(By request, I’m restoring these weekly Bible lessons to this blog. They will still appear in the forum as well.)
The Seder was symbolic in the first place. It marked the birth of the Nation of Israel, the defining redemption of the Exodus. Jesus was keeping the symbolic context, but changed the meaning of the symbols. He was about to give birth to yet another new nation. The old covenant was being translated into a new one.
John recounts the same scene of this meeting from a different perspective, and adds something the others did not mention. He carefully notes that this is not the Passover meal itself, but the Preparation Day celebration some used to bind together friends and associates in a solidarity of national identity. But as Jesus’ closest friend on this earth, John had insight into how Jesus was feeling about the whole thing. On the one hand, Jesus was about to face crucifixion. On the other hand, He dearly loved these men more than His life.
This would be the last few hours of teaching for them, one last chance to leave with them some critical impression. They wouldn’t understand it right away, but after His resurrection it would all come to life in their hearts.
The meal itself was done. Now came a few symbolic rituals from the Seder. If there was ever a moment when Jesus the man was fully aware of His Messianic role, it was now. To demonstrate what that meant, He rose from His cushion at the table and took off His clothing, and then wrapped Himself in a towel, as if He were a slave. He took up the foot washing basin and proceeded to wash their feet.
A proper Seder requires sitting upright, as if ready to flee at a moment’s notice, shoes on the feet. Because they were reclining on cushions for a Preparation Day “Seder”, this ceremonial foot washing was very easy to do. They would have taken their sandals off when they came in the door. What was not so easy is how utterly embarrassing it was for Jesus to do this. Only Gentile slaves could be compelled to wash the feet of guests; it was forbidden to humble Jewish slaves this way. This meeting had been too private for such an arrangement, and it was common that the men would have washed their own feet once they arrived. Apparently they hadn’t done this, so Jesus was taking care of it.
Again, the symbolism was powerful. In literal terms, feet got dirty in the nasty streets of an urban environment. The streets were treated more or less like public sewers, and everyone’s feet would stink. Only the arrangement of lying on cushions with the feet out away from the table made eating possible without that wretched smell close to the table. If men were on their way to the Temple, they would have taken a ritual bath, and there were public baths scattered about the City of Jerusalem just for that purpose. But between the bath and this private residence, you can bet feet got dirty again.
They saw themselves as the servants and apprentices of Jesus, and here their Master was performing a humiliating and disgusting task.
There’s no doubt Peter approached this event rather feeling full of himself. He was the eldest and had no doubt that he was destined to be Jesus’ lieutenant in His reign as conquering Messiah. Perhaps that would come in just a matter of hours. The role reversal in this foot washing was shocking, so Peter objected. Jesus warned him that none of them would understand the point of this until sometime later. This was a ritual that marked them all as His disciples.
If cleansing were the issue, Peter was all for it. If this is what marks His court servants, Peter wanted all he could get. Jesus made the point that was opaque to them at the moment: He was showing them that serving is greatness. Spiritual truth turns the world on its head, because fallen humanity had turned moral truth upside down first. The basic condition of people coming into His Kingdom was that they be purified wholly from their fallen nature. Once that was done, it needed only the occasional reminder that contact with this world, like feet on nasty streets, would foul their purified lives. There was a need for regular maintenance to remain undefiled.
Their souls were safe, but the world was still a defiling place. Then He said something they didn’t catch, though it would have been less confusing in Hebrew than it is in the Greek record or in English translations: You (plural) have been fully cleansed from original sin, but not every one of you. Of course, Jesus was referring to Judas as the one still dirty after the foot washing.
After He put everything away and put His clothes back on, Jesus got back down on His cushion and explained what had just happened. They called Him “Lord” as a feudal term, and rightly so. If His washing their feet was a proper demonstration of His Lordship over them, then it was for sure they needed to follow His example. If He can demean His human self that way, their human selves were certainly no better. They had been taking themselves too seriously with all this thinking and talking of becoming the new government of the Jews. If they could figure this out, they would be blessed, indeed. Spiritual leadership is rooted in sacrifice.
Then He added that not all of them were going to join Him in the Kingdom. He knew very well the men He had chosen for this task, and one of those whose feet had been washed was probably burning with internal conflict about this whole scene. Jesus wanted the rest of them to know that someone at that meal was going to turn Him over to the arresting authorities. Jesus noted that He was telling them now so they could mark it as a prophecy. Indeed, the Scripture itself had said the Messiah would face betrayal and sacrifice His life.
Then He reminded them that this was to be a feudal reign, even if not a literal one. If He could send someone with full authority to represent Himself, then it should be clear that the He had full authority to represent the Father in the same way. It was critical that their minds understand how feudal authority worked in a spiritual kingdom of hearts, because hearts are wired for it.
Then something in His manner betrayed a deep sorrow as He repeated that one the Twelve would betray Him. They were totally perplexed by this, but they understood by now He referred to an intentional act, not a bumbling accident. The author here refers to himself in terms of his sheer wonder that someone so holy and powerful cared so much for his company. John had a seat of honor in that he was right in front of Jesus. Peter managed to signal to John that he should ask Jesus who the traitor was. So, John leaned back and touched his head to Jesus’ chest and looked up at His face to whisper the question. Peter knew Jesus would be unlikely to hide anything from His personal favorite, John.
Jesus answered that it would be the one to whom He gave the symbol of honor, a piece of matzo dipped in the bitter sauce. Then Jesus performed the little ritual and told Judas now was the time to act on the agreement. At that moment, nobody knew what Jesus was referring to except Judas. The private speculation among them was that Jesus had arranged for Judas to do something regarding funds, since he was the treasurer for the group. Judas left rather hastily, and John reminds us that this was after nightfall.
Gazing at the door, Jesus remarked cryptically that now began the moment of His and His Father’s glory. His and the Father’s glory was the same, and it was going to come immediately. He refers to the disciples as His dear sons, something they would have understood as a tender moment, and Jesus says it’s not going to be long one. Rather, very shortly He was going to have to go away, and He meant precisely what He had told the Jewish leadership in a recent confrontation. He warned His disciples not to come looking for Him because they would not find Him in physical form.
Then, He said He would leave them with a new Covenant Law: They should resolve to have compassion for one another. It needs to be the same kind of compassion He was about to demonstrate for them in the coming day. That sort of love would be the public mark of those who served Him as their Lord.
But Peter, of course, was still stuck on the comment about going away. Jesus reiterated that where He was going in the next few hours, they could not follow right away. He obviously meant their time was coming, but this was His. We can be sure Peter honestly believed he was ready to play the good soldier for Jesus, and fight to the end. Jesus tossed it around verbally for a moment. No, Jesus knew Peter would pull up short at the final moment. Anyone else who knew Peter would be inclined to agree. Jesus said that Peter would deny knowing Him — three times — before the dawn watch. To match Peter’s soldierly comment, Jesus used a specific military term for the last guard watch of the night, called “cock’s crowing”.
He had much more to say to them before that happened.
