2160. Verse 4 Let now a little water be taken, and [all of you] wash your feet, and recline under the tree.

'Let now a little water be taken' means that they were to draw near and bring themselves down from Divine things nearer to His intellectual concepts. 'And wash your feet' means that they were to take on something natural so that during the state He was then passing through His perception might be improved. 'And recline under the tree' means towards the perception of the state through which He was passing, 'tree' meaning perception.

201. Of the Lord's temptations.

The Lord beyond all others ¹ endured the most grievous and dreadful temptations, which are but little described in the sense of the letter of the Word, but much in the internal sense (n. 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2814, 9528). The Lord fought from the Divine love towards the whole human race (n. 1690, 1691, 1812-1813, 1820). The love of the Lord was the salvation of the human race (n. 1820). The Lord fought from His own power (n. 1692, 1813, 9937). The Lord alone was made justice and merit, by the temptations, and victories which He gained therein from His own power (n. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019). By temptations the Lord united the Divine itself, which was in Him from conception, to His Human, and made this Divine, as He makes man spiritual by temptations (n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381, 3382, 4286). The temptations of the Lord were attended with despair at the end (n. 1787). The Lord, by the temptations admitted into Himself, subjugated the hells, and reduced to order all things in them, and in heaven, and at the same time glorified His Human (n. 1737, 4287, 9315, 9528, 9937). The Lord alone fought against all the hells (n. 8273). He admitted temptations into Himself from thence (n. 2816, 4295).

The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine, because the hells cannot assault the Divine, wherefore He assumed a human from the mother, such as could be tempted (n. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315). By temptations and victories He expelled all the hereditary from the mother, and put off the human from her, until at length He was no longer her son (n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830). Jehovah, who was in Him from conception, appeared in His temptations as if absent (n. 1815). This was His state of humiliation (n. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866). His last temptation and victory, by which He fully subjugated the hells, and made His Human Divine, was in Gethsemane and on the cross (n. 2776, 2803, 2813-2814, 10655, 10659, 10828).

"To eat no bread and drink no water for forty days," signifies an entire state of temptations (n. 10686). "Forty years," "months," or "days," signify a plenary state of temptations from beginning to end; and such a state is meant by the duration of the flood, "forty days"; by Moses abiding "forty days" upon Mount Sinai; by the sojourning of the sons of Israel "forty years" in the desert; and by the Lord's temptation in the desert "forty days" (n. 730, 862, 2272-2273, 8098).

Notes de bas de page:

1787. 'Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you' means protection against evils and falsities which is able to be trusted. This is clear from the meaning of 'a shield', to be dealt with shortly. These words which declare that Jehovah is 'a shield' and 'an exceedingly great reward' are words of comfort following temptations. Every temptation entails some kind of despair, or else it is not temptation; and for that reason comfort follows. A person who is being tempted is subjected to anxious fears which produce a state of despair over the end in view. The conflict brought about by temptation does not consist in anything else. One who is quite certain of victory does not experience any anxiety, nor thus any temptation.

[2] Since the Lord underwent the most dreadful and the cruelest temptations of all it was inevitable that He too should be driven into feelings of despair which He put to flight and overcame by His own power, as becomes quite clear from His temptation in Gethsemane, which is described in Luke as follows,

When Jesus was at the place He said to the disciples, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. But He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and kneeling down He prayed, saying, Father, if You are willing, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not My will but Yours be done. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And when He was in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. Luke 22:40-45.

In Matthew,

He began to be sorrowful and in agony. Then He said to the disciples, My soul is utterly dejected even to death. And He went forward a little and praying fell on His face, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will but as You will. Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. And He prayed for the third time, saying the same thing. ¹ Matthew 26:36-44.

In Mark,

He began to be terrified and in great agony. He said to the disciples, My soul is wrapped in dejection, even to death. He went forward a little, fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from Him. He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to You; remove this cup from Me; yet not as I will but as You will. This happened a second and a third time. Mark 14:33-41.

[3] These quotations show the nature of the Lord's temptations - that they were the most frightful of all; that He suffered agony from the inmost parts of His being, even to the sweating of blood; that He was at the time in a state of despair over the end in view and over the outcome; and that He received comfort repeatedly. The words 'I am Jehovah your shield, your exceedingly great reward' in a similar way embody the comfort received after the conflicts brought about by the temptations which were described in the previous chapter.

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