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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
was more wonderful than this.—Tor- rey. He arose from His place in glory; He laid aside His garments (the gar ments of His divine majesty—Phil. 2: 6, 7 ); He poureth water-—so He pro vides the cleansing Word. (Jno. 1 5 :3 ); He began to wash—so He applies the cleansing water of the Word to us. (Eph. 5 :26). He took His garments— He reassumed His glory. (Jno. 17:5). He sat down— typical of reassuming His place as Lord. (Heb. 10:12).—K. B., 1917. With whom He began is not mentioned. Prom very early times some have conjectured Judas.—Chry sostom. Having shown them that His love was constant, so He would now show it is condescending. The glories of His exalted state which He was now entering upon, should be no obstruction at all to the favor He bore to His chosen. The disciples had just betrayed the weakness of their love to Him, (Mt. 2 6 :8 ), yet He presently gives the proof of His love to them. Do we not all know the impulse to make parting mo ments tender moments? We yearn to condense all our unspoken love into some one word, act, look or embrace. Because He was going away He could not but pour out Himself yet more com pletely than in the ordinary tenor of His life.—Maclaren. v. 7. What I do thou knowest not. Peter’s question implied that he knew while Christ did not know what Hq was doing, Christ tells him that the very reverse of this is the fact. Thou shalt know hereafter. When, in the discharge of the office of an apostle, thou wilt be employed in washing oflj from those under thy charge the defile ment of their earthly affections.—Ham mond. Meaning “presently,” though viewed as a general maxim, applicable to all dark sayings in God’s Word and dark doings in God’s providence, these words are full of consolation.—Jamie son.
v. 8. Thou shalt never wash my feet. It is not humility hut pride that refuses grace.—Sel. There was a touch of rebellion against Christ’s will. Are we apt to make ourselves wiser than Christ? To reject Christ’s self-humil iating love because it humiliated Him (a well meaning but false principle) is • to put one’s self off from Him.—Brooks. It is the part of true humility to allow our Lord to do as He will, in recogni tion of the fact that not only is He in finitely greater than we hut infinitely wiser too.—Torrey. v. 9. Peter salth unto Him. Go slow in dictating to Christ or you may have a chance to retract.—McNeill. Not my feet only. Peter had gone from one extreme to the other. He now over looks what Christ had done for him in his regeneration and baptism and what was signified thereby. Now Christ directs him into the meaning—he must have his feet washed but not his hand? and head.—Henry. v. 10. He that is washed. The imagery is of an oriental returning from the public baths to his house. His feet would contract defilement hut not his body. So the believer is cleansed as before the law from all sin “once for all,” (Heb| 10:1-10) hut needs ever to bring his daily sins to the Father in confession. (1 Jno. 1:1-10). The blood of Christ answers forever to all the law could say as to the believer’s guilt, but he needs constant .cleansing from the defilement of sin. (Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Jno. 5 :6 ).—Scofield. Christ washed His disciples’ feet that He might signify to them spiritual washing and the cleansing of the soul from the pollu tions of sin. This is constantly intim ated in the discourse with Peter.—Tor rey. This is a parable of things spirit ual. The complete hath or immersion stands for the full and complete forgive ness which Christ offers to His disciples In baptism and which cannot he re peated. The washing of the feet sym-
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