John 13:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."

NIV: "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

NASB: Peter *said to Him, 'Never shall You wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no place with Me.'

CSB: "You will never wash my feet," Peter said. Jesus replied, "If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me."

NLT: No,' Peter protested, 'you will never ever wash my feet!' Jesus replied, 'Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.'

KJV: Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

NKJV: 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.”

Peter objects to Jesus performing the submissive task of a servant: washing of others' feet (John 13:6). His motivation is noble, since he clearly sees Jesus as his master. In the prior verse, Jesus reassured the disciples that they would better understand this action later (John 13:7).

Peter, never quick to take a hint, responds with a strongly-phrased expression in Greek. His exact words are "ou mē…eis ton aiōna!" This is somewhat like saying "no way…not ever!" in English. This is sincere, but stubborn. Peter does not understand, but suggests he doesn't need to: he cannot imagine Jesus acting like a servant. If he can't understand it, he won't cooperate with it.

Jesus' response is equally black-and-white. His wording is an ultimatum: either I do this, or you have nothing to do with me. In the most immediate sense, this is a rebuke of Peter's stubbornness. So far as the literal, physical foot-washing between Jesus and Peter is concerned, it's a non-negotiable. One can imagine Jesus saying something to the effect of "I'm not asking you Peter, I'm telling you."

Scholars differ in how—or if—to apply Jesus' comment to believers in general. On one hand, there's a universal sense in which those who abjectly refuse to submit to Christ are, by definition, not His followers. If someone follows through on an attitude of "I am not doing that, Jesus" then they have "no part" in Him or His kingdom. On the other hand, this comment can't be separated from the literal context or the statements Jesus is about to make.

As the passage continues, Jesus will distinguish between "washing" and "bathing." This will include an allusion to Judas' betrayal. That background makes an application of Jesus' words to the modern believer more specific: this speaks about fellowship, not eternal salvation.

John 13:1–11 begins the ''private'' phase of John's gospel, as Jesus meets with the disciples for a Passover meal. As usual, John skips details covered in other Gospels in order to add his own memories. Jesus performs the task of a lowly servant: washing others' feet. Jesus reassures everyone that this task will make more sense later. Peter is offended by his master acting like a slave, but Jesus responds that washing is necessary for those who follow Him—and not all of those present are clean. That subtly points to Judas, who has already made plans to betray Jesus. A ''full-body'' washing only needs to happen once, while ''foot washing'' needs to be done more frequently. This helps explain the difference between once-for-all salvation, and routine confession of sin.

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.