Jesus, knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father. As God, Jesus knew from all eternity the hour of His death; as man, he knew it from the first moment of the Incarnation. Knowing, then, that He was about to pass out of this vale of sorrow and misery, and by His death, resurrection, and ascension, go to share in the glory of the Father, having throughout His life loved His Apostles (His own), whom He was now leaving behind Him to struggle with the world, so He now chose to manifest towards them His love in an extraordinary manner. Εἰς τέλος which in our Rhemish Version is translated “unto the end,” we understand, with the Greek fathers, who ought to be the best judges of the meaning of the phrase, as equivalent to excessively, or in a surpassing manner. This excessive love Jesus manifested on this last night, as well in the washing of the Apostles' feet as in the institution of the Blessed Eucharist, the elevation of the Apostles to the dignity of the priesthood, and the loving discourse which followed this supper.
| 2. Et coena facta, cum diabolus iam misisset in cor ut traderet eum Iudas Simonis Iscariotae: | 2. And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), |
2. And when supper was done. We have taken for granted that the supper here [pg 232] mentioned by St. John is identical with the last supper referred to by the Synoptic Evangelists, for there is no room for reasonable doubt as to their identity. On both occasions the traitor is revealed, and the denial by Peter foretold, and on both the supper is followed by the departure to the Garden of Olives.[89]
“There are good grounds for questioning the correctness of the Greek reading, which in the Vulgate is translated ‘coena facta’; for the present participle (γινομένου) and not the past (γενομένου) is found in many MSS. of the highest authority. Finally, it is obvious that, considering the special signification of the Greek verb employed (γίνομαι to be, to come into being), even the past participle by no means implies that the supper was then over, but merely that it had commenced, and was then going on. The same participle is used unquestionably in this sense in many passages of the New Testament; as, for instance, in John xxi. 4: ‘When morning was come;’ in Mark vi. 2, ‘during the Sabbath;’ Matt. xxvi. 6, ‘Jesus being now at Bethany,’ and in many other passages” (Dr. Walsh, Harmony of the Gospel Narratives, note 19.) The meaning, then, is that supper was proceeding.
The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him. This inhuman treachery was suggested by Satan, but freely consented to by the wretched Apostle. The treachery of Judas is here mentioned to throw into relief the loving mercy and condescension of Jesus in washing even the traitor's feet.
| 3. Sciens quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus, et quia a Deo exivit, et ad Deum vadit. | 3. Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and goeth to God. |
3. While fully conscious of His dignity, of His supreme dominion over all things, and of the fact that He had come out from the bosom of God in the incarnation, and would return thither by His resurrection and ascension, He yet makes Himself as it were the servant of His Apostles.
| 4. Surgit a coena, et ponit vestimenta sua: et cum accepisset linteum, praecinxit se. | 4. He riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments, and having taken a towel, girded himself. |
4. He riseth from supper. Hence it is clear that the supper had already begun when the washing of the Apostles' feet took place. And for the reasons given above on verse 2, as also because of verse 12 (“being sat down again”) we hold that it was not over; so that we adhere to the traditional view that the washing of the feet took place during the supper.[90] Commentators generally hold that the Paschal Supper on the present occasion was followed by the ordinary supper or evening meal, and this again by what we may call the Eucharistic Supper. It is generally held that the washing of the feet took place immediately after the Paschal Supper, or during the ordinary, and before the Eucharistic Supper. At the Paschal Supper the company at the table might not be less than ten nor more than twenty. In our Lord's time those partaking of the supper reclined on couches, this being the usage then, as standing had been originally. “The rites of the supper were regulated according to the succession of four, sometimes five, cups of red wine mixed with water, which were placed before the head of the house or the most eminent guest, who was called the celebrant, the president, or proclaimer of the feast.”[91] (See Dr. Walsh, Harmony of the Gospel Narratives, note 16.)
Christ having risen from the supper layeth aside his garments. The pallium or cloak, a square or oblong piece of cloth, which was thrown loosely around the body outside the tunic, was probably what was laid aside;[92] and thus Jesus made Himself more like a servant, for servants were not accustomed to wear the cloak. Then He took a towel, and girded Himself therewith. “Quid mirum,” says St. Augustine, si “praecinxit se linteo qui formam servi accipiens habitu inventus est ut homo?” Note how the Evangelist narrates every little circumstance connected with this act of marvellous condescension.