The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 180

back into the majestic manner or the Obrist basin (vnrTijp")t the article or fumitnre In the hints which the eubsequent diBOOW'l!e the room (" Ni11U min.ietenl omittit" says of our Lord must have given hitn of the Grotius. Thus he disch&rges every 'ru\rt of Didno greatness which flo.abed at times the duty, while the dieciplce wondor at tho from hie sacred Person, ancl conferred n new re'Velation). And he bege.n to wash the boundless signifloanoo on the subsequent feet of the disoiplea, e.nd to wipe them with act of humiliation. Christ gave the highest the towel wherewith he was girded. West- proof of his Divine eelf-oonsciousaess in this cott refers to the rabbinlo commonte.tors on , lisplay of bis condescending love, this Ezek. xvl. 9, "Aruong men, the sle.vo rnluutary e.be.semcnt to the lowest place in washes his master, but with God it is not the household of faith. The use of .;s~s so." So thon the inveraion or all human twi.-,i over (vers. I e.nd 3) is contmsted llOOio.l relations forced on John's mind the with tho 'Y""'"TI or ver. 7. The ve.st con- deep truth that we a.re hero fa.co to fnce fessions here made nre dccle.red to be with the Divine-with the Divine-bum11n. maftcrs. or e.bsolute intuitive k,iowledgc, John here strains his words to give some not the results of long experience. Chriot conception of what passed in his own mind did not "come to !.-now; " he "knew" nil when be se.w our' Lord's fnco, and wit- these facts e.bout himself. It must not be nessed this great revelation of hie character. 8npposed tba.t this we.s e. theological idea Though this evangelist did not record the which came into the writer's mind e.Ror- "Transfig11ration,'' them were moments in. wards. St. Puul, in the Epistle to the Philip- Christ's liistory which produced e. still pro- }Jians (ii. 6-8), had e.dequately gra.sped tlie fouudor impression upon him, and in which i;:imc tliought long before St. John penned he veritably se.w the glory ·of the Only 1his Gospel (cf. 2 Cor. viii. 9). Be.;otten of God in his Master's form. On Yers. 4. 5.-Comment.ators d.ilrer as to the this occasion the highest conception of motive which induced our Lord to perform hie Divine Personality, origin, e.nd destiny, this menial a.et, to nd()pt the gesture, gird- wa.s blended with th·e deepest descent of the ing, a.nd duties of the Sou1'os, to clivest him- Lord's entire hnme.nityto the level of weak- self of his lµaTIA or upper garments, e.nd ness, pollution, and sin. The grentest to appear and veritably to net e.s a slave. manifestation of God·was in the revelation Strauss regards it e.s a mythical representa- of the exceedin~ limits, the infinite depth, tion of one of our Lord's discourses on which love could compass. We may-see a h1:1mility. Lang-e, with much pertinence, little furtlier on whnt were the special steps believes it to correspond to the pain which he our Lord took to give tLis sense of love" to manifested, e.t the very Ia,;i Supper, "llith the the uttermost" on the pa.rt of him to whom uu~eemly cuutcst for prc-cmiucnre among ell the universe he.d been entrusted, who had the aposLles (of. Luke xxiL 27, "'Whether is come from; eud was going beck to, the Father. greater, he tlllit sitteth at meat, or he that Ver. 6.-It cannot be determined with servcth? . . . I nm among you as he that whom our Lord commenced the feet-wash- serveth "). Others, like Meyer, see no such ing. • Some of the older expositors have said reforence, aud require the presence of no it was with Judas. The oav might denote such motive. It is remo.rkable that e.t snob that several of the disciples, in awestruck a season this dispute could have arisen at wonder, he.d eubmitted without e. word, and all. Huving undoubtedly broken out on then (oov res11mptive) be comet!l to Simon more th.:rn one occasion, our Lord ch6se tlie :Peter. But the great bulk of ancient a11d midst of this feast, when we lee.rn from other modern expositors suppose that Peter wns sources there we.a s11ch e.n outbreak, for this the first to whom this gre11t grace was emphatic revelation of the royu..lty of service. offered. At ell events, in his impulsive Wiinsche (" Erl.,' p. 550) says that both manner always rushing forwards, and ready " before " a.nd " after "the Passover fe..tive.l to give his l\faster advice, e.nd to bo the it was custume.ry, in order to demonstrate moutupiece of otherwi~e unuttered feelings, the equality e.nd liberty of the guests, to Peter m~s the first to exclaim, ( and 1) he 1 practise mutual interchanges of the ordinary saith unto him, e.nd with strong emphasis menial service of ltand-we.shing (' Pesa.chin,' on the :lo e.nd the µou, Dost thou wash my fol. I 08). In this verse every sentence is feet 1 The protest was natural. It corre- e. dilltinet picture. He rieeth from the sponds with many another scene in Pete1's llllpper, and layeth down hie upper garments, life; e.s when he se.id, " Depart from me·; &nd when he had ta.ken a towel, he gl.rded for I e.m a sinful man," or cried, "Thnt he him.self (Edersbeim and Wiinsche both give far from thee," and later on in. this chapter, proof th.e.t the Te.lm11d repeatedly Grecizes "Why cannot I follow thee·now?" or, "I the word here rendered "towel.'' hi11no11, have never eaten anything common or un- " linen cloth,"' by tile word l.entith or cden- 1 T.R. ancl Lnchma.nn read ,ea(, with I:{, A, tith) after tl,e fashion of the humbleet slave; then he poureth water in.to the washing- and other e.uthoritle1. They e.1.eo e.d<l l,ciivo,, on, :11u. 1-3B.] 'l'llE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 187