Discovery BoxJohn 13:1-25
Context13:1 Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time 1 had come to depart 2 from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. 3 13:2 The evening meal 4 was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart 5 of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray 6 Jesus. 7 13:3 Because Jesus 8 knew that the Father had handed all things over to him, 9 and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 13:4 he got up from the meal, removed 10 his outer clothes, 11 took a towel and tied it around himself. 12 13:5 He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself. 13
13:6 Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter 14 said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash 15 my feet?” 13:7 Jesus replied, 16 “You do not understand 17 what I am doing now, but you will understand 18 after these things.” 13:8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” 19 Jesus replied, 20 “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 21 13:9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash 22 not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 13:10 Jesus replied, 23 “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, 24 but is completely 25 clean. 26 And you disciples 27 are clean, but not every one of you.” 13:11 (For Jesus 28 knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is 29 clean.”) 30
13:12 So when Jesus 31 had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table 32 again and said to them, “Do you understand 33 what I have done for you? 13:13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, 34 for that is what I am. 35 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 13:15 For I have given you an example 36 – you should do just as I have done for you. 13:16 I tell you the solemn truth, 37 the slave 38 is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger 39 greater than the one who sent him. 13:17 If you understand 40 these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, 41 ‘The one who eats my bread 42 has turned against me.’ 43 13:19 I am telling you this now, 44 before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe 45 that I am he. 46 13:20 I tell you the solemn truth, 47 whoever accepts 48 the one I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” 49
13:21 When he had said these things, Jesus was greatly distressed 50 in spirit, and testified, 51 “I tell you the solemn truth, 52 one of you will betray me.” 53 13:22 The disciples began to look at one another, worried and perplexed 54 to know which of them he was talking about. 13:23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, 55 was at the table 56 to the right of Jesus in a place of honor. 57 13:24 So Simon Peter 58 gestured to this disciple 59 to ask Jesus 60 who it was he was referring to. 61 13:25 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved 62 leaned back against Jesus’ chest and asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
[13:1] 2 tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).
[13:1] 3 tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”).
[13:2] 4 tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”
[13:2] 5 sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.
[13:2] 6 tn Or “that he should hand over.”
[13:2] 7 tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:3] 8 tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:3] 9 tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”
[13:4] 10 tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
[13:4] 11 tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta Jimatia) is probably a reference to more than one garment (cf. John 19:23-24). If so, this would indicate that Jesus stripped to a loincloth, like a slave. The translation “outer clothes” is used to indicate that Jesus was not completely naked, since complete nudity would have been extremely offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context.
[13:4] 12 tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezwsen Jeauton) for use in wiping the disciples’ feet. The term λέντιον is a Latin loanword (linteum) which is also found in the rabbinic literature (see BDAG 592 s.v.). It would have been a long piece of linen cloth, long enough for Jesus to have wrapped it about his waist and still used the free end to wipe the disciples’ feet.
[13:5] 13 tn Grk “with the towel with which he was girded.”
[13:6] 14 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:6] 15 tn Grk “do you wash” or “are you washing.”
[13:7] 16 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
[13:7] 17 tn Grk “You do not know.”
[13:7] 18 tn Grk “you will know.”
[13:8] 19 tn Grk “You will never wash my feet forever.” The negation is emphatic in Greek but somewhat awkward in English. Emphasis is conveyed in the translation by the use of an exclamation point.
[13:8] 20 tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”
[13:8] 21 tn Or “you have no part in me.”
[13:9] 22 tn The word “wash” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Here it is supplied to improve the English style by making Peter’s utterance a complete sentence.
[13:10] 23 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
[13:10] 24 tn Grk “has no need except to wash his feet.”
[13:10] 26 sn The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet. A common understanding is that the “bath” Jesus referred to is the initial cleansing from sin, which necessitates only “lesser, partial” cleansings from sins after conversion. This makes a fine illustration from a homiletic standpoint, but is it the meaning of the passage? This seems highly doubtful. Jesus stated that the disciples were completely clean except for Judas (vv. 10b, 11). What they needed was to have their feet washed by Jesus. In the broader context of the Fourth Gospel, the significance of the foot-washing seems to point not just to an example of humble service (as most understand it), but something more – Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross. If this is correct, then the foot-washing which they needed to undergo represented their acceptance of this act of self-sacrifice on the part of their master. This makes Peter’s initial abhorrence of the act of humiliation by his master all the more significant in context; it also explains Jesus’ seemingly harsh reply to Peter (above, v. 8; compare Matt 16:21-23 where Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”).
[13:10] 27 tn The word “disciples” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb. Peter is not the only one Jesus is addressing here.
[13:11] 28 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:11] 29 tn Grk “Not all of you are.”
[13:11] 30 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[13:12] 31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:12] 32 tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.
[13:12] 33 tn Grk “Do you know.”
[13:13] 35 tn Grk “and I am these things.”
[13:15] 36 sn I have given you an example. Jesus tells his disciples after he has finished washing their feet that what he has done is to set an example for them. In the previous verse he told them they were to wash one another’s feet. What is the point of the example? If it is simply an act of humble service, as most interpret the significance, then Jesus is really telling his disciples to serve one another in humility rather than seeking preeminence over one another. If, however, the example is one of self-sacrifice up to the point of death, then Jesus is telling them to lay down their lives for one another (cf. 15:13).
[13:16] 37 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[13:16] 38 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
[13:16] 39 tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).
[13:17] 40 tn Grk “If you know.”
[13:18] 41 tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”
[13:18] 42 tn Or “The one who shares my food.”
[13:18] 43 tn Or “has become my enemy”; Grk “has lifted up his heel against me.” The phrase “to lift up one’s heel against someone” reads literally in the Hebrew of Ps 41 “has made his heel great against me.” There have been numerous interpretations of this phrase, but most likely it is an idiom meaning “has given me a great fall,” “has taken cruel advantage of me,” or “has walked out on me.” Whatever the exact meaning of the idiom, it clearly speaks of betrayal by a close associate. See E. F. F. Bishop, “‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’ – Jn xiii.18 (Ps xli.9),” ExpTim 70 (1958-59): 331-33.
[13:19] 44 tn Or (perhaps) “I am certainly telling you this.” According to BDF §12.3 ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι (ap’ arti) should be read as ἀπαρτί (aparti), meaning “exactly, certainly.”
[13:19] 45 tn Grk “so that you may believe.”
[13:19] 46 tn Grk “that I am.” R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:555) argues for a nonpredicated ἐγώ εἰμι (egw eimi) here, but this is far from certain.
[13:20] 47 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[13:20] 48 tn Or “receives,” and so throughout this verse.
[13:20] 49 sn The one who sent me refers to God.
[13:21] 50 tn Or “greatly troubled.”
[13:21] 51 tn Grk “and testified and said.”
[13:21] 52 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[13:21] 53 tn Or “will hand me over.”
[13:22] 54 tn Grk “uncertain,” “at a loss.” Here two terms, “worried and perplexed,” were used to convey the single idea of the Greek verb ἀπορέω (aporew).
[13:23] 55 sn Here for the first time the one Jesus loved, the ‘beloved disciple,’ is introduced. This individual also is mentioned in 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, and 21:20. Some have suggested that this disciple is to be identified with Lazarus, since the Fourth Gospel specifically states that Jesus loved him (11:3, 5, 36). From the terminology alone this is a possibility; the author is certainly capable of using language in this way to indicate connections. But there is nothing else to indicate that Lazarus was present at the last supper; Mark 14:17 seems to indicate it was only the twelve who were with Jesus at this time, and there is no indication in the Fourth Gospel to the contrary. Nor does it appear that Lazarus ever stood so close to Jesus as the later references in chaps. 19, 20 and 21 seem to indicate. When this is coupled with the omission of all references to John son of Zebedee from the Fourth Gospel, it seems far more likely that the references to the beloved disciple should be understood as references to him.
[13:23] 56 tn Grk “was reclining.” This reflects the normal 1st century practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.
[13:23] 57 tn Grk “was reclining in the bosom (or “lap”) of Jesus” (according to both L&N 17.25 and BDAG 65 s.v. ἀνάκειμαι 2 an idiom for taking the place of honor at a meal, but note the similar expression in John 1:18). Whether this position or the position to the left of Jesus should be regarded as the position of second highest honor (next to the host, in this case Jesus, who was in the position of highest honor) is debated. F. Prat, “Les places d’honneur chez les Juifs contemporains du Christ” (RSR 15 [1925]: 512-22), who argued that the table arrangement was that of the Roman triclinium (a U-shaped table with Jesus and two other disciples at the bottom of the U), considered the position to the left of Jesus to be the one of second highest honor. Thus the present translation renders this “a position of honor” without specifying which one (since both of the two disciples to the right and to the left of Jesus would be in positions of honor). Other translations differ as to how they handle the phrase ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ (en tw kolpw tou Ihsou; “leaning on Jesus’ bosom,” KJV; “lying close to the breast of Jesus,” RSV; “reclining on Jesus’ breast,” NASB; “reclining next to him,” NIV, NRSV) but the symbolic significance of the beloved disciple’s position seems clear. He is close to Jesus and in an honored position. The phrase as an idiom for a place of honor at a feast is attested in the Epistles of Pliny (the Younger) 4.22.4, an approximate contemporary of Paul.
[13:24] 58 sn It is not clear where Simon Peter was seated. If he were on Jesus’ other side, it is difficult to see why he would not have asked the question himself. It would also have been difficult to beckon to the beloved disciple, on Jesus’ right, from such a position. So apparently Peter was seated somewhere else. It is entirely possible that Judas was seated to Jesus’ left. Matt 26:25 seems to indicate that Jesus could speak to him without being overheard by the rest of the group. Judas is evidently in a position where Jesus can hand him the morsel of food (13:26).
[13:24] 59 tn Grk “to this one”; the referent (the beloved disciple) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:24] 60 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:24] 61 sn That is, who would betray him (v. 21).
[13:25] 62 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the disciple Jesus loved) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
