John 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The "latter half" MacLaren's Expositions
on John 13, accessed 15 June 2016 or "closing part"
on John 13, accessed 20 June 2016 of John's Gospel commences with this chapter. The nineteenth-century biblical commentator

Alexander Maclaren Alexander Maclaren (11 February 1826 – 5 May 1910) was a Scottish Baptist minister. Biography Maclaren was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of David Maclaren, a merchant and Baptist lay preacher.Edwin Charles Dargan (1912) ''A History of ...

calls it "the Holy of Holies of the New Testament" and the "most sacred part of the New Testament", as it begins John's record of the events on the last night before the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, emphasising Jesus'

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

for His disciples, demonstrated in the service of washing their feet, and His commandment that they love one another in the same way.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

composed this

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 38 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Greek are: * Papyrus 75 (AD 175–225) * Papyrus 66 (~200). *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

(~400) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 8-38) * Papyrus 92 (5th century; extant verses 15–17) An ancient manuscript containing this chapter in the Coptic language is: * Papyrus 6 (~AD 350; extant verses 1–2, 11–12).

Places

All the events recorded in this chapter and the succeeding chapters up to John 17 took place in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The precise location is not specified, but John 18:1 states that afterwards, "Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the

Kidron Valley The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...

Old Testament references

* John 13:18:

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

Verse 1: the appointed hour

:''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.'' NKJV From the Greek syntax and theme perspective, evangelical scholar D. A. Carson regards verse 1 as an introduction of the whole ' Farewell Discourse', whereas verses 2–3 show the first demonstration of the full extent of Christ's love. The narrative begins ''before the Feast of the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

, when Jesus knew that His hour ( gr, η ωρα) had come that He should depart from this world to the Father'',

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

''having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.'' The appointed hour, anticipated earlier in the gospel () had now arrived. Jesus had announced publicly in that "the hour when the Son of Man should be glorified" had now arrived, and He had declined in to ask His Father to "save imfrom this hour" ( gr, εκ της ωρας ταυτης).

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, ...

notes, "How long before the feast, our passage does not state", but Bengel's Gnomon and Wesley's Notes, which drew widely on Bengel, both associate this passage with the Wednesday of the week leading to the Passover. The New International Version translation says ''It was just before the Passover Festival. During or after supper, ( gr, δειπνου γενομενου, ''deipnou ginomenou'') the narrative explains that "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God" (). The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

speaks of "supper being ended" (), whereas the

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

says "during supper" and the New International Version has "the evening meal was in progress". There was still food to be shared at , so the reading "after supper" sits less harmoniously with the passage as a whole. By this time,

the devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

had "already put it into the heart of

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

, Simon’s son ( gr, ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτου , ''Ioudas Simōnos Iskariōtou''), to

betray Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Oft ...

Him". Alfred Plummer, in the

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in parts by Cambridge University Press from 1882 onwards. Anglican bishop John Perowne was the general editor. The first section published was written by theologi ...

argues that "the true reading of τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν (''tou diabolou ēdē beblēkotos eis tēn kardian'') gives us, "''The devil having now put it into the heart'', that Judas, Simon's son, Iscariot should betray Him", and asks "whose heart?"

Grammatically In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domains ...

, the meaning can be read as either "the heart of the devil" or "the heart of Judas", but the received reading (i.e. "the heart of Judas") is preferred Plummer, A. (1902)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on John 13, accessed 18 June 2016 and most

English translations Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

follow this reading. The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonica ...

and J B Phillips' version both have "the mind of Judas".

Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (13:2–17)

Jesus washes and dries the feet of each of His disciples. The evangelist provides a detailed account of the actions Jesus took, removing His outer garment and wrapping a towel around His waist. Scottish commentator

William Robertson Nicoll Sir William Robertson Nicoll (10 October 18514 May 1923) was a Scottish Free Church minister, journalist, editor, and man of letters. Biography Nicoll was born in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, the son of Rev. Harry Nicoll (1812–1891), a Free Chu ...

says, "Each step in the whole astounding scene is imprinted on the mind of John". says that Jesus ''began'' to wash their feet: the washing was interrupted by

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

's initial refusal to allow Jesus to wash his feet, but suggests that the task was later completed and the feet of all the Disciples were washed, including those of Judas,Bengel's Gnomon
on John 13, accessed 16 June 2016 as Jesus then took back His garments and reclined t tableagain. The interruption consists of a question from Peter, "Lord ( gr, κυριε, ''

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

''), are You washing my feet?", Jesus' reply that at present they would not understand what He was doing, Peter's refusal to have Jesus wash his feet, Jesus' reply that "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me", Peter's willingness to have his whole body washed by Jesus, and Jesus' closing statement that "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you". The evangelist adds a note, "He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean" (). Peter calls Jesus 'Lord' in two of his three statements, and Jesus later () acknowledges the title as correctly used. From verse 12 onwards, the action having been completed, Jesus explains what he has done. Henry Alford calls the foot-washing "a pattern of self-denying love for His servants".Alford, H.
Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford
on John 13, accessed 25 August 2022 Carson sees the episode pointing in two directions: one as a symbolic spiritual cleansing () and the other as a "standard of humble service", followed by a calling to the disciples to "wash one another's feet" (). The words "Do you know what I have done to you?" (verse 12) are uttered to introduce Jesus' teaching, but without expectation of an answer.

Jesus identifies his betrayer (13:18–30)

Verse 18

: esus says:''"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.'"'' Jesus quotes the words of

: :''Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.'' in shorter statement: '' ( NASB). According to the Pulpit Commentary, in the Psalm, " Ahithophel (who had been a counsellor to King David) is almost certainly intended",Pulpit Commentary on John 13
accessed 23 June 2016 and Plummer notes that "the words of the Psalm are not a direct prediction, but the treachery and the fate of Ahithophel foreshadowed the treachery and the fate of Judas". The Jerusalem Bible translates John 13:18 as "Someone who shares my table rebels against me". Francis Moloney identifies this verse not only with Judas' betrayal of Jesus, but also with Peter's denial of Him (). The evangelist reports Jesus saying in , "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am". Indeed, the whole of John's Gospel is written so that is readers"may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

may have life in his name" ( NIV). Jesus anticipates being betrayed by one of His friends (), a consideration which He finds deeply troubling. The disciples cannot imagine who Jesus might be referring to, and ask "Lord, who is it?" (). Jesus does not identify His betrayer by name, but provides an answer by sign:

Verse 23

: “One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him.” The formal introduction of the Beloved Disciple is a “stunningly apparent” stroke of "narrative genius", for he is introduced immediately after Jesus demonstrates his love for the disciples in the act of washing the disciples’ feet () and immediately before the commandment to “love one another just as I have loved you” (). The

framing device Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focu ...

places the Beloved Disciple at "center stage", highlighting his importance in the Gospel and his special relationship with Jesus. His position next to Jesus (literally, the one “who is in the bosom of Jesus”, ) describes not only his proximity to Jesus at the supper but also his “closest communion” with him.

Verse 26

:''"It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.'' The word in gr, βάψας (''bapsas'', "dipped"), appears only once in the New Testament, here. The text refers to "the piece" or "morsel" or "sop" of bread ( gr, τὸ ψωμίον, ''to psómion''), and

states that "some argue from the insertion of the article τὸ that this was the sop made up of a morsel of

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

, a small piece of

unleavened bread Unleavened bread is any of a wide variety of breads which are prepared without using rising agents such as yeast. Unleavened breads are generally flat breads; however, not all flat breads are unleavened. Unleavened breads, such as the tortilla ...

, and dipped in the bitter sauce, which was given by the head of the house to each guest as a regular part of the Passover; and that therefore John as well as the Synoptists considered this to be the Paschal Supper. But not only is the article doubtful, but it is an ordinary Oriental custom for the host to offer such a tid-bit to any favoured guest; and we are rather entitled to see in the act the last appeal to Judas’ better feeling. The very mark Jesus chooses to single him out is one which on ordinary occasions was a mark of distinctive favour".

Verse 29

:''For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.'' John's Gospel is the only one which observes that Judas was responsible for the disciples' "common fund" or " money box", both here in and again here. The word γλωσσοκομον (''glōssokomon'') "means literally "a case for mouthpieces" of musical instruments, and hence any portable chest. It occurs in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

texts of .Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on John 12, accessed 2 June 2016

Verse 30

:''Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.'' Judas left immediately, and of his own free will. After his departure, Jesus provides no further explanation to address the Disciples' question. Instead, the evangelist moves the narrative forward. It is now night-time ( Tzet Hakochavim) and therefore the day of the Passover has begun.

The New Commandment (13:31–35)

The discourse which Jesus commences after Judas' departure - "the solemn valedictory discourse of our Lord" - begins with three topics:

Verses 31–32

:''"Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately."''

Verses 33

:''Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you."''

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

has said to the Jews, ''Where I am going, you cannot come'', so now he says

he same He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

to his disciples.

Verses 34–35

:''"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"''

Jesus predicts Peter’s denial (13:36–38)

"Judas is already beginning that series of events which will end in sending Jesus away from them to the Father". Just as Judas had left "immediately", ( gr, ευθεως, ''eutheōs'') so the

glorification Glorification may have several meanings in Christianity. From the Catholic canonization to the similar sainthood of the Eastern Orthodox Church to salvation in Christianity in Protestant beliefs, the glorification of the human condition can be a ...

of God begins "immediately" ( gr, ευθυς, ''euthys''). Maclaren identifies three forms of glorification presented here: *the Son of Man is glorified in His Cross *God is glorified in the Son of Man *the Son of Man is glorified in the Father. The evangelist then has Jesus address His disciples as gr, Τεκνία (''teknia'', "little children") - a word frequently used by John in his first epistle but not used elsewhere in this gospel. Many commentators note the tenderness of this word. Theologian Harold Buls suggests "it denotes endearment. It likely also indicates the disciples' immaturity and weakness". Jesus tells His disciples that shortly He will be leaving them; where He is going they cannot come ( John 13:33), or at any rate they "cannot follow now, but ... will follow later" (). The apostles Peter (in verse 37),

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and Philip (in the next chapter) raise questions about where Jesus is going. Peter seems to have recognised the connection between following Jesus and dying: "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you" or "on your behalf". Jesus questions whether Peter will lay down his life for Him and tells him that in fact he will have denied Jesus three times "before the

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

crows" (, cf. ). In

Luke's Gospel The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

() the prediction of Peter's denial also takes place within the room where they had been eating, whereas in and , "the announcement of Peter's fate is made on the way to the

Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great reson ...

".Pulpit Commentary
on John 13, accessed 23 June 2016

References

Bibliography

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Gospel of John John 13