Jesus distinguished the two types of spiritual cleansing that believers experience, forensic and family forgiveness. When a person believes in Jesus as Savior, God removes all the guilt of that person for sins committed in the past, present, and future (cf. Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1; et al.). Jesus spoke of this forensic or legal forgiveness as a total bath (Gr. louo). After a person believes in Jesus as Savior, he or she commits sins and those sins hinder the believer"s fellowship with God (cf. Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14-15; Luke 11:4; et al.). Jesus compared this family forgiveness to washing (Gr. nipto) the feet, which become dirty while walking through life. Therefore Jesus was illustrating the importance of believers obtaining spiritual cleansing from God periodically when He washed the disciples" feet. We obtain this cleansing by confessing our sins to God ( 1 John 1:9; cf. 1 John 2:24; 1 John 5:13). The basis for both types of forgiveness is Jesus" work on the cross. [source][source][source]
Another view is that Jesus was referring to the daily consecration of the disciple"s life to a service of love, following Christ"s example. [1] A third view is that the foot-washing was symbolic of the complete cleansing that had already taken place or would take place. This last view less probable since Jesus said that Peter already had experienced a spiritual bath but still needed his feet washed. [source][source][source]
The unclean disciple was Judas who had not believed that Jesus was God"s Son. Jesus" washing Judas" feet, therefore, was not a lesson in believers" securing spiritual cleansing but an offer of initial cleansing for him. There is nothing in the text that would warrant the conclusion that Jesus omitted washing Judas" feet. [source][source][source]