"Solemnly Christ said to Peter, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me.” The service which Peter refused was the type of a higher cleansing. Christ had come to wash the heart from the stain of sin. In refusing to allow Christ to wash his feet, Peter was refusing the higher cleansing included in the lower. He was really rejecting his Lord. It is not humiliating to the Master to allow Him to work for our purification. The truest humility is to receive with thankful heart any provision made in our behalf, and with earnestness do service for Christ. DA 646.1"
"Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
EGW directly quotes and expands upon John 13:8, explaining its deeper spiritual meaning.
"At the words, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me,” Peter surrendered his pride and self-will. He could not endure the thought of separation from Christ; that would have been death to him. “Not my feet only,” he said, “but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” DA 646.2"
"Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
EGW directly quotes and expands upon John 13:9, providing context and interpretation.
These words mean more than bodily cleanliness. Christ is still speaking of the higher cleansing as illustrated by the lower. He who came from the bath was clean, but the sandaled feet soon became dusty, and again needed to be washed. So Peter and his brethren had been washed in the great fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. Christ acknowledged them as His. But temptation had led them into evil, and they still needed His cleansing grace. When Jesus girded Himself with a towel to wash the dust from their feet, He desired by that very act to wash the alienation, jealousy, and pride from their hearts. This was of far more consequence than the washing of their dusty feet. With the spirit they then had, not one of them was prepared for communion with Christ. Until brought into a state of humility and love, they were not prepared to partake of the paschal supper, or to share in the memorial service which Christ was about to institute. Their hearts must be cleansed. Pride and self- seeking…
"Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all."
The EGW passage directly interprets and expands upon the meaning of Jesus's words in John 13:10, drawing a parallel between physical cleansing and spiritual cleansing. It explains the deeper significance of the foot washing, connecting it to the need for ongoing purification from sin even after initial conversion.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The EGW passage speaks of being washed in the 'great fountain opened for sin and uncleanness' and needing cleansing grace, which aligns with the theme of cleansing from unrighteousness through confession in 1 John 1:9. Both passages emphasize the need for ongoing purification.
"Like Peter and his brethren, we too have been washed in the blood of Christ, yet often through contact with evil the heart's purity is soiled. We must come to Christ for His cleansing grace. Peter shrank from bringing his soiled feet in contact with the hands of his Lord and Master; but how often we bring our sinful, polluted hearts in contact with the heart of Christ! How grievous to Him is our evil temper, our vanity and pride! Yet all our infirmity and defilement we must bring to Him. He alone can wash us clean. We are not prepared for communion with Him unless cleansed by His efficacy. DA 646.4"
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
The EGW passage directly connects the washing in the blood of Christ with the ongoing need for cleansing from sin, mirroring the concept in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. The EGW passage elaborates on how this cleansing applies to our daily lives and the defilement of the heart.
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Both passages deal with approaching God for cleansing and grace. Hebrews 4:16 encourages approaching God's throne for mercy and grace, while the EGW passage speaks of coming to Christ for cleansing grace and having our hearts washed. The connection is thematic, but not a direct allusion.