Cleanse me and fill me

John 13:9-11

Peter’s initial insistence that he will never let Jesus wash his feet (8) is turned on its head when he realises that it’s non-negotiable. With characteristic zeal, his refusal quickly becomes a request for a more comprehensive washing that goes beyond what Jesus had intended. He is still trying to dictate the terms – he calls Jesus, “Lord”, but effectively says, “Do it my way” (9)!

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Jesus uses Peter’s mistaken reply to make the further point that Christians are cleansed once and for all by him (10; 15:3). They do not need to add anything to that cleansing, though just as a person who had bathed at home needed to wash the dust from his feet when he arrived at a friend’s house after walking along dusty roads, so too Christians need to constantly return to Jesus to be washed of the sins that daily occur.

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Here is a key principle for maintaining a close relationship with Jesus. It’s by grace alone that we are made clean and thus able to know him as Saviour, Lord and Friend. But we regularly find ourselves with “dusty feet”, needing to come back to him again and again for more grace (1 John 1:9). “Cleanse me and fill me” must be the regular prayer of our hearts if we are to remain in the vine.