John 13 · WEB
The Servant King and the New Commandment
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Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
4arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"
7Jesus answered him, "You don't know what I am doing now, but you will understand later."
8Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with me."
9Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!"
10Jesus said to him, "Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you."
11For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, "You are not all clean."
12So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
13You call me, 'Teacher' and 'Lord.' You say so correctly, for so I am.
14If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.
16Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him.
17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
18I don't speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.'
19From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.
20Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me."
21When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me."
22The disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke.
23One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was at the table, leaning against Jesus' breast.
24Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, and said to him, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks."
25He, leaning back, as he was, on Jesus' breast, asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26Jesus therefore answered, "It is he to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
27After the piece of bread, then Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."
28Now nobody at the table knew why he said this to him.
29For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus said to him, "Buy what things we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.
30Therefore, having received that morsel, he went out immediately. It was night.
31When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.
32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately.
33Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you can't come,' so now I tell you.
34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
36Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you can't follow now, but you will follow afterwards."
37Peter said to him, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
38Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for me? Most certainly I tell you, the rooster won't crow until you have denied me three times."
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Summary
On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus performs the work of a household servant by washing his disciples' feet, demonstrating the kind of humble love that should mark his followers. He reveals that one of them will betray him, identifies Judas with the dipped morsel of bread, and sends him out into the night. After Judas leaves, Jesus gives a "new commandment" — that they love one another as he has loved them — and warns Peter that he will deny him three times before the rooster crows.
Themes
- Servant leadership and humility
- Love as the mark of true discipleship
- Betrayal and the sovereignty of God
- The glorification of the Son of Man through the cross
- Human weakness and self-confidence (Peter)
Key verses
- John 13:1 — “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
- John 13:14-15 — “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.”
- John 13:34 — “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.”
- John 13:35 — “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Context & background
John 13 opens the "Farewell Discourse" (chs. 13-17), Jesus' final teaching to his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem (modern Israel) on the night before his crucifixion, likely Thursday of Passover week around AD 30-33. Washing guests' feet was the job of the lowest household servant, since roads in first-century Judea were dusty and people wore open sandals; for Jesus, the rabbi and Lord, to do it was a stunning reversal of social order. The "dipped morsel" was traditionally a gesture of honor by the host, making Judas' betrayal all the more tragic. John wrote his Gospel c. AD 85-95, likely from Ephesus (modern western Turkey), preserving details that the Synoptic Gospels omit.
Cross-references
- 1 John 3:16 — "By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
- Luke 22:24-27 — Jesus teaches that the greatest must be as one who serves, echoing the foot-washing.
- Matthew 26:33-35 — Parallel account of Peter's confident vow and Jesus' prediction of his denial.
- Philippians 2:5-8 — Paul's hymn of Christ taking the form of a servant mirrors John 13.
- Psalm 41:9 — "He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me" — quoted by Jesus about Judas.