Jesus Washed Judas' Feet

Maria Riley invites you to meditate on the seemingly small act of Jesus washing His betrayer’s feet. 

We all know the story of the Last Supper well. Jesus brings together His twelve apostles for one final meal before His Passion begins. He commissions these twelve men to be the first bishops of the Catholic Church, instituting the priesthood. He shares bread and wine with them, explaining that they have miraculously become His own Body and Blood, instituting the Eucharist. In the Gospel according to John, we hear about one other astounding action of our Lord just hours before He was betrayed.  

Jesus, the King of the Universe, knelt on the floor to wash the feet of His apostles. He deserved a throne. He deserved ceaseless praise and worship. He deserved the best of everything, and yet he chose to take the place of a servant. He willingly performed the menial task of cleansing the feet of men who knew without a doubt who He truly is. 

The Feet of a Sinner  

What is more, His magnanimity wasn’t withheld from Judas, His betrayer. We hear in the Gospel that Jesus knew “the devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over” (John 13:2). This doesn’t stop Jesus from washing Judas’ feet along with the other apostles'.  

This wasn’t a last-ditch effort to try to convince Judas to not betray Him. Jesus served Judas as the perfect model for us. Even with the aching pain of knowing about the betrayal, Jesus demonstrated for His apostles and for us what it means to love our enemies. What turning the other cheek looks like. How to pray for those who persecute you.  

At the hands of the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus suffered immensely, but I can only imagine the torment of our Lord taking the foot of His betrayer into His own hands to lovingly and selflessly wash it. Judas’ sin didn’t cut him off from the love of Christ. What he had done and what he was about to do didn’t make Jesus stop caring. The thing that cut Judas off from the love of our Lord was his unwillingness to accept it. 

Judas or Jesus?  

Some days we may be Judas.

We may feel like our sin is so great that Jesus wants nothing to do with us. Our shame may well up inside us so that we become convinced that we have been kicked out of the dinner party. We think Jesus has revoked our invitation. When this happens, meditate on the merciful Lord washing the feet of the unforgivable sinner. If His love extends through Judas’ betrayal, His love will surely extend to us.  

Some days we may be Jesus.

We may struggle with the wound of betrayal, finding someone in our life unforgivable. Our hurt may be so deep we can’t imagine ever getting past it. When this happens, meditate on the merciful Lord washing the feet of the unforgivable sinner. We may not have the strength to kneel before this person to wash their feet, but we can ask Jesus to give us the grace we need to love and serve the way He did. What is impossible for us, Jesus makes possible. 

After all, this is why the King of the Universe took human form. He desires to unite us to Himself. He walked on earth so we may one day walk with Him in Heaven. Whether you are Judas or Jesus today, the Lord invites us to meditate upon His most sacred Paschal Mysteries (Jesus’ Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven), starting today with His washing the feet of the most notorious sinner in the world. 

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Copyright 2025 Maria Riley
Images: (from top) By Benvenuto Tisi - http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.118598.html, Public Domain, Link; Hermann Luyken, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Canva