WITH TOWEL AND BASIN

 

"It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests.

The disciples enter, one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel. And on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does.

After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes His outer cloak. He wraps a servant's girdle around His Waist, takes up the basin and kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces a sandal and gently lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works His way down the row.

I looked for a Bible translation that reads, "Jesus washed all the disciples' feet except the feet of Judas", but I couldn't find one. What a passionate moment when Jesus lifts the feet of His betrayer and washes them in the basin! Within hours the feet of Judas, cleansed by the kindness of the One he will betray, will stand in Caiaphas' court.

Behold the gift Jesus gives His followers! By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, He wants them to remember how His Knees knelt before them and He washed their feet. He wants them to realize those feet are still clean. 'You don't understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later" (Jn 13:7).

Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it." 

Max Lucado.

From "Faith for Daily Living", Number 491 - March/April 2019 Page 2. (Reproduced from The Messenger, St John's United Church, Pietermaritzburg)