The Apostate Act Of
Footwashing
- hands
before eating - no knives and forks
- feet - an act of respect to the company
Washing hands
and feet was a form of refreshment to the traveler, as in Genesis 18:4
when the three men/angels came to visit Abraham on the way to destroy
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest
yourselves under the tree (Genesis 18:4).
It’s clear
that Abraham, the master of the house, did not personally wash their feet, but
provided the water for such an act. However,
when the master of the house washed the feet of the guest, it was a notable
mark of respect and honor to that guest. That
master humbled himself by “personally” providing royal treatment to his
guest – not the houseboy or housegirl, but he
was the servant himself.
Jesus went to eat at the Pharisee’s
house and the sinner woman came in with the alabaster box of ointment and…
stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment (Luke 7:38).
Seest
thou this woman? I entered into thine
house, thou gavest
me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped
them with the hairs of her head(Luke
As you can
see from this, the tradition was ignored by the religious Pharisee who invited
Jesus to his house because footwashing is humbling
and respectful. Footwashing
is humbling and respectful because it is no respecter of person; it is not
proud, arrogant, nor is it puffed up, but it is clearly being the servant –
a lowly person in the eyes of God as well as in the eyes of mankind.
Jesus And Footwashing
He
riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments;
and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth
water into a bason, and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded
(John 13:4-5).
Footwashing
was the last thing Jesus wanted His disciples to comprehend so that they would
not be puffed up when going forth to minister the Gospel to the meek-hearted,
to the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to open the
prison to them that are bound by the darkness of Satan on this earth.
One whose feet carries the Gospel about the love of God that comforts
all that mourn and gives them beauty for ashes and the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness so that they become trees of rightness that glorify
the Most High God, cannot do this in arrogance.
Yes, dear Saints of God, the last thing Jesus wanted His disciples –
you and I – to know was that we must be simple – humble and lowly
ambassadors of Christianity.
How did He get this point across so
that they would never forget, and so that you and I should never forget: He,
the King of kings, Lord of lords – Son of the Most High God, served those
whom He was sent to minister to by washing their feet.
He pointed out to them that they should be as He – He who serves.
For
whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he
that serveth?
Is not he that sitteth at meat?
but I am among you as he that serveth
(Luke
His point was
and still is, “even though we’re sent as someone with authority, we can’t
exercise authority over those to whom we’re sent with the Gospel.”
We can’t behave like we are somebody, but we must behave like we’re
nobody.
Is The Church To Literally
Footwashing
is doing the most unpleasant in the work of the Lord instead of relegating to
someone under you. Footwashing
is “n-e-v-e-r” thinking you can’t and shouldn’t do the most despicable
tasks to be done. Footwashing
is lowliness – genuine lowliness in doing the will of the Lord.
whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever
will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for
many(Matthew 20:26-28).
All of us in “The Church” (not just pastors, evangelists, etc.) are to want to minister to others and not so much seek to be ministered to. As servants, we are to be willing to die for those to whom The Lord sends us to minister to. The question is, did Jesus really tell us to literally wash each others feet until He comes? The answer is no. When the Passover supper was ended, and the devil had finished putting betrayal of Jesus in Judas’ heart, Jesus got a towel and water to wash His disciples' feet. To prove the fact that it is an example of a humbling act or state of lowliness, when Jesus got to Peter,
Peter
saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him, what
I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt
know hereafter
(John
13:6-7).
That statement alone tells the Church it is not the mere natural fact of getting down and washing feet, but that the act has a more spiritual connotation. Now here this…
So
after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down
again, he said unto them, Know ye what
I have done to you (John 13:12)?
In other words, Jesus was asking them if they understood or even realized what the meaning was behind footwashing. Then Jesus went on to say…
Ye
call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If
I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another’s feet (John
“Wash one
another’s feet,” was to say that all professing Christians should always be
in a lowly position as He, humble before all people. He performed the act to
give Christians an example of how we should be lowly as
footwashers and it was not to say that we are to go around literally
washing feet every year at Easter. In other words, if Jesus, Son of the Most
High God, Lord of lords, King of kings, could put Himself in such a lowly
state (no second thought about it) by performing a deed such as washing feet,
then we professing Christians must as well be that lowly. Again, this is a
heart matter - the spirit, and not the fleshly deed or the actual act of
washing feet that makes us lowly people in God’s eyes and the eyes of those we
are sent to with the Gospel. Footwashing should
be day-to-day humility in the life of every professing Christian in His
Church.
Jesus Is Still Washing Feet
Jesus is the
only one in perfect position to wash any one’s feet as He first did to His
apostles, and is still performing the act to this very day in His Church
(spiritually). If He wasn’t washing our feet, we could have no part in this
way of life called Christianity. As He genuinely makes His abode in us as it
should be, He continues washing our feet as His Word and His Holy Spirit
sanctifies us thus bringing us into meekness and humility. This can only be
though when Jesus unquestionably lives in the lives of Born Again creature who
go on to experience Holy Ghost baptism (evidenced by speaking in tongues). As
Jesus yet washes out feet, our feet are sweetened to carry the Gospel in a
humble spirit to others.
If I wash thee not, thou hast no part
with me (John 13:8).
Jesus is here to wash the souls of mankind with His Word that He speaks, so
that the Believer walks in His Word and thus experiences the
In Closing
Footwashing
was not established by Jesus as a New Testament ritual or something to be held
traditionally. Footwashing
has everything to do with His followers being humble because there is no place
in Christianity for arrogance when carrying the Gospel to lost souls
throughout the earth. After all,
what good does it do some arrogant critter who calls himself taking the Word
of God to those sitting in darkness when he himself is shrouded in the
darkness of arrogance.
What Jesus did when He washed the feet of His Apostles was to be a sign
of what each professing Christian, as Christ's ambassadors, are to stand for as they
go forth in the world sharing the Gospel – humble,
and lowly citizens of the
As a lion is
often used symbolizing courage, footwashing was
used by Jesus to symbolize humility. He washed the Apostles’ feet to
symbolize humility and meekness of a Saint that comes from the heart and not
at all from the actual washing of someone else’s feet. Jesus never intended
for footwashing ceremonies to be an annual ritual
or tradition in the Church because ritualistically, it has absolutely no
spiritual value.
Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater
than his lord; neither he that is sent
greater than he that sent him (John
Church, we
must be humble and serve or minister to those to whom we’re sent – this is the
result of
foot-washing. The servant must
remember, “he is a nobody” – he is not great;
he serves. The servant is humble, broken, obedient – willing to do whatever
He, the Master directs him to do.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John
|
Ø Real footwashers don’t look down upon others as being in a lower state than they Ø Real footwashers are as Jesus – meek, humble, and lowly in spirit Ø Real footwashers are humble people who wait upon the Lord to exalt them
Ø
Real footwashers have entered into the Ø Real footwashers are meek and they shall inherit the earth Ø Real footwashers cry out in prayer and fasting for those whom the Lord lays on their heart to minister to Ø Real footwashers are last of all and servant of all |
The real footwashers,
humble people, are of great value in the sight of The Lord, and they make up
the True Church of Jesus Christ.
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