Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned [Greek has lifted up his heel] against me.’[Psalm 41:9]
19 “I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[Many early manuscripts do not have If God is glorified in him. ] God will glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
13:1–19:42 The Book of Glory. There is a major break here;
the word “sign” is used again only in Jn 20:30. In this phase of Jesus’ return
to the Father, the discourses (Jn 13–17) precede the traditional narrative of
the passion (Jn 18–20) to interpret them for the Christian reader. This is the
only extended example of esoteric teaching of disciples in John.
13:1–20 Washing of the disciples’ feet. This episode occurs
in John at the place of the narration of the institution of the Eucharist in
the synoptics. It may be a dramatization of Lk 22:27—“I am your servant.” It is
presented as a “model” (“pattern”) of the crucifixion. It symbolizes cleansing
from sin by sacrificial death.
13:1 Before the feast of Passover: this would be Thursday
evening, before the day of preparation; in the synoptics, the Last Supper is a
Passover meal taking place, in John’s chronology, on Friday evening. To the
end: or, “completely.”
13:2 Induced: literally, “The devil put into the heart that
Judas should hand him over.”
13:5 The act of washing another’s feet was one that could
not be required of the lowliest Jewish slave. It is an allusion to the
humiliating death of the crucifixion.
13:10 Bathed: many have suggested that this passage is a
symbolic reference to baptism. The Greek root involved is used in baptismal
contexts in 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26; Ti 3:5; Hb 10:22.
13:16 Messenger: the Greek has apostolos, the only
occurrence of the term in John. It is not used in the technical sense here.
13:23 The one whom Jesus loved: also mentioned in Jn 19:26;
20:2; 21:7. A disciple, called “another disciple” or “the other disciple,” is
mentioned in Jn 18:15 and Jn 20:2; in the latter reference he is identified
with the disciple whom Jesus loved. There is also an unnamed disciple in Jn
1:35–40; see note on Jn 1:37.
13:26 Morsel: probably the bitter herb dipped in saltwater.
13:31–17:26 Two farewell discourses and a prayer. These seem
to be Johannine compositions, including sayings of Jesus at the Last Supper and
on other occasions, modeled on similar farewell discourses in Greek literature
and the Old Testament (of Moses, Joshua, David).
13:31–38 Introduction: departure and return. Terms of coming
and going predominate. These verses form an introduction to the last discourse
of Jesus, which extends through Jn 14–17. In it John has collected Jesus’ words
to his own (Jn 13:1). There are indications that several speeches have been
fused together, e.g., in Jn 14:31 and Jn 17:1.
13:34 I give you a new commandment: this puts Jesus on a par
with Yahweh. The commandment itself is not new; cf. Lv 19:18 and the note
there.
The Gospel of John
Online Bible Study in English
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