John 13:13-18

13:13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, ¹  for that is what I am. ²  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 ³  – you should do just as I have done for you. 13:16 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴  the slave ⁵  is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger ⁶  greater than the one who sent him. 13:17 If you understand ⁷  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

The Announcement of Jesus’ Betrayal

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, ⁸  ‘The one who eats my bread ⁹  has turned against me.’ ¹⁰ 

[13:13]  ¹ tn Or “rightly.”

[13:13]  ² tn Grk “and I am these things.”

[13:15]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[13:16]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[13:16]  ⁶ tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).

[13:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “If you know.”

[13:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”

[13:18]  ⁹ tn Or “The one who shares my food.”

[13:18]  ¹⁰ 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.