Scrubbing Feet" - Andy Connelly - Aug 16, 2026 - 5pm

John 13 opens at the dusk of Jesus’ ministry, when Jesus knew exactly what time it was. His hour had come. The Father had given all things into his hands, and Jesus knew he had come from God and was going back to God. Because he knew the time, Jesus rose from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel, and girded himself.

The table was a good thing, and a meal together carries real power. But John 13 shows that even good and necessary things sometimes get laid aside for a better purpose. Jesus put aside the meal long enough to give a picture worth a thousand words. The disciples were going to have to do the greatest work on the face of the earth together, and that work would require humility that could not be forgotten.

Verse 2 reminds that the devil was still present. Genesis 3 was not the last place he showed up. John 13 places him in the room as Jesus prepares to wash feet, and Judas is still there. The enemy is still trying to keep something from being fulfilled, or at least trying to take someone away from having a part in it.

The basin and towel show that washing feet takes pains and takes time. These were dirty feet, feet that walked everywhere in open shoes, sandal-like shoes, over dusty ground. Jesus did not wash only Peter’s feet. John says he finished washing their feet. The full job mattered.

Peter’s refusal looked right on the surface. “Lord, are you washing my feet?” sounded humble, like Peter understood the distance between himself and Jesus. But Jesus said, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” Peter had to learn that receiving the Lord’s washing was not optional pride could refuse it, but discipleship could not.

Judas’ feet were washed too. Jesus knew who Judas was, not just his name, but what he was about to do. Some feet will not understand. Some feet will not reciprocate. Some feet will not appreciate the washing at all.

Jesus’ explanation gives the center of it: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If the Lord and Teacher washed dirty feet, the servant has no place standing above that work. The foot-washing picture presses the church toward costly service, toward doing whatever it takes that one more person might see or hear something of Jesus. The basin and towel call for being girded by the Lord, shielded by the Lord, and equipped by the Lord to keep washing feet, wherever it is, with whomever it is, however long it takes.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus knew what time it was Jesus did not drift into the cross or stumble into the basin and towel. John 13 shows a Lord who knew the hour, knew the Father’s plan, and still chose the low place. The foot washing was not panic or sentiment, but deliberate love at the edge of suffering. [30:54]
• 2. Good things can be laid aside The meal was good, and fellowship around a table was no small thing. Yet Jesus rose from supper because a better purpose demanded attention in that moment. Faithfulness sometimes means putting down even a good thing long enough to take up the towel. [32:54]
• 3. Dirty feet take real time The basin was not a quick symbol with no cost behind it. Dirty feet meant stooping, touching, washing, wiping, and staying with the task until it was finished. Love that imitates Jesus cannot stay clean at a distance and still call itself foot washing. [35:34]
• 4. Judas’ feet were washed too Jesus washed the feet of the one who would betray him, and he knew exactly what was in Judas. That makes the towel heavier, not lighter. Service shaped by Christ cannot be measured only by whether it is understood, returned, or appreciated. [38:57]
• 5. Servants are not above the Master Jesus tied the whole picture to the simple line that the servant is not greater than his master. If the Lord and Teacher took the lowest place, no disciple can claim a better seat. The towel becomes a test of whether reverence for Jesus is only spoken or actually embodied.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:30] - John 13 And Washing Feet
• [28:27] - Feet Affect The Whole Body
• [30:08] - Dusk Of Jesus’ Ministry
• [31:29] - Jesus Knew The Hour
• [32:54] - Laying Aside Good Things
• [34:02] - The Devil Is Still Present
• [34:36] - Peter Resists The Washing
• [35:34] - Washing Dirty Feet Takes Time
• [38:57] - Judas Was Still There
• [41:01] - Sacrifice For One More Person
• [42:32] - Creve Hall Cares And The Towel
• [43:59] - Girded And Shielded By The Lord

Bible Reading

John 13:1-17
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean." 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? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." [27:30]

Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. [34:02]

John 13:18-30
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, "He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me." I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. [38:57]

Observation questions

1. In John 13:1-5, what does Jesus do step by step after rising from supper, and what does that show about how deliberate this moment was? [30:54]
2. What words in John 13 show that Peter resisted being washed, and how did Jesus answer him? [35:10]
3. In John 13:12-17, what titles does Jesus accept for himself, and what command does he give his disciples after washing their feet? [42:32]
4. According to John 13:2 and John 13:18-30, who else was present in this scene besides the faithful disciples, and what was already at work in the room? [38:57]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus knew that his hour had come, knew the Father had given all things into his hands, and still took the low place. What does that suggest about the relationship between true greatness and humility in the kingdom of God? [31:29]
2. Peter’s refusal sounded humble at first, yet Jesus treated it as something that could not stand. Why can receiving the Lord’s cleansing be harder than offering service to someone else? [34:36]
3. Jesus laid aside a good thing at the table in order to do something better in that moment. How can a good and necessary thing begin to compete with obedience when love requires costly action? [32:54]
4. Jesus washed Judas’ feet even though he knew what Judas would do. What does that reveal about serving people who may not understand, appreciate, or return that love? [39:24]

Application questions

1. Jesus knew what time it was and acted on purpose. Where in life right now is there a need to stop drifting and respond to what the Lord is making clear? [31:10]
2. Sometimes a good thing has to be laid aside for a better purpose. What is one good, normal, even enjoyable thing that may need to be set down for a time so that someone can be served more faithfully? [33:29]
3. Dirty feet take time. Who in life currently requires patient, repeated care rather than one quick act of help, and what makes that difficult? [35:34]
4. Some people will not understand or reciprocate the washing of feet. How does a person keep serving without becoming bitter when love is ignored or poorly returned? [43:02]
5. Jesus said, “A servant is not greater than his master.” Where is there a temptation to feel above lowly, hidden, or inconvenient service? [39:50]
6. The question is not only whether someone would wash feet, but what would be done so that one more person might see or hear something of Jesus. What might that look like in a home, a workplace, a neighborhood, or this church family? [42:19]
7. The Lord is the one who girds, shields, and equips his people for this kind of service. What kind of help is needed from him right now in order to keep serving with humility and endurance? [43:59]