We Are to Be Washed in the Great Fountain, September 13

Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? John 13:6. When Peter's turn came, he was unable to restrain himself and exclaimed with astonishment, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” ... Calmly Jesus replied, “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” Feeling keenly the humiliation of his Lord, and filled with love and reverence for Him, Peter with great emphasis exclaimed, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Solemnly Jesus said to Peter, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” A ray of light penetrated the mind of the disciple. He saw that the service that he refused was the type of a higher cleansing—the spiritual cleansing of mind and heart. He could not endure the thought of separation from Christ; that would have been death. “Not my feet only,” he said, “but also my hands and my head.” “Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” ... Every person who came from the bath was clean, but the sandaled feet soon became dusty and again needed to be washed. So Peter and his brethren had been washed in the great fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. Christ acknowledged them as His. But temptation had led them into evil, and they still needed His cleansing grace. When Jesus girded Himself with a towel to wash the dust from their feet, He desired by this very act to wash the alienation, jealousy, and pride from their hearts. This was of far more consequence than the washing of their dusty feet. With the spirit they had then, not one of them was prepared ... to partake of the Paschal supper or to share in the memorial service that Christ was about to institute. Their hearts must be cleansed. Pride and self-seeking create dissension and hatred, but all this Jesus washed away in washing their feet. A change of feeling was brought about. Looking upon them, Jesus could say, “Ye are clean.” Now there was union of heart, love for one another. They had become humble and teachable. Except Judas, each one was ready to concede to another the highest place.... Before the emblems of Christ's broken body and shed blood are partaken of, every difference existing between brother and brother is to be removed.... We are to seek for a preparation to sit with Christ in His kingdom.—Manuscript 106, 1903.