ITS PRACTICAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE

(John 13.)

In this beautiful 13th chapter of John we have the Lord of Glory condescending to wash His disciples' feet.

Some see in this gracious act of the Lord a commandment to His present-day disciples to apply literal water to the feet of their brethren, and base their authority upon the Lord's words in verse 14, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet." That such brethren miss the whole spiritual import of the Lord's words is evident from the Lord's significant remark to Peter in verse 7, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." The Lord thus clearly implied that there was another meaning to the action which Peter did not presently apprehend, but that the time would come when he would understand its significance. Peter was quite familiar with the practice of washing a guest's feet whenever he entered the home. This was a common courtesy extended to visitors in Eastern countries where sandals were worn and where the feet became quickly soiled on the hot, dusty roads. Generally the duty was assigned to a slave as being beneath the dignity of the host. But in this lovely incident the Lord disregards such thoughts of dignity and superiority and Himself stoops to wash the feet of His disciples.

Others go a step further in the interpretation of the Lord's action, and see in it a gracious example of humility to be applied in a general way in our Christian lives where social pride and superiority of position would lift us up beyond the reach of our poorer brethren. That such an interpretation is fully warranted we need have no doubt from the Lord's own words in verses 13 to 17. That the Lord of Glory should stoop down and take the soiled feet of His disciples into His own blessed hands and wash them with water was surely an act of amazing grace and condescension that might well cause us to blush for shame and ask ourselves the question:Do we ever humble ourselves to do little acts of kindness to one another? Do we confine our practical Christianity to those in our own social sphere? We might do well to read the second chapter of James' epistle in the presence of God and learn how to mix works with our faith. "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:14-17). The fact that Judas Iscariot was included in the number whose feet the Lord washed (ver. 11) would surely teach us that our acts of kindness must not be limited to Christians, but every opportunity taken to do good even to the enemies of the Lord. "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. 5:43,44). We have, therefore, the fullest authority for applying our Lord's action in a practical way in our Christian lives in doing good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).

But as already indicated we are fully authorized to look for a deeper meaning to our Lord's action. Without taking time to examine the chapter verse by verse it is essential to familiarize ourselves with the general setting of the incident. It will be seen that the Lord is seated at the Passover Feast with His disciples on the very night of His betrayal. His hour had come, and He was about to return to the Father via the Cross. The roast" lamb of the Passover lay on the table before Him. In accordance with Exod. 12:9, the lamb had been roasted with fire, and not raw or sodden with water; and He of which it was but the type was about to go to the cross and be made sin for us, when the consuming fire of the holiness of God would be sent into His bones and prevail against them ((Lam. 1:13). No water was permitted to prevent the direct action of the fire upon the lamb, nor would He upon the cross accept the stupefying drink of vinegar mingled with gall that might serve to mitigate the extent of His sufferings. He would drink to its bitterest dregs the cup of wrath prepared for Him by His Father that we might receive from His own nail-pierced hand the joyful cup of salvation.

But now the Lord rises from the supper, and leaves behind the emblems of His death, even as the time would come when He would rise victorious from the tomb, and death and judgment would be past and gone forever. From ver. 4 He is now seen typically on resurrection ground, and His every action is symbolic of precious resurrection truth for the child of God. Having laid aside His garments He girds Himself with a towel, thus assuming the attitude of a servant and foreshadowing His future ministry on behalf of His own in the glory. Having loved His own which were in the world He loved them unto the end, or, literally, to the uttermost. Next He pours water into a basin, and begins to wash the disciples' feet, thus indicating the nature of His High Priestly work would be in applying the water, the well-known symbol of His Word (Eph. 5:26; Ps. 119:9), in cleansing power to their daily walk (the feet) as they would contract defilement in the world. By His advocacy at the right hand of God He would plead their cause when defiled by sin, and as a result recourse would be had to the Word with confession of sin, and restoration of soul effected. The Lord knows our liability to err and thus has made the fullest provision for our restoration. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous" (1 John 2:1). It will be noted, however, that before the work of the Advocate is mentioned we are exhorted not to sin. Thus God would teach us that the work of the Advocate must not be interpreted as a license to sin.

On approaching Peter with the water and towel, the Lord is met with the enquiry, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" No doubt actuated by a zeal for his Master's superiority over the disciples and failing to apprehend any spiritual significance in the Lord's action, Peter would question the wisdom that thus applied the water to his feet. The Lord's reply should have been sufficient to put Peter at ease, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter," but Peter exclaims, "Thou shalt never wash my feet."

Little did Peter understand when he thus repudiated the Lord's ministry that he would be the very first disciple who would need his feet washed in a spiritual sense when later he would deny his Lord with oaths and curses. The Lord replied, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me." It should be noted at this juncture that the Lord did not say to Peter, "Thou shalt have no part in Me." Peter had his part in Christ as a believer that could never be taken away, but by failing to have his feet washed in a spiritual sense he would lose his part with Christ in communion. Communion with Christ can be easily interrupted by a loose walk, but, thank God, our portion in Christ can never be lost in time or in eternity. On discovering that the Lord connected feet-washing in some way with having a part with Him, Peter's impulsive nature prompts him to exclaim, "Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Truly, as upon another occasion, it could be said of Peter, "he knew not what he said." "Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." The meaning of this is very clear. The person who has been washed (bathed all over) in the bath of regeneration (Titus 3:5) only requires to watch his daily walk and is clean every whit. A reference to the consecration of the priests in Exodus 40:12 will be of much assistance in understanding this truth. Moses took Aaron and his sons, and once and for all washed them from head to foot in water. We do not read of this act being repeated on their behalf, as it typifies the new birth or washing of regeneration which can never be repeated. In this act the priests were entirely passive, but thenceforth they were responsible to wash their hands and feet at the laver, which answers to the daily cleansing by the Word of God. Occasionally we may see a bather at the seashore returning to the pavilion with a bucket of water to cleanse his feet from the sand which has adhered to them in his walk from the ocean, but it is obvious that his body would not require further cleansing. In order to maintain constant communion with the Lord it is essential that we should daily bring the Word of God to bear upon our conduct, and in this way we wash our own feet.

Another application of this passage may be given to an erring brother who requires his feet to be washed by another, in the sense of Galatians 6:1. We do this by bringing to bear upon the erring saint the Word of God in showing to him his sin. We take the Word of God with us to the brother, as it is manifest that there can be no restoration accomplished unless the Word of God is our sole guide and authority. So let us never forget to take the water with us. But, in addition, it is essential we should also take the towel. The Lord was careful to dry the disciples' feet with a towel after applying the water. Were the disciples to go out with their feet wet it is clear that within a few minutes their condition would be worse than before, as the dust would quickly cling to their wet feet. What a profound and searching lesson the Saviour thus conveyed to us in this simple and thoughtful action. Should it ever be our lot to wash an erring brother's feet let us never forget to use the towel of grace, and do it in the spirit of love and meekness considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted. How many have applied the water of the Word of God to an erring brother in a harsh and unchristlike spirit! The Sword of the Spirit made deep incisions in the spiritual nature of the erring saint, but the gaping wounds were left unmolified, with the result that the last state of that brother is worse than the first. In all probability we have driven the brother further from God than ever, and we will give an account of our conduct at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

How blessed to anticipate that happy day when we will have no more need of cleansing. Our feet will never be defiled on the golden street of Heaven when we will walk with Him in white. Hence in Revelation 4 we have the redeemed seated round about the throne and before them a sea of glass like unto crystal. The laver has disappeared, and the sea is now solidified, serving only to reflect the unsullied beauty of those who have been conformed to the image of God's Son. R. T. Halliday