John 13:6-11 6Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand after these things.” 8Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
John inserts a short dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Peter has been a minor character only mentioned a few times up to this point of John’s Gospel. However, he takes center stage in this story, with Jesus’ resurrection, and then the final recorded encounter when the resurrected Jesus met with the disciples after their fishing excursion at the end of the Gospel. The portrait of Peter in John and the Synoptic Gospels is consistent. He was one who inserted himself in sometimes awkward places and times with spontaneous faith outbursts. What was lacking sometimes was a deep foundation for this faith. This foundation would come later when Peter was confirmed by Jesus in chapter 21.
When Jesus bent down to start washing the disciples’ feet, it must have been a highly embarrassing situation for them. When it came Peter’s turn, Peter could not stay silent any longer but spoke out. Like when he confessed Jesus to the be Messiah in Caesarea Philippi in Mark 8:32-33, here again he seems to be missing the point of what Jesus was doing. Peter had faith, but it lacked understanding. Peter’s reluctance to have his feet washed is indicated in the Greek with emphatic personal pronouns that come at the first of his statement. Jesus saw through Peter’s intellectual struggle and difficulty understanding and reconciling what he believed with what he saw. In the backstory, Peter represented all the disciples who misinterpreted Jesus’ mission. They looked for glory and honor but Jesus came in humility and service.
Peter responds a second time in verse 8 with an even stronger statement. His words are emphatic in the original language (double negative “never ever,” ou mē). He tried to put an end to the situation. His motivation and thinking can only be assumed at this point, but it would seem that he did not want Jesus to be lower than him in social status. He thought Jesus to be the Messiah, the one to be honored, not the one to be a servant. Peter’s whole social order and faith structure were thrown into chaos. His worldview was being challenged and transformed. Jesus’ response is a form of soft rebuke that lays out an important condition for Peter. Peter needed to accept Jesus’ foot washing to be part of him. The word for share (meros) can refer to inheritance or participation in something significant. For Peter to grasp the significance of who Jesus was and what he came to do, he needed to accept the washing. He needed to understand that the path for cleansing must come through service and the cross. Soon, he would be called to follow in Jesus’ path of service and commitment. Jesus exemplified the love he would explain shortly. His actions were the living message before the spoken message.
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