Evening star., 1919-11-29
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON

| SiAA ASS SoiISStioH ol lHS ulSClpleS
dispute concerning greatness by His
message drawn from the child in the
midst failed to eradicate their desire
for position, place and power. The
popular reception given to Jesus
when He entered Jerusalem trium-
Iphantly on the Sunday preceding the
time of this lesson evidently revived
their hopes for nationalistic Mes
sianic movement that would make
the Master king. James and John
aroused spirit of Indignation
against themselves by their request
to be given the chief places in the
kingdom. The apostolic band was
filled with strife The dispute tha,
arose among them which of them
should be regarded as the greatest"
had destroyed the spirit of fellow
ship when they assembled in the up
per room to partake of the passover.
The feast was not only great ma
| tlOnal thanksgiving memorial meal
that commemorated their release
from Egyptian bondage and birth as
a nation, but it also symboliZed by
its sacrifice the death of the Master.
The deepening shadows of the cross
| had touched the spirit of Jesus. al
ready the pain of betrayal, the lone
| ly desolation of desertion by His
| friends, the defenseless exposure to
fierce, unjust. ruthless men, the un-
tried misery of death and dissolution.
! the critical trial of His cause and of
all the labor of His lfe-these and
many anxietes which cannot be i'm
agined' would furnish a sufficient
cuse for the Master to be absorbed in
| His own life. Great motives caused
Him to consider others.
| He knew that death was swiftly ap-
proa ching. His love for His disciples
did not wane. The treachery of Judas
| stirred the depths of His soul. He
knew His power, origin and destiny.
| These motives moved Him to crush
the spirit of self-seeking and selfish
ness that filled the atmosphere of the
| upper room. Unless He did. He could
| not enjoy His last night among men.
He desired to leave with the disciples
| the sacred memory of that hour ('the
supper time having arrivedD, that
| would fill them with the spirit of
service. which would teach them true
| greatness and give them the highest
and truest expression of the Christian
life. This caused Him to perform the
symbolcal social service. of feet
washing. The unknown friend.
through love for the Lord Jesus, had
furnished the Master with the upper
| room, the choicest room in his home
| for the enjoyment of Israers patriotic
memorial feast. He had placed an
| ever full of clear cold water at the
door, so that the feet, which had been
soiled upon the journey, could be
| cleansed before the fellowship feast
commenced. The towel was there
ready for the disciples to wash one
another's feet No doubt they would
nave done it, had not the dispute over
| VINO should have the places of i'm
portance taken away their spirit of
| nelp1uinesS one toward another Not
one OF them was willing to perform
| the menial task of feet washing
! "nich In the orient is usually the task
oaun. oa save, tearing that it would be
counted against him. They were too
proud to perform such a humiliating
| TASK They had forgotten the cour-
| tesy that they owed to Jesus. who
had missed it at the house of Simon
, me Tharlsee, where He did not al
| low the failure to pass unnoticed.
Recognizing His divine majesty
| ana mission that was about to close
! the Master arose from His place AT
me me table where He was reclining on
fn fns eoucn' and took upon Himself the
| iald aside, and, clothed only in His
undergarments. He started to wash
the disciples feet, an illustration of
the dignity of the humblest form of
service. The disciples had failed be-
the low ideals of personal dignity. It
is not surprising that no protest was
raised by any of the apostles until
Peter was reached: He, with the
moved by the Lords loving ministry.
had been rebuked by the action of
Jesus. When He approached Peter the
Master was not surprised by the pre-
sumptuous protest of the apostle
whose life and service was full of
contradictions. While Peter failed at
times, his heart was always loyal to
the Lord, although his idea of serv-
| ice had nothing in common with that
of the Master. His protest against
service was due to his belief that the
| Master was Identifying himself with
the common slaves and endangering
His dignity by such a service. Peters
| mistake had been the error of the
Christian centuries. Those who are
striving and straining to see the
kingdom far off fail to see how by
living each day life of service the
| kingdom of God can be hastened
| among men.
| Jesus corrected Peter. who jumped
to the conclusion that the act was to
be ceremonialized into piece of rit-
! ual of magical Importance by point
ing out that he would later come into
a complete understanding of the sig
nificance of His washing feet. 1t re-
| quired a spiritual insight on the part
of the apostles if they were to COM
prehend the message that Jesus
| I. IL,
their bitterness and hatred and envy
| had disappeared under the influence
of the Masters lowly ministry. Judas
had failed to respond, although Jesus
had tried to win him back and warn
ed him that his treachery was known
to Him. If Christ had informed the
apostolic band of the plot that had
been formed by the traitor and the
! Lords enemies, it is doubtful if he
would have been allowed to leave on
! his diahOlica1 mission When he had
| left, Jesus was able to interpret to
! the disciples the meaning of His
| enacted parable so that all could un-
derstand the meaning of HIS act. ana
that loving service, rendered VOlun-
tarily for the welfare of others, was
| true greatness.
The apostles did not grasp the
meaning of the Masters humble serv-
| ice until He pointed it out to them.
| Some think that He instituted an or
dinance perpetually binding upon His
! followers. They are in danger by
| literal Interpretation and observation
| of His acts to miss the spiritual sig
nificance Of what Jesus did. He point
! ed out that all who call Him Lord and
! Master ought to follow His example
| Of serving men. The one who is will
| ing, out of love for the Master. to do
| the secret and unseen service for the
| Lords glory and humanity's welfare
| has caught the message that Jesus
| tried to impress upon his followers.
Judas lacked spiritual vision and
| therefore failed because he did not
| grasp the lesson of service which
| Jesus taught and through which He
! tried to persuade the traitor to repent.
The Masters warning to Peter that
He would deny him contains the def
| mite answer to the Lords assurance
to the man of rock that he would un-
| derstand later. In it there is warn
| ing for all who, like Peter think that