Foot Washing in The Gospel of John
Christ washed his disciples’ feet that he might give a proof of that great love wherewith he loved them. Christ washed his disciple’s feet that he might signify to them spiritual washing, and the cleansing of the soul from the pollutions of sin. Christ washed his disciple’s feet that he might give an instance of his own wonderful humility, and show how lowly and condescending he was, and let all the world know how low he could stoop in love to his own. Christ washed his disciple’s feet to set before us an example.
Foot washing was commonplace in Greco-Roman and the first-century Jewish culture and appears as a ritual of daily cleansing, as a religious act, or as a token of hospitality when someone first entered a home. This was a world where the roads were dusty and sandals were worn daily. In Luke 7:36-50 Simon the Pharisee’s failure to wash Jesus’ feet was correctly interpreted as a gesture of hostility. In Timothy 5:10 washing the feet of the saints may be a metaphor for humble service.
“Actions speak louder than words.” This expression is not always true, but it is sometimes true. And in some instances it is the only actions that speak at all. Sometimes a gesture or an object lesson gets the point across faster and better than any number of words. We know these things. So we are not surprised to learn that on His last full night with His disciples just before His crucifixion, when He wanted to teach them many things, Jesus began His teaching, not with words which might have been missed by them, but with the two significant actions. The first action was the washing of the disciples feet, recorded in John 13:2-11. The second action, which I will not talk much about, was the giving of the sop to Judas, recorded in John 13:21-30. In each case the action is followed by important teaching.
Many wonder why Jesus did these actions. The disciples were preoccupied. They disciples were terrified of the Jewish leaders; they suspected that Jesus was about to be arrested, and they were afraid that He would die and that they would die with Him. Or, even if that were not the case, it might be that He would be taken and they be left. Nothing in their present circumstances had prepared them to hear His teaching. So Jesus acted boldly in order to get their attention. We cannot miss the fact that He so...
... middle of paper ...
...us is not optional. It is our assignment, just as it was also the task of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that in the second half of verse 16 the Lord uses the word “sent” twice. In Greek these are different words: apostolos, from which we get the word apostle and pempsantos, which is the word Jesus uses of His own commissioning by the Father. Both words occur in John’s Great Commission, in which Jesus says, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” We are called to be servants primarily because it is for this that God has called us, just as He called Jesus. If He has done this, we will not be fully happy in any other role.
Works Cited
James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary Volume 4 John 13:1 17:26. (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1978), 27.
Ibid. 28.
Romans 5:6-8, New International Version
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Vol. V. – Matthew to John. (McLean, Macdonald Publishing Company, 1662-1714), page 1094.
Ibid. 1094.
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective. (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 1999), 146.
John 20:21, The New Scofield Reference Bible
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
He spends his last few hours of freedom before his death washing all twelve disciples' feet and drying them. Pope Francis Re creating this ritual was intended to send a message to the people whose feet were being washed. In source 2, the people’s feet being washed were inmates of a juvenile prison, who are considered vulnerable people in society. The twelve inmates were of different nationalities and religions. The Pope washed, dried and kissed the inmates feet which is the ultimate act of humility. Jesus originally did this to his disciples. To show that their lives must be one of servitude to others especially those most vulnerable. By the leader of the Catholic church doing this ritual it highlights the present themes of the Catholic church of servitude to others and shows that even the Pope lives a life of servitude to others. In this case, the servitude is for the vulnerable, which the pope is trying to show the values that contemporary Catholicism represents. Besides the washing of the feet Pope Francis also say’s “do not give up on hope, but rather look to God for an answer”. This is meant to show God’s forgiveness and grace by giving them an avenue where they can consolidate themselves through God. This is despite breaking the law and possibly not being of the Catholic faith, Pope Francis actions it shows God’s grace. This act of love
To encapsulate, the character of Judge Danforth, initially thought off as the voice of authority. A person on whom Salem depended the most, for justice. His inappropriately actions due to his misconceptions and self-righteous mentality wiped off the communal trust and social bonds of the people of Salem. Thereby making him the most responsible for the tragedy Salem.
Malick, David. "An Introduction to the Gospel of John." (1996): n. pag. Online. Internet. 5 July 2000. Available http://www.bible.org/docs/nt/books/joh/joh-intr.htm
In the light of the various descriptions of an unstable person, Iago is a psychopath with his manipulative choice of words. He tells people things that they want to hear and he says it in a manner that makes him appear exceptional. “ I humbly do beseech you of your pardon, For too much loving you.” (3.3.106) In act three, Iago pretends to be Othello’s confidant, and he wants Othello to suspect his wife is having an affair. Iago has a pseudo relationship with Othello the entire duration of the play.
What is a psychopath? What type of person can be characterized by this and how do they come to be? But first before we can answer these questions we must first know what a psychopath is. Psychopaths are people suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviors; clinically it is a person who has a lack of what we would consider a conscience. Psychopaths are seen to suffer from a lack of empathy because of psychological, genetic and environmental factors. Scientists have many theories concerning psychopaths. Scientist do not have a definite clear cut answer on what is the cause for psychopathy but they have many ideas; nature and the nurture of the person. Nature is the genes that the person carries. The nurture of the person when they were a child is simply means how they were treated when they were growing up and/or how they were raised. Some scientists even consider it a possibility that it could be a mixture of the two.
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print
Economically-Friendly – The cost of blood transfusions can be up to $500 each. Blood is free but it still has to be packaged, stored and transported which can cost up to $1,000 for just one patient. Then there are the costs of treating any complications that may occur as well as additional days the patient needs to stay in the hospital for recovery (www.pbs.org - “Bloodless Surgery”).
The Mayo Clinic defines a blood transfusion as “a routine medical procedure in which donated blood is provided to you through a narrow tube placed within a vein in your arm”. The first human blood transfusion on record was conducted by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, a French physician during the late 1600’s. Although Denys’ transfusions weren’t sound proof and often written off as unorthodox, he unknowingly ushered in a new era of medicine and laid the foundation for modern advances in Hematology. I choose this topic because I volunteer to donate blood four times a year alongside thousands of other people. On average these donations help save 4.5 million Americans that would die in a years’ time without a blood transfusion. These generous people
Every two seconds someone needs a blood transfusion only 10% of Americans who are able to donate blood actually do donate. Keep going with this thought and explain how there are many different ways a person can donate; from a blood (aka whole blood) donation, to a double red blood cell donation, plasma, and plasma. Each of these various methods take a different amount of days for a donor
Metzger, B.M. & Coogan, M.D. “The Oxford Companion to the Bible”. Oxford University Press. New York, NY. (1993). P. 806-818.
Wenham, G.J., Moyter, J.A., Carson, D.A. and France, R.T., eds. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998.
Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary Series). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001.
Blood transfusions have become a common part of medical care with nearly 5 million Americans a year receiving a transfusion. Blood transfusions are used in the treatment of many different conditions, from replacing blood lost in surgeries or injuries to fighting diseases like liver disease, anemia, and bleeding disorders like hemophilia (Nglbi.nih.gov, 2014). Blood collection and transfusion are overseen by many different agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through these agencies work in donor screening and surveillance, blood transfusions usually cause no adverse reactions in the recipient and are considered a safe medical procedure. Despite this, blood safety remains an important public health matter both due to the seriousness of some adverse reactions when they do occur and the need for preparedness in reacting to future blood safety issues that can suddenly arise when new bloodborne diseases emerge. It is for these reasons that Healthy People 2020 has made reducing the proportion of averse reactions from the medical use of blood and blood products one of their objectives.