We’re moving on here with John 13, but I think it’s just proper for us (and necessary for me) to properly collect what we’ve been writing about in John 12.
What are the key takeaways I’m to emphasize on? Well, again, fair warning – I’ve employed the help of GrokAI here.
First, Jesus as the Light and the Call to Believe – Jesus, the Light, calls for faith in Him and the Father, a call He’ll now live out with His closest followers.
Second, Trusting His Work Over Our Service – Jesus teaches that His death brings life, and our part isn’t to out-serve Him, but to trust Him as He prepares to prove it.
Third, Hardened Hearts vs. Responsive Faith – While many reject Jesus despite His signs, He now turns to those who’ll wrestle with following Him.
Fourth, Giving Up vs. Glorifying the Father – Jesus’s resolve to glorify the Father now moves from public proclamation to intimate preparation.
All in all, in John 12 we’ve read about how Jesus, the Light, calls for faith in Him and the Father who sent Him. He taught that only His death alone brings life and glory to all who believe, and is a work for us to trust and believe, rather than to replicate. He now turns from a rejecting crowd to prepare His disciples for what’s ahead.
With all this analyzed and with my approval, let’s keep going.
John 13
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it 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 had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Let’s put our attention now to the disciples. They’ve been with Jesus all this time, and they have witnessed all sorts of responses to Him, His words and His works – ranging from supernaturally deep and intimate belief to equally senseless and self-preserving hatred – as we’ve seen in Mary and the multitudes at the gates of Jerusalem, in Judas and the chief priests and Pharisees.
Among those gathered was Judas – yes, the same one who just earlier confronted Mary for what he called an over-extravagant and ultimately senseless act. Jesus’ rebuke did not seem to have any lasting impact on him, because ‘the devil had already put it into (his) heart… to betray Him‘.
Makes me think, what exactly was placed into Judas’ heart? Was it the fear of his finally being exposed as a thief among the group? We can speculate further into this, but we probably should also consider something else, something I also saw after finding Acts 1:24-25: That ‘Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve‘ (Luke 22:3).
Among those gathered was Jesus Himself – He loved His own who were in the world, and He loved them to the end. He knew what was going on with Judas… and considering, ‘knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God‘ – He intentionally chose to rise, to take off His outer garments, and to wrap a towel around His waist. The rest of the room was either silent or otherwise without any notable reaction, because John didn’t write about any of it; But I could imagine how I’d be speechless as well.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Jesus proceeded to pour water in to a basin and began washing their feet, and wiping their feet with the towel. Of course, you can count on our good brother Peter to break the ice. He spoke up, questioning what Jesus was doing – and apparently he wasn’t satisfied with His answer (‘you wouldn’t understand’), technically telling Him to stop (You shall never wash my feet”)… And here, Jesus specifies – “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” ; Other translations say, ‘you have no part with Me’, ‘you have no place with Me’; the AMP says, ‘you have no part with Me [we can have nothing to do with each other].’
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Our good brother Peter then reacts, more or less saying, ‘Well, of that’s the case, then don’t just wash my feet, but my hands and my head as well!‘- To which Jesus responds, ‘I’m only washing your feet because you’ve all already bathed and you’re already completely clean…‘
At this point, going through the other translations, I saw another cross reference from BibleHub, pointing out John the Baptist’s reluctance to baptize Jesus in water: But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” / “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him. Matthew 3:14-15
Jesus insisted that John baptize Him, ‘to fulfill all righteousness‘; And right after, remember, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and a Voice was heard, saying ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased‘; I could imagine, then, that Jesus insisted on washing only the feet of His disciples, for a similar, divine and deeper reason:
Mary, in what we called an extravagant act of devotion, poured a senseless amount of sweet-smelling ointment on the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair – and in His rebuke to Judas, He said it was in preparation for His death – something only He can do.
Jesus, in what was an act of hospitality reserved for servants and slaves, poured water into a basin and washed his disciples’ feet and wiped them with His towel – and in His exchange with Peter, He reminded them that they were with Him (taking part/place/a share with Him), and that they were completely clean – something only He can do. And it just occurred to me – He cleans us so we would take part with Him. Consequently, He takes part with us so we would be clean. Again, something only He can do.
…But not all of them were clean. Judas was still in the same room with them – and, could you imagine: Jesus washed his feet too, and I’m imagining he heard His conversation with Peter (as the rest of the room probably did) – and he could have already come clean, right then and there… Alas, at that time Satan and his thoughts had already corrupted him, straight to the heart. At any moment, he could have taken it all in; he allowed his feet to be washed, sure, but I believe his heart was already hardened to where Jesus mentioned their taking part in Him.
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
When Jesus finished washing their feet, He put His outer garments back on and explained: If you consider Me your Teacher, and your Lord, wash each other’s feet as I have. Just as I have humbled myself to do what servants and slaves do, in an act of hospitality, so you do the same thing for each other.
You can take that literally, or you can take it as a reminder – for us to be humble with each other, and to welcome each other; that is, to respect and honor each other above ourselves. The Teacher has done it for the students to do for each other. And as the Lord and Master has done it to us, so His subjects and servants would do it for each other.
It is the glory of God, seen through Jesus, that caused Mary to respond in extravagant worship. It is His glory that the multitudes saw at the gates of Jerusalem, and caused them to worship Him as they did; They believed in His identity, His integrity, and His intentions, and responded by giving glory to His name.
Here, it is the grace of God, also seen through Jesus, that would cause us to move a power contrary to that of the world – that is, in true power of humility. Here I’m reminded, once again, of what I told one of my upstart team members – Humility is our only true currency as leaders.
As we behold the glory of God, so we respond in genuine, extravagant worship.
As we behold the grace of God, so we respond in humble yet powerful service…
…and, indeed, blessed are we as we do them.
18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
Jesus continues by quoting Psalm 41:9 – Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me; He quotes this verse ‘before it takes place‘, indicating they are currently in all that Scripture has laid out generations before.
He then goes back to His point earlier, in verse 15 and 16: or I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.; Putting it together, the one who received the messenger receives the greater one who sent him, just as the one who receives Christ, receives the greater Father who sent Him. The Christ set out to do what only He could do, and when He did what He did, it points to the glory of the One, the Father who sent Him.
This is why we can trust Jesus, and this is why we can trust His Father – Our Father.
One of You Will Betray Me
21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
Jesus then mentions that someone in the room, one of them will betray Him. After discussion among them, even between John and Peter, Jesus finally clarifies – the one who will betray Him is the one He gives ‘this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.‘ He gives it to Judas, telling him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.‘
First of all, look at verse 27, because it confirms what we mentioned earlier in Luke 22:3 – when Judas took the morsel of bread, ‘Satan entered into him.‘…
…What a sad way to go. Jesus Christ was right in saying, not all of them were clean, not even after He cleaned all their feet. It appears that, up until the moment that he took the morsel from Jesus (which, by the way, He held out AFTER saying that the guy who gets the morsel will betray Him) Judas had all the time to think beyond whatever he had in mind that set him apart from the disciples (in a bad way)… up until the time he actively received the morsel.
The rest of the room didn’t know why Jesus told Judas to do what he was going to do, quickly. They thought that since Judas was the team thief treasurer, or the dude who was in charge of the moneybag, He told him to buy what they needed for Passover, or to ‘give something to the poor‘. The thing is, I believe they all heard – Judas and the disciples heard – what Jesus said before mentioning someone would betray Him; That, according to Psalm 41:9, he who received His bread will ‘raise his heel‘ against Him.
I mean, it wasn’t even a whole piece of bread. It was a morsel. He actively refused the Bread of Life, and after taking a morsel, again, ‘Satan entered into him‘, and he ‘immediately went out‘ into the night. Into the darkness. Away from the Light.
A New Commandment
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
With Judas gone, Jesus then began to talk about something He mentioned in the earlier chapter, regarding the glorification of the Son of Man. Instead of keeping His life and remaining alone, He shall lay His life down, and just as a seed of wheat dies, rises and bears much fruit, so He shall be glorified… and seeing it from our New Covenant perspective, we read that when Christ is glorified, the Father is glorified in Christ, and Christ is glorified in the Father.
I’m not sure if there was a pause, nor do we read of a reaction or response worthy of note from Jesus, after this statement… But Jesus immediately follows this up by sharing something that they could understand a little bit more – Jesus tells them that while He is with them at that moment, but after a while, they will seek Him, and as He told the Jews, He tells them – He goes to where nobody else can go.
I’m reminded of the train of thought that Jesus was subtly maintaining, as we’ve seen in the previous Chapter – Mary was preparing His body for burial, for an act of grace that only He could do.
Jesus was cleaning the feet of the disciples, cleansing them that they may take part with Him – another act that only He could do.
Here, Jesus does one more thing that only He could do – laying His life down, and going to the grave – somewhere only He could go.
Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
…And in the final verses of John 13, we read of words, again from our good friend Peter, who had a hint of what Jesus meant, and told Him, ‘I’m the guy who hates my life in this world, I’m the guy who serves you and follows you, I’m the guy who will go where you will go – I will lay down my life for you.’ (John 12:25-26)
To this, Jesus graciously prophesied to Peter – He’s going to deny Him three times, and then the rooster will crow. Considering what we’ve talked about earlier, it’s like Peter is going to do what only Jesus could do, and he’s going to try going where only Jesus could go… and he’s only going to fail miserably, and he’ll know it.
Decades ago, I heard a song which was pretty much just James 4:7 repeated again and again – which is why I remember it now: Submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Here, apparently, we’re seeing the other side of the coin: Succumb to your own works, resist Christ at every opportunity, and the Devil will enter you.
I thought I’d be ending this coverage of John 13 at a high note… but, hey, it IS the 13th chapter. What a sobering warning we’ve arrived at here.
But, hey, I seem to have forgotten something… Something literally vital, as it is not only important, but it ought to give us ‘life’ after all we’ve read here.
Just some reminders for us as we wrap this up:
Mary’s ointment was a tribute to the glory of God, while the water in Christ’s basin was a homage to the grace of God.
The betrayal of Judas showcases the great effort it takes on our part to totally reject Jesus and to end up in darkness and death. Judas’ willing damnation ought to remind us of our complete salvation – something only Christ can give, something He is willing and able to give.
While we love to make a joke out of Peter’s bravado, his actions present a very real warning – that when we fail to appreciate that only Christ can do what He did, we will eventually find ourselves crying miserably (as Peter will), after it’s made clear that we will fail. Peter’s slip of the tongue ought to remind us to keep trusting in Jesus.
We trust in Jesus for our salvation. And in the ultimate act of grace, in Christ’s death and eventual resurrection, God is ultimately glorified – and we are reminded of how His grace comes with His glory, and His glory comes with His grace.
And, lest I forget, I choose to close with this. Just as Christ gave this to the disciples while He was away, and just as we don’t necessarily see a physical incarnation of our Lord and Savior here and now, He leaves us, not only with assurance, not only with reason to trust Him, but a command:
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We may not see Jesus, but when we love one another, the world will see Him.
When we love one another, the world will see Christ, the ultimate demonstration of God’s eternal glory, and infinite superiority over all we are and all our acclaim.
When we love one another, the world will see Christ, the ultimate demonstration of God’s everlasting love and grace, bringing us from the wretched darkness into the light.
Faith and light, rejection and darkness.
One’s a path that leads us from glory to glory, brighter into the glorious day.
One’s a callous, continuous, intentional choice to refuse and reject glory and grace – until death or Christ’s return.
Excited to see how John 14 will be…
Until the next post, God bless us all with glory and grace!
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