Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet (John 13:1-20)

Saint John the Theologian, the "beloved disciple" and author of the fourth Gospel

Last year in this Sunday School class, we studied the first 14 chapters of the Gospel of St. John. This fall, we will complete our study of the fourth Gospel. But I do not want to jump right in at Chapter 15, because Chapters 13-17 form an integral unit and must be studied as such. So, what I plan to do in this lesson is to briefly review Chapters 13 and 14, hitting only the high points. Then, next Sunday, we will begin with Chapter 15, slowing down the pace and looking at each passage in more detail.


Objectives

Before I continue, I would like to review for you the four main objectives of this course:

1. To increase our knowledge of the Scriptures, particularly the Gospel of St. John.

2. To develop a deeper love for the Scriptures, along with a desire to read them regularly on our own.

3. To apply the teaching of the Scriptures to our lives. All the “head knowledge” about the Scriptures will do us no good if we do not DO what they tell us to. Only by continually examining our lives in light of the Scriptures will we have any chance of growing in holiness (and this itself is a scriptural command; it is not just an option).

4. This objective is related closely to #4: To understand how the Orthodox interpretation of particular passages differs from that of other Christian traditions, when indeed there is a significant difference, and to be able to defend the Orthodox position. This objective is essential for those of us who live in a religiously pluralistic society.


Sources

Other than St. John’s gospel itself, the main source that I am using for this class is the excellent commentary on St. John’s Gospel called The Gospel of John: Beholding the Glory by Fr. Lawrence Farley (published by Conciliar Press). Other sources that I will occasionally refer to are the notes in the Orthodox Study Bible, as well as the commentaries by St. John Chrysostom and other Church Fathers.

With all this having been said, let’s begin our look at Chapter 13!

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
(John 13:1-20)


As anyone who has studied the four Gospels knows, while the Gospels of Ss. Matthew, Mark and Luke are very similar to each other, containing a great deal of the same material, St. John’s Gospel is quite distinct from the others. As we discussed last year, St. John wrote his Gospel many years after the other three evangelists wrote theirs. St. John did not feel the need to repeat most of the details that the other writers had given, since by that time, most of his readers would have been familiar with at least one of the other Gospels. If you’ll forgive me the baseball analogy, St. John is “batting cleanup;” he is filling in details of miracles and teachings that the other three evangelists left out, in order to give a more complete (though not exhaustive) picture of the life and ministry of Christ.

This is no less true in St. John’s account of the Last Supper, which is the event related in Chapters 13-17. Unlike Ss. Matthew, Mark and Luke, St. John does not include the words of institution (“Take, eat, this is my body…), but he DOES relate the long discourse that Jesus gave to his disciples before and after the meal. This discourse is often referred to as the “Farewell Discourse,” because Jesus knows that he is about to leave this earth, and he wants to prepare his disciples for what is to come.

This so-called “Farewell Discourse” begins with a radical and shocking (to the disciples) demonstration of Jesus’ love and his humility: his washing of their feet.

(By the way: All my Scripture quotations will be from the New King James Version, unless I state otherwise)

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.2 And supper being ended, the devil having 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 to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, 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 should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

18 “I do not 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.’ 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”


The first thing we see in this passage is that Jesus had three things in mind: 1. That the Father had given all things into his hands, 2. That he had come from God, and 3. That he would be returning to God. In other words, he knew that this would be his last evening on earth. Because of this, he loved his disciples to the end by taking care to prepare them for the events that would follow, not telling them everything, but still leaving out nothing that they would need to know.

Then in verses 4-11, we Jesus’ shocking action of washing the disciples’ feet. This action was only performed by the lowliest of slaves, and yet here the one who is the greatest does it (in spite of Peter’s protests). Jesus affirms that his washing of their feet is a necessary part of their education. In essence, he tells them, “Trust me; I know what I am doing. You’ll understand later.”

In verses 12-20, Jesus explains the significance of what he has done. Again, this lesson is only intended to be a very brief review, so I will not go into great detail or explain every verse. I would like to highlight verses 14-16. Jesus is telling them that as he has washed their feet, so must they do to others. He is not speaking literally; in other words, he is not merely saying that they should wash other peoples’ feet (although this is certainly one way to apply the teaching). The greater meaning is that they should be as servants to one another. Repeatedly, Jesus taught his disciples that the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God is not by dominating others but by serving them. Now he has driven this point home a final time with (if you will) an object lesson.

Note also verse 17, where Jesus makes a promise: “Blessed are you if you do [these things].” If we will serve others, we will be blessed. This is, of course, the exact opposite of what the world teaches (although parts of the world are catching on; I know of at least one management book on the theme of “servant leadership.” They’re a little late…). Just as it is more blessed to give than to receive, so it is more blessed to serve than to be served.

So, I’ll conclude for today with a question/provocation: How’s YOUR servanthood? Are you doing anything to serve others (especially those in the Church), or are you just letting others serve you (or neither)? Are you willing to humble yourself like a slave as Jesus did so as to help others, showing them as you do the love and the humility of Christ?

Make a list of 5-10 people in your life, including parents, children, other family members, co-workers, friends, members of your church. Write down one or two specific, concrete things that you can do to serve them. Then do them!

(Note and promise: The rest of these posts will not be so long. This one had both an introduction and a mini-lesson.)

May the Lord bless you all. Remember, please don't be shy about posting comments or questions.