Gospel of John: Foot Washing

Jesus wanted to be reassured that his kairos was the will of the Father. As a result,

Yet only in Matthew does Peter have a role in the story. Upon seeing Jesus on the water, he calls out, "'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water'"(Mt. 14.28). He almost succeeds, yet he suddenly gives in to fear and begins sinking. Jesus scolds him by saying, " 'You of little faith, why do you doubt?'"(14.31). This draws a strange picture of Peter. He no longer simply listens to Jesus, but tries to become actively involved in his teacher's lessons. This idea is again shown in Matthew 15.15. After the parable of the blind leading the blind, Peter asks, " "Explain this parable to us." Jesus replies with a rather impatient remark, but dives a little further into the meaning. He often comes to Jesus with questions throughout Matthew and these questions always ask for clear definitions of stories or truths about some spiritual detail. Many times Jesus snaps a little at him, but Peter obviously is not swayed by any impatience his teacher bestows. This seems to paint a closer relationship between the two men, where Peter is not afraid of Jesus and Jesus is not simply polite to Peter, as teachers tend to be. Jesus' obvious favoritism of Peter, shown in the transfiguration and throughout the gospel, leads one to believe that the two are indeed close friends with trust and mutual respect, which allows them to be freer with their words to one another. Friends tend to be less polite and more open with

John as we know today was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was also the brother of James, who was also an apostle. John was the son of Zeebee and of Salome. His father was a fisherman while living in Bethsaida in Galilee on the border of the lake Gennesareth. John's mother was one of many women who gave to the maintenance of Jesus Christ. John's parents were very good people, they loved God and his son. It is said that john and his brother James were fishing when Jesus came and chose them. They were soon known as the fishers of men. The John of whom I am talking about is John the Evangelist.

As further evidenced Jesus stated in Psalm 51:7, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Equally important to this, the two both suffered carrying wood on their shoulders. As pointed out in the book John 19:17, “They took Jesus,

In the gospel of Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, and 21-23 the Pharisees notice that Jesus’ disciples are eating without washing their hands. The Pharisees found this unusual because they wouldn’t eat until their hands were clean, which was the tradition of the elders that they had followed. However the Pharisees would not only cleanse their hands. They also cleaned their jugs, kettles, beds, and even themselves after returning from the market. So when they saw that the disciples were eating with unclean hands, they asked Jesus why the disciples didn’t follow tradition as they did. Jesus responded saying to the Pharisees that they disregard the commandments, yet they honor human tradition. Jesus then gathered the crowd and said to them that nothing that

In addition, the cross gives us a definitive understanding of Jesus’ humility. Fundamentally, humility is a key component of Christian leadership. As Christian leaders it is through our love of God will we be able to lead effectively. The cross is clearly a demonstration of God’s love for humanity.

But here in the ordinance of the Lord’s house, first the washing of the feet, and then the partaking of the bread and wine, we have the greatest memorial in all history.” God has given such memorials as the rainbow and Passover to help His believers remember important events. The Passover as you may remember memorialized Israel’s deliverance from Egypt which was symbolized through the blood of the lambs on the door post. The rainbow symbolizes God promise that He will not destroy the Earth with floods again. It is a sign of a new beginning. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Jesus’ death which provided our deliverance from the bondage of sin. Jesus told His disciples “Do this in remembrance of me.” Observing this ordinance should make us more appreciative of the relationship we have with Christ because it will remind us about what Jesus has done and continues to do for us.

As Jesus was teaching with one of authority, a possessed man approached him who attempted to belittle Jesus Christ. Immediately, Jesus rebuke him telling the spirit to leave the man. Since the people were in wonder, news of Jesus spread rapidly through Galilee. After leaving the synagogue they went to Simon and Andrew house. Simon's mother-in-law had a fever. Jesus went to her and soon as he touched her the fever left. When evening drew near, all the sick and demon-possessed were brought to Jesus who he began to heal, but those with demons Jesus would not let them mention his name. In the morning, Jesus went out to find a private place to pray. His disciples went in search of him. When they found Jesus, he explained he needed to teach abroad. So they left and began to teach throughout Galilee in the synagogues. A man with leprosy came to Jesus for healing. Jesus reached out, touched him, and healed him, but Jesus warned him not tell anyone, but to follow Mose's commandments regarded cleansing. However, he began to tell what Jesus had done because of this Jesus had to stay outside of the town, but people still searched him

Before the beginning of the Passover meal Jesus gave his followers, the disciples, a lesson in humility by washing their feet. This work was normally reserved for slaves or servants of this time, but Jesus the servant leader, the guest of honor, the person of prominence and power wraps a towel around his waist and demonstrated what a servant leader looks like and does.

The cup that Jesus drank from was a cup of service and giving of self for all humanity.

Peter’s life as a disciple of Jesus could be characterized best by his own personal story of coming to Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. At times he would say and do things that had him “walking on water” or “sinking in the waves”. By this I mean that Peter would one minute be doing something that required profound faith and the next minute forget everything and sink in the waves of everyday life. We can look no further than the very instance of when Peter walked on water in Matthew 16:30 to see this contrast of the summation that is Peter’s life. In Matthew 16:30 we see

In this narrative, Matthew was telling everyone to “Look at me I’m a testimony. I didn’t make it on my own. I’m not standing here all alone. It is Jesus who gave me this opportunity. Look at me I’m a testimony.” Matthew wanted to invest what Jesus had given to him into the lives of those who were in the same sinful situation before Jesus transformed his life.

Just as Christ was crucified and died, our submersion in water symbolizes us too dying with him. In turn, our removal from the water symbolizes our rebirth and connection with Christ giving us our first divine-human encounter. The depth of such an act clearly portrays how vital of a part cleansing of sins by way of water is important and used in our faith since the beginning of time and an example of initiation into Christ’s life. Water has, since the beginning of time, been used to symbolize cleansing and new beginnings and in turn a major reason why this sign is seen as such in the symbolic ritual.

He was trying to convey the message that the Kingdom of God belonged to every individual without looking at status or riches. One of his most recognizable gesture was when he walked on water. Peter, who was already his disciple at the time saw him walking on water and decided to also try and walk on water. At the beginning, Peter was able to walk on water but he became afraid and his faith struggled. When his faith started to struggle Peter started sinking and Jesus saved him from the water. Jesus was trying to express the importance of faith in him and God, and how having unshakeable faith will be beneficial.

The history of personal hygiene goes back centuries even millenniums. Some cultures performed personal hygiene for religious purposes such as the Hindu’s. They believed that if you did not bath that it was a sin. They were based on ritual purity and were not informed by an understanding of the causes of diseases and their means of transmission. Regular bathing was a trademark of Roman civilization. They constructed elaborate baths in urban areas to serve the public. They baths were like very large swimming pools.