Most Righteous

reply to post by Myrtales Instinct

Originally posted by Myrtales Instinct
Well, I'm not coming at this from a scholar's point of view but from experience. I mentioned Jesus' baptism by John and when you made mention of Jesus washing his disciples feet it cracked open the door of opportunity for me to discuss this. This is only one of many mysteries contained within the Gospel of John and I wouldn't mind discussing any and all of them with you or anyone else, but at the same time I realize that when a person claims direct experience, there is always going to be the possibility of unbelief, skepticism or severe critique. It's obvious I do want to talk about these experiences or I would have kept my mouth shut. I guess you could say, I'm sincerely looking for people who are having similar experiences.

Well, there seems to be a mystery here already because of the two uses of the word “later” and “someday” in the new living translation and the new international version (see my first reply). There clearly is a big difference, unless you believe the word “later” to mean “someday”. If Jesus meant “someday” this appears to be leaning towards the idea of the resurrection. Of course then you would have to ask the question, what does washing feet lol have to do with the resurrection.

I think that direct experiences are great and they can be very personal to an individual and this is one of the big reasons why people come to ATS, to talk about experiences that others may also have had. I have to be honest though, I have never had an experience like the one you are describing with your feet lol

Without going into too much detail - I went through a whole bunch of little experiences over the years, which ended up culminating into one huge event, and I had no idea what was happening to me. I looked to the Bible for answers and it was just a few years back, that I realized that the Gospel of John is an actual template to the mysteries we are all supposed to experience as the Messiah resurrects in us - which enables us to be a beloved disciple too just like the author of John.

Ok obviously I don’t know what these little experiences are and what this huge event was in your life and I am not suggesting that you tell outright, because it is clearly a very personal thing to you. I am going to assume that these little experiences are interconnected to the huge event in your life and that, that event is somehow tied to those verses in John.

As corny as it sounds, one mystery began in my foot. It felt like a small current of electricity - similar to the lightness of how a bee buzzes. This one mystery lasted over three months and later when I read John 13:7, where Jesus told Peter 'you do not realize now what I am doing but later you will understand" everything fell into place because I had done went through it. You see the reason Jesus washed their feet was to show them the "full extent of his love" and what happened at the end of that three month mystery I went through proved it to me - that's why he said "later you will understand."

You have clearly taken a lot of strength from this and a personal experience is always a powerful one and may even have wider reaching implications. Don’t get me wrong I am not trying to put down your experience but from what I have read so far most people think that the word “later” used in John 13:7 directly relates to verse John 13:12 where Jesus explains why he has washed his disciples feet.

Maybe most people have the meaning this verse wrong and the New living translation version has it right by using the word “someday” but if so why the difference and clearly “someday” can’t directly relate to verse John 13:12. Having said that, it could mean that the verse John 13:12 will only be understood fully “someday”. I haven’t had much time to look into the New living translation verse of John 13:7 to try and find an explanation but I’m definitely going to look into it.

Paul very nicely expresses what begins to happen next, after this wonderful union with God, through the Messiah takes place in 1 Corinthians 2. He speaks of God's secret wisdom and there is some info on it in Proverbs too.

Yes I presume this is talking about the Gods secret wisdom that comes through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As a side note, I searched the internet high and low to find someone who had possibly experienced what I had and found an old Eastern Orthodox Saint and poet named Simeon the New Theologian. He wrote this about a 1000 years ago:

We awaken in Christ's body

We awaken in Christ's body
as Christ awakens our bodies,
and my poor hand is Christ, He enters
my foot, and is infinitely me.

I move my hand, and wonderfully
my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of Him
(for God is indivisibly
whole, seamless in His Godhood).

I move my foot, and at once
He appears like a flash of lightning.
Do my words seem blasphemous? -- Then
open your heart to Him

and let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him,
we wake up inside Christ's body

where all our body, all over,
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as Him,
and He makes us, utterly, real,

and everything that is hurt, everything
that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in Him transformed

and recognized as whole, as lovely,
and radiant in His light
he awakens as the Beloved
in every last part of our body. Simeon the New Theologian

This is really interesting and for some reason I keep thinking of verse John 20:17 “Do not hold on to me,” Jesus told her, “because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God.”

Jesus is clearly in a different form as opposed to when later he let’s his disciples see his wounds, almost like he was in some kind of spiritual body form, when he saw mary.



- JC

reply to post by Joecroft


Thank you for replying... it really meant a lot to me.

I honestly don't know much about foot washing myself.Lol I know Abraham washed the visiting angels feet. When I was four or five, I attended a Church service, with my Grandparents and they were all doing it for one another. Recently, I read a book by a Doctor who worked with Hospice and he noted, with a couple of small children as they were nearing death and starting to see visions - that even though angels would be in the room(the Dr. couldn't see them though), Jesus himself was always at the foot of the bed. He found that of interest and asked one lttle boy why that was so, and the boy told him 'he's washing my feet.'

Paul did speak of God's secret wisdom, that has been hidden and destined for our glory before time began and you are right, this wisdom comes from the teaching of the Holy Spirit, sent by God in Christ's name. For myself it means many things; it's the true meaning of "when you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know I am the one I claim to be." It's also the enigma revealed surrounding the mystery of what Jesus was talking about to Martha, right before he raised Lazarus:

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" John 11:25-26

Here Jesus is saying there is a distinct difference in what it means to actually "live." And further backing this up is Jesus' response to a man who wanted to follow him but needed to bury his father first: "Let the dead bury their own dead; but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Matthew 9:60

There is a saying in the Gospel of Thomas attributed to Jesus and even though it's not in the Holy Bible it rings true: "The dead are not alive and the living will not die."

Paul says: "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." Romans 6:3-5

Maybe the most righteous verse ever is "Salvation is of the Jews" because it's so truthful.