Read Ps. cxxxviii., and John xiii. 1-17.
THE SELF-ASSERTING.—John xiii. 4, 5.
On the evening before He died, Jesus washed the disciples' feet. This
touching action of our Lord is constantly taken and turned into a
picture of spiritual truths, and it is a very fair use to make of the
story. No wonder if there is ever an overflowing surplus of meaning in
all the things that Jesus said and did. But we must not forget that
their symbolic use is a matter of secondary moment, and we must take
care, first and chiefly, to recognise in our Lord's words and deeds that
simple, direct meaning which He intended them to have. In the present
case He has Himself told us why He did this strange and beautiful act of
self-abasement to His faulty followers, and what effect the memory of
His great humility ought to have on our hearts and characters, if we
would be like Him, divinely wise and good in our treatment of erring
friends.
In the country where Jesus lived the roads were hot and dusty, and the
people wore sandals that left the upper part of the foot exposed. In the
course of even a short journey the skin became covered with an
irritating kind of sand. Therefore, on the arrival of a visitor, it was
the first duty of hospitality to offer water to wash and cool the weary
feet. When a feast was made the guests, as they entered, would lay aside
their sandals, and take their places on the couches that surrounded the
table. Then the humblest servant of the house was wont to come with
basin, towel, and pitcher of water, to kneel behind each couch, to pour
the water over the projecting feet, to wash them clean and free from
stain, and to wipe them gently dry. It was a comfortable and kindly
custom, and we know, from the anecdote of Simon the Pharisee, that our
Lord missed it when it was omitted, and gratefully welcomed it when it
was observed.
This night Jesus and His disciples are gathered for supper in the upper
room of a strange house in Jerusalem. The room has been lent for the
occasion, and so there is no servant in attendance on them. In such
circumstances it had been customary among the little company for one of
their number, ere the meal began, to do this needful service for the
rest. In a corner of the room stood the pitcher and basin, with the
towel folded by their side. They had all taken their places round the
table, and the time to commence supper had come (so read verse 2). But
this night—the last of their Master's life on earth—none rose to wash
their feet, none stirred to perform that friendly office. One and all,
they kept their places in painful and embarrassed silence. Their refusal
of the lowly but accustomed task was due to an unwonted access of pride
and self-assertion in their hearts. That very day, in the way, there had
been a fierce contention among the disciples as to which of them was
greatest. The dispute reached the Master's ear, and he firmly rebuked
their rivalry and quelled the quarrel. The storm of passion was silenced
on their lips, but the sullen surge of anger had not quite died out of
their hearts. Not yet would it be easy for any one of them to forget his
dignity, and do a humbling service to the rest. And so it came to pass
on that solemn evening, when their Master's heart was so soft and
tender, their hearts were hard with pride and anger, and though they
felt the painfulness of the pause and the wrongfulness of their
obstinacy, not one of them had the manliness to rise and end it, and by
humbling himself make peace and harmony in their hearts.
The consciousness of discord entered the holy heart of Jesus and pierced
it. His soul was filled that night with love unspeakable, and He longed
to pour out to His friends the joy and the pain of His mighty purpose.
But that could not be while their breasts were possessed by petty
rivalries, and mean thoughts, and angry feelings. He must first shame
away their pride, and melt their hardness, and make them gentle, lowly,
and loving. How can He do this most quickly and completely? "He riseth
from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded
Himself. After that He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was
girded." Who is not able to picture the scene—the faces of John, and
James, and Peter; the intense silence, in which each movement of Jesus
was painfully audible; the furtive watching of Him, as He rose, to see
what He would do; the sudden pang of self-reproach as they perceived
what it meant; the bitter humiliation and the burning shame! The way
John recites each detail tells how that scene had scorched itself on his
soul and become an indelible memory. Truly his Master had "given him an
example." To his dying day John could see that sight, and many a time in
the hour of temptation it crossed his path and made him a better man.
May that same vision of our Lord's great humility rise before our eyes,
when life is full of pride and rivalry, and our hearts are hot and
angry; and may its sweet influence come on our spirits like cool, pure
water, to wash these evil passions out, and to make us good and gentle,
like Jesus!