Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FOOTWASHING

In the ancient Near East, where roads were dusty and sandals were the common footwear, making provision for guests or travelers to wash their feet was an act of common hospitality (Gen. 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; Luke 7:36-50; cf. John 12:1-8). The washing of feet also became part of the purification rituals required of priests prior to entering the sanctuary or approaching the altar (Exod. 30:19-21; 40:31).

Jesus performed the menial task of washing his disciples’ feet while they were at table during the Last Supper. He commended his action as an example of the type of service the disciples should provide to each other (John 13:1-20). Some commentators view Jesus’ act as a symbolic representation of the cleansing effect his death would have for humans defiled by sin. The ritual of washing “the feet of saints” is listed as one of the requisite “good deeds” of women who qualify for the order of “widows” (1 Tim. 5:9-10). The rite of footwashing is still practiced on Maundy Thursday in many churches.

Bibliography. J. D. G. Dunn, “The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet in John 131-20,” ZNW 61 (1970): 247-52; H. Weiss, “Foot Washing in the Johannine Community,” NovT 21 (1979): 298-325.

Jeffrey T. Tucker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FOOTWASHING

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)