G‘day! 🌟 Welcome to Partakers Christian Podcasts! Tune in for Bible Teaching, Bible Readings, Worship, Prayer, and Church History. Our mission on Podbean is to enable and encourage you on your faith journey. Come listen, interact, and be inspired!
Episodes
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Joy Gets Its Hands Dirty
Leviticus 18 & 19 & Mark 12:28-34
Introduction
From Mark 12, we see that Jesus said that the whole of the Law, including these verses from Leviticus 18-19, is summarised as “Love God and love all other people”.
The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “I am the Lord your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.(Leviticus 18:1-5)1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 ‘“Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4 ‘“Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘“When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.
9 ‘“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:1-10)28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
29 ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 31 The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.’
32 ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34)
Repeatedly in this book, God has said “Be holy, for I am holy”. But what is holiness? As we have glimpsed in the last 2 weeks, holiness is what separates God from all His creation. For God alone is holy and full of glory. Remember what Aaron had to do when entering the holy of holies on the day of Atonement? He had to create a wall of smoky incense, so that he wouldn’t glimpse God’s glory and holiness and be struck down dead, like his sons Nadab and Abihu. Holiness is in fact the sum of all God’s attributes. God is holiness and holiness is God.
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Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
A God of Joy and His people
Introduction
Book of Leviticus
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Saturday Sep 07, 2024
Saturday Sep 07, 2024
Obedient Service of God
Introduction
Take for instance the food laws. We know in the New Testament that all food is now permissible, whereas under the Old Testament, certain foods were not permitted to be eaten. In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter had a dream in which all food was declared clean!It is also wise, not to see them as merely a list of "not do" statements, but also as "do statements".
Rather, we should see them as a love letter from a God who wants to save His people from distress and anxiety in order to give them a life of peace, unity, health and a joyful life in all its fullness.All these laws were to lead ancient Israel to be a holy nation. Holiness was about being set apart for a purpose and making wise, conscious decisions about what was right or wrong. It involved being obedient to God and keeping His decrees and regulations.
Being holy, involved having a lifestyle, which was contrary to the cultures surrounding them. To be holy was a lifestyle choice of worship, to reflect their holy God.They were called to be loyal! Called to be distinct! Called to worship! What has all this got to do with us? Where does the Day of Atonement and these laws fit into the life of a Christian in the 21st century? We will take a look in the third part in al little while!
Outline:
Introduction
- Great joy Leviticus 9:22-24
- Great tragedy Leviticus 10:1-11
- A God of Judgement
- A God of Wrath
- So what’s all this got to do with us today?
- New Covenant?
- Called to service
- Judged for our service
Conclusion
Listen to the mp3 file to see what this fabulous piece of Scripture is about and how it is relevant to you today...
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Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Easter Part 7
Jesus meets people today
Jesus walks with us, where ever we go and in particular in the darkest periods of our life. Just as he did with the two people on the road to Emmaus, he walks with those who proclaim to follow Him (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32). Jesus speaks whenever the Bible is faithfully preached and read from, just as He opened the eyes of those on the Emmaus road when He explained the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). Jesus meets us in the Communion or Lord’s Supper, with the bread and wine, which symbolise His flesh and blood as an act of remembrance of what He did for humanity.
But that is not the end, because Jesus has promised that He is coming again. Not as a baby next time, but as an all conquering Son of God in judgment to gather those who follow Him. Are you ready? If you want to follow this Jesus, come on over Here is how… You won’t regret it if you do!
Becoming a Christian
If you want to turn to God there is no need for delay. He is ready and willing to take you as his own – right now. You only have to ask him to forgive you and he will! Being a Christian is a partnership between God and yourself. Deciding to change course in mid-life, is what is called conversion, being born again, or deciding to be a Christian. When you place your faith in Jesus, becoming utterly dependent upon Him, you turn to God.
Once you have made that decision, you leave behind your rebellion against Him. As you live each day, becoming more involved with Jesus day by day, you will find yourself changing. You stop doing things which separated you from him and find yourself doing things that develop your relationship with him.
How do you develop this relationship?
Until you enter into that relationship, sin, or that which alienates you from God, controls your rebellion against him in your attitudes and your activities. You develop this relationship by allowing God to take control of your life, as He asks you to accept His management and guidance of your life.
God’s point of view and His strength will become your point of view and your source of strength. You turn your mind, will and heart to Him for all you do.
If you want to make that decisive step and become a Christian there are three simple steps to take.
- Firstly, admit that you have done wrong against God and his ways and turn away from those attitudes.
- Secondly, believe and trust in Jesus as your Saviour from the consequences of the anger of God towards you and your tendency to sin. Call on Him, receive, trust, obey and worship Him, recognizing him for who he is and what he has done.
- Lastly, accept the Holy Spirit of God into your life as the major motivating force for what you do. Once sin has been confessed, Jesus is believed in and trusted as Saviour and the Holy Spirit has entered your life, then you are a Christian.
Download the Podcast to hear about the resurrected Jesus meeting people today - including you!
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Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Easter Part 6
Significance and consequences of Jesus' Resurrection
Significance 1
The resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the central theme for the sermons and teaching in the early church (Acts 1:22; Acts 4:33, Acts 17:18) and certainly within Paul-ine theology. But what significance is there in Jesus’ resurrection?
Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
That was the Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian church about the Jesus having been raised from the dead – physically!
Significance 2
The resurrection proved and vindicated all Jesus’ teaching and claims as the suffering Servant and attested to His being fully God and the last Judge of all mankind (Isaiah 53:10-12; Acts 2:36; Acts 3:13-15; Romans 1:4). The resurrection, declared God’s approval of Jesus obedient service and the fulfilment of all the Old Testament promises, resulting in forgiveness of sins and salvation being only found in and through Jesus Christ, which was the prime motive for evangelism in the early church (Acts 2:32, Romans 4:24-25). Jesus’ resurrection is a sign of the bodily resurrection for all believers in Him, giving a new attitude to death and transforming hopes (1 Corinthians 15:12-58, Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Peter 1:3 & 21). As the resurrected King, Jesus now intercedes for us and has perfected the redemption of all those who choose to follow Him (Romans 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; 1 Peter 1:21).
Significance 3
Finally, the resurrection of Jesus’ physical body is a sure victory over satan, sin and death. All three are conquered and squashed. Satan is a defeated creature and will do anything to drag people into defeat with him. The power of sin is conquered, and sin’s grip is overcome if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Finally, as I said earlier, death has been beaten, because those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ will live forever with him – death is not the end but a beginning.
If Jesus Christ did not physically rise from the dead then as Paul states in
“Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain. Yes, we are found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all people most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
Or let me put it in my own words - if Jesus Christ did not physically rise from the dead, we as Christians are the product of the greatest delusional lie and are the most foolish of all people.
Come back tomorrow to hear another consequence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Jesus meets people today! Download the Podcast to learn some details of these Scriptures concerning Jesus.
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Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Easter Part 5
Dealing with doubts concerning the resurrection
Yet people still doubt. Let us say Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Surely the authorities, both Jewish and Roman, would have produced his dead body in order to quench this new movement! But they didn’t, and the reason they didn’t is because there was no body to produce! Would the disciples have really risked death for telling and maintaining a lie about the risen Jesus? They were beaten, confused, defeated and dispersed men until they saw Jesus truly did rise from the dead. After seeing Him, they were transformed and victorious people.
I have had people say to me that somebody (even the disciples) stole the body. Hardly likely, and if that had occurred, for what reason? How would they have got past the Roman Guard and moved the stone a great distance from the tomb? This very reason is what the Jewish authorities tried to perpetuate by way of a bribe:
“Now while the disciples of Jesus were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers, saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.” So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until this day.” (Matthew 28:11-15)
Then we have the swoon theory. Jesus didn’t die but merely fainted and recovered consciousness in the tomb. Even the sceptics disagree with this theory, one of whom said “It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to His sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that He was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life”.
Or perhaps, they all went to the wrong tomb. That’s it – they went to the wrong tomb. Whilst one person may have gone to a wrong tomb, not everyone would have done. Besides, the gospel accounts tell us that people were waiting outside the tomb where Jesus was buried! Surely Joseph would know which tomb Jesus was buried in, seeing as Joseph owned it!
Lastly, Jesus didn’t die on the cross but somebody was substituted for him. This is certainly untenable, given the rigidity and strict record keeping of Roman rule and with the eyes of the Jewish hierarchy watching. This conjecture is a lie of satan because he knows the significance of Jesus having risen physically from the dead.
Come back tomorrow to hear more about the significance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Download the Podcast to learn some details of these Scriptures concerning Jesus.
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Sunday Apr 09, 2023
Sunday Apr 09, 2023
Easter Part 4: Jesus is Alive!
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.(Luke 24:1-12)
All four Gospels, Matthew, Mark Luke and John, tell us that Jesus was crucified, died and was buried in a tomb. What do these four Gospels say about the Jesus’ resurrection or rising from the dead?
Let us first look at the sequence of events over the period of time after Jesus death till He ascended. Now remember, the Gospels are documents which have recorded historical events.
The tomb is empty
• Two Marys watch the burial: (Matthew27:61, Mark 15:47, Luke23:54-55)
• Roman soldiers guard the tomb and place an official Roman seal upon it: (Matthew 27:62-66)
• Women prepare burial spices then rest: (Luke 23:56)
• An angel rolls the stone away: (Matthew 28:2-4)
• Women arrive at dawn with spices: (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-4, Luke 24:1-3, John 20:1)
• Angels appear to women: (Matthew 28:5-7, Mark 16:5-7, Luke 24:4-8)
• The women dart back to tell disciples: (Matthew 28:8, Mark 16:8, Luke 24:9-11, John 20:2)
• Peter and John investigate the empty tomb: (Luke 24:12, John 20:3-9)
• Peter and John go home: (Luke 24:12, John 20:10)
• Mary Magdalene weeps by the tomb: (John 20:11)
• Mary sees two angels: (John 20:12-13)
Jesus’ appearances
• Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene: (Mark 16:9, John 20:14-17)
• Jesus appears to the other women: (Matthew 28:9-10)
• Women report to the disciples: (Mark 16:10-11, John 20:18)
• Guards testify to the priests: (Matthew 28:11-15)
• Jesus meets two people on the Emmaus Road: (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32)
• Jesus appears to Simon Peter: (1 Corinthians 15:5, Luke 24:34)
• Two men on the Emmaus Road report to disciples in Jerusalem: (Luke 24:33-35)
• Jesus appears to the Disciples less Thomas: (Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-24)
• Disciples report to Thomas: (John 20:25)
• Jesus appears to the Disciples and Thomas: (Mark 16:14, John 20:26-29)
• Jesus appears to seven people: (John 21:1-14)
• Jesus questions Peter 3 times: (John 21:15-23)
• Jesus appears to 500 people: (1 Corinthians 15:6)
• Jesus appears to James: (1 Corinthians 15:7)
Evidences for the resurrection
These facts remain for the resurrection. Look at them and study them. Notice the changed attitude of the disciples after seeing the risen Jesus. They changed from defeated, cowardly people to victorious, brave people. Nobody who could have produced the dead body of Jesus, did so. Their silence is as significant as the preaching of the Apostles. Or take the multiple appearances of Jesus to various numbers of individuals and groups of people at various times of the day and in differing circumstances.
This shows that Jesus’ resurrection was physical in nature! Some people say Jesus’ resurrection was spiritual in nature but not physical. But the amount of people that saw Him physically afterwards dispels that particular myth. What about the current tangible evidence - the survival and inordinate growth and impact of the early church and that the church is still growing 2000 years later. If there was no bodily resurrection of Jesus, would people really have risked persecution and death for knowing a lie? One or two people maybe, but not hundreds. Certainly not thousands!
Come back tomorrow where we continue looking at Jesus' resurrection.
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Saturday Apr 08, 2023
Saturday Apr 08, 2023
Easter Part 3: Why did Jesus go to the Cross?
All human beings, in their natural state, are born sinners and have rebelled against God (Romans 3:23). However, because of Jesus’ death on the cross God offers forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), Peace (Romans 5:1) and reconciliation with Himself, so that we are no longer His enemies (2 Corinthians 5:19). Through the cross of Jesus Christ, and only through the cross, we are made just before God (Romans 3:24-26), it cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7) and makes us right before Almighty God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Because of the Cross of Jesus Christ, we can have direct access to God (Ephesians 2:18) and Jesus Christ intercedes for us (Hebrews 2:17-18). Because of Jesus Christ’s death on a Roman cross, all those who follow Him have freedom from the power of slavery to sin (Galatians 5:1) and freedom from the power of the devil (Hebrews 2:14). None of the above things are true if a person does not follow Jesus.
The cross of Jesus Christ is amazing love in action and is ignored at great peril. Let us go forward in hope and faith, choosing deliberately not to boast in anything else, save only of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The wisdom of God as exhibited on and in the Cross of Jesus Christ, is foolishness but only to those who don’t accept it.
Come and listen to the podcast to hear more about this as we discover:
- There is a problem!
- There is a solution!
- Victory achieved!
- What should our response be to the cross of Jesus Christ?
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Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Easter Part 2: Jesus’ Trial, Crucifixion, Death and Burial
These words were spoken of the coming Messiah, by the prophet Isaiah centuries before Jesus Christ.
See, my servant will act wisely he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:13-14)
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11)
Jesus Condemned
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they slapped him in the face. (John 19:1-3)
Jesus Crucified
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. (John 19:16-19)
Jesus Buried
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about thirty-five kilograms. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus there.(John 19:38-42)
Download the Podcast to learn some details of these Scriptures concerning Jesus. Tomorrow we will look at some of the other character & events that happened around the cross, and investigate what Jesus’ death on a Roman cross two thousand years ago means for humanity today and why He had to die on a cross in the first place.
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Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Easter Part 1: Jesus Prepares & Serves
1. Jesus Prepares
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The Teacher asks: where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me.’
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely you don’t mean me?’
20 ‘It is one of the Twelve,’ he replied, ‘one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.’
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. 25 ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(Mark 14:12-26)
The disciples needed a room within Jerusalem itself, and also required food - a lamb, bread, bitter herbs and wine. The Passover meal contains historical and theological symbolism regarding the death of Jesus. This is why this meal is the model for the central act of Christian worship, which is Holy Communion.
Listen to the podcast to hear:
- An outline of a Passover meal at the time of Jesus
- The significance of the Last Supper for us today
2. Jesus Serves
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
7 Jesus replied, ‘You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
8 ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
9 ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’
10 Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. (John 13:1-10)
As part of the custom of the day, a servant or slave usually undertook foot washing of guests. Since none of the disciples had done this, Jesus Himself undertakes the task (John 13:4-5). Peter is recalcitrant and resistant as always, and objects (John 13:6, 8). Peter learns that only those cleansed by Jesus and trusting in Him fully, can be a part of the kingdom (John 13:7, 9). As we look back at this episode, knowing what we do now of the Cross, we learn how this simple act of washing feet is symbolic of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross.
Download the Podcast to find out more about this act of service by Jesus and what it means for the Church today.