Reference: Washing
American
Various ceremonial washings were enjoined in the Mosaic law, both upon priests, Ex 30:19-21, and upon others, Le 12-15; Heb 9:10. These were significant of spiritual purification through the Savior's blood, Tit 3:5; Re 1:5, as well as of that holiness without which none can see God. To these the Jews added other traditional ablutions, Mr 7:2-4; and regarded it as an act of impiety to neglect them, as Christ frequently did, Lu 11:38. The washing of the hands before and after meals,
Mt 15:2, called for by their custom of feeding themselves with their fingers, is still practiced in Syria. See cut in BED. Where there is a servant in attendance, he pours water from a pitcher over his master's hands, holding also a broad vessel underneath them, 2Ki 3:11; Ps 60:8. See FOOT and SANDALS. "Washing the hands" was a protestation of innocence, De 21:6; Mt 27:24; and has given rise to the proverbial saying common among us, "I wash my hands of that."
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"Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD. read more. "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations."
"All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?" And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."
"Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!"
"Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves."
and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; read more. and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)
When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood--
Easton
(Mr 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which "the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, 'rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.'" To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See Ablution.)
Illustration: Washing the Hands
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The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. read more. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
Fausets
The high priest's whole body was washed at his consecration (Ex 29:4; Le 16:4); also on the day of atonement. The priests' hands and feet alone were washed in the daily tabernacle ministrations (Ex 30:18-20). So Christians are once for all wholly "bathed" (leloumenoi) in regeneration which is their consecration; and daily wash away their soils of hand and foot contracted in walking through this defiling world (Joh 13:10, Greek "he that has been bathed needs not save to wash (nipsasthai) his feet, but is clean all over": 2Co 7:1; Heb 10:22-23; Eph 5:26). The clothes of him who led away the scape-goat, and of the priest who offered the red heifer, were washed (Le 16:26; Nu 19:7).
The Pharisaic washings of hands before eating, and of the whole body after being in the market (Mr 7:2-4), turned attention off from the spirit of the law, which aimed at teaching inward purity, to a mere outward purification. In the sultry and dusty East water for the feet was provided for the guests (Lu 7:44; Ge 18:4). The Lord Jesus by washing His disciples' feet taught our need of His cleansing, and His great humility whereby that cleansing was effected (compare 1Sa 25:41; 1Ti 5:10). The sandals, without stockings, could not keep out dust from the feet; hence washing them was usual before either dining or sleeping (Song 5:3). Again, the usage of thrusting the hand into a common dish rendered cleansing of the hand indispensable before eating. It was only when perverted into a self righteous ritual that our Lord protested against it (Mt 15:2; Lu 11:38).
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"Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree;
"Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
"You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. "Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; read more. when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD.
"He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments) Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.
"The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.
'The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening.
She arose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servants."
"I have taken off my dress, How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them again?
"Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; read more. and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)
Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
Morish
A requirement of frequent literal recurrence under the law, but in the N.T. a term bearing commonly a moral force and application. Important truth may be learned from the different significations of the Greek words used for 'washing' in John 13. The word in Joh 13:10 is ????, 'to cleanse, wash thoroughly.' One who is cleansed in this sense never needs to be thus washed again; he is, as the Lord said, 'clean every whit,' yet in order to have 'part with' Christ, he needs, because of the defilement of the way, that his feet should be washed (here the word is ?????), Joh 13:5-14, an action which is applied to parts of the body only. The same difference was typified in the cleansing of Aaron and his sons. They were at their consecration once 'washed' by Moses, but were thenceforward required continually, when executing their service, to wash only their hands and feet in the laver. Ex 40:12,30-32.
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"Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. read more. When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" read more. Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean." read more. So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.