Foot Washing | John 13
John 13
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Chapter Notables:
Jesus washes His disciples feet - verses 1-17
Jesus predicts His betrayal - verses 18-30
Jesus predicts Peter’s denial - verses 31-38
Read React | Lemuel Ayudtud
WARNING: Sports reference coming up in 3, … There is an offense based play in basketball where the point guard, the one holding the ball and who the offensive approach pivots from, reads the defensive formation of the opposing team and runs plays according to his speculation of the defense. If I am correct in my definition, this is pretty much what a “read and react” offense is. The effectiveness of the play will depend on the carrier of the ball reading the defense: he either will run the pass the ball left or right or maybe go for the basket himself. The better his “read” is, and the level of offensive execution of the play, will result in the best outcome.
Learning how to “read and react” can set a basketball player one over the other. And much as it is in the hardwood (the basketball court), knowing how to read and react in life is a good gift to have for helping one understand the situation that they’re in.
An overreaction or a under reaction can lead to expectations that maybe unsatisfiable, or detrimental. The inability to read a situation can lead to either a positive or negative outcome.
Okay, let me go back to the Bible. (Thank you for riding along.)
Jesus expressed His desire to wash His disciples’ feet. Being that such an action was for servants and young people, Peter rejected Jesus washing his feet. Peter said, “Are you gonna wash my feet? You will never wash my feet.” (My paraphrase.)
After that statement Jesus tells Peter that if he does not wash his feet, he would not be a part of Him to which Peter replied,“Then not my feet only but every part of my body.”
Peter was definitely misunderstood the situation. He could not read the motive of Jesus and because of that he was overly concerned about Jesus washing his feet. Then after Jesus told him what He told him, he overreacted and responded to Jesus’s statement. Of course, Jesus calmly responded with, “I don’t need to wash everything, just your feet.” First it was rejection then it was total exaggeration!
Peter, when we study him, was such an emotional, over reactor. He’s known to have had a foot and mouth disease—saying things before really thinking about it. And some of us are like that, right? We just hear something and we really don’t fully understand it, so we react to it in the way that it’s affecting out this right at the moment.
But we are the point guards of our lives. We must learn how to read and react and respond. We must check the way we understand certain things. We don’t want to be in a place where we are just swing left and right no matter what’s happening because were emotionally reacting to a situation.
We have to learn to pause and pay attention to what Jesus is saying to us at any given moment.
God may speak to us or do things that can make us wonder what He is saying or why He did what He did.
He may lead us to serve in ways we are not comfortable. We may thing that some things are either beneath us or too much.
But one thing’s for sure, God will not give us anything we cannot bear or anything that lead us away from Him.
God’s plan is to always bring us closer to Him than before and to teach us something about ourselves that we have yet understood or even experienced. We just have to say “Yes, Lord. I don’t know why, but here’s my feet.”
Lord, thank You for Your understanding of my flaws and faults. Thank You for Your grace for me. Lord, help me to understand Your word for me. Direct my ways and teach me to know Your will and way! Help me to respond not in exaggeration or over dramatization. Help me hear what You’re saying. Teach me to read a situation or an event in the way that pleases You. In Your Name, Jesus, amen.
