John 13:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

NIV: For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

NASB: For He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, 'Not all of you are clean.'

CSB: For he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, "Not all of you are clean."

NLT: For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, 'Not all of you are clean.'

KJV: For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

NKJV: For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

Jesus has just made a statement explaining the nature of the spiritual "cleansing" He offers. Those who are "bathed," meaning saved, do not need to be re-saved over and over. Rather, they need only to have their feet "washed." They need to confess and repent of daily sins in order to be in good fellowship with Christ, but they're already "clean" by virtue of their salvation (John 13:7–10).

At the same time, Jesus explains that not all of those present are "clean," in that spiritual sense. At this moment, only Jesus and Judas are aware that Judas has betrayal on his mind. The other disciples are sincere believers in Christ—they are truly committed to Him. Even if they lack understanding, or, like Peter, self-control (John 13:8–9), they are clean by virtue of that faith. Judas is neither sincere nor submissive. He's played along for his own reasons and will soon sell Jesus to His enemies (John 13:21–26).

The presence of Judas here raises two ideas often lost when discussing this passage. First, Judas is among those whom Jesus serves by washing their feet. Despite Judas being lost, treacherous, and plotting murder, Jesus extends humility and kindness to him. That will continue as they share a meal together: one last gesture of Christ's loving kindness to His own enemies.

Second, this emphasizes that spiritual "cleansing" is not accomplished by rituals like confession. Judas participates in the foot-washing just as the others. But they are already "clean"; he is not. Surface-level religion, without real faith, will not save.

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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.