I want to take you back to the Old Testament, to the book of Genesis. In chapter 18, we find the patriarch, Abraham, sitting in front of his tent. We need to go back to the end of chapter 17 to get the background for this story.

God appeared to Abram and changed his name to Abraham. God made a promise to him that he would make a great nation from his descendants and that even kings would be among his relatives.

Next, God established a covenant between Him and Abraham. This covenant was that every male child should be circumcised when he was eight days old. This circumcision put each male in a covenant relationship with God.

God promised Abraham a child by Sarah.  Then He blessed Abraham’s son, Ishmael. God promised that twelve princes would be descendants of Ishmael, and he would also be a great nation.

When God left, Abraham took Ishmael and all males in his household and circumcised them. On that same day, Abraham was circumcised.

Now we come to chapter 18. Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent when he saw three men. Scripture says that he “ran to meet them.”

Think about that. Abraham was recovering from surgery. He could have simply remained seated and allowed the three strangers to continue on their journey, but just look at what he would have missed.

Abraham asked the three men to rest while he had water brought to wash their feet and food prepared. When all was ready, Abraham stood by them under a tree while they ate.

The Lord had a message for Abraham. “The LORD said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son” (Genesis  18:10 ESV).

The Lord Himself made this journey with two of His angels to declare to Abraham that a child was coming. Then the Lord delivered the message that Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed.  Even though Abraham didn’t recognize these visitors as the Lord and two of his angels, he made sure to offer the best he had to them.

Fast forward to the New Testament to John 13. There we find the Lord and His disciples preparing to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. Jesus knew His time on earth had come to an end, and that Judas was about to betray Him.

This group of special men had gathered to celebrate a feast, but no one took it upon himself to be the host. The responsibility of the host was to either wash everyone’s feet or have it done by a servant, but none of the disciples took on that role.

Jesus took it upon Himself to take care of this responsibility. “Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

They missed their chance to wash the Lord’s feet! The Son of God sat right in front of them, and they passed up the chance to be a servant.

Just six days before the Passover, Jesus was in Bethany. This was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 12:3).

Judas Iscariot had the audacity to complain to Jesus because Mary did not sell the ointment and give it to the poor. Judas did not really care about the poor. Scripture says “because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6).  

Judas missed a chance to wash the feet of the Son of God. He also complained because someone else showed honor to Jesus.

The question for us is, have we missed a chance to wash the feet of Jesus? You’ll find the answer in Matthew 25 in the description of the return of Jesus. If we fail to offer assistance to those in need, we have failed to offer assistance to the Lord (Matthew 25:33-46).

Have you washed the feet of Jesus recently?

Sandra Oliver