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February 1948
fillment of God’s supreme and bene ficent purposes. III. T he P erson (14:1-6) Jesus taught them that He was to be the object of their faith (v. 1). Whatever they believed about God they were to believe about Him; He and the Father are one. With this belief, their hearts could be kept in quiet peace (or unrippled) in the midst of any experience. He told them He would be the ar chitect of the future (vs. 2, 3). While that future would be an experience and a condition, it would be more. It would be an experience and a condi tion in an actual place. One may never have seen L o n d o n , but he knows it exists. The knowledge comes from belief in the testimony of those whom he trusts and who have been there. Likewise, one may not have seen heaven, but he knows it exists, for the One most to be trusted has been there. Christ declared that He Himself was the path to the Father (vs. 3-6). When He said they knew the way, Thomas interrupted with the question, “We know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Thomas, and the- others also, s h o u l d have known that way. But Jesus made it clear beyond all misunderstanding when He said, “I am the way. . .” Hence the way to the Father is plain, exclusive, and present—in the Per son of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is plain, because t h e wayfaring man though a fool need not err'therein. It is exclusive, because there is no other way. It is present, because He is pres ent. If one would go to the Father and the Father’s house, one must go by the way of acceptance of Christ— there is no other way. Points-and Problems 1. "So after he had washed their feet" (John 13:12). This is the second of two washings referred to in this chapter. Both of these washings are spoken of in verse 10. The first is seen in the expression, “He that is washed.” This washing is in the na ture of a bath. A different Greek word is employed than the one used to speak of the second washing. This first washing refers to the cleansing which takes place 'at the commence ment of the Christian life, “embrac ing complete ‘ absolution from sin as a guilty state . . . or, in the language of theology, justification and regen eration” (Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown). This first wash ing is accomplished once and for all. It is not to be repeated. It is symbol ized by baptism. But the second wash ing which is the main theme of John 13 is not a washing of the whole body, as in the first instance, but only
of “ the feet.” The Greek word means “to wash or wet the hands or feet.” This cleansing which is described in the text as that of “the feet” is “such as one walking from a bath quite cleansed ,still needs, in consequence of his contact with the earth.” It typifies the daily cleansing which all Christians need even after the expe rience of the new birth. In the sense of the first washing all believers “ are clean” (v. 10) through regeneration, but in the second sense, all Chris tians have need of daily cleansing through the Word and blood of Christ. The latter washing is symbolized in the service of the washing of the saints’ feet which some groups of be lievers observe. It is shadowed in the laver at which the priests washed be fore they ministered among the holy things within the tabernacle (Ex. 30:17-21). 2. "In my Father's house" (John 14:2). The troubled hearts of the dis ciples were directed toward heaven.
Nothing can compare with the com fort to be derived from a life fixed upon God and rooted in the assurance that we shall be forever with Him. Several things of transcendent inter est are revealed to us in these verses concerning heaven: (1) Heaven is a definite place. It is not simply a state of mind, or a beautiful, indefinite isle. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). (2) Heaven is a home. The word used for “house” really means “inhabited building.” It is more than just a building. The nearest word to express the true mean ing of the word in the English is the sweet word “home.” (3) Heaven is owned by the Father. No words there fore can describe the care He exercises in its upkeep. (4) Heaven is spacious. The “many mansions” there are suffi cient for the redeemed of all ages. (5) Heaven is a prepared place. (6) Heav en is the most attractive place in the universe because of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that
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