John 13:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

NIV: so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

NASB: *got up from supper and *laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and tied it around Himself.

CSB: So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself.

NLT: So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist,

KJV: He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

NKJV: rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.

The disciples see Jesus as a lord and master. When Jesus washes their feet, the act is shockingly humble. Ancient roads were covered in dirt, dust, waste, and animal droppings. Ancient people wore sandals or went barefoot. Washing of feet was necessary, but dirty and inconvenient. This is why Jesus is obligated to change clothes—this was a messy job.

In that era, people would most often wash their own feet. When done for hospitality, it was always performed on someone of higher status by someone of lower status. The task Jesus completes is, by definition, one performed as an act of servitude and modesty. By the standards of that era, it was ludicrous for a master to wash the feet of their inferiors. This is exactly the point Jesus seeks to make. Once the task is done, He will explain how His example shatters our natural pride and vanity. In no sense does Jesus deny that He is the Master (John 13:13), so His act creates an obligation for others to follow. If humble servanthood is not "beneath" the Son of God, it is not "beneath" any person who claims to follow Him (John 13:15–16).

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.