Introduction: The apostle John was an eyewitness to many of the events he recorded in his Gospel. One of the most touching, in my opinion, is this episode that took place just hours before the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. He knew exactly what the Lord meant, when John said the Lord loved them “to the end” or to the uttermost.
Note: words in parentheses were in italics as written in the KJV text.
1 The deeds our Lord performed
Text, John 13:1-11, KJV: 1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's (son) to betray him; 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe (them) with the towel wherewith he was girded. 6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also (my) hands and (my) head. 10 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. 11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
The 12th chapter of John’s Gospel closes with a summary of our Lord’s public ministry. Beginning with chapter 13, John, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, devotes the rest of his Gospel to the last days of our Lord’s life (chapter 21 could be considered an appendix). John begins this last period of time with selected events in the “Upper Room” where Jesus and the disciples celebrated Passover. Mark 14:12-16 and Luke 22:7-13 have a little more info.
Each of the four Gospels has a record of some of the events that took place in the “upper room”. John alone writes about this particular episode where the Lord showed the disciples clearly how much He loved them. The phrase “loved them unto the end” in the KJV has the idea of yjr amount or depth of His love, rather than the duration or “how long” of that love. In other words, Jesus never stopped loving His disciples!
And John now proceeds to give some additional information as to how the Lord proved His love for the disciples. The “supper” was probably the Passover meal but this is not certain—did they or would they eat any food before they ate the roasted lamb and bitter herbs of the Passover dinner (Exodus 12)? Once the supper was over, Jesus rose up and performed a task that perhaps nobody saw coming, let alone something Jesus Himself would do.
He started to wash their feet.
This was a custom and courtesy in those days. It bears repeating that “shoes” such as we have today were probably unknown to people of those days, let alone socks, nylon stockings, and so forth. The people wore sandals, most likely very open, and would gather dust (and maybe other things) on their feet as they walked from here to there. When they came to a house, someone from the house would take some water and wash the dust off the guests’ feet. Sometimes, though, that custom wasn’t always followed. Luke 7:36-50 tells of a time when a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to his house for a meal—but didn’t have anyone wash the feet of Jesus.
John did not say, here, if anyone had washed the disciples’ feet before they took part in observing the Passover meal, but he did mention how Jesus did it. John stated that Jesus laid aside His garments (the outer robe, most likely) then “girded Himself” with a towel. Then the Lord poured water into a “bason”, or something to hold enough water for a foot-washing. Did He take the “bason” with Him as He washed each set of feet?
We do know, and we have John’s testimony, that the Lord not only washed their feet, but wiped them dry using the towel He brought along. Imagine this, the Lord of glory, the Son of God Himself, doing one of the lowliest tasks of all—something a household servant would ordinarily do or be tasked to do, washing dirty feet and then drying them off. What a Savior!
Then John added something that I’ve almost found humorous. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, and was ready to wash Peter’s feet, Peter asked a “what are you doing? to me??” kind of question: “Lord, are You really going to wash my feet?” Peter and the others had seen at least one, or maybe two, occasions when people had done this to Jesus Himself; they and a great number of people had seen Him come into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling a prophecy and announcing “the King is here!” Peter may not have been able to understand all this: the King, acting like a slave, washing the feet of His subjects.
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand this now, but you will later (paraphrased)”. And Peter, still not quite “getting” it, came back with this statement: “You’ll never, ever wash my feet!” Was he thinking Jesus was too good to do this? But the Lord (gently?) explained to Peter how important this cleansing or washing really was. Could the disciples have recalled the various (and numerous) commands for Old Testament priests to wash their hands and feet in water from the bronze laver (e.g., Exodus 30:17-21)? Well, once he heard this, Peter said, in so many words, “Lord, don’t just wash my feet, wash my hands and my head, too!” He wanted to be sure of this!
After this, Jesus explained again to Peter that there was a difference between being bathed and being washed (two different words in the original language). Jesus said that the one who had been “washed”, or “bathed”, only needed to have the feet washed at a later time. The person was totally clean. The Scofield Reference Bible has excellent notes on this passage, explaining that in those days, a person went to the public bath-houses to, of course, bathe, and would be clean except for the dirt which would gather on the feet while returning home. No need, then, for another bath, one only needed to have his or her feet washed and that was that.
Except, as the Lord was about to reveal, not everybody in the Upper Room was “clean”.
Someone very close to the Lord, physically, was not clean.
2 The definition of what He did
Text, John 13:12- 12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, (your) Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them 18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. 19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am (he). 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
There must have been a real and felt silence after Jesus finished washing the disciples’ feet. Peter, as far as is recorded, was the only one who said anything to the Lord while He completed this task. And here is an additional hidden nugget: the Lord washed the feet of ALL the disciples, not just a select few. Even the ones who are little known to us today, such as Judas Lebbaeus Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot, were all part of the Lord’s tender loving care during that Passover experience. I doubt any of them ever forgot it.
But even though they would remember, now as well as later, some at least didn’t understand just why Jesus did this. The Lord knew this and asked the question, “Do you know what I’ve done for you (paraphrased)?” Certainly, they knew He had washed their feet so there must have been a deeper meaning than a simple, “well, yes, Lord, You washed my feet (and I’m grateful)!’ It seems clear they didn’t really know the “why” as well as the “what” of this deed.
After the question, Jesus began to define the “why” of what He did. He first stated, “You call Me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord’, and you’re right because that’s what I am’. In the context, “Master” meant “teacher” and Lord of course meant just that. Many times in the Gospels people called Jesus “master” in the sense of considering a teacher or rabbi or a person of authority but few ever called Him “Lord”, except the disciples. Then He took the meaning a step deeper.
He then said, “If I have washed your feet, being the Lord and Master as you call Me, you should wash one another’s feet.” I’ve wondered why He said this. Had none of the disciples done this at the beginning of the Passover? Had any of them ever done this when they had stayed at a lodging place anywhere on their travels? This might have given the disciples something to really consider—note that there is not one word of theirs recorded at this point. After this, Jesus went on to say, “I gave you an example that you would do to each other what I did for you”.
And that still wasn’t all the Lord had to say. In verses 16-17, He reminded them that the servant was not greater than the lord and they would be happy if they remembered this thing.
Still there was more and there was something coming that might have left them absolutely stunned. The Lord was about to declare something that they had not considered—all but one of the disciples, that is.
3 The declaration of what He knew
Text, John 13:21-30, KJV: 21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25 He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped (it). And when he had dipped the sop, he gave (it) to Judas Iscariot, (the son) of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. 29 For some (of them) thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy (those things) that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
The Lord Jesus had finished commanding His disciples to wash each other’s’ feet and also shocked them when He quoted Psalm 41:9, saying someone who ate bread with Him had “lifted up his heel” against Him (John may be quoting from the Septuagint or Greek translation of the Old Testament). This was a hint, one might say, that all was not well among the disciples.
Now He stated plainly, “one of you shall betray Me”. John said the Lord was “troubled in spirit” which would be a natural reaction. After all, we expect our enemies to do bad things against us, but Jesus is speaking to twelve men who had traveled with Him for three years! They had seen miracles performed, healings, the dead raised to life; they had heard sermons, parables, and stories told like nobody else; and they had the privilege of being friends with the Son of God!
But one of these disciples, a follower, one who had had a share in the Lord’s earthly ministry, was about to betray the harmless, innocent, Son of God. No surprise, then, He was troubled in spirit, considering what He knew was about to happen.
John now states the disciples were looking at one another, wondering who would do such a thing. There could have been plenty of suspicion: Matthew had been a tax-collector, perhaps known to the Romans; Simon the Zealot—well, that speaks for itself, he was a revolutionary!’ and there might have been some distrust among the others. Oddly enough, nobody suspected Judas Iscariot, who was about to indeed betray the Lord. Proof? Peter motioned to John, who was lying on the Lord’s chest (people would lie down on their right sides to eat in those days, with the food being more or less in the center of a network of couches). John asked Jesus, “Lord, who is it? Who is going to betray You?” And the Lord replied, “The one I give a sop, after I dip the sop in the dish, is the one.” Then Jesus dipped the sop.
And He gave it to Judas Iscariot.
What follows next is one of the most chilling statements in the entire Word of God. When Judas received the “sop”, given as a token or gesture of friendship, Satan entered into him. This was no surprise: Jesus knew about this as far back as the feeding of the 5000 people. In John 6 Jesus had already said, “I chose you twelve, but one of you is a devil” meaning Judas Iscariot. I’ve wondered for many years how this could have happened, but the words of a dear saint from years gone by made it clear for me: “Satan entered into Judas, because Judas opened the door of his heart.” Life-changing and life-wrecking decisions can be made in a moment, but the results may last through eternity.
Judas had now crossed a line. Whether he knew it or not, Jesus did, and promptly dismissed Judas with these words, “That thou doest, do quickly” or as we might say today, “Whatever it is you have planned, go do it” or similar words (the British might say, “get on with it”). Judas then took the sop and departed from the Upper Room.
Immediately.
He wasted no time in getting away from there and, as other Gospels relate, Judas went to the chief priests and perhaps others to complete the rest of the plan (“seal the deal”, one might say) to arrest Jesus. The other disciples had no idea at the time what Judas was going to do but they soon found out. In just hours, Judas would lead a group of armed men directly to the place where Jesus was praying. Arrests would be made, prophecy would be fulfilled, the Lord would be betrayed and then crucified, but that isn’t the rest of the story. A few days later, an empty tomb would prove JESUS IS ALIVE!
4 The departure He was about to mention
Text, John 13:31-35, KJV: 31Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all (men) know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
When Judas left, the other disciples were probably wondering what had just happened. Jesus sought to reassure them with some comforting thoughts. He first said the Son of man was glorified and God (the Father) was glorified in Him (the Son). Nothing is mentioned about the outward appearance of our Lord’s body or anything, so He may have spoken prophetically—the glorification had not yet been completed, but was on the way. It started before, and was going to the next step or next level at this point.
He also left them with a not-quite-so-comforting statement, “I’m only going to be with you for a little while and then I’m going to leave. You’ll look for Me, but you won’t find Me”. And He closed the conversation by giving a serious command, “I give you a new commandment—love one another as I have loved you; all people will know you’re My disciples if you have love for one another”. Oh that we as believers would seek to honor that command more completely. What a difference we would make if we loved one another as the Lord wanted, and still wants, us to.
The Lord didn’t say much about His departure in this passage but He did give more information in John 14-16. Please read those chapters to find more about what He said before He did indeed leave this world. How much of this the disciples knew or understood—that’s anybody’s guess, at best, but even though they failed Him, they still followed Him, and remembered that He loved them “to the uttermost”. And He still does today!
Conclusion: so much happened in this chapter, it’s hard to summarize. We do have the record of how our Lord demonstrated His love—love “to the uttermost”—by washing the feet of all twelve disciples (even Judas). That took love but the Lord never complained. And after He washed their feet, He defined what He did because some of them must have been confused or didn’t understand why He would do such a thing. Following this, He declared one of them—the men He trusted—would betray Him and even identified the man. He closed this encounter by giving them a brief explanation that He was going to depart from them because it was time for the Son of man to be glorified. Oh, what incredible love our Lord and Savior has for us even today!
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
