racteristic impetuosity, he exclaimed, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands, and my head: I am prepared to do and to submit to any thing, rather than quit thy service. But the impetuosity which led him to reply, before he understood his Master's meaning, was again reproved, by the short and dignified answer of our Lord: He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; and, he added, when he came to Judas Iscariot, ye are clean, but not all. This he said, as the apostle remarks, because he knew who should betray him; and he wished, no doubt, to let the apostate know, that he had penetrated his dark designs. It is not to be supposed, that the apostles could then embrace the full meaning, of what they had witnessed. But there was something in the act itself, which, by causing surprise, could not fail to impress their minds; while the solemn manner in which it was performed, together with the significant rebuke addressed to Simon Peter, would naturally prepare them for the future reception of its mystical import. It was, in truth, one of those emblematical or figurative actions, with which the Jews were familiar, in the writings of their prophets; and to which our Lord had resorted, more than once. (7) This method of historical instruction, implying more than was expressed,.. originated in the imperfect nature of the early languages; and was retained by the prophets, because admirably adapted to make a lasting impression on the illiterate; that is to say, on the majority of mankind. Thus, by breaking a potter's vessel, Jeremiah* pre-signified the broken fortunes of the Jewish nation; thus Isaiaht, by going naked, (that is, without his prophetic garment,) pre-figured the fatal destruction of the Egyptians and Ethiopians; and thus, too, in after times, to signify to St. Paul‡ his approaching captivity at Jerusalem, Agabus bound his own hands, in the apostle's girdle. And never, surely, would the impression of what they now beheld, be erased from the minds of the apostles. Never, when, having arrived at the stature of perfect men in Christ, they fully understood, that, the incomprehensible Being, by whom their feet had been washed, was the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the blessed and only Potentate,.. never could they forget, that humility, benevolence, and condescension to men of low estate, are the characteristic virtues of all, who take Him for their example, and who receive His gospel as their guide. And for ourselves, my brethren, we, for whose instruction these things have been written, * Jer. xviii. 2. 10. + Isaiah, xx. 2. should ever bear in mind, that nothing can be degrading, which Providence allots us as our duty; nothing, by which we can add to the comforts of a fellow-creature; or, by saving a soul alive, can advance the kingdom of God. Those who, really, and in earnest, take upon them their Saviour's yoke, will learn of him, for he was meek and lowly of heart; and, in so doing, they will secure to their souls, that peace, which passeth all understanding; that peace of God, which the world can neither give, nor take away. When our Lord had taken his garments, and was set down again*, (the dishes having been re-placed on the table) he endeavoured to elevate their minds, from the shadow, to the substance; from the act which he had performed, to the lesson which he would teach. Know ye, said he, what I have done unto you? Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye, also, ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do, as I have done to you; that, for the good of those over whom I am about to appoint you my ministers, you should be ready to perform the meanest offices. (8) Verily, verily, I say unto you, * John, xiii. 12. 21. The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither is he that is sent, greater than he that sent him: although I shall appoint you to be the ministers of my kingdom, still you will be far inferior to me, from whom all your authority is derived. If, then, even I, who am the Messiah, instead of exercising that lordship, of which the Gentile kings are ambitious, have, in order to cleanse you from sin, condescended to the lowest offices, how can you imagine, that it will be different, with respect to yourselves? No: your functions will, oft-times, be regarded as degrading, and your office will subject you to contempt. Nevertheless, if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen: but, that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you, before it comes to pass; that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. The last passage was uttered in a kind of parenthesis; and then, reverting to what he had before said, of the contempt with which they should be sometimes treated, he vindicated the real dignity of the apostolical character, and episcopal office: Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. Still, his meaning was not spiritually discerned. They seem not, even, to have understood his allusion to the traitor. On this account, it probably was, that Jesus became troubled in spirit. He determined now, to rouse them from their apathy, by awakening their suspicions. therefore, asserted the fact Verily, verily, I say unto you, That one of you which eateth with me, shall betray me.* Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me, is with me on the table.t He, more explicitly: Now, it was necessary that the Messiah should prove his divine mission, not by miracles alone, but also, by fulfilling the prophecies. Hence the carefulness of our Lord, throughout his sufferings, to refer his disciples to those portions of Scripture, which were universally admitted, to be prophetic of their expected King; but which the Jews could not, or would not, understand in their plain and obvious sense, because it militated against those prejudices, which led them to dwell on his triumphs, and to overlook his humiliation. Of these portions of Scripture, the forty-first Psalm was one; and to this, the blessed Jesus now alluded: Yea, mine own familiar * Mark, xiv. 18. + Luke, xxii. 21. C |