Episode 90 - "You also ought to wash one another's feet" - John 13:12-15

John 13:12   When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Before I begin discussing the interpretation of this text, I want to discuss an important principle with respect to the process of interpretation. Sometimes people treat the Bible as though it were some magic book and randomly open it and read some area and then make an attempt to glean some mystical meaning that addresses some problem, concern, or question in their life. But, is that appropriate?

If you were to open a letter written by one of your parents to the other, would you point your finger at some statement in the middle of the letter and think to yourself, “those words must mean that I should find another job?” Of course not! The letter’s author had no intention of secretly hiding some wisdom for your employment decisions in what was likely a love letter to their future or current spouse. Neither the type of literature, the intended recipient/audience, or even the message of that literature support that kind of use(abuse) of their purpose in that letter. So, we shouldn’t do that with the Scriptures either. As we seek to understand the whole message of the letter, we may discover principles from the ideas expressed in the letter that may be valuable for our lives as well. However, we need to use caution how far we take the text itself.

This brief text demonstrates how Scripture interprets Scripture. It helps us rely on other indicators within the Biblical text that help us understand the intended meaning. It also demonstrates the limitations of potential interpretations that should keep us from interpreting the Bible according to our feelings, rather than sound principles which apply to writings of all kinds. Let’s take a look at it.

Jesus had just finished washing his disciples’ feet and one of the things from this text that catches my attention is that Jesus indicates he had a purpose in washing their feet beyond just making their feet clean. Were their feet dirty? Did they need washing? Sure. People wore sandals and they often walked on dirt roads, not clean pavement. Jesus did something for them that was pragmatic. But, this text gives us more information about his purpose. The text itself tells us that purpose. Jesus was teaching them a lesson. He was making it clear that if he, their teacher, could humble himself to serve others, they had no excuse to not humble themselves to serve others. 

Now, there are some traditions within the Christian faith that practice foot-washing of others in their church. They interpret this text as a mandate. I can see how they might arrive at that conviction if they focus purely on the last part of verse 14, “you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” The problem is that interpretation ignores the surrounding context. First, Jesus establishes the fact that they recognize his authority over them as their teacher. Yet, he demonstrated humble service to them, thereby removing any excuse they could conceive to protect their own egos and not humbly serve others. That is an important point of why John includes this detail. Secondly, Jesus explains that what he has done by washing their feet is an example of how they should treat each other. It’s an example, not a law. 

Does that make it wrong for people to practice foot-washing today? Of course not. It was a very good example of humbly serving another person through a practical need in that culture and time. Since we do not commonly walk around on dirt paths in sandals today, it’s not as much of a need as other things. We are free to consider the example and humbly serve others through needs of our own time and culture.

The point of the text is the importance that disciples of Jesus must humble themselves to demonstrate service to others. We cannot think of ourselves more highly than others. Our actions must demonstrate this. 

The secondary point is the lesson of interpretation. Seek to interpret the Scriptures (and other literature) from its own contexts. First, we look at the immediate context; the phrases before and after to see if they shed light on the question at hand. Then, we look more broadly at the whole letter, story, or book and see if the overall context of that piece of literature helps inform our interpretation. Then, we can move on to other works perhaps by the same author to find if a similar idea is communicated through another writing that helps develop our understanding. Then we look more broadly at the Scriptures as a whole to see how our interpretation fits within those other literary works.