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 Jesus
Washes His Disciples' Feet. Slaves were looked down upon in the ancient world
(cf. Rengstorf 1964b), and Peter cannot stand the thought of his teacher doing the work of
a slave (13:6). It would have been appropriate for one of the disciples to have washed
Jesus' feet, but the reverse is intolerable. Indeed, humility is the very thing
illustrated in Jesus' present action. In Peter's response we see the pride and self-will
that is at the heart of all sin and that is the very thing for which the cross will atone
and bring healing. Peter is working from a worldly point of view.
- Jesus must correct Peter and thereby give more insight into his theology: A
person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you
are clean, though not every one of you (v. 10). People would bathe before going to a
special meal, but their feet would get dirty on the way since they wore sandals.
- After Jesus finishes washing their feet, he puts his outer garment back on and
returns to his place, asking, Do you understand what I have done for you? (v. 12).
They will not completely understand until they have seen the cross (v. 7), but they can at
least grasp his act as an example of humility. Jesus' understanding of the characteristics
of a teacher and a lord (or the Lord) are quite different from those of the disciples and
their culture.
 Seen in the context of the
foot-washing, the Christian witness is not an expression of power and authority in any
worldly sense. The one who represents Christ by bearing the same self-sacrificing love of
God will meet with the same response Jesus met (cf. 15:18--16:4) but will also be the
agent of the same eternal life that comes through knowledge of the Father in the Son by
the Spirit. Each disciple should walk through his or her day with a consciousness of being
on such a mission, which is only made possible through the closest intimacy with Jesus
(15:1-17).
- In the story of the foot-washing, then, we have the most profound
revelation of the heart of God apart from the crucifixion itself. We also learn
more of the relation between Jesus and his disciples, the relation of the disciples with
one another in humble service and the mission of the disciples to the world. These themes
are similar to those of the Eucharist. The community that Jesus has been forming here
takes more definite shape, revealing more clearly "the law of its being"
(Bultmann 1971:479), which is humble, self-sacrificing love.
- The cleansing and the further foot-washing are symbolic of the revelation that
Jesus gave of the Father, and thus the disciples are called upon to embody this same
revelation. The disciples are to pass on the same teaching that he, their teacher and
Lord, has done by conveying as he has, both in word and deed, the selfless love of God
(cf. Barrett 1978:443; Michaels 1989:241-42). The community Jesus has brought into being
is to manifest the love of God that he has revealed through serving one another with no
vestige of pride or position. There will be recognized positions of leadership within the
new community, but the exercise of leadership is to follow this model of
servanthood.
 While they are reeling from this
embarrassing event, Jesus spells out the implications for their own lives of what he has
done: 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
(vv. 14-15). What does Jesus have in mind? Some have established a foot-washing ceremony,
either as a separate service or as part of the Maundy Thursday service.
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