Basin Theology

 

”[Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.”

–John 13:5 (NIV)

 

A pastor of a church in Pittsburgh recently presented a message series about giving and serving. He shared a conversation with an active member of his church who approached him afterwards, saying: “When you get right down to it, it all comes down to basin theology.” The pastor asked, “Basin theology? What’s that?” The man replied, “Remember what Pilate did when he had the chance to acquit Jesus? He called for a basin and washed his hands of the whole thing [Matt 27:24]. But Jesus, the night before His death, called for a basin and proceeded to wash the feet of His disciples [read John 13:1-17]. It all comes down to basin theology: which one will you use?”

 

That man was right on! Every day two“basins” are presented for us to choose from. One is a basin that ignores the person and priorities of Jesus Christ. It is full of stuff but ultimately empty. Yet it is a fairly attractive basin to many, because it disregards the Lord’s claims of rulership to our lives (e.g. 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23). It is also a dead-end and deadly basin (e.g., Jas 1:13-15).

 

Beside it sits a more modest and yet more honorable basin. It is one  that  beckons  us  to  imitate  Christ’s  stirring  posture  of servanthood, when  He  humbly  washed  His  disciples’ dusty feet—an unpleasant task reserved for the lowest servant of the house (John 13:1ff; cf. Phil 2:5ff). His “gentle and humble heart”

 

(Matt 11:29) prompted humble service to meet a practical need (clean feet!) as an example for the apostles and us to do the same (John 13:14-15; Rom 12:9-11). In God’s economy, that includes leaders too (e.g., Mark 10:35-45)! If you ask 100 people what they’d do for a living if they could choose anything, you’ll get about 100 different answers. Yet hardly ever will someone offer, “I want to be a servant.”

 

Spiritually speaking, however, that is a “blessed” status (John 13:17).  More importantly, it’s the basin our Master chose (e.g., Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 22:27; Phil 2:5ff). He’s challenging you to choose the same one. Will you wash your hands in Pilate’s basin, or wash others’ feet in Jesus’ basin?

 

For Discussion: What are some recent examples you’ve seen of a Christian “washing another’s feet?” To whom and how can you humbly show practical love to a fellow Christian this week?

 

Family Activity: Who in your family needs his/her feet washed today? (Pause for giggles about who has the smelliest feet!) Seriously, who has a practical need that you could all humbly help meet?