By washing the disciples’ feet when He instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus made use of a common practice of the day and gave it spiritual significance ( John 13:1–17 ). By this act of humility He subdued the spirit of pride and the desire for supremacy that pervaded the disciples’ hearts.
The ritual of foot washing was generally observed in the early church ( cf. 1 Tim. 5:10 ). Later foot washing was sometimes practiced in connection with the love feast, or agape, in the apostolic church. Inasmuch as the agape provided an opportunity for feeding the poor, it also became an occasion for washing their feet. Later on, as a result of excesses, various church councils forbade the celebration of the agape, and this may provide a clue to the disappearance of foot washing as a general practice. The Council of Toledo (A.D. 694) recommended foot washing on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday preceding Easter). Foot washing was later used, in some instances, in connection with baptism or as a substitute for it, and sometimes even at marriages.
The earliest extant nonbiblical reference to foot washing is in Canon 48 of the Council of Elvira (A.D. 306), which forbids priests and clerics to wash the feet of newly baptized persons when they leave the baptismal font, a practice that was followed in Ireland, northern Italy, certain parts of Spain, and Gaul, but, according to the testimony of Ambrose, not at Rome. This rule was later incorporated into canonical law. See SB 763–767 .
Commenting on John 13:1–17 , early Church Fathers, such as Origen, usually considered the practice of foot washing a spiritual experience and a symbol of humility. But there were other opinions. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, explained that newly baptized persons were anointed on the head and their feet were washed, so that, as in the case of Peter, “hereditary sins might be done away with, for our sins are remitted by baptism” ( On the Mysteries, NPNF , 2nd series, vol. 10, p. 321). In Ambrose’ opinion, foot washing was also “a help towards humility.” It also has a spiritual experience: “Wash the steps of my mind that I may not sin again. Wash the heel of my soul, . . . that I feel not the serpent’s bite on the foot of my soul” ( Of the Holy Spirit, NPNF , p. 95). For Augustine of Hippo, foot washing not only indicated humility among brethren but was to be practiced for mutual forgiveness. Especially on the occasion of foot washing, he said, “We know that of this also we were admonished . . . that we should confess our faults one to another, and pray for one another” ( On the Gospel of John, NPNF , 1st series, vol. 7, p. 306). One reason that foot washing was not literally and mutually practiced was that many interpreted Christ’s injunction spiritually; that is, they held that Jesus’ example was to be considered merely a pattern of what the Christian should do and was not necessarily to be a mechanical, physical repetition of the washing of feet.
Early Adventists debated among themselves the question of foot washing. In 1845 advocates referred to this as “an example for showing our love to the brethren, by an act of humility on the part of the superior” ( Day-Star 8:11, Oct. 25, 1845), and held that it was important to observe “ all the commands of Jesus, even to washing one another’s feet” ( ibid. 8:1, Oct. 18, 1845). The practice was sometimes referred to as our Lord’s “least commandment” ( ibid. 7:8, Aug. 18, 1845). Opposers of the practices of foot washing and the “holy kiss” ( Rom. 16:16 , etc.) linked these rites with fanaticism, doubtless because they were practiced by some of the fanatics in New England who demonstrated their humility by bizarre methods.
In 1854 Ellen White warned that members had “not always moved as judiciously as they should,” and spoke of avoiding the appearance of evil ( Supplement to the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White [1854], pp. 37, 38).
Seventh-day Adventists observe the ceremony immediately preceding the Lord’s Supper, and therefore it is sometimes called the preparatory service. It is also called the ordinance of humility. It is suggested that participants correct misunderstandings and confess their faults one to another at this service. Men and women take part in the service separately. The exchange of a kiss by the two serving each other is often included, especially among the older members, but it is not considered necessary.
As to the significance of the service, the following is quoted from The Desire of Ages ( p. 650) in the Church Manual ( p. 82): “This ordinance is Christ’s appointed preparation for the sacramental service. While pride, variance, and strife for supremacy are cherished, the heart cannot enter into fellowship with Christ. We are not prepared to receive the communion of His body and His blood. Therefore it was that Jesus appointed the memorial of His humiliation to be first observed.”
Commenting further on the significance of the service in the context of the institution of the ordinance by Jesus, Ellen G. White says: “The service which Peter refused was the type of a higher cleansing. Christ had come to wash the heart from the stain of sin. In refusing to allow Christ to wash his feet, Peter was refusing the higher cleansing included in the lower. . . . These words [“He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit”] mean more than bodily cleanliness. Christ is still speaking of the higher cleansing as illustrated by the lower. He who came from the bath was clean, but the sandaled feet soon became dusty, and again needed to be washed. So Peter and his brethren had been washed in the great fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. Christ acknowledged them as His. But temptation had led them into evil, and they still needed His cleansing grace. When Jesus girded Himself with a towel to wash the dust from their feet, He desired by that very act to wash the alienation, jealousy, and pride from their hearts. This was of far more consequence than the washing of their dusty feet. With the spirit they then had, not one of them was prepared for communion with Christ. Until brought into a state of humility and love, they were not prepared to partake of the paschal supper, or to share in the memorial service which Christ was about to institute. Their hearts must be cleansed. Pride and self-seeking create dissension and hatred, but all this Jesus washed away in washing their feet. A change of feeling was brought about” ( DA 646).