Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery: part 5. The Mystery behind the washing of the disciples' feet.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Pres-pass-ind - egeiro = to be aroused, to rise up, to take a stand; to stand up for that which is true.
MAT 2:13 - used for arising up and fulfilling the word of God in spite of the opposition.
MAT 8:26 - used for standing up against the winds and the storms of life and bringing peace into a situation.
LUK 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them {as to} which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
MAT 12:42 - egeiro is used for those believers with PVTD rising up with their character and integrity condemning those with NVTD by their actions.
MAT 17:23 - used for our Lord being raised from the dead.
The laying aside of the garments is analogous to our Lord laying aside His deity and becoming true humanity. To lay aside - pres-act-ind - tithemi - dramatic present tense = a dramatic moment when Christ is about to become their servant; becoming the servant of all is a picture of going to the cross.
He laid aside His garments, His mantle, His outer garments - himation = His outer garment, His robe, or His mantle - analogous to the true doctrine of kenosis.
Kenosis = during the incarnation, our Lord voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes.
The plan for the incarnation not only called for the judgment of our sins, the provision of eternal salvation for all members of the human race, but simultaneously for the strategic victory of the angelic conflict. The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily took on Himself true humanity in order to redeem mankind from sin, in order to propitiate God the Father, and to reconcile mankind to God.
Just as Jesus at this point laid aside His outer garments to take the place of a servant, so He surrendered the independent use of His divine attributes, to fulfill the Father’s plan.
Christ became our servant at the cross, and now He is the greatest of all, seated at the right hand of the Father.
Towel - lention - levntion - like a beach towel; an article belonging to a servant in which he uses one end of the towel to wash the feet and the other end of the towel to dry and he strings it around his neck - He did not wear anything because He gets dirty in the process.
Water is analogous to the word of God, EPH 5:26, PSA 119:9.
Water = the word - 1JO 1:7, 1JO 1:9.
Nipto = to wash the hands or the feet as a ceremonial function.
He began to wash His disciples feet - pres-act-inf = He kept on doing it, going from one to the other; active voice - Jesus produces the action; the infinitive - it was His purpose to wash every disciple’s feet.
Jesus Christ becomes a servant to make servants of God out of us.
TLJC is not teaching humility as most of your commentators, who really do not know the original language, say that He is.
Our Lord is showing eleven disciples, who are all going to have the gift of communication, that in order to be a communicator you have to study and teach, study and teach.
MAT 16:22-23 - Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Peter is saying in effect, “Lord you’re greater than me but I’m greater than them.”
GAL 6:12 “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh.”
1. The disciples had bathed before coming to the last supper - all of them had taken a bath, that was a part of the custom of the Passover meal.
2. The taking of a bath is analogous to salvation - one bath but many washings.
TIT 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
1CO 11:31 But if we judge ourselves correctly, we should not be judged.
HEB 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us Therefore, strengthen the hands that hang down and the knees that are feeble.
HEB 12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
HEB 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint [divine discipline], but rather be healed.
EPH 4:22 that, with reference to your former lifestyle [post-salvation sinning], you yourselves lay aside your old man, you who are becoming corrupted [apostasy and degeneracy] on the basis of the lusts of deceit [strong pressures from the sin nature in your area of weakness].
“Arise from the dead,” EPH 5:14.
This is temporal death or control of the sin nature during your Christian life.
ROM 6:13 And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
ROM 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
1JO 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
One bath - the cross. Many foot washings - the rebound technique.
3. From walking through the streets, the disciples have accumulated filth on their feet which is analogous to the believer being out of fellowship.
4. The custom of foot-washing is analogous to rebound. If you come with dirty feet, what should you do before you sit down to dine with the Lord, REV 3:20 “and dine with Him”?
5. Before you eat the Lord’s food, Bible doctrine, you wash your feet, rebound.
6. This dinner was fellowship with the Lord in which food was involved, our greatest fellowship with the Lord is when we meet to dine upon Bible doctrine.
7. The feet also represent service - it is impossible to serve the Lord with dirty feet.
8. In the last chapter, JOH 12:3, the feet of Jesus had been anointed with oil, while at the beginning of this chapter, the feet of the disciples are washed.
Jesus washed their feet - this is a picture of Christ providing rebound
1JO 1:7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1JO 1:9 If we acknowledge [name and cite] our sins, He is faithful and righteous, with the result that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and purifies us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins].
9. Oil on the feet of the Savior indicates the sustaining ministry of the Holy Spirit while water on the feet of the disciples indicates the cleansing of the rebound technique.
10. TLJC will wash their feet - a picture of Christ providing the basis of rebound on the cross.
ISA 52:7 quoted in ROM 10:15 How beautiful are the feet of those who communicate glad tidings of good things!
All communicators of doctrine have to keep their feet clean or be cleansed to communicate.
Peter’s statement would be commended by many because it is a statement of sincerity, but he was sincerely wrong.
Sincerity is no substitute for a knowledge of doctrine or for perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine.
Sincerity can become a distraction to the Christian life and it will make a phoney out of you every time.
LUK 11:1 And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
No, He said, “When you pray address the Father,” and then He taught them to pray in a specific way, LUK 11:2.
Rebound precedes the correct function of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine.