There seeras little doubt that our Lord's all-seeing eye saw a rising unwillingness in the minds of the Apos- tles to do such menial things as they had just seen Him do. Puffed up with their old Jewish expectation of thrones and kingdoms in this world, secretly self-satis- fied with their own position as our Lord's friends, these poor Galileans were startled at the idea of washing peo- ple's feet! They could not bring themselves to believe that Messiah's service entailed work like this. They could not yet take in the grand truth, that true Chris- tian greatness consisted in doing good to others. And hence they needed our Lord's word of warning. If He had humbled Himself to do humbling work, His disci- ples must not hesitate to do the same.
The lesson is one of which we all need to be remind- ed. We are all too apt to dislike any work which seems to entail trouble, self-denial, and going down to our inferiors. We are only too ready to depute such work to others, and to excuse ourselves by saying, " It is not in our way." When feelings of this kind arise within us we shall find it good to remember our Lord's words in this passage, no less than our Lord's example. We ought never to think it beneath us to show kind- ness to the lowest of men. We ought never to hold our hand because the objects of our kindness are ungrateful or unworthy. Such was not the mind of Him who washed the feet of Judas Iscariot as well as Peter. He who in these matters cannot stoop to follow Christ's example, gives little evidence of possessing true love or true humility.
We are taught, for another thing, in these verses, the uselessness of religioits knowledge if not accomjKinied by practice. We read, " If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." It sounds as if our Lord would warn His disciples that they would never be really hap-