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John 13:1-17 “Cleansing the Soul”

What is a guest of honor supposed to do at a meal?  Obviously, they’re placed in the best seat, given the finest treatment available, and possibly his or her favorite dish to go along with the trimmings.  But is the guest of honor supposed to also serve the other guests as well?  Again, Jesus doesn’t seem to fit any image or stereotype.

Back around the turn from BC to AD in time terminology, there weren’t wonderful roads and transportation infrastructures to travel upon.  Rather, there were dusty paths sometimes scattered with pebbles and sand.  Jesus, the guest of honor at the Passover Feast put on the clothes of a servant with a towel around his waist (verse 4) and began to wash the feet of His disciples.

Coming to Peter, an interesting dialogue ensues.  Simon Peter at first does not want his feet to be washed, but when Jesus says that he cannot be part of Him if his feet aren’t washed, Peter wants his entire body to be cleansed.  At this point, Jesus says that a person who has had a bath only needs his feet washed.

When one looks at it, it’s another riddle in our walk with Christ.  Peter, we know, believed that Jesus was Christ and the Messiah.  By believing that Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and Savior, we are, in essence, cleansing out bodies, especially our soul of sin.  The dirt falls away and a new clean body emerges when we accept Christ.

However, throughout our life we still struggle with sin.  And as we trod along the path, we pick up dust, dirt, and a few loose pebbles.  One can compare Jesus washing the feet of his disciples to our asking God for forgiveness of sin.  And if we truly repent and confess, Christ’s blood cleanses our soul through and through.

So look at your own feet in the road of life.  Does your soul need some washing today?

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