Humility, Love, Unity—John 13:1-17
“The Bible teaches two kinds of forgiveness — Judicial and Relational.”
Have you ever suffered as the victim of someone else’s stinky feet? Now with that appetizing thought still in your mind, imagine the disciples’ feet. They walked in hot dusty country with only sandals on their feet. Then they might get in a boat for purposes of fishing or transportation only to get out of the wet boat with wet feet to walk again in the dust. Their feet were unpleasantly rough and caked with dirt. On this particular day each of the disciples had a dirty conscience as well. Earlier in the day the got into a heated argument about which of them would be greatest in Christ’s kingdom – a kingdom they still did not understand.
After their special Passover meal together, Judas Iscariot leaves to betray Christ to the Pharisees. Then the Master begins an object lesson. He puts on a clean towel and goes from one disciple to the next washing their feet. What starts as a clean towel quickly turns to soiled and then to filthy. When the process ends, the Savior stands there with the disciples’ dirt on Him. What a moving picture! Our Savior takes our “dirt” – our sins – upon Himself. The disciples allowed their Master to do this act of humble service. Perhaps they sat quietly understanding the lesson and sensing the guilt of their earlier arrogant arguing. Perhaps they marveled at his humility and love. Perhaps they all felt guilty because just a few hours earlier they argued about which of them would be greatest in Christ’s kingdom.
But Peter seldom lacked words and this occasion was no exception. “ Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet .” Peter keenly sensed his own guilt and thought he was expressing appropriate respect for his Master. But Jesus shocks him with his reply: “ If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me .” Jesus indicated that the washing was necessary if Peter was to continue fellowshipping with Him. Hearing this, Peter attempts to express his ardent zeal for His Savior: “ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” Now Peter wanted a whole bath! But Jesus says, “ He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. ”
What was Jesus telling Peter? What did He mean? The Bible teaches two kinds of forgiveness.
JUDICIAL FORGIVENESS is when God declares us forever justified and totally and completely forgiven—for sins past, present, and future. He declares us forgiven for sins committed, being committed, and to be committed—on the basis that Christ has received our punishment in our stead and we have accepted His free offer of grace. Paul says that Christians already have this forgiveness: — ” And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses ” (Colossians 2:13). You only get this forgiveness once at the moment of your receiving Christ as Savior.
But there is a second kind of forgiveness we need daily – RELATIONAL FORGIVENESS. Even though we are eternally forgiven, we do still sin. And that sin causes us to lose the JOY of our relationship with God. To restore that joyous fellowship, we need to seek His forgiveness in prayer. This is the type of forgiveness David sought in Psalm 51. God wants us to be joyful – “ And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full ” (I John 1:4) and so He offers us this relational forgiveness.
Jesus was saying to Peter, “If you really want to know and enjoy the fullness of a relationship only I can offer and to be part of what I am, then you’d better let me wash your feet from today’s defilement of the world.” Peter then wanted a whole bath. But Jesus said, “You are already clean. You’ve already been redeemed. You don’t need another salvation experience. You’ve already been made righteous by faith. I’m not talking about bathing you all over again. I’m interested in keeping the dirt off your feet. I’m interested in keep you clean so you can enjoy knowing Me.”
Are you enjoying Jesus today? If not, will you seek His forgiveness right now?
Author: Robert W. Rohlin
This devotional first appeared August 15, 1999 in the Advancer, a Sunday school teacher’s guide published by the Baptist Publishing House . It is gratefully reproduced here with permission from the publisher.