John 13:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”

NIV: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'

NASB: So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, 'Lord, You are washing my feet?'

CSB: He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet? "

NLT: When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'

KJV: Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

NKJV: Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

Jesus is performing a grimy, lowly, humble chore: washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:4–5). This is something only done by servants and slaves—never by a master for his own subjects. This is why Peter initially responds with an expression of disbelief. The disciples have shown an interest in power and prestige (Mark 9:34; Luke 9:54), so Peter wouldn't be appalled to think "someone" would wash his feet. What he objects to is that Jesus would do it. His question is meant along the lines of, "why are You, Jesus, doing this, instead of someone else?"

The answer given later is that humble servanthood is something followers of Christ are obligated to pursue. Jesus is unquestionably the Master, and if He will serve others, those who claim His name must do so, as well (John 13:12–16). In the short term, Peter will misunderstand Jesus' intentions, and ask to be made entirely clean. This provides an opportunity to explain the difference between being spiritually "bathed," once-and-for-all, versus being "washed" on a regular basis (John 13:9–10).

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.

Accessed 5/4/2024 6:44:39 PM