John 13:10 – Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean.
This is one of the most shocking images in the whole Bible, the Son of God in His humanity taking on the garment and role of a house servant and washing the feet of the disciples. He washed the feet of the four fishermen, the tax collector, the Zealot, and all of the other common men who would change the world. What was the purpose of this striking image the last night He was with His followers? Think for a moment of what was about to happen. Jesus was about to begin His incredible discourse on the Holy Spirit, He was leaving and the Holy Spirit would come. Could He be pointing to the work of the Spirit with His actions that evening? I believe He was, He was preparing His disciples for the powerful cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in our everyday life. Here is a quote from F.F. Marsh about this amazing moment.
“When Christ washed His disciples feet, He referred to a twofold cleansing when He said, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet”. Christ used two words, namely, loua, which means to bath the whole person, and iOS used of being washed in the blood… The other word is nipto, which means to clean a part of the body, such as the face, hands, and feet. The Spirit of God alone is the one Who can bath us in the cleansing tide of Calvary whereby we are washed; He alone can put away all the associations of the former life of sin’s habit, even as the water removed the traces of leprosy from the leper; and He alone can give us, by means of the laver of His Word, that personal purity and fitness for service in Divine things.”
Even if you have been born of the Spirit, baptized in water and baptized in the Holy Spirit we need the washing of the Spirit in our day to day lives. We are walking around in a filthy world and let’s face it, some of the world’s stuff gets stuck to our feet. The Holy Spirit comes to us every time we look to Him and He washes us again and again. This is the work of the Living Water that flows over us from heaven, He cleanses us repeatedly through and through.