John 13:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

NIV: Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

NASB: If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

CSB: If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

NLT: Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

KJV: If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

NKJV: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Several places in Scripture explain that people are only held accountable for what they know and understand. However, people are held absolutely accountable. Nature and human experience provide more than enough evidence for people to acknowledge the basic existence of God (Romans 1:18–29; Psalm 19:1). Those who sincerely seek after God will find Him (Matthew 7:7–8). There are fine points on which even sincere people can be wrong (John 9:40–41)—and obvious points on which the well-informed can be stubborn (John 5:39–40).

In other words, God does not require a person to know everything, but He expects everything a person knows to be obeyed. The same applies to the teaching Jesus has given over the last few verses. By washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus has destroyed any claims a person can have to be "too good" to humbly serve others. Human nature vainly says lesser tasks are for lesser people, and the lowly should serve the superior. Jesus' teaching by example is that humility and service are the obligation of all Christians. Those who understand this are blessed by obeying it.

John 13:12–20 is Jesus' explanation of His humble act: washing the feet of the disciples. Christ freely accepts His role as Lord and master, using those concepts to drive home His main point. Those who claim the name of Jesus ought to follow His example. That means humility and service for others—if the Lord serves others, so too should those who follow Him. Jesus also points out that not everyone at this event truly follows Him. This prediction is given to strengthen the faith of true believers once everything has been revealed. The following passage expands on the impending betrayal.

Jesus meets with a smaller group, possibly only the twelve disciples, in a private setting. Before eating a meal, Jesus performs the work of a lowly servant, washing the feet of the disciples. He explains that this is an object lesson. Their Lord is willing to serve in humility, so they are obligated to do the same. Jesus also predicts His impending betrayal, subtly telling Judas to leave and complete His conspiracy. The disciples don't realize what's happened, however. Peter foolishly brags about his loyalty. Jesus responds with a cutting prediction: Peter will deny his relationship to Christ three times in the next few hours.

The first twelve chapters of the gospel of John describe the public ministry of Jesus. Starting in chapter 13, most of what John describes are the last private moments Jesus enjoys prior to His crucifixion. This begins with Jesus washing the disciples' feet, establishing both an example and a command for humble service. Jesus also predicts His impending betrayal and Peter's cowardly denials. Following chapters contain Jesus' last instructions to the disciples, including a rich collection of truths which are central to the Christian faith.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.