1 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.

He must restore the Passover. To realize these things was the hope of the apostles, and the recompense of reward promised to them for forsaking all their means of life, and following Jesus as their teacher, lord, and king.

Jesus predicted his betrayal and crucifixion at the epoch of the Passover. The rulers, however, did not dare to apprehend him on the 14th day, before the passover was eaten at even, "lest there should be an uproar among the people."

... Judas Iscariot, sold God's Lamb to the rulers for thirty pieces of silver that they might kill him and eat him between the first and second evenings of the unleavened; that is, between the 14th day at even, and the 15th day at even, which was the paschal day, or Holy Convocation—the Day of Preparation for and of the slaying of Messiah the Prince.

It was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, that Jesus was anointed for his burial. This was "before the feast of the Passover." It was a fit and proper place for this anointing, as it was Simon's son that was to betray him.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, July 1851

2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

This supper was an interesting occasion‭; ‬for not only was he anointed with precious ointment,‭ ‬but he washed the feet of his disciples,‭ ‬revealed to them the treachery of Judas,‭ ‬and delivered that interesting address to them which has been recorded by John in his testimony from the thirty-first verse of the thirteenth chapter to the end of the sixteenth.‭

At the supper in the house of Iscariot's father,‭ ‬he presented to him the sop as the token to the others that it was Judas who would betray him.‭ ‬On receiving it the satanic spirit burned within him.‭ ‬Perceiving that his character was well understood by Jesus,‭ ‬and that he could no longer disguise it,‭ ‬he determined to be revenged.‭

Jesus had charged him before all with having a devil,‭ ‬and not being able to deny it,‭ ‬he became his enemy and adversary even unto death.‭ ‬These ideas are expressed by the words,‭

‭"‬after the sop Satan entered into him‭;"

and Jesus perceiving it said,‭ "‬What thou doest,‭ ‬do quickly.‭"

‭...‬ The supper at Bethany was on the 11th or 13th of the month, "before the Passover." "It was night;" not the night of his arrest, but the night of consultation at the palace of the High Priest, where it was determined to take Jesus by subtilty and to kill him.

While eating the passover the betrayal became again the subject of conversation. Judas, although he knew that the matter was all arranged between himself and the priests, had the hardihood to say to Jesus "Master, is it I?" He was answered in the affirmative; and it is probable, that on receiving this answer, he withdrew from the feast, and went to the Chief Priests and pharisees.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, July 1851

The devil is "the lust or impulses of the flesh personified;" but not always in the subjective sense of such a proposition, which would imply that a man's impulses were devil to himself only.

Judas was a devil (Jno. 6:70); the wives of the deacons were in danger of becoming so (1 Tim. 3:11—see original); the persecuting authorities of the first century were the devil (Eph. 6:11–12: Rev. 2:10), &c., &c.

In these cases, the diabolism was external in its relations, and not internal. Judas was a devil, not to himself, but to Jesus, as Peter was Satan to Jesus.—(Matt. 16:23.)

So in other cases; the persons referred to sustained the relation of the devil to certain outside themselves. True, they were embodiments of the flesh in its moral manifestations; but the diabolism consisted of themselves, and not of an element in themselves acting towards themselves.

We must discriminate between the various phases of scriptural diabolism, and not lay down a hard and fast definition by which to try all cases.

The Christadelphian, Aug 1874

5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

The Feet-Washing of the Disciples by Christ

This act (evidently an important one from the words of Christ) may have served for that re-immersion which was necessary in the case of the twelve disciples of John at Ephesus.—(Acts 19:1–5.) Jesus admitted that with the exception of Judas, they were in a washed state; but insisted on the feet-washing as a necessary completion of their standing in him...

..."I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."

The lesson is, the avoidance of pride and reserve; condescension to the performance of humble services; than which, there can be no humbler than the washing of the feet. The lesson aimed at by Christ was a lesson of humility...

The practical application of this is to general deportment. Feet-washing was both a necessity and a luxury in the east, where sandals were worn, which, leaving the upper part of the feet exposed, made them liable to great discomfort from the penetration of the dust in travel. It was the most menial act that could be performed, to which proud men did not stoop. Servants attended to it; and sometimes guests were allowed to shift for themselves, as in the case of Christ in the house of Simon.—(Luke 7:46.)

To recommend the practice of this lowly personal attention one to another, was to recommend practical condescension. But to suppose that Christ meant a ceremonial performance, is to take away the force of the lesson. There is no humility in a ceremonial operation. The sourest and proudest Cameronian, who would not be seen carrying a parcel for a friend, could wash his friend's feet without compunction at a religious ceremony, where everybody recognised it as the proper thing to be done on the occasion.

The Pope himself can do the thing in this way. The apostles never afterwards prescribed feet-washing among "the ordinances," as they did the Lord's supper. It is never referred to as a public (or private) ceremony to be performed in the assemblies of saints. It is put in the list of ordinary practical virtues, as where the qualifications of a widow to be maintained by the brethren are specified thus:

"Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children; if she have lodged strangers; if she have washed the saints' feet; if she have relieved the afflicted; if she have diligently followed every good work."—(1 Tim. 5:10.)

In England, washing the feet is not one of the hospitalities of the country, on account of the difference of climate and custom. Its place is occupied by boot-cleaning, or any other of those little offices that have to do with personal comfort. To these we must not forget to apply the lesson.

The Christadelphian, July 1874

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

We are right in calling him master

It is a crowning beauty in the scheme of the truth,‭ ‬that one is set up for our adoration and obedience,‭ ‬who is‭

‭"‬altogether lovely,‭"

...the embodiment of God's authority,‭ ‬wisdom,‭ ‬excellence,‭ ‬and love.

let us never lose sight of the purpose he is carrying out,‭ ‬as concerning those who put themselves into the relation of brethren by the gospel‭; ‬that is,‭ ‬to purify unto himself a‭ "‬peculiar people,‭"—‬a people distinguished from common people‭ (‬rich and poor who serve the flesh‭); ‬a people for himself—his own property,‭ ‬his friends,‭ ‬his servants,‭ ‬his agents,‭—‬who shall be prepared to hold themselves as his stewards,‭—‬realising in their lives as well as in their sentiments,‭ ‬that they are not their own,‭ ‬but are bought with a price,‭ ‬and that their strength,‭ ‬and intellect,‭ ‬and money,‭ ‬and everything they have,‭ ‬are his,‭ ‬for the use of which,‭ ‬he will hold them responsible.‭

There are very plain directions as to what manner of people he wants his servants to be.‭ ‬We are not to be like ordinary people‭; ‬we are‭ ‬peculiar people if we are his.

....Therefore,‭ ‬we must not make‭ "‬Number one‭" ‬our standard.‭ ‬Trust in God for daily bread,‭ ‬and do His commandments‭; ‬and that shuts out everything.‭ ‬This is a plain rule,‭ ‬easy to follow,‭ ‬where God is realised by faith.‭

If we but fully realise His will,‭ ‬we shall be capable—if we are reasonably constituted at all—of doing it.‭ ‬There is every motive to do it‭; ‬not that it is a hard service.‭ ‬There is a little hardness about it,‭ ‬there is a bondage:‭ ‬we are Christ's servants,‭ ‬or bondsmen,‭ ‬for the word translated‭ "‬servant,‭" ‬means a slave‭; ‬but nevertheless,‭ ‬as Jesus says,‭

‭"‬My yoke is easy,‭ ‬and my burden light.‭"

‭ ‬It is so with those who take hold of it.‭ ‬It is a bondage associated with inducement in the highest form.‭ ‬There is everything to keep a person in the way of obedience,‭ ‬for the way of obedience is the only way to eternal life.‭

The Christadelphian, Nov 1870

The divine origin of Christ supplies an explanation of every phase in which the gospel narratives exhibit the Lord Jesus Christ, and every utterance that came out of his mouth. They give the key that is beyond the reach alike of those who consider him to have been a mere man, and those whose theology compels them to describe him as eternal God.

They account to us for what appear otherwise to be contradictions. They explain to us why in a man, the deportment of God is visible; why in sinful flesh, a sinless character was evolved; why in the impotent seed of Abraham, the power of Abraham's God should be shown; why a man born as a babe in Bethlehem should speak of having come down from heaven; why a man not forty years of age should speak as if he had been contemporary with Abraham; why a man should at once be David's son and David's lord; why a man of our own flesh and blood should assume the authority that belongs to God only, saying

"ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well, for so I am;"

why of a man it should be said that the world was made by him; that he dwelt in the bosom of the Father, and that he was the image of the invisible God, by whom and for whom all things had been created.

They explain to us, at the same time, why such a man should say

"of mine own self I can do nothing:" "my Father is greater than I." "I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

They show us that there is only one God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that whatever in Christ's sayings seemed to indicate another God, was referable to the Father in him, whose Son and medium and power he was, and in no way inconsistent with the fact that Jesus was but His Son, in loving submission to all His commandments.

Christ is glorious to us in the converging of all these elements. He is not only our brother; he is our God, as Thomas greeted him (John 20:28). He is not only the firstborn among many brethren, but he is their head, their redeemer, their saviour, their lord. He is not only a son of Abraham saved, but the God of Abraham, incarnate in such a son.

Not a forgiven sinner himself, he has power to forgive sins. Without sin himself, we are washed in his blood, though it was blood drawn from our poor sin-cursed stock. Clothed with strength, crowned with glory and honour, he has known the weakness of human exhaustion, and the bitterness of ridicule and insult.

Anointed with joy and gladness, he has a history of sorrow and grief as a perpetual back-ground to his everlasting glory. Loving friend and powerful God, compassionate Saviour and sinless example, saved man and embodied God-head, a sympathetic high priest and devourer of the adversary—there is no element a wanting to the charm of his name.

Not only in power and legal status, but in the intrinsic attributes of his character and nature, Christ stands in that relation to man which justifies the ardent declaration of his servant Paul that he counted all things else dross and dung by comparison.

Excellent men are universally admired for what they are in themselves, even though the excellence is not rooted in them, but is a mere organic phenomenon, like the beauty or the fragrance of the rose. But in Christ the excellence we see is rooted in himself by reason of the indwelling of God:

"In him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily."

...."Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured upon thy lips. God hath blessed thee for ever."

The Christadelphian, Jan 1889

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

Could friend humble himself more completely to friend than in such an act?...It was an act of personal ministration, and in the most menial form. Peter appreciated it in this character and rebelled against it.

... It was the practical lowliness that Jesus intended. ... He was now about to leave them, and he wished to leave a deep impression on this point. Could he have possibly done it more effectually?

... It is evident that Christ contemplated nothing beyond the inculcation of humble, kindly, mutual, practical, personal ministration of which he chose feet-washing as the extremest form in a country where the wearing of sandals exposed the feet to dust and irritation, and rendered the washing of the feet a personal luxury.

That Jesus should enforce personal humility and lowliness on the future kings of the world is one of the numberless beauties of the purpose of God which concentre in him. What a noble race of kings and priests the saints will be when chosen for their faith and obedience out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and invested with the glory of the spirit nature.

Nazareth Revisited Ch 51

18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

I know whom I have chosen

The character of a man's faith is altered by the quantity and quality of his knowledge. If a man be acquainted only with what is past, his knowledge is small in quantity and not of the right quality for justification by faith. His faith is of an historical character—mere sacred history—and devoid of doctrine. Such a faith is not justifying.

If another be acquainted with the past, understand the mystery or doctrine of its incidents, and be familiar with what God has promised concerning his kingdom and the age to come, the quantity and quality of his knowledge is altered, and the character of his faith is relatively changed.

It is justifying. The eyes of his understanding are opened, and like Abraham, he can see afar off. We may choose Christ, but he may not choose us. Our election turns not upon our choice, but upon his.

We may choose him upon our own principles, while he rejects us upon his. He chooses us through a belief of the truth, the unadulterated truth; men choose him by believing what suits them, and rejecting the rest. Such may choose Jesus as their "portion forever," but they will assuredly have no portion in his joy.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Apr 1853

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

.. if a personal attendant of Christ, and a witness of his miracles, could be false to a trust directly imposed by him, what is not possible in the weak days of mere testimony by report?

27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

That Jesus should wish him to do his fell work quickly is an interesting side-light. It shows us the Lord's state of mind with regard to the terrible trouble before him. Jesus was under a great embarrassment till his sacrifice should be accomplished. He endured and went through it with heroic fortitude.

This all can admire: but how it adds to his lovableness in the eyes of his people that he was not a stoic in the matter, but felt as human nature everywhere feels at the prospect of suffering -- going through it, not with callous indifference, but with the resolution inspired by a recognition of the Father's will, and an understanding of the "must be" there was in the case.

Nazareth Revisited Ch 52

33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

When Judas had departed, Jesus appears to have drawn closer to the disciples...Jesus was referring to his approaching departure by ascension after resurrection. The disciples did not understand. .. The "going" in the case included shame, rejection, and death, as well as ascension.

Nazareth Revisited Ch 52