HUMBLE BEAUTY
Kingdom Kids yield personal will to Yahweh in this Lenten series
John 13:1-17
John 13:8: “‘No,’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’
“Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part in Me.’”
Twelve-year-old Jeremy winced when he saw his classmate Brad’s shoes. He blurted out, “Gushy mud!”
“Pretty cool, right?” Brad admitted, lifting his caked muddied foot high.
“Ugh, get away from me!” Jeremy teased. “Yeah, cool in a gross sort of way!”
In Jesus’ time, people living in the Middle East never commented on dirty feet. But in wealthy people’s homes, a servant would remove visitors’ sandals and wash their feet when they entered the home. Their task was seen as lowly. Check out the lesson linked below to see what Jesus’ intent was when washing His disciples’ feet.
There were no cement roads or walkways in Jesus’ time. Dirt was the foundation of roads and paths.
People didn’t wear sneakers, loafers, or boots. Open-toed sandals were what people typically wore. They protected one’s soles when walking on sticks and rocks. Since most walked wherever they wanted to go, dusty feet were always present and never an issue.
Jeremy’s ‘ugh’ probably would be how we’d respond to over the dust that penetrated every nook and cranny of one’s house. (Visiting the seashore, all the sand trekked inside a hotel room is never totally eliminated). We can imagine that servants or house members swept the filth out of the house several times each day.
Take Home Nugget
Although God created people in His image (Genesis 1:27), Adam and Eve fell short of God’s glory. The filth of their sin spread through the ages to you and me. Sin’s filth couldn’t simply be washed away with water like cleansing dirty, dusty feet.
Our heavenly Father required spilled blood to wash away sin.
The Bible’s Old Testament shows priests sacrificing animals and presenting their blood to God. Their blood washed away people’s sins.
Then God sent His only Son Jesus to earth to show people how much He loves us. Jesus showed His disciples how much He loved them by washing their feet.
Jesus is the poster of humble beauty:
Jesus set aside His Godliness and allowed Himself to be sacrificed on the cross. His beatings spilled His blood that washed away people’s sins. Every sin that you can think of was heaped on Jesus and forgiven by the Father when Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus fulfilled our Father’s requirement for forgiveness of sins once and for all. He was the LAST sacrifice! His death totally and permanently washed away sin for those who believe in Him.
Holy Father, Thank You for Jesus and for His death that paid for the forgiveness of our sins! Amen.
Adapted from “In the Image of God”, a devotion by Mrs. Kathy S. Johnson. February 25, 2018. Portals of Prayer devotional magazine. Missouri.
J.D. Griffith
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