After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." (John 13:8)
Why was it so important for Jesus to wash their feet?
Jesus' response was stern and clear. If Simon Peter refused Jesus' washing his feet, Jesus would have nothing more to do with him: The Greek word μέρος (meros), translated to "part," can also mean "lot" or "destiny."In spiritual learning, there is theoretical knowledge and there is practical knowledge. This is not that different from other things. For example, we may watch baseball on TV and know all the rules, but unless we get on the field and play the game, we will not really know baseball.
Here Jesus was teaching his disciples about humility and service. He was giving them a direct experience of devoted service. Because Jesus was their teacher, and they held him in great respect, his action of washing their feet sent them a clear message - not just theoretically. What was the message?
That Jesus saw himself as a servant and wanted them to also see themselves as servants.
Jesus' mission - his coming to this planet, and teachings - was to serve the Supreme Being. This was Jesus' life and what gave him happiness:
"I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)
"My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me." (John 7:16)Jesus was teaching his disciples how they can return to their lost loving relationship with God: through loving service. Jesus wanted his disciples to become loving servants of the Supreme Being and serve all of humanity by passing his teachings on.
Is this salvationism?
Salvationism is a teaching that emphasizes the purpose of religion is to become saved. Proponents of this teaching have taught that all we have to do is pledge our allegiance to Jesus and accept that he died for our sins, and we can now proclaim we are saved.But when did Jesus teach this? If this were true, why would Jesus have needed to teach anything else? Why didn't he just say: "Wait until I am crucified and you can all be saved by my death"?
The emphasis on Jesus' dying for my sins has, for many institutions, overtaken Jesus' other teachings. Why has this become so important?
Because it is a self-centered teaching. Such a teaching is attractive to the masses because it promises a self-centered reward for those who become followers. This is why Paul's churches grew so much faster than the disciples of Jesus' followings. Because Paul's teachings - which departed from Jesus' teachings. Paul wanted to attract the masses who did not believe in God ("Gentiles" from the Greek word ἔθνος which also means "pagans" and "atheists").
Yes, the primarily Roman masses that Paul attracted into his churches were not believers in God. They believed primarily in the Roman pantheon - the various gods.
This is why Jesus said that he did not come to teach the "Gentiles" - the atheists. He came to teach those who believed in the existence of the Supreme Being.
But now we have a heritage of institutions that have followed the teachings of Paul. Instead of focusing on loving and worshiping the Supreme Being as Jesus taught, they worship Jesus as God and preach that if we accept that Jesus died for our sins we are saved.
Meanwhile, those responsible for supporting and passing along this corrupted teaching - the many popes, bishops, cardinals, priests, reverends, ministers and other 'professional preachers over the centuries - have remained focused on their own positions of authority instead of taking up Jesus' message of humbly serving God and His children.
This was also Jesus' argument against the Pharisees and priests that controlled the Temple institution of Jesus' day.
Salvation is a self-centered concern. Though love of God and loving service to God lead to salvation, the quest for salvation is a self-centered concern. In Jesus' teachings, it is a byproduct - not the goal.
Love of God and loving others is the goal according to Jesus' teachings. Those who love God and love others aren't concerned with their own salvation. Yes, they may be concerned for the salvation of others. But never their own.
Salvation is a self-centered concern. Though love of God and loving service to God lead to salvation, the quest for salvation is a self-centered concern. In Jesus' teachings, it is a byproduct - not the goal.
Love of God and loving others is the goal according to Jesus' teachings. Those who love God and love others aren't concerned with their own salvation. Yes, they may be concerned for the salvation of others. But never their own.
They simply want to please the Supreme Being.
Yet so many professional officials of these institutions teach salvation as the goal.
Is this the life of service that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples? Is taking a professional teaching position the service that Jesus was communicating to his disciples?
The criteria are quite simple, and Jesus established these criteria for the type of service he was promoting:
Accepting a salary in return for service to an institution means also means abiding by the will of those who engage and pay the official. This means abiding by the will of politically elected committees or appointees of that institution.
It also means pleasing the congregation, because if the congregation doesn't like the official, they could be fired.
Doing God's will means doing God's will. It doesn't mean pleasing the congregation, deacons, bishops, cardinals, or anyone else other than the Supreme Being.
Once a person accepts a salary for preaching, they can no longer be associated with Jesus in terms of service. They have betrayed Jesus.
Yet so many professional officials of these institutions teach salvation as the goal.
Is this the life of service that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples? Is taking a professional teaching position the service that Jesus was communicating to his disciples?
The criteria are quite simple, and Jesus established these criteria for the type of service he was promoting:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)
Can someone serve God and get paid for it?
Accepting a salary in exchange for preaching is not service: It is business. Receiving a salary contradicts the very notion of service. Performing services in exchange for a salary is a transaction.Accepting a salary in return for service to an institution means also means abiding by the will of those who engage and pay the official. This means abiding by the will of politically elected committees or appointees of that institution.
It also means pleasing the congregation, because if the congregation doesn't like the official, they could be fired.
Doing God's will means doing God's will. It doesn't mean pleasing the congregation, deacons, bishops, cardinals, or anyone else other than the Supreme Being.
Once a person accepts a salary for preaching, they can no longer be associated with Jesus in terms of service. They have betrayed Jesus.
This is why Jesus got so upset about people selling goods on the temple grounds. He was angry because they were using the Temple to profit from. Is this not what well-paid priests and preachers are doing?
There is a phrase that is often used to describe such an activity: "Sell out." When a person accepts payment in exchange for their services, they have sold those services. The person or organization that paid for the services now owns those services. This is business, not service.
According to a 2019 report by the Association of Theological Schools, the average tuition for one year for a full-time seminary student was $14,073 for the 2017-18 year. Seminary schools are businesses. The average salary for professors at these institutions is $77k, while the administrators and deans make between $80k and $122k on average. These are people who are using Jesus to make good money.
There is a phrase that is often used to describe such an activity: "Sell out." When a person accepts payment in exchange for their services, they have sold those services. The person or organization that paid for the services now owns those services. This is business, not service.
According to a 2019 report by the Association of Theological Schools, the average tuition for one year for a full-time seminary student was $14,073 for the 2017-18 year. Seminary schools are businesses. The average salary for professors at these institutions is $77k, while the administrators and deans make between $80k and $122k on average. These are people who are using Jesus to make good money.
For those teachers who are supposedly training the priests, ministers, and reverends at these seminaries, this is not service. This is a job. It is business.
After three or four years of paying these teachers to teach them, what do the seminary students learn? They learn how they can now sell their services of teaching sectarianism in return for a comfortable salary. They learn the business from the masters - the ones who charge each student tens of thousands of dollars a year for their services.
Has money poisoned the well of these institutions?
Did Jesus get paid for his teachings? No. Did he charge tuition to his students? No. Jesus' taught freely and gained nothing monetarily from his teachings. And he also strictly told his students not to collect fees for their teaching. This is why Jesus turned the tables over in the temple and said:"Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" (John 2:16)The word ἐμπόριον (emporion) translated to "market" also means "business." Jesus didn't want the temple - the place that the Supreme Being is to be worshiped within - to become a place of business, where people get paid.
If this is the case, why do these institutions use their buildings (church, temple, etc.) to collect money? What is this - the collecting of money? It is turning the place that people are supposed to be worshiping God into a place of business.
And what is this money used for? It is used to pay the priest or reverend and other "professionals" who operate the institution. And for this reason, these institutions have become insanely wealthy. They buy spend billions of dollars on real estate and other investments that have nothing to do with maintaining their institutions.
They have turned the supposed worship of Jesus and the Supreme Being into a business - after Jesus himself clearly indicated his displeasure with such a notion when he turned over tables in the market.
By accepting and passing on the teachings that come from professional seminaries taught by professional teachers, these priests, ministers and reverends are not representing God, they are representing those professional organizations and those professional teachers employed by those professional organizations. They represent the businesses and businessmen that taught them. And they teach the doctrines taught by them. They do not represent God.
Representing God means representing the Supreme Being, not an institute of professional teachers.
Thus, the Pope does not represent the Supreme Being. The Pope represents the cardinals who elected him.
Cardinals are also elected - or appointed, same thing - by groups of bishops. Thus, cardinals do not represent the Supreme Being. They represent the bishops that elected them.
Bishops are also elected officials. They are now elected through a complicated political process that involves other bishops, the pope, and other church officials. This creates a very political process, as it relies on candidates being recommended and then approved.
First, they are granted their seminary degree by seminary officials after paying tuition for required courses and exams. But then they must be selected (elected) by a committee in order to be hired as a teacher in a particular institution. This means pleasing the selection (election) committee.
By accepting and passing on the teachings that come from professional seminaries taught by professional teachers, these priests, ministers and reverends are not representing God, they are representing those professional organizations and those professional teachers employed by those professional organizations. They represent the businesses and businessmen that taught them. And they teach the doctrines taught by them. They do not represent God.
Representing God means representing the Supreme Being, not an institute of professional teachers.
Can God's representative be elected to such a post?
Most of these institutions are based on a form of election or appointment process. The Pope, for example, is elected by a large group of cardinals. This is a political process. While they try to make it seem like the most devoted person is being elected to Pope, it is politics: Which person will adequately represent the church? Who do we like best? It is a popularity contest. And historically, most papal elections have come with significant political wrangling behind the scenes.Thus, the Pope does not represent the Supreme Being. The Pope represents the cardinals who elected him.
Cardinals are also elected - or appointed, same thing - by groups of bishops. Thus, cardinals do not represent the Supreme Being. They represent the bishops that elected them.
Bishops are also elected officials. They are now elected through a complicated political process that involves other bishops, the pope, and other church officials. This creates a very political process, as it relies on candidates being recommended and then approved.
First, they are granted their seminary degree by seminary officials after paying tuition for required courses and exams. But then they must be selected (elected) by a committee in order to be hired as a teacher in a particular institution. This means pleasing the selection (election) committee.
This is all politics. A person gets to their respective position of influence by becoming popular and pleasing those who appoint or elect them.
This means that a person can theoretically achieve a position of authority and influence among these institutions without even believing in God. They could proclaim they have surrendered to Jesus, and get others to respect them by attending all the social functions. If they dress in a certain way, speak in a certain way and impress others that they are devout - maybe by doing some charity work or bringing stuff to the bake sale - they can convince everyone that they should get elected to the post.
Was Jesus interested in institutions and professional preachers?
Jesus was teaching service to the Supreme Being. Not service to organizations. Not service to politics. Not service to impress others to get elected to a position of authority.Jesus railed against these types of political organizations, as he criticized the institutional temples and their officials. They also had set up a politically driven selection process, where the priests would gain their authority through the selection/election of others.
Jesus was not elected by a group or committee. He was not appointed by any organization. And he accepted no salary in exchange for teaching.
How did Jesus gain his authority? He submitted himself at the feet of a spiritual teacher, John the Baptist. This is the act that has been characterized as "baptism." While many see this as a superficial ritual of getting dunked in water, it was meant to outwardly represent that a person had submitted themselves - committed themselves - to the teachings of a particular teacher - and to the Supreme Being, whom the teacher represents.
This is a personal relationship developed between the teacher and the student. The teacher teaches, and the student learns. When the student has learned, the student becomes a teacher. This is the ancient system that was carried on for thousands of years, as illustrated between Melchizedek and Abraham, Abraham and Lot, Moses and Joshua, Eli and Samuel, Samuel and David, John the Baptist and Jesus, and Jesus and his students.
Many institutional teachers overlook the meaning of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. John was not simply a baptist. He was a teacher. Yes, John saw that Jesus was advanced spiritually. But Jesus still became his student. He still submitted himself to this devoted spiritual teacher.
Jesus also carried on this same process by himself teaching individual students and baptized many of them to illustrate their commitment to his teachings. Then he asked them to individually carry on his teachings:
"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15)Jesus illustrated by example the process of learning how to serve the Supreme Being. Should we become serious about learning to love and serve God, then God arranges us to come into contact with one who is serving God and thus representing Him. And it is God who gives that vision for the serious person to see who is serving Him.
Should the person be serious, they may submit themselves to this teacher, and become that teacher's student. Should the teacher accept that the student is serious, and begin teaching the student, the student can learn, and then, once their learning has progressed and they establish their own personal relationship with God, they may be empowered by God to also become a teacher.
Serving God means doing what God is pleased with. Not what others are pleased with.
How do we learn to serve God? First, we must get to know Him. We must learn about Him personally. We must be introduced.
This is what Jesus was doing. He was introducing his students to God and introducing his disciples to the meaning of service. Service comes from love, and love comes from having a personal relationship. This is why Jesus taught:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-40)
