood as the end of Jesus’ time on earth. This makes sense since Jesus knew He would soon die. But the Greek word telos can also mean the uttermost, the upper limit. Jesus loved them utterly. He couldn’t love them any more than He did in that moment.
The Apostle John continues his description of that holy night in the upper room:
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” John 13:3-5 (NIV)
Jesus wanted to demonstrate the full extent of His love in a dramatic way. Even though custom dictated that a servant should wash the dust off the feet of invited guests as they entered a home, none of the disciples had volunteered for the job that night. Did they all think it was too menial for them? I imagine they all squirmed with regret and embarrassment when their Teacher and Master took on the job of the lowliest servant.
Look at the passage again and see Jesus’ frame of mind. He knew the Father had put everything under His power. He took the worst job not because He was the least important person there but because He was the most significant. He served out of His greatness.
An Example for Us
When Jesus finished washing all the stinky feet in the room, He told the men who owned those feet, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15 NIV).
Jesus washed those calloused feet to show them just how far His love would go—a humble service foreshadowing the greater sacrifice that would take place the very next day as the hands that had cared for their feet would be stretched out on a cross.
But Jesus also washed those dusty feet as an example for each of us. Am I more like the disciples who all deemed themselves too important for such menial work? Or am I more like Jesus, who possessed all the power in the world yet chose to take on the least desirable task?
More Like Jesus
All those years ago at the dinner with my high school friends, I wanted to be more like Jesus. Wash the feet of my friends even if they thought I was weird. Demonstrate a tiny portion of the love that Jesus had showered on me.
But I admit that servant attitude often gets crowded out by the desire for attention, for importance, for recognition. Service seems like taking a step backward. Volunteering for behind-the-scenes work leaves me feeling unseen.
That's when I need to remember the full extent of Jesus’ love. A love that served His twelve disciples. A love that sacrificed for me.
When I live in the fullness of that love, I, too, can serve others without the need to push myself to the front of the line for acknowledgment and appreciation. I can wash smelly feet or do a sink full of greasy dishes. I can take a pot of soup to a sick friend or volunteer for the church nursery. I can serve unseen because I have the full extent of Jesus’ love.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/carlosphotos
Sharla Fritz is a Christian author and speaker who weaves honest and humorous stories into life-changing Bible study. Author of the new book Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success, Sharla writes about God’s transforming grace and unfailing love. Sharla lives in the Chicago suburbs with her amusing pastor husband. Get her FREE ebook 21 Five-Minute Soul-Rest Practices or connect with Sharla at www.sharlafritz.com and Facebook.
