Foot washing in John 13:1-20 intimacy in Jesus' attitude of humility and servitude

Abstract

Foot washing episodes figure in both biblical and extra-biblical texts. The foot washing pericope in John 13: 1-20 is, most probably, the climactic example of a foot washing and reflects an attitude of intimacy besides that of humility and servitude. It is an intimacy which is a reflection of God made man and which finds expression primarily in the mystery of the incarnation and in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The foot washing episode under study is the superlative or other foot washing episodes in the Scriptures and reaches an unprecedented climax as an illustration of the significance of such an act. The foot washing passage in John has been misinterpreted and translated into a mundane interpretation of servility and humility because of the social structures, culture and tradition of the context in which it took place. Intimacy is a more intricate and a much loss straight forward option which, therefore, proves challenging to a given set of norms and mores. Intimacy is, in actual fact, camouflaged in innuendos and euphemisms up to this very day. This contributes towards lending a completely unauthentic and distorted meaning to the intimate episode illustrated in the foot washing account of the Fourth Gospel which is under study in this work. The pericope in question reflects intimacy as a gift of love which in tum results into friendship, fellowship, and discipleship. This foot washing has overtones and characteristics of a sacramental: it is a sacred, and an all-inclusive sign of God the Creator, of the King of Kings who goes down on his knees to wash the weak and dirty feet of sinners as an all-embracing act of love. The washing of the feet, rather than some other part of the body, is a reflection of God's kenosis in His incarnation - an abasement which untangles and unbinds the shackling chains of pride, precedence, and superiority. God's unimaginable abasement is a challenge to an established social order which requires consistency of 'dignity' as pertains to a particular class or status in a given social environment. The foot washing 1s a turning point and propitiously introduces the glorification and exaltation of God who turns himself into a slave as He divests himself of the glory pertaining to His divine being and subjects Himself to a passion and death befitting criminals. This is the revelation of God fully expressed in salvation of humankind. It is a redemption which transforms through love and which makes hospitality in the kingdom of God and a share in divine nature readily available as the prerogative of man. The aim of the study is to provide a deeper insight into the loving and intimate act of the foot washing. The study will tentatively and very cautiously contribute towards a more profound understanding of the real substance of that servile and humble act executed by the abased God with the purpose of loving mankind ‘eis telos’, till the very end, and with the purpose of welcoming man to his destination and original provenance as child of God. The study goes on to show that love and intimacy are the perpetrators of what is seemingly au exclusively humble and servile act. Love withstands misinterpretation, makes way for mistaken attitudes, but gradually and eventually filters through the fissures of insensitivities, finds fertile ground, grows and expands, until it becomes overwhelmingly all embracing. All of this is prudently and latently articulated in the foot washing account.