John 13:15

“For I have given you an example, etc.] Christ is an example to his people, in many things; not in his miraculous performances and mediatorial work, but in the exercise of grace, of meekness, humility, love, patience, and the like; and in the discharge of duty, in submission to ordinances, and in attending on them; and in the several duties, both to them that are without, and to them that are within; and also in his sufferings and death; not that he died merely as an example, but likewise in the room and stead of his people; but here he is spoken of, as an example, in a particular instance: that ye should do as I have done to you; wash one another’s feet, as he had washed theirs; which is not…”

“Ye also ought to wash ... - Some have understood this literally as instituting a religious rite which we ought to observe; but this was evidently not the design; because: There is no evidence that Jesus intended it as a religious observance, like the Lord’s Supper or the ordinance of baptism. It was not observed by the apostles or the primitive Christians as a religious rite. It was a rite of hospitality among the Jews, a common, well-known thing, and performed by servants. It is the manifest design of Jesus here to inculcate a lesson of humility; to teach them by his example that they ought to condescend to the most humble offices for the benefit of others. They ought not to be proud, and…”

“given: Mat 11:29; Rom 15:5 \*marg. Eph 5:2; Pe1 2:21, Pe1 3:17, Pe1 3:18; Jo1 2:6 John 13:16”