Boston Homilies John 13:1-19 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world to the Father… Learn — 1. That they who, like Peter, refuse to believe in or conform to requirements of the Master which they do not fully understand or sympathize with are in danger of getting where they have no part with Him. 2. That if we submit to His will we shall in due time understand the significance of His treatment. 3. It is good to be zealously desirous of abundant blessing, a generous supply of grace. But it is sometimes necessary also to "wait patiently for the Lord," to learn of Him, perchance slowly, and "one thing at a time." 4. That in the kingdom of Jesus Christ the crown bearer is the feet. washer. 5 That our knowledge of Christian duty becomes a blessing in proportion as it is transmuted into practice. Sentimental admiration of humility and lowly helpfulness is one thing, being humble and helpful is another. 6. The passage affords us, as Bruce has well shown, an excellent intimation of what constitutes the perfection of obedience. "It lies in letting the Lord change places with us, and, if it seem good to Him, humble Himself to be our servant. Our true humility is not to object to Christ's humiliation, but, on the contrary, to recognize its necessity in order to our deliverance from sin. They honour not God who deny the Incarnation and the redeeming death of the eternal Son as unworthy of Him. Rather do they doubly dishonour the Divine Being; first, by misconceiving wherein His glory lies, and, next, by ignoring their own need of redemption. The only genuine piety is that which owns man's moral defilement and leaves God to remove it in His own way." (Boston Homilies.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. |
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