Why did feet need constant washing even after a full bath in Jesus' day?
In Jesus’ day, people often bathed at a central bath, then walked home wearing open-toed sandals. Because sanitation was poor, the journey left their feet filthy, so even though the rest of the body was clean, the feet needed constant washing.
Les teaches that this was especially true for the Jew of Jesus’ day because they usually got their bathing done at the central bath. After slipping on open-toed sandals and walking all the way from the bath to their house, their feet were filthy. Even though the rest of the body was clean, the feet needed constant washing. He connects this to Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John’s Gospel, where Peter first refuses, then asks for a bath, and the Lord says they have been washed, all but Judas, yet still need the daily cleansing of the feet. For the believer, this pictures daily cleansing: we have been cleansed and forgiven, but because we are still in a sin-filled earth, our daily walk defiles us. Paul therefore speaks of a daily cleansing, not with a tub or washcloth, but with the cleansing of the Word.