Dirty Feet

When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, He was showing them what it means for His followers to ‘wash one another’s feet’. But He was also saying that they need to allow Him to wash their feet. I began to wonder what, exactly, this means.

In biblical times, the roads were dirty and you wore sandals. So, it was normal for your host, if you came for a meal, to make sure your feet were washed on arrival.

The spiritual meaning that Jesus attaches to this is obvious enough. As we walk through each day, we are living in a very sinful world where we pick up ‘dirt’. We hear things and react in ungodly ways; or we experience stuff that stimulates sinful thoughts; or someone does something that hurts us and we find we can’t forgive them. We’re saved, ‘washed in the blood of Jesus’ but, when we come into Jesus’ presence, we come with ‘dirty feet’.

How good are you at looking at the soles of your feet? Maybe you’re a professional contortionist! I’m not, and I’ve no idea what the soles of my feet look like. But the foot-washer sees everything.

When Peter said he wasn’t willing to let Jesus wash his feet, Jesus gave him a choice: either let me wash your feet or ‘have no share with Me`. What He is saying to Peter is this: ‘You’re saved, you’re cleansed, but if you won’t let Me deal with the daily dirt that you inevitably pick up, then we’re not going in the same direction; our paths are diverging’.

Song of Songs 2:4 says, `He brings me to the banquet hall; his banner over me is love`. As He welcomes us into His presence, Jesus says, “Let me wash your feet. I love you so much that I long to wash away the dirt you’ve picked up on your way here.” He knows exactly what it is. We may not be any more aware of some of it than we are of the state of the soles of our feet. In Psalm 19:12, David prays: ‘Who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.’

Jesus sees every ‘hidden fault’. As long as it remains there, it spoils our intimacy with Him – an intimacy that He values even more than we do. And, until it’s washed away, it means our path is diverging from His.