"Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” -John 13:8
The Disciples are gathered together for the Passover meal, and Jesus is giving his final words of instruction and hope to them. Then he gets to his knees and draws some water in order to wash the feet of the men who have been following him.
What an absurd event. The honored man would never be the one to wash. But here Jesus is reordering the way of things. The servant is the leader. The Savior is the One to wash the filth off of the feet of his followers. At least Peter reacts to this cleaning by Jesus, a little appalled and desiring a whole-body wash. But Jesus says he must do this. It is the way of being made to wear his righteousness, to be cleansed of sin.
We react much the same way to Jesus, don't we? We think we will clean ourselves up, fix what is broken, show Jesus how worthy we are. And his message is the same to us: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Either Jesus does the cleaning, or you will never be clean. If you are not clean, you will not be with him for eternity. Jesus will certainly cause you to war against sin and to pursue the righteousness he grants you; but the once-for-all provision of spiritual washing comes only from him.
This truth is meant for our refreshment and rest, that we would experience the same sensation that the disciples would. We, and they, rest in Jesus who is doing the work. All of our spiritual life is just like this.
Today, let Jesus wash you. Be reminded of his work to clean you. You are clean. Be free.
This is an excerpt from Depths a daily devotional written by Jonathan Shradar.