Yohanes 13:1

Washing the Disciples’ Feet

13:1 Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time ¹  had come to depart ²  from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end. ³ 

Yohanes 13:3

13:3 Because Jesus ⁴  knew that the Father had handed all things over to him, ⁵  and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

Yohanes 13:7

13:7 Jesus replied, ⁶  “You do not understand ⁷  what I am doing now, but you will understand ⁸  after these things.”

Yohanes 13:11

13:11 (For Jesus ⁹  knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is ¹⁰  clean.”) ¹¹ 

Yohanes 13:18

The Announcement of Jesus’ Betrayal

13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ¹²  ‘The one who eats my bread ¹³  has turned against me.’ ¹⁴ 

[13:1]  ¹ tn Grk “his hour.”

[13:1]  ² tn Grk “that he should depart.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause in Koine Greek frequently encroached on the simple infinitive (for the sake of greater clarity).

[13:1]  ³ tn Or “he now loved them completely,” or “he now loved them to the uttermost” (see John 19:30). All of John 13:1 is a single sentence in Greek, although in English this would be unacceptably awkward. At the end of the verse the idiom εἰς τέλος (eis telos) was translated literally as “to the end” and the modern equivalents given in the note above, because there is an important lexical link between this passage and John 19:30, τετέλεσται (tetelestai, “It is ended”).

[13:1]  sn The full extent of Jesus’ love for his disciples is not merely seen in his humble service to them in washing their feet (the most common interpretation of the passage). The full extent of his love for them is demonstrated in his sacrificial death for them on the cross. The footwashing episode which follows then becomes a prophetic act, or acting out beforehand, of his upcoming death on their behalf. The message for the disciples was that they were to love one another not just in humble, self-effacing service, but were to be willing to die for one another. At least one of them got this message eventually, though none understood it at the time (see 1 John 3:16).

[13:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”

[13:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[13:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “You do not know.”

[13:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “you will know.”

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Not all of you are.”

[13:11]  ¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[13:18]  ¹² tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”

[13:18]  ¹³ tn Or “The one who shares my food.”

[13:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “has become my enemy”; Grk “has lifted up his heel against me.” The phrase “to lift up one’s heel against someone” reads literally in the Hebrew of Ps 41 “has made his heel great against me.” There have been numerous interpretations of this phrase, but most likely it is an idiom meaning “has given me a great fall,” “has taken cruel advantage of me,” or “has walked out on me.” Whatever the exact meaning of the idiom, it clearly speaks of betrayal by a close associate. See E. F. F. Bishop, “‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’ – Jn xiii.18 (Ps xli.9),” ExpTim 70 (1958-59): 331-33.

[13:18]  sn A quotation from Ps 41:9.