Washing feet

The message at church yesterday was based around Jesus washing the disciples' feet in John chapter 13. 

There's lots that can be drawn from the incident concerning servant leadership, the human propensity to pick up sin even after being washed clean by Jesus' blood and sacrifice, the need to keep examining and repenting, making sure our "dirty feet" aren't ignored and go on to make everything else dirty. However, what struck me was a question someone raised over coffee and biscuits after the service: 

"Why did Jesus include Judas when he washed feet when he knew that Judas was going to betray him?"

 

Depending on your view of predestination, perhaps Judas' decision to betray Jesus hadn't yet been set in stone. Perhaps there was still the possibility he would repent and realise he couldn't hand over the Teacher who loved him to the men who wanted to kill him. Being excluded too soon from the community of the disciples would only harden Judas' attitude.

 

Another possible explanation comes from our need to remember that everything Jesus does, and the way in which he does it, is to glorify God the Father and is also for us, to show us the way to live. 

 

Jesus knows what's going on inside every individual, good, bad and mixed up. He sees our thoughts; he sees through our motivations and (self) justifications; he sees our potential, the person we could be if only we trusted and allowed him to help us to grow and develop. He loves us, despite ourselves.

 

If Jesus, knowing what he knew, was prepared to wash Judas' feet, how can his followers refuse to show love and serve other people just because of what we think we know about their inner thoughts and intentions?

Jesus actually knew. He loved and served anyway.

We can only guess or assume, and it's not unknown for a person to get it wrong.

 

We don't have to agree with someone to serve and show love in our words and actions.