⁶ So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?”

First recipient in this normally routine domestic chore was Peter. Hardly would anyone have rejected such an offer of hospitality in that culture, being an expected courtesy from any decent host. But Jesus was not the host, and He was not the host’s servant, in the normal sense. In fact, He was the greatest of the guests there and the dinner in many ways was in His honor. To be sure, He called for the meal to be performed at this specific location, but things as they happened broke with the normal customs of the day.

Possibly the host or the owner of the home where they met, was chagrined for not providing that service himself, but that sentiment seems unimportant to our story teller. What does get noticed is Peter’s quite understandable reaction. It was a response of incredulity.

How would James and John have reacted? They, of whom it was famously noted in another place, desired to sit at Jesus’ side in the kingdom. They desired the first place, and to have the master wash their feet, and to do it first, might have helped them gain the prestige they so desperately desired.

How would Judas have felt? Would he have objected with indignation that the home owner should have provided that service? After all, Judas seemed to pride himself in correcting Jesus at other times, as when Jesus allowed the expensive perfume to be poured out on His feet, when the betrayer felt it should have instead been sold and the money given to the poor.

Thomas? Might he have doubted Jesus’ Lordship by performing such a menial task, the way he doubted Christ’s resurrection from the dead? Or Andrew, might he have thought, what use is it for Christ to do that, the way he questioned the value of the boy’s loaves and fishes in the hands of the miracle worker?

Peter was incredulous, in a state of consternation. This is the one who recognized that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the one who said, “If it is you Lord, command me to come to you” and walked on water. This is the one who was chastised for his faltering faith when he sunk amid the howling storm, taking his eyes off the divine Water-Walker.

How would I have felt if I were there? Would I have allowed Jesus to wash my feet? Do I resist being indebted to another’s service? Do I doubt God in the details? Do I have ulterior motives? Am I too proud to be served by God? Do I recognize my need? Am I astonished by what Christ has done for me?

Lord, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could save me, a sinner, condemned unclean.”