John 13:3-10 says, "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself; then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. He came then to Simon Peter. Peter said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know after these things. Peter said to Him, You shall by no means wash my feet forever. Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean."

Foot-washing has two meanings in the Bible. Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet has one meaning, and the disciples' washing of each other's feet has another meaning. To wash each other's feet is to recover one another and to revive one another. Jesus' washing the disciples' feet has another meaning.

All of us have shoes and socks; therefore, foot-washing is not that necessary for us. But some of us come from the southeast Asian countries. There foot-washing is necessary because many wear sandals only. They do not wear socks. The Jews were like the southeastern Asians; they wore sandals and did not have socks. Often they walked through desert lands, and their feet were constantly dirty. Not only did their feet get dirty when they traveled, but sometimes their feet got dirty when they walked across the hall immediately after a bath. Even when their body was already clean, their feet still needed washing before they would be wholly clean.

What does the Lord Jesus want to show us in this picture? Verse 10 says, "Jesus said to him, He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean." Who are those who are bathed? Ananias told Paul to rise up and be baptized for the washing away of his sins (Acts 22:16). Bathing in the Bible signifies the full cleansing from sin of a person when he believes in the Lord Jesus. Last night we saw the slaughtering and the burning of the heifer. The slaughtering is for our redemption, and the burning is for our cleansing. Tonight we also have to consider two kinds of cleansing. One is foot-washing. The other is bathing. There are two sides to the Lord's work—the slaughtering and the burning; and when we apply the effects of this work to us, there are also two sides—the foot-washing and the bathing. He cleansed us with His own blood. This work of redemption was accomplished once for all. When we believe in and receive Him, we are washed in the pool of His blood and are fully cleansed. Thank the Lord that we have all taken the bath. All our sins have been washed away by the Lord Jesus. But now that we have believed in the Lord and have been washed, while we are on our journey in the wilderness, we cannot avoid coming in contact with the world. We cannot avoid picking up impurities. In our journeying in the wilderness, spontaneously we come into contact with the world, and spontaneously the dust of the earth defiles our feet.