In John chapter 13, Jesus washes His disciples feet.
Memory Verse: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14 NKJV.
Materials needed to create the Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet - I used mid blue
- my free John 13 - Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet Bible Quiet Book Template Pattern
- the free template (first one) available at Nederig zijn - voetwassing by Alie Holman on the geloven is leuk blog - for the feet and bowl
- felt in light blue and white
- 1mm elastic in white
- rooster button - I bought this (not an affiliate link)
- button which looks like communion bread, or painted with nail polish and varnish to resemble some
- nail polish in bread colours (optional)
- varnish (optional - be careful, some varnishes can dissolve nail polish)
- white face washer
- sewing threads to best match the page
Firstly, cut out your pattern pieces from the templates. You may need to print the wash bowl a few times to be able to cut all the pieces.
Cut out a right and left foot from skin coloured felt and sew them down onto more skin coloured felt. Cut them out.
To create the back section of the bowl, sew the light blue water section to the white bowl back. Then sew the white bowl back onto more white felt and cut it out.
To create the front bowl section, sew the white front bowl section to white felt and cut it out. Do not attach the front section to the back section yet.
Repeat this process for the water jug, sewing the front section to the back section along the sides and base leaving the top open as a jug would be.
I chose a square button for the communion bread because that is the shape used by my church, and also the shape used for matzah in a Passover Seder. Matzah must be both striped and pierced (just like Jesus was), so I figured a button is already pierced, and the button I chose also had ridges - I just accentuated them when I painted it. You can of course use a round button if that is what your church uses. I imagine that matzah was round back in Jesus's day because that is an easier shape for people to make it at home.
Paint your button with the nail polish to look like communion bread. You may need to do more than one coat. Seal it with the varnish. Try to keep the holes in the button from being blocked so you can thread them onto elastic. Create a circle with the elastic and tie a knot to secure. Fold the circle onto itself to create a double loop and pin it in place underneath where the bowl will be sewn. Roll up the face washer and check that you have the right length to pull the elastic loops over the buttons on the other elastic loops to hold it in place for storage. Use zig-zag stitch to secure the elastic to the page. Repeat this with the rooster button.
Sew down the bottom section of the bowl along the sides and bottom to form a pocket for the jug behind. Sew down the top section of the bowl along the sides and bottom to create another pocket (inside the bowl) for the feet.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate
There are quite a few layers on this page, especially if you like things double sided like I do. To reduce the layers and make it easier to sew, you could just use the bowl to store the feet and jug and only make a single layer of white felt for the bowl back, sewing it down around the whole perimeter.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- John 13 - Jesus demonstrates the servant attitude He wants us to have at the Last Supper
- Imaginative play - wash and dry the Disciple's and one another's feet
- Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
- Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Read the Chapter
John 13Devotional
I had planned to have communion bread and wine as the buttons holding the face washer to the bottom of this page, but as I discovered when I read the chapter... there is no wine mentioned in this chapter! That was a surprise. I ended up switching the wine for a rooster, as the prediction that Peter would deny Christ before the rooster crowed three times is mentioned. |
| I made another page for a church quiet book using the bread button and wine charm |
Rather than focusing on the communion aspect of the supper, John focuses on the foot washing, and the last instructions of Jesus (in this chapter, the New Commandment to love one another).
I guess when Jesus says that if the whole body is washed, we just need to wash the feet, He is giving advice and comfort for when we find ourselves sinning even after we have been baptised.
Foot washing was offered to guests when entering a home as a common courtesy. To not offer it would have been very impolite. Rich people wore sandals, but I think commoners had bare feet, and no mention is made of soldiers gambling for Jesus' sandals... so I think He probably didn't own a pair of shoes. You can imagine how dirty sandal-ed feet would get, let alone bare feet walking along a dusty or muddy road. It was probably littered with donkey and camel excrement as well. So I imagine having your feet washed was something both the host and the guest would appreciate, as well as all the diners next to them. I'm sure the meal tasted much better without that stench around.
Sacrifice of Song ~ HE WASHED
THEIR FEET ~ Michael Crawford, Vocalist
If Jesus didn't own a pair of shoes, and borrowed a room for the Passover meal, asking his disciples to prepare it, I imagine that the room was not furnished with servants to wash anyone's feet. Not that I can imagine Jesus using servants anyway. Nevertheless, Jesus took the servant's role and washed His disciple's feet - something they were shocked to see. As usual, Jesus took an everyday object and used it to teach a profound lesson - one we are still pondering today.
