For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
At the supper before His crucifixion, while washing the disciples' feet, Jesus said they were not all clean because He knew Judas Iscariot would betray Him. To be not clean means to be inwardly defiled in heart and unconverted, which outward washing cannot remove, while the others were cleansed from pride and strife and made ready in humility, love and unity. He washed even Judas's feet tenderly and let him share the supper as a final appeal of love to confess, believe and be cleansed, but Judas resisted the Holy Spirit, rejected the light and left under Satan's control to carry out his treachery. By this act He established foot washing as a continuing ordinance of humility and loving service, to bring believers together in oneness and to prepare their hearts for communion. Since human beings cannot read the secrets of the soul, His foreknowledge does not bar anyone from foot washing and the Lord's Supper, yet at every observance He is present as unseen witness reading every heart and calling the unclean to confess and be cleansed.
Setting at Last Supper
The saying was spoken while Jesus was washing the disciples' feet at the supper before the Passover and His crucifixion. He had risen from supper, laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, poured water into a basin, and washed and wiped their feet. In that washing He told Peter that without washing he had no part with Him, and that one already washed needs only to wash his feet, declaring them clean every whit but not all. The foot-washing was a sacred act done to lead the disciples by remembrance of what Christ had done for them into humility where no one exalts himself above another, and to bring each brother to understand the feelings of his brother.
At that last gathering before the crucifixion the disciples came with hearts full of selfishness and tempers heated by disputing who should be greatest. That contention filled Christ with sorrow and would have shut them out from great blessing. Hearing their whisperings and seeing their flushed faces, He without a word laid aside His outer garment, girded Himself with a towel as a servant, and washed their feet to rebuke their pride and strife. The act humbled the disciples and exposed the pride in their hearts, opening their eyes, filling them with bitter shame and humiliation, and showing them themselves in a new light. It was His final lesson in humility and loving service from the pure and spotless Lamb who humbled Himself and gave Himself as a sacrifice, and it left an impression they remembered for life.
He had taken His disciples away alone, separate from the wicked and unbelievers. He first washed their feet and then gave them broken bread to represent His broken body and juice of the vine to represent His spilled blood. Through those symbols He is remembered as the sin-bearer who became sin so that people might become God's righteousness in Him. Even in that separated company Judas was present as the one not clean.
The betrayer was Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, after the devil had put betrayal into his heart.
Christ Knew the Betrayer
He knew who would betray Him, and for that reason He said they were not all clean. In so saying He distinguished Judas from those who were clean. Judas did not share the spiritual cleanness of the others, and His words reflected His knowledge that Judas was not spiritually clean. Spiritual uncleanness is thus connected with betrayal of Christ.
He knew Judas's character and secret purpose and wicked schemes to betray Him. He alone knew that secret purpose, while the disciples knew nothing of it and still looked upon Judas as a man of great capabilities and valuable qualifications. By saying that not all were clean He gave convincing proof that He had read his intentions and that He knew Judas was false. He gave him no word of rebuke and did not expose him, but treated him with the same goodness, humility and love He showed all the disciples.
His words pointed to Judas's hidden treachery. They were spoken so that Judas would understand He was not ignorant, and so that all would know He knew the betrayer. The disciples did not understand them at the time, and only remembered afterward what they revealed. His foreknowledge was meant to strengthen the faith of the others.
Judas's presence restrained Him from expressing His feelings freely. After Judas left, that restraint was removed. He then spoke more openly and tenderly to those who remained.
Meaning of Clean and Unclean
To be not clean means to be unclean inwardly in heart and spirit, and Judas alone was not included when Jesus declared the disciples clean. Although his feet were washed and he was tenderly served with the rest, he remained spiritually unclean. Jesus knew he would betray Him, and the exception exposed that hidden treachery.
Outward foot-washing does not wash away sin, so washing left Judas still defiled in soul. He had not yielded his heart to Christ, been purified, submitted himself to Him, turned from sin, or received cleansing, but brought a traitor's heart to the basin and kept its moral defilement. The cleansing of the heart is tested in humble service, and mere outward washing did not make him love Jesus.
He had never experienced the soul cleansing and change of character that constitute conversion, though he acted as a disciple and showed interest in Christ's work and had not received Him as personal Saviour. Outward discipleship is thus distinguished from inward conversion. The others had received cleansing from sin, yet temptation had brought pride, jealousy, and alienation into their hearts. His washing of their feet represented His cleansing grace removing those faults and restoring humility, love, and unity, so that they were ready to receive His words and share in the supper and memorial service.
Patient Appeal to Judas
Though He knew the secret purpose and wicked scheme to betray Him, Jesus still washed Judas's feet, tenderly and even first, and welcomed him to the table to share in the sacrament. That washing and that place at the table were His last act for His betrayer, done with willingness to do anything to save even the most guilty sinner, and were a final appeal of love calling him to repent and be cleansed from sin. Foreknowledge did not lead Him to exclude Judas, for no human can read the secrets of the soul or reliably tell the worthy from the unworthy and decide who shall take part.
The declaration that they were not all clean was spoken so Judas would understand that his treachery was known and that Jesus was not ignorant, and so all would afterward know He had known the betrayer. It gave Judas a last opportunity to confess, to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, to be converted, and to become a child of God, though the disciples did not grasp its meaning until afterward.
That love and goodness, shown without rebuke or exposure through all His association with him even to bathing his soiled feet with His own hands and wiping them with the towel, thrilled Judas's heart with an impulse then and there to confess his sin. Instead he turned the wrong way, braced his soul against light, fought away the deep impressions of the Holy Spirit, and rejected the final appeal. He let himself become a channel of darkness and a traitor and betrayer, his case was then decided, Satan took control of his heart and mind, and he left to carry out his plan, unafraid and unturned though he knew his purpose was exposed.
Such continued ministry to one spiritually unclean shows God's patience, mercy, forbearance, and longsuffering toward even the most grievously erring, and His long patience with perverse human nature. It teaches not to carelessly abandon one who is in error and leave that person exposed to temptation, but to bear patiently with those at fault and with false brethren who will remain in the church until the close of time. Outward faults do not make a person like Judas, for Peter often appeared worse yet through God's grace became a life of service.
Ordinance of Humility Established
The washing of the disciples' feet established foot-washing as a religious ordinance and service to be kept, rather than merely an act of ordinary hospitality. Its example and command to wash one another's feet are to be brought to remembrance whenever believers come to the ordinance, for God is sacredly near on every such occasion. It was given to test and prove loyalty, and it was practiced as a Christian ordinance alongside the Lord's Supper. As a practice to be kept, it is to be observed with separation of the sexes, sisters washing sisters' feet and men not washing women's feet together.
It was Christ's final lesson in humility and loving service, given while the disciples disputed who should be greatest, teaching ministers and all disciples humility from His own example. He who did this was the pure and spotless Lamb who humbled Himself and gave Himself as a sacrifice for humanity. His disciples must follow His example and never consider themselves superior to the lowliest believer. The ordinance was a sacred act done to lead the disciples by remembrance of what Christ had done for them into humility where no one exalts himself above another, and to bring each brother to understand the feelings of his brother. It was given to teach a lesson of humility and to bring them together in unity, to assimilate their hearts in oneness with Him, and living this instruction overcomes dissension and strengthens unity with one another and with Christ.
The ordinance is preparation for communion and precedes partaking of the emblems of the Lord's death. Pride, conflict, and desire for supremacy keep the heart from fellowship with Christ and readiness to receive the communion. It was observed together with the Lord's Supper, after humble confessions, as solemn acts humbling worshipers before God. In that observance the sexes are separated, with sisters washing sisters' feet and men not washing women's feet.
By this simple ordinance in connection with the last supper Christ discharged His disciples from the cares, burdens, rites, and ceremonies of the ancient Jewish obligations. This was because type was meeting antitype in Himself as the authority and foundation of those ordinances and the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world, so to continue them would be an insult to Jehovah. He gave this ordinance as a special season when He Himself is always present to lead each participant to feel the pulse of conscience, to awaken understanding of the lessons symbolized, to revive memory, to convict of sin, and to receive penitential offerings. It teaches that brother is not to exalt himself above brother and that the dangers of disunion and strife must be seen, because the health and holy activity of the soul are involved. It appeals not largely to intellectual capacity but to the heart and to the moral and spiritual nature, doing for the disciples what they needed and disentangling them from rites once held essential but made of no force by the reception of the Gospel. Eating His body and drinking His blood means not only the sacramental service but daily partaking of the bread of life that alone satisfies soul-hunger by receiving His Word and doing His will.
Warning and Present Participation
Jesus knew who would betray Him, yet He still washed that disciple's feet and gave him a place at the table and a share in the sacramental service. That foreknowledge does not bar anyone from foot washing and the Lord's Supper, and the statement that they were not all clean does not authorize exclusion. Human beings cannot read the secrets of the soul and cannot reliably tell who is worthy and who is not, or distinguish the unfaithful from the faithful and the false from the true. Therefore no one who wishes to join the ordinances is to be forbidden, no one is to decide who shall take part, the ordinance is not to be delayed because someone present is thought unworthy, and no one is to refuse to attend because another unworthy person is present.
Not all who are present at foot washing are cleansed from sin, for the simple ordinance is a religious service rather than ordinary hospitality, given to test and prove loyalty. It belongs to every observance as a test and heart-searcher, preceding the partaking of the emblems of the Lord's death. At each season Christ Himself is present as the unseen witness, reading every heart with its concealed purposes, wrongdoing, and sin, leading each participant to feel the pulse of conscience, awakening understanding, reviving memory, and receiving penitential offerings. At the same time the Holy Spirit is present to convince of sin and of every wrong and injustice done to a brother and to give gracious opportunity to confess it, appealing to the heart and moral and spiritual nature rather than largely to intellectual capacity.
The same words apply to those who neglect the communion service and leave these seasons of divine appointment, for by doing so they prove themselves unclean. Yet they do not mean that people should be barred from the service because someone unworthy is present. Christ is there to receive and cleanse the repentant.
Even when the disciples were taken away alone, separate from the wicked and unbelievers, to have their feet washed and then receive the broken bread to represent His broken body and the juice of the vine to represent His spilled blood, Judas was present among them as the one not clean. So from time to time a Judas may appear to be with God's people and partake, eating and drinking to his own damnation. But God will quickly make him manifest and purge him out from among Israel. Therefore shepherds must move understandingly and with care, following that example, and not hold foot washing and communion among unbelievers, lest reproach come on God's cause.
Cleanness is also required from the defilement of unkind talk, gossip, accusing brethren, and passing judgment. Where self-assured conversation hurts souls and spoils the work of God, uncleanness remains. Cleansing must come by the Holy Spirit purifying the lips as with a living coal. To continue in such defiling talk is to handle strange fire and to leave His words about cleanness unheeded.
At the supper before His crucifixion, while washing the disciples' feet, Jesus said they were not all clean because He knew Judas Iscariot would betray Him. To be not clean means to be inwardly defiled in heart and unconverted, which outward washing cannot remove, while the others were cleansed from pride and strife and made ready in humility, love and unity. He washed even Judas's feet tenderly and let him share the supper as a final appeal of love to confess, believe and be cleansed, but Judas resisted the Holy Spirit, rejected the light and left under Satan's control to carry out his treachery. By this act He established foot washing as a continuing ordinance of humility and loving service, to bring believers together in oneness and to prepare their hearts for communion. Since human beings cannot read the secrets of the soul, His foreknowledge does not bar anyone from foot washing and the Lord's Supper, yet at every observance He is present as unseen witness reading every heart and calling the unclean to confess and be cleansed.
Setting at Last Supper
The saying was spoken while Jesus was washing the disciples' feet at the supper before the Passover and His crucifixion. He had risen from supper, laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, poured water into a basin, and washed and wiped their feet. In that washing He told Peter that without washing he had no part with Him, and that one already washed needs only to wash his feet, declaring them clean every whit but not all. The foot-washing was a sacred act done to lead the disciples by remembrance of what Christ had done for them into humility where no one exalts himself above another, and to bring each brother to understand the feelings of his brother.
At that last gathering before the crucifixion the disciples came with hearts full of selfishness and tempers heated by disputing who should be greatest. That contention filled Christ with sorrow and would have shut them out from great blessing. Hearing their whisperings and seeing their flushed faces, He without a word laid aside His outer garment, girded Himself with a towel as a servant, and washed their feet to rebuke their pride and strife. The act humbled the disciples and exposed the pride in their hearts, opening their eyes, filling them with bitter shame and humiliation, and showing them themselves in a new light. It was His final lesson in humility and loving service from the pure and spotless Lamb who humbled Himself and gave Himself as a sacrifice, and it left an impression they remembered for life.
He had taken His disciples away alone, separate from the wicked and unbelievers. He first washed their feet and then gave them broken bread to represent His broken body and juice of the vine to represent His spilled blood. Through those symbols He is remembered as the sin-bearer who became sin so that people might become God's righteousness in Him. Even in that separated company Judas was present as the one not clean.
The betrayer was Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, after the devil had put betrayal into his heart.
Christ Knew the Betrayer
He knew who would betray Him, and for that reason He said they were not all clean. In so saying He distinguished Judas from those who were clean. Judas did not share the spiritual cleanness of the others, and His words reflected His knowledge that Judas was not spiritually clean. Spiritual uncleanness is thus connected with betrayal of Christ.
He knew Judas's character and secret purpose and wicked schemes to betray Him. He alone knew that secret purpose, while the disciples knew nothing of it and still looked upon Judas as a man of great capabilities and valuable qualifications. By saying that not all were clean He gave convincing proof that He had read his intentions and that He knew Judas was false. He gave him no word of rebuke and did not expose him, but treated him with the same goodness, humility and love He showed all the disciples.
His words pointed to Judas's hidden treachery. They were spoken so that Judas would understand He was not ignorant, and so that all would know He knew the betrayer. The disciples did not understand them at the time, and only remembered afterward what they revealed. His foreknowledge was meant to strengthen the faith of the others.
Judas's presence restrained Him from expressing His feelings freely. After Judas left, that restraint was removed. He then spoke more openly and tenderly to those who remained.
Meaning of Clean and Unclean
To be not clean means to be unclean inwardly in heart and spirit, and Judas alone was not included when Jesus declared the disciples clean. Although his feet were washed and he was tenderly served with the rest, he remained spiritually unclean. Jesus knew he would betray Him, and the exception exposed that hidden treachery.
Outward foot-washing does not wash away sin, so washing left Judas still defiled in soul. He had not yielded his heart to Christ, been purified, submitted himself to Him, turned from sin, or received cleansing, but brought a traitor's heart to the basin and kept its moral defilement. The cleansing of the heart is tested in humble service, and mere outward washing did not make him love Jesus.
He had never experienced the soul cleansing and change of character that constitute conversion, though he acted as a disciple and showed interest in Christ's work and had not received Him as personal Saviour. Outward discipleship is thus distinguished from inward conversion. The others had received cleansing from sin, yet temptation had brought pride, jealousy, and alienation into their hearts. His washing of their feet represented His cleansing grace removing those faults and restoring humility, love, and unity, so that they were ready to receive His words and share in the supper and memorial service.
Patient Appeal to Judas
Though He knew the secret purpose and wicked scheme to betray Him, Jesus still washed Judas's feet, tenderly and even first, and welcomed him to the table to share in the sacrament. That washing and that place at the table were His last act for His betrayer, done with willingness to do anything to save even the most guilty sinner, and were a final appeal of love calling him to repent and be cleansed from sin. Foreknowledge did not lead Him to exclude Judas, for no human can read the secrets of the soul or reliably tell the worthy from the unworthy and decide who shall take part.
The declaration that they were not all clean was spoken so Judas would understand that his treachery was known and that Jesus was not ignorant, and so all would afterward know He had known the betrayer. It gave Judas a last opportunity to confess, to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, to be converted, and to become a child of God, though the disciples did not grasp its meaning until afterward.
That love and goodness, shown without rebuke or exposure through all His association with him even to bathing his soiled feet with His own hands and wiping them with the towel, thrilled Judas's heart with an impulse then and there to confess his sin. Instead he turned the wrong way, braced his soul against light, fought away the deep impressions of the Holy Spirit, and rejected the final appeal. He let himself become a channel of darkness and a traitor and betrayer, his case was then decided, Satan took control of his heart and mind, and he left to carry out his plan, unafraid and unturned though he knew his purpose was exposed.
Such continued ministry to one spiritually unclean shows God's patience, mercy, forbearance, and longsuffering toward even the most grievously erring, and His long patience with perverse human nature. It teaches not to carelessly abandon one who is in error and leave that person exposed to temptation, but to bear patiently with those at fault and with false brethren who will remain in the church until the close of time. Outward faults do not make a person like Judas, for Peter often appeared worse yet through God's grace became a life of service.
Ordinance of Humility Established
The washing of the disciples' feet established foot-washing as a religious ordinance and service to be kept, rather than merely an act of ordinary hospitality. Its example and command to wash one another's feet are to be brought to remembrance whenever believers come to the ordinance, for God is sacredly near on every such occasion. It was given to test and prove loyalty, and it was practiced as a Christian ordinance alongside the Lord's Supper. As a practice to be kept, it is to be observed with separation of the sexes, sisters washing sisters' feet and men not washing women's feet together.
It was Christ's final lesson in humility and loving service, given while the disciples disputed who should be greatest, teaching ministers and all disciples humility from His own example. He who did this was the pure and spotless Lamb who humbled Himself and gave Himself as a sacrifice for humanity. His disciples must follow His example and never consider themselves superior to the lowliest believer. The ordinance was a sacred act done to lead the disciples by remembrance of what Christ had done for them into humility where no one exalts himself above another, and to bring each brother to understand the feelings of his brother. It was given to teach a lesson of humility and to bring them together in unity, to assimilate their hearts in oneness with Him, and living this instruction overcomes dissension and strengthens unity with one another and with Christ.
The ordinance is preparation for communion and precedes partaking of the emblems of the Lord's death. Pride, conflict, and desire for supremacy keep the heart from fellowship with Christ and readiness to receive the communion. It was observed together with the Lord's Supper, after humble confessions, as solemn acts humbling worshipers before God. In that observance the sexes are separated, with sisters washing sisters' feet and men not washing women's feet.
By this simple ordinance in connection with the last supper Christ discharged His disciples from the cares, burdens, rites, and ceremonies of the ancient Jewish obligations. This was because type was meeting antitype in Himself as the authority and foundation of those ordinances and the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world, so to continue them would be an insult to Jehovah. He gave this ordinance as a special season when He Himself is always present to lead each participant to feel the pulse of conscience, to awaken understanding of the lessons symbolized, to revive memory, to convict of sin, and to receive penitential offerings. It teaches that brother is not to exalt himself above brother and that the dangers of disunion and strife must be seen, because the health and holy activity of the soul are involved. It appeals not largely to intellectual capacity but to the heart and to the moral and spiritual nature, doing for the disciples what they needed and disentangling them from rites once held essential but made of no force by the reception of the Gospel. Eating His body and drinking His blood means not only the sacramental service but daily partaking of the bread of life that alone satisfies soul-hunger by receiving His Word and doing His will.
Warning and Present Participation
Jesus knew who would betray Him, yet He still washed that disciple's feet and gave him a place at the table and a share in the sacramental service. That foreknowledge does not bar anyone from foot washing and the Lord's Supper, and the statement that they were not all clean does not authorize exclusion. Human beings cannot read the secrets of the soul and cannot reliably tell who is worthy and who is not, or distinguish the unfaithful from the faithful and the false from the true. Therefore no one who wishes to join the ordinances is to be forbidden, no one is to decide who shall take part, the ordinance is not to be delayed because someone present is thought unworthy, and no one is to refuse to attend because another unworthy person is present.
Not all who are present at foot washing are cleansed from sin, for the simple ordinance is a religious service rather than ordinary hospitality, given to test and prove loyalty. It belongs to every observance as a test and heart-searcher, preceding the partaking of the emblems of the Lord's death. At each season Christ Himself is present as the unseen witness, reading every heart with its concealed purposes, wrongdoing, and sin, leading each participant to feel the pulse of conscience, awakening understanding, reviving memory, and receiving penitential offerings. At the same time the Holy Spirit is present to convince of sin and of every wrong and injustice done to a brother and to give gracious opportunity to confess it, appealing to the heart and moral and spiritual nature rather than largely to intellectual capacity.
The same words apply to those who neglect the communion service and leave these seasons of divine appointment, for by doing so they prove themselves unclean. Yet they do not mean that people should be barred from the service because someone unworthy is present. Christ is there to receive and cleanse the repentant.
Even when the disciples were taken away alone, separate from the wicked and unbelievers, to have their feet washed and then receive the broken bread to represent His broken body and the juice of the vine to represent His spilled blood, Judas was present among them as the one not clean. So from time to time a Judas may appear to be with God's people and partake, eating and drinking to his own damnation. But God will quickly make him manifest and purge him out from among Israel. Therefore shepherds must move understandingly and with care, following that example, and not hold foot washing and communion among unbelievers, lest reproach come on God's cause.
Cleanness is also required from the defilement of unkind talk, gossip, accusing brethren, and passing judgment. Where self-assured conversation hurts souls and spoils the work of God, uncleanness remains. Cleansing must come by the Holy Spirit purifying the lips as with a living coal. To continue in such defiling talk is to handle strange fire and to leave His words about cleanness unheeded.