Last Supper 1 - John 13:1-17

The day Passover has finally come and Jesus “sent Peter and John saying, “Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat.” This is the day when the practice of remembering their delivery from slavery in Egypt is to be replaced with the practice of remembering our delivery from physical and spiritual death. They ask Jesus where they should go to prepare the meal, they don’t have any property there and probably no friends or family so finding a place that would allow a controversial character such as Jesus participate in the most spiritual ritual might be difficult.

 Jesus demonstrates his omnipotence again telling them to go into the city and they will see a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him and ask the master of the house that he goes into “The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?” Then the man of the house will show them “a large upper room furnished: there make ready.” This is significant because not only does Jesus know exactly where to find the man who will be receptive to their message but he also knows that this man will grant them use of the best room in the house. The IM notes that the “upper room” would be the most prestigious room in the house because in ancient Israel, the upper room would be the highest place in the house and therefore the furthest away from the busy street traffic and probable all the dust blow around. The disciples do as they are directed and they find the place in exactly the way that Jesus described.
The Passover ritual started in the evening time, and when the time came that day, Jesus and the Twelve sat down together for the meal and performed the ceremony and ate. 
When the meal was done, Jesus “riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” It’s interesting to me that Jesus knows that he has a very short amount of time left to instruct His disciples in taking over the Kingdom of God when he is gone in the next few hours. Why would He decide that washing the feet of His disciples be the most profitable use of His time?
One thing that comes to mind is that He could preach and teach all day long, in fact he had been doing just that for over 3 years, but sometimes actions speak louder than words. Thinking about it, feet are gross and smelly, and in the time of Christ they were surely very dirty from the roads and animals and walking everywhere. They might have had blisters or sores or rashes, overgrown or infected toenails. There is a reason why the job of washing the feet of guests was appointed to the lowliest servant or slave, because it was frickin gross. But it was such a courtesy and so nice to have done, it might have been one of those things that wasn’t necessary but felt great and was nice to have done. It’s like a tender mercy, not necessary for our salvation, but just a personal touch from the Savior saying, “I love you and want you to have something nice.”
I don’t think that there were any words that the Savior could have spoken about service and love that would have resonated more deeply than watching your Master wash the feet of those who follow Him. The IM cites the Joseph Smith Translation for John 13:10 which says, “Now this was the custom of the Jews under their law; wherefore, Jesus did this that the law might be fulfilled.” This indicates that the washing of feet “is a gospel ordinance,” and says, “On December 27, 1832, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation that declared: ‘Sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clear.’ In the same revelation the Lord commanded the Prophet to organize the School of the Prophets, saying that those who were part of the school ‘shall be received by the ordinance of the washing of feet.’ Elder McConkie further explained: ‘The case of (the School of the Prophets) the ordinance (of washing of feet) is to be performed by the President of the Church. In compliance with this revelation the Prophet on January 23, 1833, washed the feet of the members of the school of the prophets.’”
If we look at world leadership or any kind of leadership, how different would the world be if all leaders had to wash the feet of their followers? Even if they were the worst human beings in every other aspect of their lives, bringing themselves down to this point in humility would at least make them stop and think for a minute about why they really want to serve. Thinking about current world leadership, I guarantee that may of the world’s leaders would resign from their position before they would ever stoop so low as to wash the feet of someone else. That really puts their motivation for leadership in perspective. If Jesus, the man who made it possible for me to be happy and healed came to me and tried to wash my feet, I don’t know if I could emotionally handle that. I really think that this drives home the point that we discussed the other day that we are commanded to love God with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength, but he also loves us with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.
The IM quotes Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as teaching, “In the midst of (the Last Supper), Christ quietly arose, girded himself as a slave or servant would, and knelt to wash the Apostles’ feet. This small circle of believers in this scarcely founded kingdom were about to pass through their severest trial, so he would set aside his own increasing anguish in order that he might yet once more serve and strengthen them. It does not matter that no one washed his feet. In transcendent humility he would continue to teach and to cleanse them. He would to the final house- and beyond- be their sustaining servant… So it had been, and so it was to be- through the night, and through the pain, and forever. He would always be their strength, and no anguish in his own soul would ever keep him from that sustaining role.”
I knew that the Savior would soon be going into the Garden of Gethsemane and suffering and I’ve thought many times about how nervous or anxious he might be, knowing what was coming. But I never had considered the difficulties that would be awaiting the Apostles. They had been warned by Jesus many times that he was going to be arrested and crucified soon, but Peter would try to follow Him, to his own peril, Judas had only a few hours left to live as well, and the other disciples were going to watch the man they followed for the last 3 years be murdered in a sudden and gruesome manner. They had invested years of their lives with Jesus and much of their livelihood, I don’t think that they had worked out their back up plan, “what will we do if our leader is murdered?” His predominant concern was their welfare, he knew that this was going to be a terrible time for them, even while he himself was crucified and atoned for the sins of the world.