The Word Made Fresh
1Just before the Passover observance Jesus knew his hour had come to leave this world and go to the Father. He loved all those who were in the world; loved them to the very end.
2The devil had already convinced Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray Jesus. During supper 3Jesus knew that the Father had put everything in his hands. He knew that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4He got up from the table and removed his outer garment and tied a towel around his waist. 5Then he filled a basin with water and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had tied around himself.
6Then he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but you will later.”
8Peter said, “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “You have no share with me if I don’t wash your feet.”
9“Lord,” Simon Peter cried, “not just my feet but also wash my hands and my head!”
10Jesus said, “Those who have had a bath don’t need to wash again so soon, except for their feet, because they are already clean, but not all of you are clean.” 11He said this because he knew who was going to betray him; that’s why he said, “not all of you are clean.”
12After he had washed their feet and put on his robe again and returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done to you? 13You call me your Teacher and your Lord, and that is correct because that is indeed who I am. 14So, if your Lord and Teacher has washed your feet, you then ought to wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example, and what I have done for you, you should do for others. 16I tell you truly, servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. 17You know these things, and you are rewarded if you do them. 18I’m not referring to all of you. I know who you all are. But the scripture must to come to pass, where it says ‘The one who ate bread with me has turned against me and left me.’ 19I’m telling you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe who I am. 20I’m telling you the truth; whoever welcomes anyone I have sent welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who has sent me.” 21Then Jesus became deeply troubled. He told them, “The truth is that one of you will betray me.”
22The disciples looked at each other, wondering who he was speaking of. 23One of them, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him, 24and Simon Peter nudged him and urged him to ask Jesus who it would be. 25He did as Simon requested and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26Jesus answered, “It’s the one I hand this piece of bread to after I dip it in the dish.” He dipped the bread, and handed it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27Satan entered into Judas after he had taken the bread from Jesus, and Jesus said to him, “Do what you’re going to do quickly.”
28No one at the table understood what he meant when he said this to Judas. 29Some of them thought that perhaps, since Judas kept their common purse, Jesus was telling him to go and buy what they needed for the festival, or perhaps he was telling Judas to give something to the poor. 30Then Judas took the piece of bread and left them, going out into the dark night.
31When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been exalted, and God is exalted in him, 32and if God has been exalted in him, God will also exalt him quickly. 33Children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but as I told the Jews, where I’m going you cannot follow. 34I’m giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. You should love one another just as I have loved you. 35This is how everyone will know you are my disciples; it will be because you love one another.”
36Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
“You cannot follow me now to where I am going,” Jesus answered, “but you will follow afterward.”
37Peter said, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will die for you!”
38“Will you die for me?” Jesus asked. “The truth is that you will deny me three times before the rooster crows.”
Commentary
1-11: John’s chronology can be confusing — perhaps you’ve noticed? But we are now at the very night of the Passover. John, however, does not describe the meal nor relate the story of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Rather, he remembers that Jesus performed another provocative act during the meal. He washed the feet of his disciples, a deliberate act of servanthood which flies in the face of Simon Peter. Peter at first objects, but when Jesus explains that it is necessary in order for him to be included in Jesus’ plans, he comically demurs. Jesus has apparently washed the feet of Judas Iscariot as well, but alludes to the looming betrayal, and the statement in verse one that he loved them to the end would seem to include Judas, too.
12-20: Jesus teaches them that his act of washing their feet should serve as an example of how they are to relate to one another – as servants. He hints again that one of them will turn against him.
21-30: Now he states clearly that one of them will betray him. There is a curious exchange between Peter and the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” who asks Jesus who the betrayer will be. Jesus identifies Judas, but in a way that is not picked up by the others. He tells Judas to go do what he must do, and Judas leaves. The other disciples have no idea what’s going on. The way John tells the story has given rise to speculation among some scholars that Jesus arranged for his own betrayal in much the same way that the other gospels indicate that he arranged for the donkey on which to enter the city.
Verse 23 is the first time we meet the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He appears only a few times (20:2, 21:7, 21:20), always in company with Peter, and through the years scholars have tried to identify him with either James or John who were often with Peter in the synoptic gospels. However, the disciples James and John are not mentioned in John’s gospel, and after 2000 years of striving, the beloved disciple’s identity is still a secret. We can only surmise that John wanted it that way for reasons unknown.
31-35: They leave the place where the supper was held and Jesus speaks of his glorification and tells them he is going where they cannot come. He gives them a “new commandment,” that they love one another, and tells them that their love for one another will be the mark by which they are known to the world: would that it were still the mark!
36-38: Peter is miffed that he of all people can’t go where Jesus is going. Jesus tells him he will deny him three times before the rooster crows, a prediction reported in all four gospels (Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:30, and Luke 22:34).
Takeaway
God is very much aware of what is going on in our hearts. Yes, we are often confused. And yes, we are capable of deliberately ignoring what is going on inside us. And yes, God knows how hard it sometimes is for us to trust. Still, God never forces us into anything, but waits patiently for us to finally be faithful enough to simply put our lives into God’s hands. They are big, strong hands, friends.