he Most Holy Place, with blood, not his own,
it was needful to conform to the prescribed ablutions. "He shall bathe
his flesh in water" (Lev. xvi. 4).

First, then, the Altar, and then the Laver; the order is irreversible,
and the teaching of the types is as exact as mathematics. Hence, when
the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews invites us to draw near, and
make our abode in the Most Holy Place, he carefully obeys the Divine
order, and bids us "draw near, with a true heart, in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our
bodies washed with pure water."

In this scene (John xiii. 1-14), on the eve of our Lord's betrayal, we
find the spiritual counterpart of the Laver, just as the Cross stands
for the Brazen Altar.

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT LED TO THIS ACT OF LOVE.--In order fully to
understand this touching incident, it is necessary to remember the
circumstances out of which it sprang. On the way from Bethany to the
upper room in which the Supper had been prepared, and on entering
therein, our Lord must have been deeply absorbed in the momentous
events in which He was to be the central figure; but He was not
unmindful of a contention which had engaged His disciples, for they had
been disputing one with another as to which of them should be the
greatest. The proud spirit of the flesh, which so often cursed the
little group, broke out in this awful hour with renewed energy, as
though the prince of this world would inflict a parting blow on his
great Antagonist, through those whom He loved best. It was as if he
said, "See the results of Thy tears and teachings, of Thy prayers and
pleadings; the love which Thou hast so often inculcated is but a
passing sentiment, that has never rooted itself in the soil of these
wayward hearts. It is a plant too rare and exotic for the climate of
earth. Take it back with Thee to Thine own home if Thou wilt, but seek
not to achieve the impossible." It was heartrending that this
exhibition of pride should take place just at this juncture. These
were the men who had been with Him in His temptations, who had had the
benefit of His most careful instructions, who had been exposed to the
full influence of His personal character; and yet, notwithstanding all,
the rock-bed of pride, that cast the angels down from heaven, that led
to the fall of man, obtruded itself. This occasion in which it
manifested itself was very inopportune; already the