John 13:10

13:10 Jesus replied, ¹  “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, ²  but is completely ³  clean. ⁴  And you disciples ⁵  are clean, but not every one of you.”

John 14:21

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ⁶  them is the one who loves me. ⁷  The one ⁸  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ⁹  myself to him.”

John 19:11

19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ¹⁰  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ¹¹  is guilty of greater sin.” ¹² 

[13:10]  ¹ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[13:10]  ² tn Grk “has no need except to wash his feet.”

[13:10]  ³ tn Or “entirely.”

[13:10]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[14:21]  ⁶ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ⁹ tn Or “will disclose.”

[19:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “power.”

[19:11]  ¹² tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

[19:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).