JESUS THE SERVANT OF ALL. GOLDEN TEXT. LESSON VI.- May 6. - John 13:1-17. PRINT vs. 3-15. COMMIT vs. 14, 15. Whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. THE TEACHER AND HIS CLASS. For younger classes the lesson may be made more vivid by constructing from pasteboard little models of the couches and table arranged as in Christ's day. During the process the beautiful teachings of the lesson may be brought out. In the intermediate classes the teacher PLAN OF THE LESSON. I. OUR LORD'S GREATNESS AND HU- Christ's great origin and power. Christ's great humility. may arrange a dialogue, the pupils taking II. PETER'S SLOW UNDERSTANDING the parts of the principal disciples and of In all classes the central lesson is the importance of lowly service if we are to be Christians, and in the older classes the lesson may broaden out into a discussion of the forms of practical philanthropy most needed by the community. LEARN BY HEART. OF CHRIST'S HUMILITY, VS. 6-II. How WE ARE TO FOLLOW CHRIST'S THE TEACHER'S LIBRARY. Burrell's In the Upper Room. McClelland's The Mind of Christ. Selbie's Aspects of Christ. Henry van Dyke's Joy and Power. Elmslie's Sermons. Vs. 14, 15; Matt. 18: 3, 4; 20: 25-27. Morrison's The Footsteps of the Flock. THE LESSON IN ITS SETTING. Time. Thursday evening, April 6, A.D. 30, the day before the crucifixion. The four days after Palm Sunday included the second cleansing of the temple, the miracle of the barren fig-tree, daily teaching in the temple, and, probably, daily returns to Bethany in the evening. Place. An upper room in Jerusalem, belonging to one of Christ's disciples and given up to Christ and the Twelve for the passover. It was pointed out by the man with a pitcher (Mark 14: 12-16), probably in order that Judas should not know the place long enough in advance to betray Jesus there. William M. Taylor's The Boy Jesus. Knight's The Master's Questions to His Disciples. William Everett's School Sermons. Jackson's Table Talk of Jesus. Andrew Murray's Like Christ. Martineau's Endeavors after the Christian Life. William Newman Hall's Cameos of Christ. THE LESSON IN ART. The great painting of the Lord's Supper by Da Vinci (Milan); others by Raphael (Florence), Titian (Escurial), three by Tintoretto (Venice), Signorelli (Cortona), Giotto (Arena Chapel), Fra Angelico, Bida, de Champaigne (Louvre), Moretto (Brescia), Zimmerman, JosephAubert, Benjamin West (National Gallery, London), Doré. Striking picture of Jesus washing Peter's feet, by Ford Madox Brown, in the Tate Gallery. Giotto, Boccaccino, and Tissot treat the same theme. How Christ Serves Us, and How We Should Serve Him. I. OUR LORD'S GREATNESS AND HUMILITY, vs. 1-5. "Of all the words and actions of our Lord that have been recorded in the Gospels, there is none, perhaps, more remarkable, more unlike every other system of morals with which we are acquainted, than the action described in this passage of Scripture. It is a lesson which we all need, at every time of life, at every age of the world, in every condition of society." Arnold of Rugby. 1. Now before the feast of the passover. The notes of time in John's Gospel clearly show that " St. John places the crucifixion on the preparation or eve of the passover, i.e. on Nisan 14, on the afternoon of which the paschal lamb was slain; and that he makes the passover begin at sunset that same day. Consequently our Lord was in the grave before the passover began, and the Last Supper cannot have been the paschal meal." Cambridge Bible. It is also clear, however, from the accounts in the first three Gospels, that the Last Supper took the place of the paschal meal, and was so regarded by Christ and his disciples, even though it was held, of necessity, a day earlier. When Jesus knew that his hour was come. "Here and elsewhere in this Gospel it is implied that the course of Christ's life and its various crises were foreordained by the Divine counsel (John 2:4; 7:6; 12: 23, 27; 171). Till the appointed time his enemies could have no power over him (John 7:30; 8:20; II: 9)." — Century Bible. That he should depart out of this world unto the Father. "He has watched the dark shadow creeping always nearer, now he can feel its chill sweep his cheek. He has come to the moment when conscience searches the heart of the average man with fingers tipped with fire. And what is he doing? Bathing the feet of a few fishermen. What ineffable calmness! What unbroken serenity! Unconscious of any need in himself, he seems conscious only of the need of the friends he is to leave so soon.' - McClelland. Having loved his own which were in the world. were his nearest friends, the disciples. John speaks of them as "in the world," having in mind the fact that their Master was so soon to go "out of the world" and leave them sadly alone. Under such circumstances our Lord's love would shine out most brightly. He loved them unto the end (R. V. margin, "to the uttermost "). "He loved them through all the sufferings and to all the issues to which his love brought them." Expositor's Greek Testament. "His own "" He loved them " unto the end and limit of all love." Rev. G. H. Morrison. 66 2. And supper being ended (R. V., " during supper "). The literal meaning is, supper having come.' The devil having now (R. V., " already ") put into the heart 3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. "Had Jesus unmasked him before such fiery spirits as John and Peter, Judas would never have left that room alive. Peter's sword would have made surer work than with Malchus. Judas therefore is included in the feet-washing." - Expositor's Greek Testament. "Jesus at the feet of the traitor! What a picture! What lessons for us!"- Astié. Illustration. "In the Orient there is a tree which puts forth a beautiful leaf, then a red hypnotic flower, and afterwards a gall-apple filled with poisonous dust. It is called the Judas tree': it appropriately symbolizes the self-propagating power of evil; its leaf, its blossom, and its fatal fruit."- Rev. David J. Burrell, D.D. 3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands. This fact, and what follows, shows the greatness of Christ's condescension in washing his disciples' feet. And that he was come from God, and went to God. "It was this con scious sonship which bent Jesus down till he knelt at the feet of men, who, in the fitness of things, ought to have been kneeling before him and washing his feet with their tears." - Rev. T. Calvin Mc Clelland, D.D. Jesus was so great that he could afford to abase himself; and we must have the same high faith. What dignity, what grandeur, there would be in every thought, in every word, in every deed of all our life on earth, were the consciousness ever glowing in our hearts that we too came from God and are going back to God!" - Prof. W. G. Elmslie. 4. He riseth from supper. He had lain down on the couch, expecting that one of his disciples would wash the feet of the company, as was evidently the custom among them. And laid aside his garments. His loose, flowing outer garment; we would say, "took off his coat and was in his shirt sleeves." "Could any but an eye-witness have depicted this scene ? " Rev. William Newman Hall. And took a towel, or a long cloth, a linen cloth " (Vincent), and girded himself, tying the towel around his waist. "He put himself into the ordinary dress of a servant.". Alford. "I think that when John, in his revelation on Patmos, saw the Son of Man girt with a golden girdle (Rev. I: 13), he would recall this girding at the supper." - Morrison. Ford Madox Brown. Christ washing the Disciples' Feet. Illustration.. "The condescension is understood in the light of what Suetonius tells of Caligula, that he was fond of making some of the senators serve at his table in the guise of waiters.". Expositor's Greek Testament. 5. After that he poureth water into a bason (R. V., "the bason," the one which the landlord had provided as a necessary furnishing). The minuteness of John's account shows what an impression the remarkable scene made upon his loving and sensitive soul. It should make as strong an impression upon us. either bare, or sandalled, or with And began to wash the disciples' feet. "The feet, shoes, were liable to be heated by the fine dust of the roads, and it was expected that the host would furnish means of washing them (see Luke 7: 44). When our Lord and his disciples supped together, this office would be discharged by the young 6. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7. Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 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. est, or by the disciples in turn; but this evening the disciples had been disputing which of them was the greatest (Luke 22: 24), and consequently no one could stoop to do this menial office for the rest." Expositor's Greek Testament. "Nothing that he could have said about man's brotherhood could have cut that truth so deep in their hearts as the feeling of the Lord's hands on their feet." McClelland. "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." Professor W. G. Elmslie. II. PETER'S SLOW UNDERSTANDING OF CHRIST'S HUMILITY, vs. 6-11. Among the wonderful things of the Saviour's life, it would be hard to point out any other which is suited to awaken more astonishment than this." -Nehemiah Adams. No wonder that Peter did not understand it. 6. Then (R. V., " So ") cometh he to Simon Peter, having first washed the feet of some other disciples, taking them in order. And Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Probably with the word Peter drew his feet up on the couch, away from Jesus. "The two pronouns, thou, my, stand together at the beginning of the sentence in emphatic contrast. Dost thou of me wash the feet?"-Prof. Marvin R. Vincent. 7. Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now. Peter, the first of the disciples to recognize and assert the Messiahship of Jesus, was yet far from understanding his real nature and the vastness of his mission and work for the world; therefore he could not yet enter into the full meaning of this act of lowly service, which typified the infinite condescension of God in entering humanity and suffering death for our sins. But thou shalt know (R. V., " understand") hereafter. These words apply to all our mortal life, in which the lamp of faith can alone fling a little ring of illumination amid the encircling gloom." Farrar. Peter was soon taught the simpler meaning of Christ's act, but the deepest meaning, its force as a symbol of Christ's life and death, he did not understand until after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. 66 "Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan his work in vain; And he will make it plain." - John Newton. Illustration. Much of the Bible must be interpreted to us by the experiences of our lives, as "Dr. Duff found the key to the vindication of what are called 'the imprecatory psalms' in the horrors of the Indian Mutiny.' William M. Taylor. Peter's epistles show how fully he afterwards entered into the meaning of Christ's lowliness and sacrifice; see 1 Pet. 1: 8, 14, 19, 22; 2: 1, etc. 8. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. "A very strong expression. Literally, thou shalt by no means wash my feet as long as the world stands.' -Prof. Marvin R. Vincent. Peter, humble enough not to allow Jesus to wash his feet, is yet not humble enough to yield submissively when his Lord tells him to submit. This was not the first time that Peter had set up his judgment against Christ's; see Matt. 16: 22, 23. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. This might mean that Peter should be shut out of the coming meal, but doubtless Christ meant to imply an exclusion from his fellowship, and so Peter understands it. The washing of Christ's deeper thought was that spiritual washing which is absolutely necessary in order to have any part in him (Rom. 8:9). That the outward washing only is not here meant is plain from the fact that Judas was washed, but yet had no part in Jesus. Alford. Illustration. "The ancients sometimes, when they offered to Jupiter a victim 9. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. II. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. 12. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? which was not quite white, would chalk over its colored spots, and so try to pass it off as white, and, as it were, cheat their gods into an acceptance of that which was imperfect. But think you that the All-seeing God will thus be cheated into the acceptance of a soul of which the voluntary, the self-contracted stains are but smeared over and hidden under the white chalk of self-deception, of hypocrisy ? Farrar. 9. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. "A moment ago he told his master he was doing too much now he tells him he is doing too little. Self-will gives place slowly. Yet this was the unmistakable expression of devotion." Expositor's Greek Testament. First of all, Peter had wished to differ from the others in not being washed at all. Now that he must be washed, he would be the most washed of all. Ah, the subtle danger of wanting to be first, even in goodness!". · Elmslie. 10. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed (R. V., " bathed "). "Washed" here means to bathe all over, as in the public bath. It typifies conversion and regeneration, the acceptance of Christ as our Saviour and entrance into the new life with him. Needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. "Wash here is a different verb in the Greek, meaning to wash only a part of the body. The disciples' feet were soiled in coming from the public bath to the upper room, but for the rest they were clean. "This foot-washing represented to them, besides its lesson of humility and brotherly love, their daily need of cleansing from daily pollution, even after spiritual regeneration, at the hands of their divine Master." Alford. "These daily shortcomings, these daily omissions, these daily contaminations and contacts with the world, make repentance and forgiveness the daily need of the Christian." Dean Vaughan. "If I try to live merely on the strength of grace given me long ago, I shall certainly fall. A daily cleansing I must have for daily sin; and daily grace is as needful to me as daily bread." Rev. G. H. Knight. And ye are clean, but not all. The feet of all the disciples had been washed, including Judas; but Judas had not been in the bath. By this Jesus meant that the other disciples could easily be cleansed of their fits of temper, their jealousy, their foolish ambitions, even of the temporary weakness which was soon to lead Peter to deny his Lord; but the sin of Judas was far deeper. He had not received the spirit of the Saviour, which the rest had received; he was foul through and through. "He calls them 'clean' because their faith in him had not failed; but they had continued with him in all his temptations, and loved him better than any other service.". Arnold of Rugby. II. For he knew who should betray him. Compare John 6: 70; 13: 18, 21, 26. Therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. John evidently feels that he can speak with confidence on this point.". Century Bible. Christ himself had confided the knowledge to John especially; see John 13:22-30. III. HOW WE ARE TO FOLLOW CHRIST'S EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY, vs. 12-17. 12. So after he . . . was set down again, reclined again upon the tablecouch. "The guests reclined on couches, lying on the left side and leaning on the left hand. The table was in the hollow square or oblong formed on three sides by the couches, the fourth side being open, and the table extending beyond the ends of the couches." - Prof. Marvin R. Vincent. He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? "Do ye perceive the meaning of this action? By washing their feet he had washed their hearts. By stooping to this menial service he had made them all ashamed of declining it. By this simple action he had turned a company of wrangling, angry, jealous men into a company of humbled and united disciples." Expositor's Greek Testament. 13. Ye call me Master (or, Teacher, Rabbi) and Lord. Not a double title, "Master Lord," but sometimes ye call me " Master" and sometimes "Lord." And |