This season, we’re blessed with a set of Lenten devotionals by contributing author Lee Hinkle.  Find out more about Lee at the bottom of this article, or at hinkledownunder.com.

Reading

John 13:1-11 (ESV)

Meditation

This is one of the harder passages of scripture for me to read. Not because I identify with Peter too quickly (which I do), and not because the anxiety that I can feel for Judas when he hears Jesus say, “Not all of you are clean.” (What ran through his mind?) It’s not even the fact that Jesus is preparing for His death. No, it is because I used to sell shoes, and have an aversion to feet. I was around them a lot when I was younger and they are not my favourite things. I can’t even begin to imagine how dirty the feet of the disciples would have been.

“You are clean.” This servant act, this show of care becomes a declaration of Truth. “You are clean.” Yes, Peter was losing sight of what Christ was doing. He often does. In his effort to be in the know and show his loyalty to Jesus, Peter doesn’t want Jesus to lower Himself to the place of washing His feet.

How was Peter reacting while he was watching the other disciples get their feet washed? Did he sit in judgement? Was he in shock, and only realized what Jesus was doing when He was before him? Then, when Jesus tells him that he needs to have his feet washed, Peter wants a bath. How often do we run after what we think is the whole of the Truth, only to discover it is a misunderstanding of it?

“You are clean.” There is the Truth. We are clean because Jesus has washed us. He has cleansed us by His death and resurrection.

Prayer

Thank you for cleaning us and making us pure. Thank you for the sacrifice and the example you give to you. We love you, Jesus. Amen.

Lenten Action

Find someone to serve today. Do it because Jesus is our example. Do it as an act of worship because you are clean.
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Lee Hinkle is an American pastor who, with his family of 7, felt God’s call to pack up and plant a church in Fremantle, a town in Perth, Western Australia.  Last Summer, the Hinkles left Indianapolis and arrived in Oz to begin their work.  You can follow their adventures at hinkledownunder.com.