John 13:9 (NKJV) 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
As Jesus was spending His last hours with the disciples, He prepared to wash their feet.
This confused the disciples. They couldn’t understand why Jesus, the Messiah, would want to wash their undoubtedly dusty feet. He was, after all, God with us.
Their lack of understanding led Peter to strongly object to this act. But Jesus stood His ground, telling Peter that if He couldn’t wash their feet, they could have no part with Him.
John 13:8 (NKJV) 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
After Jesus gave them understanding, Peter then exclaimed that He wanted Jesus to wash not only his feet, but his hands and head also.
Jesus made it plain that if we want to be a true follower, we need to allow Him to “wash” us, making us clean.
This is actually very symbolic, indicating that when we embrace Jesus and we put our faith in Him, He cleanses (washes) us spiritually.
One of the most important takeaways from this exchange between Jesus and Peter is the fact that Jesus told Peter very plainly that if we do not allow Him to wash us, we can have no part of Him.
So, what does that mean for us? It means that He wants us to surrender to Him, so He can wash us.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that we give up who we are. After all, God made each of us unique. He isn’t interested in cookie cutter believers.
Instead, He wants us to let Him mold and shape who He made us, but also allow Him to remove those things that come between us and Him. That is what He means.
It can sometimes be a little rough as He washes us, since some of our “dirt” may have been there for a while and requires extra scrubbing to loosen and remove it.
But the end result is more than worth the temporary discomfort, when we declare, as Peter did, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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