THE ONLY Foot Washing

What Happens When You Sit Still and Let Jesus Serve You

“If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” — John 13:8

Have You Ever Had Your Feet Washed?

Not in a spa. Not as a luxury. Not as a pampering experience.

But truly washed—by someone who loves you, someone who serves you, someone who gets down on their knees in front of you and takes your dirty, dusty, shameful feet in their hands and cleans them with water and a towel?

Have you ever sat still—completely still—and let someone serve you like that?

It’s one of the most uncomfortable, humbling, vulnerable experiences you can have.

Because everything in you wants to:

- Pull your feet away (“Don’t look at them—they’re too dirty!”)

- Say “No, let me do it myself” (“I can clean my own feet!”)

- Offer to wash THEIR feet instead (“I should be serving YOU!”)

- Make excuses (“It’s not that bad, I don’t really need this.”)

- Rush through it (“Okay, that’s enough, thank you!”)

Everything in SELF resists being served.

Because being served requires:

- Humility (admitting you need help)

- Vulnerability (exposing what’s dirty and shameful)

- Surrender (letting someone else do what you cannot)

- Stillness (sitting there and receiving, not doing)

- Trust (believing they love you enough to handle your filth)

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What It’s Like to Have Your Feet Washed

The Moment You Realize How Dirty They Are

When you extend your foot toward someone who’s about to wash it, you suddenly see it through their eyes.

All the dirt you ignored. All the dust you tolerated. All the grime that accumulated from walking through this world.

You become acutely aware of your own filth.

And the first impulse is SHAME.

“Don’t look at them. They’re disgusting. I should have cleaned them before coming here. I’m so embarrassed. Please don’t touch them.”

But the one washing your feet doesn’t recoil. Doesn’t judge. Doesn’t condemn.

They simply take your foot—gently, lovingly—and begin to wash.

The Discomfort of Being Served

As the water pours over your feet, as the hands begin to scrub away the dirt, every fiber of your being wants to take control.

“I can do this myself.”

“I don’t deserve this kind of service.”

“This is too much. I’m not worthy.”

But you must sit still.

You must let them serve you. You must receive what’s being given.

And that’s the hardest part.

Because receiving requires DEATH TO SELF.

- You can’t earn it (it’s a gift)

- You can’t achieve it (you’re sitting still)

- You can’t control it (they’re doing the work)

- You can’t rush it (it takes as long as it takes)

- You can’t refuse it (without rejecting the one serving you)

All you can do is SIT. RECEIVE. SURRENDER.

What You Feel

As the washing continues, a flood of emotions:

Unworthiness - “I don’t deserve this kind of love.”

Gratitude - “Thank you. Oh, thank you.”

Humility - “I am so small. So needy. So dependent.”

Relief - “Oh, it feels so good to be clean.”

Love - “You’re doing this because you love me.”

Vulnerability - “You see all of me—the dirt, the shame—and you still love me.”

Peace - “I can rest. I can let go. Someone else is taking care of me.”

What You Think About

As you sit there being served, your mind quiets. The constant noise of SELF—the striving, the performing, the controlling—begins to fade.

And you start to think about:

The one serving you - Their love. Their humility. Their willingness to lower themselves to wash YOUR filth.

Your own need - How desperately you needed this. How you couldn’t clean yourself. How you were walking around dirty without even realizing it.

The gift being given - This isn’t something you earned. This is GRACE. Pure, unmerited, lavish GRACE.

The relationship - This level of intimacy—this vulnerable, humble, receiving—this is what true fellowship looks like.

“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:11-14

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Why Don’t We Do This More Often?

If Jesus Himself—the LORD, the MASTER, the KING—washed His disciples’ feet and commanded us to do the same, why is this practice so rare in the modern church?

John 13:14-15 - “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”

“Ye also OUGHT to wash one another’s feet.”

“I have given you an EXAMPLE.”

This isn’t a suggestion. This isn’t optional. This is a COMMAND backed by the EXAMPLE of Jesus Himself.

So why don’t we practice it?

Because It Exposes Our Pride

We don’t want to be the one getting down on our knees. That requires humility we don’t have.

We don’t want to admit our feet are dirty. That requires honesty we avoid.

We don’t want to let others see our shame. That requires vulnerability we fear.

We don’t want to sit still and receive. That requires death to SELF we resist.

Because We’ve Made Church About Performance, Not Intimacy

We’ve turned Christianity into:

- Programs instead of relationships
- Sermons instead of service
- Worship sets instead of washing feet
- Buildings instead of brokenness
- Productions instead of presence

We’ve lost the intimacy of sitting at Jesus’ feet while He serves us.

Because We Don’t Understand What It Represents

The foot washing isn’t just a nice ritual. It’s not just a symbol.

It’s the PRACTICE of receiving ongoing sanctification.

It’s training for the moment when King Jesus Himself washes OUR feet before the Wedding Feast.

It’s learning to sit still, be vulnerable, confess our dirt, and receive His cleansing.

Without this practice, we won’t know HOW to receive when He comes.

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The Scriptures That Demand This Practice

Luke 12:35-37 “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

“He shall GIRD HIMSELF, and make them to SIT DOWN, and will come forth and SERVE THEM.”

The Master will SERVE His servants.

The King will wash His bride.

This is what we’re practicing for.

When Jesus returns, He won’t immediately say “Well done” and usher us into glory. First, He will SERVE us. He will make us SIT DOWN. He will wash us.

Are you ready to receive that? Have you practiced sitting still while being served?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

“STRAIT is the gate.”

“NARROW is the way.”

“FEW there be that find it.”

The narrow way is the way of HUMILITY. The way of RECEIVING. The way of letting Jesus wash your feet instead of trying to earn your way in.

Most people are too PROUD to sit down and let Jesus serve them. They’d rather work their way to heaven, perform their way to righteousness, achieve their way to salvation.

But the narrow way requires you to STOP, SIT DOWN, and let Him wash you.

John 13:6-10 “Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

Peter’s reaction is OUR reaction:

“Thou shalt NEVER wash my feet!” (Pride—“I don’t need this!”)

But Jesus’ response is crystal clear:

“If I wash thee NOT, thou hast NO PART WITH ME.”

NO PART.

Not “you’ll have a lesser part.” Not “you’ll miss out on some blessings.”

NO PART AT ALL.

Then Jesus explains the distinction:

“He that is WASHED” = initial salvation (justified, born again)

“Needeth not save to wash his FEET” = ongoing sanctification (daily cleansing)

You’ve been washed ONCE (salvation). But you still need your FEET washed (daily sanctification from walking in this filthy world).

Hebrews 10:38-39 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

“If any man draw back…”

“Draw back unto PERDITION.” (Perdition = eternal destruction)

You CAN draw back. You CAN refuse the ongoing foot washing. You CAN say “I was saved once, I don’t need this anymore.”

And if you do, you draw back unto PERDITION.

The foot washing is NOT optional. It’s NOT just for super-spiritual people. It’s NOT something you do once at salvation and then forget about.

It’s the ONGOING practice of receiving Christ’s cleansing, His sanctification, His service.

Without it, you have NO PART with Him.

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We Are Practicing for His Arrival

When we wash one another’s feet in the Body of Christ, we’re not just being nice. We’re TRAINING.

We’re practicing for the moment when King Jesus Himself arrives and washes OUR feet.

And He WILL wash our feet before the Wedding Feast.

Because the Bride must be:

- Spotless (Ephesians 5:27)
- Without wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27)
- Holy (Ephesians 5:27)
- Blameless (Colossians 1:22)
- Clean every whit (John 13:10)

And only HE can make us that way.

The King Is Coming to Serve His Bride

Luke 12:37 - “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

Read that again slowly.

“He shall GIRD HIMSELF” - He’ll wrap the towel around His waist (the servant’s position)

“Make them to SIT DOWN” - He’ll command us to receive, not perform

“Will come forth and SERVE THEM” - The King will serve His servants

This is what’s coming.

Are you ready to sit down and let Him serve you?

Or will you be like Peter, saying “Thou shalt never wash my feet!” and hear Jesus respond: “Then thou hast NO PART with me”?

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Examining Ourselves: Do We Need Our Feet Washed?

Jesus gave us the Beatitudes—the description of what His Bride looks like. These are not rules to follow. These are the CHARACTER TRAITS that the Holy Spirit produces in those who are truly His.

So examine yourself. Honestly. Do you have these traits?

Are You Poor in Spirit?

Matthew 5:3 - “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Poor in spirit.”

Do you recognize your spiritual bankruptcy? Your absolute poverty apart from Christ? Your utter inability to save yourself, sanctify yourself, or sustain yourself?

Or do you think you’re spiritually rich? Self-sufficient? Self-righteous? Able to manage your own holiness?

If you’re not poor in spirit, you need your feet washed.

Are You a Peacemaker?

Matthew 5:9 - “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Do you bring peace wherever you go? Do you reconcile relationships? Do you pursue unity in the Body?

Or do you stir up strife? Gossip? Divide? Create conflict?

If you’re not a peacemaker, you need your feet washed.

Are You Gentle Like Jesus?

Matthew 5:5 - “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

“Meek” = gentle, humble, submitted to God’s authority

Are you gentle with others? Humble in your dealings? Quick to forgive? Slow to anger?

Or are you harsh? Demanding? Critical? Quick-tempered?

If you’re not gentle, you need your feet washed.

Do You Hunger and Thirst for HIS Righteousness?

Matthew 5:6 - “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

“Hunger and THIRST.”

Do you long for holiness the way a starving person longs for food? Do you crave righteousness the way someone dying of thirst craves water?

Or are you content with mediocrity? Comfortable with compromise? Satisfied with “good enough”?

If you don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, you need your feet washed.

Are You Joyful in Persecution?

Matthew 5:10-12 - “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”

“REJOICE, and be EXCEEDING GLAD.”

When the world mocks you for following Jesus, do you rejoice? When you’re insulted for your faith, do you count it joy?

Or do you shrink back? Compromise to avoid persecution? Hide your faith to keep friends?

If you’re not joyful in persecution, you need your feet washed.

Are You Merciful Like Jesus?

Matthew 5:7 - “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

Do you extend mercy to those who wrong you? Forgiveness to those who hurt you? Compassion to those who fail?

Or are you harsh? Unforgiving? Holding grudges? Demanding justice instead of extending mercy?

If you’re not merciful, you need your feet washed.

Do You Love Those Who Insult and Mock You?

Matthew 5:44 - “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

“LOVE your enemies.”

“BLESS them that curse you.”

“PRAY for them which despitefully use you.”

Do you love those who mock you for watching for Jesus’ return? Do you bless those who call you a false teacher? Do you pray for those who persecute you?

Or do you harbor bitterness? Resentment? Anger?

If you don’t love your enemies, you need your feet washed.

Are You the Selfless Lover That 1 Corinthians 13 Describes?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

Love is:

- Patient (long-suffering)
- Kind (gentle, tender)
- Not envious (content with what God gives)
- Not boastful (humble)
- Not proud (recognizing total dependence on God)
- Not rude (considerate of others)
- Not self-seeking (dying to SELF)
- Not easily angered (slow to wrath)
- Keeping no record of wrongs (forgiving fully)
- Not delighting in evil (hating sin)
- Rejoicing in truth (loving God’s Word)
- Protecting (covering others’ weaknesses)
- Trusting (believing the best)
- Hoping (never giving up on people)
- Persevering (enduring to the end)

Are you THIS kind of lover?

NO?

Then you need your feet washed.

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The Answer Is Always the Same: WE NEED JESUS

Look at that list. Look at those Beatitudes. Look at 1 Corinthians 13.

Can you produce any of that in your own strength?

NO.

Not one bit of it.

You are NOT:

- Poor in spirit enough
- Peacemaking enough
- Gentle enough
- Hungering for righteousness enough
- Joyful in persecution enough
- Merciful enough
- Loving your enemies enough
- Selfless enough

You need your feet washed.

You need Jesus to make you clean, righteous, and holy—BECAUSE ONLY HE CAN.

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He Is Coming for His Bride, and He Will Make Her Ready

Here’s the stunning truth:

Jesus is not waiting for you to GET ready. He’s coming to MAKE you ready.

Ephesians 5:25-27 - “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

“That HE might sanctify and cleanse IT.”

“That HE might present IT to HIMSELF.”

HE does the sanctifying. HE does the cleansing. HE does the presenting.

Not you. HIM.

He Is Faithful; We Are Not

2 Timothy 2:13 - “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

“HE abideth FAITHFUL.”

Even when we’re faithless, HE remains faithful.

He Is THE Savior; We Need One Desperately

Luke 2:11 - “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

“A SAVIOUR.”

Not a helper. Not an assistant. Not a life coach.

A SAVIOR.

Someone who does FOR you what you CANNOT do for yourself.

And you desperately need one.

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The Prayer of Receiving the Foot Washing

If you want Jesus to wash your feet—if you’re ready to sit still, be vulnerable, confess your dirt, and receive His cleansing—pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus,

I confess my sinful nature. I confess my absolute desperation for salvation. I cannot save myself. I cannot sanctify myself. I cannot make myself holy, righteous, or clean.

I confess that I am NOT poor enough in spirit, NOT a good enough peacemaker, NOT gentle enough, NOT hungering and thirsting for righteousness enough, NOT joyful enough in persecution, NOT merciful enough, NOT loving my enemies enough, NOT selfless enough.

I confess that my feet are FILTHY from walking in this world.

I need You to wash my feet. I need You to make me clean. I need You to sanctify me. I need You to make me ready for the Wedding Feast.

In Your humility, I ask for and receive Your forgiveness. I forgive everyone for everything forever, just as You have forgiven me.

I surrender in Your surrender. I obey in Your obedience. I repent in Your power to grant repentance.

Thank You for circumcising my heart—cutting away the flesh, the SELF, the sin nature.

Thank You for the renewed mind—the Mind of Christ—so that I can be Your SALT and Your LIGHT to the world as Your witness of the Glory of Your Grace.

I trust in You ALONE to overcome SIN, SELF, EGO, PRIDE, and LUST.

By Your Grace, I am being made HOLY and RIGHTEOUS—a Life-Giving Spirit, Your image bearer, Your glory displayed in my weakness.

I am being transformed and conformed into Your image.

Like a sheep who only hears the Master’s voice—the SHEPHERD, Jesus—I will follow You and You alone.

Fill my lamp with oil—Your FAITH, Your PATIENCE, Your ENDURANCE, Your HUMILITY.

Come in, Lord Jesus. Wash my feet. Make me pure. Make me ready for the Wedding.

I sit still. I receive. I surrender.

Wash me, Lord. Only You can make me clean.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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The Oil in the Lamp: What the Wise Virgins Have

Matthew 25:1-13 - The parable of the ten virgins.

All ten had lamps. All ten were waiting for the Bridegroom. But only FIVE had OIL.

What is the oil?

The oil is NOT your faith. NOT your patience. NOT your endurance. NOT your humility.

The oil is HIS FAITH working in you.

The oil is HIS PATIENCE sustaining you.

The oil is HIS ENDURANCE carrying you.

The oil is HIS HUMILITY lowering you.

Romans 12:3 - “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

“God hath dealt to every man the MEASURE OF FAITH.”

It’s HIS faith. Given as a gift. Measured out by His grace.

Galatians 5:22 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.”

“The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.”

Not the fruit of your effort. The fruit of THE SPIRIT.

Philippians 2:13 - “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

“GOD which WORKETH IN YOU.”

HE produces the willing. HE produces the doing.

The Wise Virgins Are Wise Because They Know How to RECEIVE

The foolish virgins tried to produce oil in their own strength. They tried to generate faith, patience, endurance, humility through their own effort.

And they RAN OUT.

The wise virgins knew the secret:

You cannot PRODUCE the oil. You can only RECEIVE it.

And the only way to receive it is to sit still and let Jesus wash your feet.

To humble yourself.
To confess your need.
To surrender control.
To invite Him in.
To let Him serve you.
To receive what only He can give.

This is the oil. This is what keeps your lamp burning.

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He Must Wash Our Feet Before the Wedding Feast

John 13:8 - “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”

Before you can enter the Wedding Feast, Jesus MUST wash your feet.

Not might. Not maybe. MUST.

This is non-negotiable.

And the only way to be ready for that moment is to PRACTICE receiving it now.

Wash One Another’s Feet

John 13:14 - “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

In the Body of Christ, we should be:

- Confessing our sins to one another (James 5:16)

- Bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)

- Serving one another in love (Galatians 5:13)

- Washing one another’s feet (John 13:14)

Not just metaphorically. LITERALLY.

Gather with other believers. Get a basin and a towel. Take turns washing each other’s feet.

And as you do:

- Practice humility (getting down on your knees to serve)

- Practice vulnerability (letting someone see your dirty feet)

- Practice receiving (sitting still while being served)

- Practice intimacy (entering into deep fellowship)

This is training for the Wedding.

Sit Still and Receive

The hardest part of the foot washing is the STILLNESS.

You can’t:

- Earn it (you’re sitting, not working)

- Achieve it (you’re receiving, not performing)

- Control it (someone else is doing it)

- Rush it (it takes as long as it takes)

All you can do is SIT. RECEIVE. TRUST.

And that’s the entire Christian life in one moment:

Sitting at Jesus’ feet, letting Him serve you, receiving what only He can give.

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The Bride Made Ready

Revelation 19:7-8 - “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

“His wife hath made herself ready.”

How? By washing her own feet? By achieving her own righteousness? By producing her own holiness?

NO.

“To her was GRANTED.”

GRANTED. Given. Gifted. Bestowed.

The white wedding gown was GRANTED to her.

By whom? By the BRIDEGROOM.

Jesus Himself washes His Bride. Jesus Himself makes her ready. Jesus Himself grants her the white gown of righteousness.

All she does is SIT STILL and RECEIVE.

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The Final Word: Come and Be Washed

If you’re reading this and you realize:

- Your feet are filthy
- You’ve been trying to clean yourself
- You’ve been performing instead of receiving
- You’ve been pridefully refusing the foot washing
- You’ve been too busy to sit at His feet

STOP.

Sit down. Right now.

Extend your feet to Jesus and say:

“Lord, wash my feet. I cannot clean myself. I need You. I’m sitting still. I’m receiving. I’m surrendering. Wash me. Make me ready for the Wedding.”

He’s been waiting for you to sit down.

He’s been holding the basin and the towel.

He’s been ready to serve you.

All you have to do is stop trying to do it yourself and LET HIM.

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Luke 12:37 - “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

He’s coming.

He’s going to make you sit down.

He’s going to serve you.

He’s going to wash your feet.

Are you ready to receive?

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Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

We are sitting at Your feet, waiting for You to wash us and make us ready.

The Absolute Goodness of God. Only He is good. Only He can make us clean. Only He can prepare His Bride. We sit still and receive.

Soli Deo Gloria—To God Alone Be the Glory

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