John
13:1-10
Maundy
Thursday
March
29, 2018
William G. Carter
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I 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, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you . . ."
He leaves that phrase dangling in the air. "You are clean,
but not all of you..." It's awkward. The inference awaits completion. Who
is he talking about? Is he talking about me?
And
after a painful moment of self-reflection, most of us look sideways at Judas
Iscariot. If anybody is not clean, it is that guy.
The
Gospel of John does not like him. There is already a rumor in the air that
Judas, who handled the money for Jesus and his band of disciples, kept helping
himself to the purse. Word was his hand was in the till (12:6), and Jesus
probably knew it. As the Lord had already said to the twelve, “I chose you all,
didn’t I? And one of you is a devil” (6:70).
It’s
OK if we look over at Judas and glare at him. He is not clean. The Gospel
writer says the devil had already planted the desire to betray in his heart,
even before they sat down for supper (13:2). He is not clean.
Yet
here is the curious thing: on this night, Jesus has washed the feet of Judas,
just like everybody else. Did you notice that? Judas won’t leave the room until
after Jesus gives him a piece of bread (13:26-30). His feet were clean – but he
is not clean.
So,
I invite us to reflect on this paradox a bit.
Remember, of
course, that all these men were Jews. They are in town for the big Passover
celebration. It is an event so large that it swells the city population. They have
Passover on their minds so they're ready to have their hands washed. In the Passover
ritual, you wash your hands several times. It has nothing to do with cleanliness,
but everything to do with being clean. You see, in Jewish piety, godliness is
expressed in being clean.
Like
it says in Psalm 24, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” That hill, of
course, is Jerusalem. Who shall ascend it? The answer: “Those who have clean hands
and pure hearts” (Psalm 24:3-4). If you are godly, or wish to be, you wash your
hands as a statement of faith.
Years
ago, when my father and I approached the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to offer our
prayers, a stern rabbi pushed us toward one of the many fountains enroute to scrub
our hands. “Seven times,” he declared. If you wish to approach God, you must be
serious about a pure heart.
Here
Jesus pushes it a good bit further by washing their feet. These are his disciples,
after all. A disciple doesn’t merely listen with the ear; the disciple follows
with the feet. To sanctify their journey, Jesus washes their feet. He’s the One
who does it, because their feet have taken them where he has wanted them to go.
Now,
Simon Peter thinks this is all wrong. It does not seem right. Servants wash
feet, Lords do not. For Jesus to kneel is a reversal of roles. Or as he
explains to all of them, it is the Lord, the true Lord, who is the servant. He
serves you by cleansing you. Unless he does this to us and for us, we have no
part of him.
As
Dale Bruner comments, what Jesus is declaring is the continuing presence of
mercy. “Forgiveness of sins will be the foundation of our relationship with the
Lord Jesus Christ – constantly… This is hard on our pride, but medicine for the
soul.”[1]
It is Christ who cleanses. He does not ask permission. He just does it.
This
is the grace that comes to us, the grace that cleanses and purifies. It is so magnificent,
so effusive, that even the feet of Judas Iscariot are scrubbed. He wiggles his
toes as his Lord kneels to splash his feet with the soapy water. Out of the great
mercy of God, Judas is cleansed. Even Judas. That’s the first part of the
lesson.
But
he doesn’t stay clean. That’s the second part of the lesson. Christ comes to
cleanse and forgive; but it is entirely possible to push the grace away.
Tonight,
we gather before the Word of scripture. We listen to the story of conspiracy,
betrayal, and condemnation. Tonight it is Mark’s version of how people who know
better will push away the cleansing grace.
As
one of you said to me, “Maundy Thursday is the most humbling and haunting night
of the year.” That was a striking comment, so I asked, “Why is that?” And he
said, “The story reminds me of what I’m capable of.” True enough, I said; yet
let it also remind us of how astonishing is the grace that can purify and heal
us all.
That’s why Dale Bruner’s comment is so important, I think. It’s up
to us to keep returning to the Lord, to keep coming back, to hear repeatedly how
he loves us in all unworthiness, and to discover anew that he takes the initiative
to forgive and offer us a fresh start.
As we approach the Table
tonight, we must pass by this basin. Remember how you have been named and
claimed in your baptism. Touch the water and remember how Christ washes us.
Lift your eyes toward the cross and remember how he takes our sin away. Pause
and pray for the courage to resist evil. And come back, again and again.
[1] F. Dale Bruner, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012) p. 766.
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