John 13:12 “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?”
After washing His disciples’ feet, the Lord asked them “Know ye what I have done to you?” Well, they knew that He had washed their feet, but they didn’t know why, so He explained it in very clear terms. Sadly, many in our present day refuse to understand it and absolutely reject our Lord’s loving “example” (John 13:15). He tells them, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:13-14); that is, I am your “Lord and Master” (highly exalted above you), yet I have shown my sincere love to you by humbling myself to wash your feet as your servant – that is how much I love you. Then He explains that He was teaching them a lesson: “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15). When a “Master”/Teacher presents a lesson and gives an “example”, the students/“disciples” are expected to in-turn perform as the “Master” did, in exactly the same way He did. He then explains the purpose of the lesson, “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 13:16); that is, no matter what office or position we might hold in Church or in society, in the Church-Kingdom of God, we are to always and always lovingly serve one another and prefer each other before ourselves; “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32), “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Colossians 3:13). The Lord made us and He knows how we work and think, He knows that training and continuous refresher training is necessary for us to remain proficient in critical things, and the exercise of loving humility is absolutely critical to the welfare the Lord’s people in His Church-Kingdom; so, He has given us the “example” of Feet Washing to regularly refresh our minds in the absolute necessity of practicing such loving humility and kindness toward one another. Then, He tells us, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:17). Two things are essential to true happiness in the House of God, knowing the purpose of Feet Washing and doing it with utmost sincerity and loving humility. Many are offended by it; they wrest the Scriptures to excuse it, to dismiss it, and to simply ignore it. But, how can one be offended by an “example” set by the Highest of all, our “Lord and Master”? According to the “example” set in the Word of God, we “ought” to do this after each Communion and continually reflect upon it and employ it’s lesson in our daily lives! Later, the LORD tells us, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35)!