Today's Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 01/16/2022
Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: Repentance Podcast
Repentance
Jesus said to him, “He
who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but
is completely clean; and you are clean…” Jn. 13:10
Interestingly, the first mention of foot washing
in the Bible is all the way back in Gen. 18:4 where Abraham, startled by three
unexpected visitors, quickly offers to serve them by washing Their feet and
preparing a meal. In our above passage, One of those visitors would wash the
disciples feet hours before His passion.
Feet washing was a common practice among
Bedouin’s who wore sandals as they traveled across a dusty landscape. It was
typically done by a servant, or the lowliest member of a household, or at the
very least water was provided that one may wash their own feet.
In Lk. 7:44 Jesus rebukes
a Pharisee named Simon by pointing out, “you
gave Me no water tor My feet…”
Note: It is important to say that, with the exception
of some Orthodox communities, feet
washing in not invoked as an ordinance
of the Church.
So, what does this have
to do with repentance?
Much I think. Jesus never wastes a teachable moment by simply performing nice rituals.
Recalling the Jn. 13
passage, Jesus engages with Peter who first who proclaims, “You shall never
wash my feet!” Jesus responds, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with
Me.”
So we know that Jesus is not talking about hygiene
Peter continues, “Lord,
not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Peter still doesn’t get it.
Our first act of repentance is in turning to Christ. This is an act of God. Notice how Jesus says, in Jn. 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you”. “By grace...not of yourselves” Eph. 2:8 That's the bath!
Throughout His earthly
ministry, Jesus imperative was consistently
“repent”
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Mt.
4:17
“Repent, and believe the gospel” Mk. 1:15
“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will likewise
perish.” Lk. 13:5
“Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” Jn.
5:14
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more: Jn.
8:11
“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Mt. 9:13
So we see that
repentance is an act of faith by turning to Jesus for the remission of sins;
see Acts. 2:38, 10:43; Heb. 10:18
But we also understand
that repentance is an ongoing imperative;
a lifestyle so to speak!
Paul says, “Not that
I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…”
Phil. 3:12-15
That word is “dioko” meaning: to pursue, follow, press forward.
The Greek word for
repent is: “metanoeo”.
Notice, the word change, from II Cor. 3:18 is “metamorphoo”
This change is both a process and a pursuit that we engage in.
We, as believers should always have a sense, in our understanding of self, of what we need to change, or repent of. God is always bringing us in deeper, and as we glimpse His holiness we are, and should be shocked and humbled by the comparison.
J. I Packer: “Repentance
means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know
of yourself to as much as you know of your God, and as our knowledge grows at
these three points so our practice of repentance has to be enlarged.”
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