Cleanse me and fill me

April 11, 2021

13:1-35 Loving one another, just as Jesus loves us

Read John 13:9-11

Peter’s initial insistence that he will never let Jesus wash his feet (13:8) was quickly turned on its head when he realised that it was non-negotiable. With characteristic zeal, his refusal quickly became a request for a more comprehensive washing that went beyond what Jesus had intended (9). Although Peter now expressed willingness, in fact he was still trying to dictate the terms, calling Jesus, “Lord” but effectively telling him what to do! We see a similar contradiction in his later words, “Surely not, Lord” (Acts 10:14). It’s easy to call Jesus, “Lord”, but still think that our own way is better.

Jesus used 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 – “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy... through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). But 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.

Here is a key principle for maintaining a close relationship with Jesus. It is by grace alone that we are made clean and thus able to know him. But in our “walking”, our feet very often get dusty and dirty, and so we need to keep coming back to him for more of his grace, trusting his promise that if we confess our sins he will forgive us (1 John 1:9). “Cleanse me and fill me” must be the frequent prayer of our hearts if we are to remain in him (15:4) .