CXVIII.
THE PASCHAL MEAL. JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES' FEET.
(Thursday evening of the beginning of Friday.)
dJOHN XIII. 1-20.
d1 Now before the feast
of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart
out of this world unto his Father, having loved his own that were in the
world, he loved them unto the end. [Since the second century a great
dispute has been carried on as to the apparent discrepancy between John
and the synoptists in their statements concerning the passover. The synoptists,
as we have seen in the previous section, clearly represent Jesus as having
eaten the passover at the proper time, and as having been arrested on the
same night, while John [647] here and elsewhere
(ch. xiii. 29; xviii. 28; xix. 14, 31, compared with xviii. 1-14) seems
to represent Jesus as being arrested before the passover. Our space
does not permit us to enter upon a discussion of this difficulty. The reader
is referred to a thorough rehearsal of the arguments found in Tholuck in
loco (or, after the seventh edition, in his introduction to John's
Gospel). The simplest solution of the difficulty is to attribute the apparent
discrepancy to that loose way of speaking of the feast which we mentioned
in the last section. When the synoptists
speak of the passover they refer to the actual paschal supper; when
John speaks of the feast of the passover, or the passover, he refers to
the seven days' feast of unleavened bread which followed the actual
paschal supper. Jesus was put to death on the first day of this latter
feast, and therefore John here uses the festival to designate the time
of the Lord's suffering and death. The meaning, then, is that Jesus, having
loved his disciples prior to this great trial or crisis of his life, was
not deterred from loving them by its approach, but continued to give the
most precious and unmistakable evidences of his love down to the very hour
of its arrival, being neither driven from such a course by the terrors
of his coming hour nor wooed from it by the glorious prospects of returning
to his Father. These words form a preface to the remainder of John's Gospel
in which John enumerates the tokens and evidences of that love which manifested
itself throughout the entire passion, and continued until the hour of ascension;
and which, by so doing, gave sweet assurance that it continues still.]
2 And during supper [This was the paschal supper proper. It accords
with the supplementary nature of John's Gospel to thus mention it as a
meal thoroughly familiar to his readers.] the devil having already put
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him
[see p. 642],
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all the things into his
hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God [Being about
to narrate an act of loving humility, John prefaces it by stating that
it was done in full knowledge of his threefold glory; viz.: 1. That all
[648] authority was committed to him (Matt.
xxviii. 18); 2. That by nature he was divine (John i. 1, 14), and, 3. That
he was about to return to the divine exaltation which for our sakes he
had laid aside--Phil. ii. 5-11.] 4
riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel,
and girded himself. 5 Then he poureth
water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe
them with the towel wherewith he was girded. [John narrates in detail
each of these acts: to him they seem as so many successive steps leading
down to the depth of humility. The whole formed a striking but wholesome
contrast to the self-seeking and ambitious spirit which the disciples had
just manifested.] 6 So he cometh to
Simon Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? [The
others were awed into silence by the strange conduct of their Master; but
it accorded with the bold impulsiveness of Peter to challenge the act.]
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but
thou shalt understand hereafter. [It was no mere feet-washing; or Jesus
would not have so spoken. It was at once an example of humility and a symbol
of the purification which the Lord accomplished for us by reason of his
humiliation. The full meaning of the act was afterward revealed to them
by the Holy Spirit.] 8 Peter saith
unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands
and my head. [Since Jesus spoke of the act as in some sense a license
or token of permission to have "part" with him, Peter desired that his
head and hands also might be included, that he might in his entire man
have part with Christ.] 10 Jesus
saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but
is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew him that should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not
all clean. [The language implies that the disciples had bathed before
leaving Bethany, and that only their feet, soiled [649] by
the journey to Jerusalem, needed to be rewashed. The saying is spiritually
true as well, for one who has been washed thoroughly by baptism needs not
to be re-baptized. After that general cleansing the particular sins are
removed by confession (I. John i. 7-9). But there is no efficacy in any
ordinance when the heart and will do not accord with the purposes for which
it is administered. Hence it was that Judas, though he had done all that
the others had done, was still as foul as ever.]
12 So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down
again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also
ought to wash one another's feet. 15
For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done
to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto
you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater
than he that sent him. 17 If ye know
these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. [Since a servant is not
greater than his lord, he should not be ashamed to do what his lord does.
It is well known that many, by a literal construction of this passage,
have esteemed it to be their duty to wash each other's feet in their churches.
But it should be noted that in the entire New Testament there is no command
for this, nor is there any passage which recognizes any such church ordinance
or practice. Jesus did not institute feet-washing; he found it already
a familiar custom of the land, and merely used it as a most appropriate
way of showing the proper spirit of humble service. Hence he does not say,
"Do what I have done," but "Do as I have done," which requires
us to do something similar to that which Christ had done, but necessarily
the very same thing. The washing of feet as an act of courtesy or
hospitality was never a custom among Western people, and to adopt it because
of these words of Christ is to entirely miss his meaning. What he did was
a natural daily act of hospitality. But what we would do if we followed
his words literally would be to [650] introduce
a strange, outlandish practice, which would put a guest to great embarrassment
and inconvenience.] 18 I speak not
of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled:
He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me. [Ps. xli. 9.]
19 From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is
come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send
receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
[The meaning of the above passage may perhaps be brought out more easily
if we paraphrase it as follows: "I do not speak of blessing to you all,
for there is one who shall never be blessed. His conduct does not deceive
or surprise me, for I know those whom I have chosen whether they be good
or bad. His choosing is in accordance with the prophecy contained in the
Book of Psalms. Hitherto I have held my peace about him, but henceforth
I shall point out his course, that my foreknowledge of his actions may
strengthen your faith in my Messiahship, and not leave you in that condition
of hopelessness and despair in which the consequences had come upon me
unawares. Do not let his treachery shake your confidence in me, for verily
I say unto you that in being my messengers ye are indeed the messengers
of the Most High."]
[FFG 647-651]
