In

our culture today, we don’t have an automatic equivalent to Jesus’

instruction to wash one another’s feet. But we can figure out that

it’s mainly about showing hospitality and serving one another.

The

roads of Palestine were unpaved, and with sandals as the common

footwear, people’s feet would get really dirty—sometimes caked

with dust and mud. As a result, before you entered someone’s home,

a servant would come with a pitcher of water and a towel and wash

your feet. It was a customary act of hospitality—like someone

offering to hang up your coat and scarf on a cold day as you entered

their warm home.

On

the night of the last supper, Jesus took the role of a servant as he

got up from the meal and began washing his disciple’s feet. In

doing this, Jesus was teaching his disciples an important spiritual

principle. We come to Jesus with nothing of our own, and we must

receive from him and be ministered to by him before we have anything

to give. Then, having been served, we go and do the same, sharing

with others the fullness that God has poured into our hearts.

In

this example, Jesus provided a profound symbol of his call to

servanthood. Following him is not about position, power, or prestige.

We serve because Christ has served us first.