Courteous and hygienic foot washing is no substitute for a bath.  Jesus had taken the servant’s role in washing the disciples’ feet, but Simon Peter objected (John 13:6-9).  It did not seem right to him for His Master to take the place of a slave to refresh his filthy feet.  But washing dirty feet was only a slight indignity for Jesus compared to bearing the sins of the world when He died on the cross.  If Peter would not submit to having his feet washed, how could he submit to having his guilt washed away?  Refusal would be like saying, ‘I don’t belong to You’!  So, Peter, who dearly wanted to belong to the Lord, realised something of his mistake and asked Jesus to wash all of him.
 
That was not necessary, Jesus said.  Peter had loved to listen to Jesus’ teaching; he had bathed in the Lord’s words and was learning how to live like Jesus (John 15:3).  Alas, Judas had a different heart - although he heard Jesus' teaching, he did not love God’s Word.  Although he was content to have his feet washed by the Master and was proud to have Jesus serving him, his heart was stubbornly dirty.  And Jesus knew it.
 
The Lord knows those who take delight in His Word, and He also knows those who have no real interest in hearing His voice.  Alas, there may be many who travel as fellow passengers in the church, enjoy the company, perform the rituals, but have no love for the Saviour and no desire to sacrifice their will to serve Him (1 John 2:19).  To call such people ‘Judas’ would be taken as an insult, but their hearts are the same as his.

On the other hand, there are many of us who love the Lord and try to please Him, but we fail, misunderstand or even neglect His clear instructions.  We need to be kept clean every day … and we must submit all our wicked thoughts, careless words and thoughtless deeds to Jesus.  Only His precious blood will make us clean and whole again (1 Peter 1:18-19).  Our attitude to God’s Word is a valid test of our hearts, whatever we say or do.  Do delight in His Word and His cross, and don’t let the dirt of the day stay on your feet overnight!