ニューイングランドの母校から、イースターへ備えて日々のみことばの味わい　その5

Day 5: March 29

Christ in Our Place
John 13:6-9

"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'
'No,' said Peter, 'you shall never wash my feet.'
Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'
'Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied, 'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'" (NIV)

I often tell students that Easter week is a spectator sport. The week is all about what Jesus did, what Jesus accomplished, what Jesus alone was capable of doing. He alone takes up the cross and dies for the sins of the world.

Christians, of course, are called to imitate Jesus, to be salt and light in the world; and for the Christian, it is more than telling a story that happened long ago. Without Christ’s willingness to be our sacrifice for sins, however, we could do none of these things. The Christian life begins not with obligations, but with a person. And that man, Jesus, and his work—those are what we reflect on during Easter.

Here in John’s Gospel, the boisterous and headstrong Peter wants to help. He tells Jesus that what would be better is not allowing Jesus to wash his feet. Peter likely is thinking of the honor of the Lord, and the washing of feet is something done by a servant. He seems to say, “I’m fine, Lord. I’ll take care of my own dirty feet.”

As so often happens with Jesus, the answer is far deeper than the question of dirty feet and soiled rugs. Jesus stands this entire power relationship on its head. Rather than using power to be served, he admonishes Peter that he must allow his master to serve him. Peter is not measured by the love he gives, but by the measure of love he receives from Jesus. The Savior of the world is saying to Peter, “Let me serve you.”

Peter learns a lesson we must all learn as disciples of Christ: we do not wash ourselves, but we are washed. We do not save ourselves, but Christ saves us. The mystery of Easter is the same for us as it was for Peter. Jesus desires to wash us from head to toe, covered in the blood he shed on our behalf.

Ryan Reeves, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Historical Theology