Foot Washing Object Lesson

What better way to get creative and Messy for Easter than with a foot washing object lesson?  We did this activity leading up to Easter last year at church with the kids: they got to walk across a giant “I am following Jesus” poster with paint-y feet, and I washed each pair of little feet at the end.

It was so much fun!  And the kids got to interact with the story, which always seems to make the lesson stick more.

We’re planning on incorporating this washing feet Bible activity into our regular Easter celebrations.  This is perfect for Maundy Thursday, for those of us who follow a liturgical calendar.  Or for any day during Holy Week.  Or…let’s be honest…any single time throughout the year that you want to demonstrate servant leadership in a messy and creative way.  (I’m thinking a jello version and a swimming pool in the summer months…)

To get the PDF version of this lesson (printable and with no ads), scroll to the bottom of the page.

Foot Washing in Biblical Times

Foot washing in Biblical times was dirty business.  It wasn’t like today when we have paved roads, cars and buses, and closed-toed shoes.

During the time of Jesus and his disciples, people walked everywhere.  Sometimes that meant many, many miles on your feet in one day.

And since there weren’t any cars, buses, bicycles, and the like, there were lots of donkeys, horses, camels, and oxen – both for riding, and used as pack animals.  Plus sheep.  Remember all those Bible verses about shepherds and sheep?  Sheep were a hot commodity, and they would often be moved from country paddocks into the city market for sale.

This meant that there was a lot of…well, poop…on the roads.  And with all the carts rattling around behind the horses, it was easy for animal poop to get spread around, making avoiding stepping in it fairly challenging.

So feet were dirty.  Really, really dirty.

Upon arriving at your destination, the host typically provided a bowl of water and either the guests would wash their own feet, or a servant would do it for them.

And for those homes with servants, this job was reserved for the lowest servant, the one on the bottom of the totem pole who got stuck with the dirtiest jobs.

So that was why it was so shocking that Jesus, a teacher and leader – and, what’s more, God himself – would stoop to washing his disciples’ feet.  This task, so they thought, was beneath him (John 13:6-8).

Foot Washing Object Lesson

The story of Jesus washing his disciples feet makes an excellent object lesson for kids and youth to think about servant leadership, and for what it means for God himself to stoop to the lowest jobs to serve humanity.

This object lesson is great for churches (for Sunday school, Messy Church, youth nights…) but it can also be turned into a family tradition at home.

Materials

• a bowl with warm water
• a towel
• paint in various colours
• paper/glass/etc. plates
• a large piece of paper

When we did this lesson at church, we wrote in great big letters, “I am following Jesus” across a huge piece of paper.

You can also do this with smaller pieces of paper, but you definitely want something fairly big – like those easel paper rolls that you can buy for kids, or those giant doodle pads that you can sometimes find at the dollar store or the craft store.

Instructions

I like to tell the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet before we do the activity.  This will be especially important for smaller kids, who simply cannot listen and squish paint between their toes at the same time.

You can read the story straight from the Bible, either in John 13 or Luke 22, but I prefer combining the two stories – because you get a fuller picture – and embellishing the context (i.e. talking about horse poop) – because it makes it more real for the kids.

Talk to the kids about why people washed feet in Bible times, and tell the story of the last supper where Jesus washes his disciples feet.  (I’ve included the story that I tell below the activity instructions.)

Ask them questions (examples are included below) about what the story means, did Jesus mean we should literally wash feet, and what examples of servant leadership they can think of.

Once you tell the story, have the kids take off their shoes and socks and start the activity.

• Set up your space: lay your big sheet of paper on the ground, possibly on top of a plastic sheet (especially if you are doing this at home and you have carpeted floors).  Squirt some paint into dishes and place them at the edge of the paper.  Set up your warm water at the other end of the paper.
• Have the kids, one at a time, choose a paint color or two and step in it.  Then, have them walk (or dance, or jump – get creative!) across the paper and end at the bowl of water.
• Carefully wash and dry the painted feet.

Once the paint footprints dry, you can hang up your paint-y feet artwork.

Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet: The Story

I begin my telling of the story of the last supper and Jesus washing his disciples feet by reminding the kids about Easter.

What holiday is coming up?  (Draw the answer, “Easter,” out of the kids.)

And why do we celebrate Easter?  What happened on the very first Easter?  (Answer we’re looking for: some version of “Jesus died and was resurrected/rose from the dead.”)

And then begins the story proper:

The night before Jesus died, he had supper with his disciples.  They were all sitting around a table, eating and drinking, and the disciples were arguing.

And do you know what they were arguing about?  The were arguing about which of them was the greatest!  Maybe they were arguing about who had performed the most miracles, who had cured the most people,  or who had driven away the most demons.

I can just imagine Peter saying something like, “Look, guys, remember when Jesus came out to us on the boat that one time?  We were out fishing and he just walked on the water right out to where we were?  You were all terrified.  I was the only one who stepped out of the boat.”

“Yeah, only to sink,” Philip mutters under his breath, just loud enough for Peter to hear.

“Even so.  I was the only one who tried.  Clearly I’m the greatest.”

“Wait, wait,” James interrupts, talking to Peter.  “Remember the time on the mountain?  When we saw Jesus and Moses and Elijah, and then some really weird stuff happened?  And you jumped in and interrupted the whole thing with your plan to build three shelters?  Man, that was a bad idea.  Don’t you think someone who follows Jesus’ teaching and instruction without jumping to their own insane conclusions might be the greatest?”

And so amidst shouts of “I healed a young man just yesterday!” And “I got the biggest crowd to come and listen to Jesus speak!”  What does Jesus do?

Maybe he gets up and interrupts the arguing with a short speech:

“You are not to be like the world,” he tells them, “arguing about who is the greatest.  The greatest among you should be like the least.  If you want to be a leader, who need to serve people.  You need to do the jobs that help other people that no one else wants to do.”

Or maybe he just grabs a bowl of water and a towel silently and begins washing the disciples feet.

Now why was washing feet such a big deal?  Well, at the time when the disciples lived, there weren’t any cars or bicycles or buses.  People walked everywhere.  And it was hot, so they walked in sandals.

And since there weren’t cars or bicycles or buses, they also used animals to carry things around.  So there were a lot of donkeys and horses and other animals walking the street and pooping on the street.  So everyone’s feet were usually really sandy, muddy, and disgustingly dirty.

Foot washing was a job for the lowest servant in the household.  It was the worst job that you could have.

But Jesus, as the last thing that he did before his death and resurrection, took a bowl of water and a towel and washed his disciples feet.

And he instructed them, after he had finished, that they were all to wash each other’s feet.  “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

[Adapted from John 13:1-17 and Luke 22:7-30.]

Questions to Ask Kids and Youth about Washing Feet

• Do you Jesus meant that the disciples were to literally wash each others’ feet?  What else could he mean?
• What are some examples of things that you could do for others that would be like foot washing?
• What are some jobs that help other people that most people don’t want to do?

Download the PDF version of this foot washing object lesson here.