Washing Feet

Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:18; John 13:1-17

Jacki glanced around nervously as she and her mom walked downtown to the park. They had to cross a street called Division Street to get there, which was named appropriately since it divided the rich and poor sides of town. Jacki always felt nervous crossing that street because a lot of the people there were scary looking and didn’t smell that good.

As they approached Division, Jacki asked her mom the same question she always did. “Why do we have to cross Division, Mom? We could just take Wilson inste—” She stopped talking when she realized her mom was staring at something.

Jacki looked down the street and saw something very strange. Something she had never seen before.

There was a man on his knees with a basin full of soapy water and a towel washing the feet of a homeless man. Jacki could see from yards away that the man had crusty, blackened feet with scabs on each of his toes, but his face looked as bright as the sun as he watched the man on his knees wash his feet.

“Why is he doing that, Mom? That man’s feet look gross!” Jacki whispered.

Mom was smiling as brightly as the homeless man was. “Do you remember the Bible story where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples? That’s exactly what this man is doing. He’s humbling himself like Jesus did to show others God’s love.”

“I don’t get why Jesus would do something so dirty,” said Jacki. “He’s God!”

“Well, Jacki, think of it this way. The man there is clean, right?”

Jacki nodded. “He’s wearing rubber gloves like the ones we use to make turkeys at Thanksgiving in school. He’s all clean.”

“But he’s willing to make himself dirty to help the homeless man who has dirty feet,” said Mom. “That’s just like Jesus cleaning us up. On the night before He was crucified, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet to show them what He was about to do on the cross. Even though He is God, He was willing to become human and die for our sins because He loves us. We all have dirty feet that need to be washed, and only Jesus can make us clean.” (Alex Childs)

How About You?

Do you think it’s weird that the God of the universe would come to earth to clean us of our sin? It sure is weird, but it’s the best weird thing in the world! Jesus didn’t shy away from our dirty, stinky feet—He loved us so much He became human and died to save
us from sin. When you trust Him as your Savior, He washes your sin away and makes
you clean. (To learn more, click the “Good News” button in the right column of this page.)

Today’s Key Verse:
Isaiah 1:18 Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus makes us clean