Getting our feet cleaned

One more point from this story before I go on.

As Jesus went to wash Peter’s feet, Peter exclaimed,

No…you shall never wash my feet. (John 13:8)

When Jesus replied that Peter would have no part with him if he refused, Peter then went over the top as he usually did, and said,

Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well! (9)

But Jesus replied,

A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you. (10)

What was Jesus saying?

He was telling Peter, “Because you have put your faith in me, you are already clean. Once you’ve been made clean from your past sins, the only thing that you need to deal with is the sin you accumulate as you walk through this life every day.”

The same is true with us. When we come to Jesus and put our faith in his work on the cross, he washes completely clean from all the sins of our past.

But each day, as we go through life, we get stained by sin once again. We do things that hurt God, hurt others, and hurt ourselves.

This does not mean that we are no longer Christians and need to be saved again. But it does mean that every day we need to come to Jesus so that we can be cleansed once again. Not for the sins of our past. But for our sins of the day.

And John tells us in his first epistle that when we do, that

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I have to admit, I need to get my feet washed a lot more. Too many times, I forget to look back on my day and confess my sins. And that sin can put a barrier between me and God if I let it go unconfessed.

So let us make it a daily practice to come to Jesus and get our feet washed. To confess our sins, and to ask his forgiveness.

And if we do, he is faithful, and he will wash us clean.