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January - February 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel
Would You Wash Them All?
Royce Mitchell, Jr.
Is there a person within the Body of Christ whose feet
we would not wash? Is it possible for us to be a servant
of God, and yet find it impossible to wash the feet of
His other servants? Can we be a Christian and still find
reason to refuse the washing of another's feet?
In order to understand the importance of washing each
other's feet, we need to examine the lesson Christ was
trying to teach us when He did so. In John 13:2-17 we
read,
"And supper being ended, the devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray
him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all
things into his hands, and that he was come from God,
and went to God; 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. Then cometh he
to Simon Peter: and 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.' Peter saith unto him, 'Thou shalt never
wash my feet.' Jesus answered him, 'If I wash thee
not, thou hast no part with me.' Simon Peter saith
unto him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands
and my head.' Jesus saith to him, 'He that is washed
needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every
whit: and ye are clean, but not all.' For he knew who
should betray him; therefore said he, 'Ye are not all
clean.' 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? 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. For I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done
to you. 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. If ye know these
things, happy are ye if ye do them.'"
(KJV throughout, unless noted.
What lesson can we learn from this example? First,
Christ was a servant, a servant who will one day return
as King. His willingness to serve the Apostles by
washing their feet was symbolic of His willingness to
serve them by giving up His life for them. Did He have
to wash their feet to die for us? No, He did not.
Therefore, there is an important spiritual lesson for us
to learn by His having done so.
Notice, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord, was
present at the point Christ washed the Apostle's
feet. That's right! Christ washed Judas' feet! The very
one who betrayed Christ had his own feet washed! Christ
went on to tell the disciples that if their Lord and
Master could wash their feet (and symbolically ours),
then we ought to be able to wash one another's feet.
But this lesson is more than a symbolic one. It is more
than the establishment of an annual ceremony to be done
by His disciples. It was the establishment of insight
into how we are to deal with our brothers. So, again, is
there anyone whose feet we would not wash?
In Luke 10:29 we find Christ in conversation with a
lawyer, who said, "But he, willing to justify
himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my
neighbour?" The word translated "neighbor"
is the Greek "plesion (play-see'-on); neuter of a
derivative of pelas (near); (adverbially) close by; as
noun, a neighbor, i.e. fellow (as man, countryman,
Christian or friend)." It could easily mean a brother in
Christ!
Then Christ went on to answer the lawyer in the
following parable. Luke 10:30-37 states,
"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him,
and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance
there came down a certain priest that way: and when he
saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise
a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on
him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and
when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to
him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,
and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an
inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he
departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the
host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and
whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I
will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest
thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the
thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on
him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, do thou
likewise."
Here we find some so-called children of God, religious
leaders of the "Chosen People," who willingly ignored
the desperate needs of one who was a part of their
"group." Yet, an outsider, one considered by those
religious leaders to be little better than a dog, took
the injured man, cleaned him up, and anointed his
wounds. Dare we say that he washed the man's feet? We
are not told specifically that he did, but, in spirit,
is it not true that the Samaritan was a servant to the
injured man? Is it not true that the Samaritan acted
more like a child of God than the supposed children did?
Of course! What then is Christ teaching us?
Go thou and do
likewise! We are to go and have
mercy. Mercy is to be bestowed on those who are of the
Body - and to those who are not! Humility is to be our
companion in all things.
Note the parable Christ taught in Luke 18:9-14,
"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted
in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others: 'Two men went up into the temple to pray; the
one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I
possess.' And the publican, standing afar off, would
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a
sinner' I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified rather than the other: for every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted."
Here we find someone who knew the Law, and kept it
fastidiously so that others might see it. What did
Christ say of him? That he prayed with himself! His
prayers went no farther! Why? Because he considered
himself righteous in God's eyes for his own works! He
did not realize that Christ came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance! The publican did
not realize that those who think they are well have no
need of a physician, but that those who realize how sick
they are do need one (Matthew 9:12-13)!
How do we apply all of this to ourselves? Let us begin
by examining ourselves. Do we harbor an attitude of
superiority towards others in the Body of Christ? Is our
doctrine better than theirs? Do we keep the Law better?
Is God working with us - but not them?
I recently heard a member of the Body of Christ say this
about another. When person "A" found out that person "B"
was going to be travelling with person "C" to a
function, person "A" said out loud that the person would
not go if person "B" was going to go, and would rather
go by themselves (and did so!). Was there something that
had been done to cause such hard feelings? Who knows?
But, was that how Christ dealt with Judas, who committed
a far greater offense than we normally commit against
one another? This type of "holier than thou" attitude
was never a part of the humble Christ.
This smug attitude of superiority was dealt with by
Christ. Notice in Matthew 23:23-31 we find,
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have
omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not
to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean
the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within
they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup
and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead
men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are
full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs
of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous, And say, 'If we had been in the days of our
fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in
the blood of the prophets.' Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them
which killed the prophets."
These are serious words. Christ called men, who kept (in
the letter) every law He had commanded, by the name
"hypocrite." The admonition is there for us today as
well. We need to examine our hearts and ask ourselves
this question in honesty. "Is there anyone
in the Body of Christ whose feet I would never
wash?" If there is, we must repent and
repent now.
Why is this important? Notice this. James 4:11-12
states, "Speak not evil one of another,
brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and
judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and
judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not
a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that
judgest another?" One who is not a doer of
the law is a sinner (1 John 3:4)! In order to prevent
grieving the Holy Spirit, we must not continue in sin!
Ephesians 4:30-32 shows us, "And grieve not
the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption."
How can we do that? Continue in verse 31, "Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be
ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you." We can grieve the Spirit by this
bitter attitude toward our brethren! To prevent that, we
need to be tenderhearted, easily entreated, forgiving,
merciful toward all, with no exceptions. This point is
of paramount importance. Our very lives are at stake. If
we know anyone whom we are not willing to serve, then we
need to stop and recheck ourselves.
What are we commanded? Acts 3:19, "Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord ... ." Notice,
if we are not converted, our sins will not be blotted
out! We will die the death of the unconverted!
Can we begin to see just how important the idea of
serving one another is? Do we see that our very lives
depend upon our attitude toward one another? When we
assume an attitude of superiority towards another of
God's children, we have assumed the position of a
Pharisee! It does not matter what our brothers (and
sisters) have done, nor from what background they come!
It only matters that God created them, and that He would
have all to come to salvation (Luke 3:6, Titus 2:11,
Hebrews 5:9, 1 Timothy 2:4).
We are no stronger as the Body of Christ than our
weakest member. That is why we are to help them, not
look down upon them, as if we are more righteous. When
we do so, we forget that compared to Christ, any
cleanness that we might have is imperceptible next to
God's cleanness, that we look like dirty rags next to
Christ's righteousness.
A clear understanding of how miserable, blind, pitiful
and naked we are is paramount to seeing ourselves as we
ought to do. If we do such, we will have no problem
washing the feet of anyone. We will have the proper
humility - which can make of us a powerful servant.
Consider now, is there anyone whose feet you would not
wash? If so, I beg of you, repent.
TSS
January - February 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel
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