ble, zealous, ardent, witli more love than knowledge, and more feeling than spiritual discernment, lie is horrified at the very idea of " having no part in Christ." Anything rather than that ! Not seeing clearly the deep meaning of His Master's words, and still sticking to a carnal, literal interpretation of the word " washing," he cries out that his Master may wash him all over, hands and head as well as feet, if an interest in Christ depends on that.
Great zeal and love are perfectly consistent with great spirit- ual ignorance and dulness, and great slowness to comprehend spiritual truth.
Rollock remarks that Peter erred as much in one extreme now, as he had erred before in another.
Stie.r remarks that the passionate, strong expression of Peter in this verse, is just the language of a warm-hearted but dull- minded disciple, just beginning to understand, as if light had suddenly flash ed on him.
W.— [Jesus saitli to 7dm, He that is washed, etc.] This sentence of our Lord's conveys a latent rebuke of Peter's spiritual dul- ness. It is as though Jesus said, " The washing of head and hands whereof thou speakest is not needed. Even assuming that a literal washing is all I meant in saying, ' If I wash thee not,' it is well known that he who is washed needs only to wash his feet after a journey, and is accounted clean entirely after such a partial washing. But this is far more true of the washing of pardon and justification. He that is i^ardoned and justified by Me is entirely washed from all his sins, and only needs the daily forgiveness of the daily defilement he contract? in travelling through a sinful world. Once washed, justified and accepted by Me, ye are clean before God : although not all of you. There is one painful exception."
The great practical truth contained in this sentence ought to be carefully noted and treasured up by all believers. Once joined to Christ and cleansed in His blood, they are completely absolved and free from all spot of guilt, and are counted with- out blame before God. But for all this they need every day, as they walk through this world, to confess their daily fail- ures, and to sue for daily pardon. They require, in short, a daily washing of their feet, over and above the great washing of justification, which is theirs the moment they first believe. He that neglects this daily washing is a very questionable and doubtful ' kind of Christian. Luther remarks pithily, " The devil allows no Christian to reach heaven with clean feet all the way."
"Every whit," in this verse, means literally "the whole man."
The deep mine of meaning which often lies under the sur- face of our Lord's language is strikingly exemplified in this