THE ORDINANCE OF HUMILITY.
THE purpose of ordinances and memorials established by the Lord is that eternal truths may be impressed upon the minds of men. Great truths are portrayed by striking events, and these are memorialized in ordinances, that the goodness and mercy of God may not be forgotten. Men are prone to forget God and His wonderful love to them. The psalmist says of Israel, after their deliverance from Egypt by the power of God, that "they soon forgot His works; they waited not for His counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert." Ps. 106:13, 14. The results of sin from the beginning had such a degenerating effect upon the human mind that "they did not like to retain God in their knowledge," and "God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient." Rom. 1:28. This being the natural tendency of man, God desires to help the memory of those who make profession of faith in Him. Therefore He gives them visible object lessons, that through the observance of these the mind may be renewed and faith strengthened. The Spirit through Peter tells us that we need to be reminded even of the things which we know. See 1 Peter 1:12, 15; 3:1, 2; also Jude 5. In the thirteenth chapter of John we have the record of the institution of the ordinance of feet washing. It is very explicit. Jesus rose from the Passover supper to perform the act, which was then and there set apart to be observed by His disciples. True, there was a then present reason for this impressive object lesson in humility; for Luke, in reporting this Passover occasion, says, "There was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." Luke 22:24. But if those who had spent so much time in His personal company, and had witnessed so much of His life of meek humility, needed such a lesson at that solemn, critical moment, it certainly would not be amiss for those coming into the church in after times, especially when the "falling away" should come in the last days. If, as in the ordinance of the Lord's supper, it be necessary to "show the Lord's death till He come" (1 Cor. 11:26), why should it be of less importance to commemorate His humility of life until that time? We might almost say that the latter ordinance or memorial is the more necessary of the two, inasmuch as those who profess Christianity are, as a rule, more willing to follow Christ's example in dying for their religion than they are to imitate His humility in living it. Concerning this ordinance of humility the record is very plain, and the injunction for its observance is emphatic. How did He do it?—"He pourreth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded." What was the command for future celebration of the ordinance?—First, the assertion of His authority: "Ye call Me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am." Secondly, the direction: "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to [owe it to] wash one another's feet. For I have given7you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." But this ordinance has been neglected, ignored, practically rejected by the mass of professing Christians. Only a few now observe it at all. We are told that Christ was only observing a common custom; but there was no such custom. It was a common act of hospitality to give sojourners who came to a house water to wash their own feet. See Gen. 18:1-5; Luke 7:44. On this occasion the necessary hospitality was observed by the owner of the house, who had provided for them "a large upper room furnished and prepared." Mark 14:15. The company comprised merely a family of brethren, with present temporal wants all supplied, and there was no call for hospitality among them. Had this ceremony of feet washing been a custom, Jesus could not have said, "What I do thou knowest not now;" for they were all well acquainted with the customs of the country. He was teaching them a great spiritual truth, to be afterward commemorated by a visible act. The promise, "Thou shalt know hereafter," indicated further that they did not then understand the import of the ordinance. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:13, 14), and they had not yet the spiritual understanding with which they were afterward endued. The neglect of this ordinance, its virtual rejection by many, and its open rejection by many more, comes from a failure to appreciate its import. Even some who formally observe it do so under the impression that it is designed merely to commemorate that one humble act of the Saviour in washing the feet of His disciples. But it means more; it points to the whole humble life of the Lord, of which that act was but one, altho a very striking one. In observing the ordinance of the Lord's supper we commemorate more than the expiration on the cross. The Lord's whole earthly career was one of sacrifice, contemplating the giving of His life as the climax. His purpose in taking upon Himself our nature was for the "suffering of death; . . . that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." So the ordinance of humility should bring to mind afresh the humility of Him who stooped from the exalted position of Ruler of the universe to that of bearing the sins of the whole world and suffering the penalty on the cross. "Who, being in the form of God, . . . made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:6-8. The humility was as manifest when He at first volunteered to take this step as when He took the basin and towel to wash the disciples' feet. Coming to earth on His mission of self-denial, He was born in a stable, cradled in a manger, and His parents were of the poorer class, who resided in a Galilean city, despised by those who looked for the Messiah to come in pompous display of temporal power. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah should always be read in connection with the record in John 13 of the institution of the ordinance of humility. Long before the Saviour's advent to earth, the prophet said: "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." Verses 2-7. It is not uncommon to hear an objector say, "I would not be ashamed to wash the feet of a brother, if it were necessary; I don't think such an act shows any great humility." And herein lies a misconception of the ordinance; it is not designed to display humility, but to commemorate a life of humility in Him whose example we are enjoined to follow. The cross is not in the simple act, but in the humble life that is essential to a true appreciation of what the ordinance means, and an appreciation of the importance of obeying a commandment of the Saviour, however insignificant it may appear in itself. To dip himself seven times in the waters of Jordan seemed a foolish act to Naaman the Syrian, but in obedience to the direction of the prophet he was healed of his leprosy. To the institution of the ordinance of feet washing the Saviour adds, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." Is not the promise of the Lord worthy of attention? Does not every child of God want to be happy? There is no true happiness to him who, knowing his Master's will, neglects or refuses to do it. Luke 12:47. Surely the lesson of the Lord's great life of humility and self-denial is worthy of a simple memorial designed to impress it upon our weak minds, which are so prone to forget. And no one can afford to forego the promise of happiness, that is sure to those who exercise an obedience wrought in faith.