JOHN 13:1-2 1
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come
that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own
who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having
already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
How long "before" (John 13:1) the Feast of the
Passover was this?
This was the night before Passover started.
How had Jesus known that "His hour had come"
(John 13:1)?
It had been confirmed by the Gentiles asking for Jesus (John 12:20-23) just
days prior.
Who is "Him" in John 13:2?
Jesus.
What is meant by the devil having already put the betrayal of Jesus into
Judas Iscariot's heart?
Judas had already agreed to betray Jesus:
"Then one of the twelve,
called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you
willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him
thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray
Him." (Matthew 26:14-16)
And what supper had just "ended" (John 13:2)?
The "Last Supper", described in Luke 22:14-20:
"14
When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, “With fervent
desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of
it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it
among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I
will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke
it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do
this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He
also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My
blood, which is shed for you.
When Jesus told the disciples to "take" the bread,
saying, "This is My body which is given for you" and the wine, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" was He
telling them to eat His human flesh and drink His human blood?
Of course not.
How do we know for sure Jesus was telling them to eat bread
and wine, not His human flesh and blood?
His blood had not yet been
"shed" so it couldn't
have been in the cup, and the same goes for His
body, which had not yet been
"given." He described what
they were to drink as
"the fruit of the vine" (Luke 22:18), not human blood,
and if they ate His body, which part of it did they eat? Jesus was telling
them to take the wine and the bread
"in
remembrance"
of the sacrifice He was about to make on the cross "once" -
"For
Christ also suffered once for sins" (1 Peter 3:18) - not commit
cannibalism and make a habit of it, as some have insisted over the centuries.
JOHN 13:3-5 3 Jesus,
knowing that the Father had given
all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to
God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His
garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Why did Jesus lay "aside His garments,
took a towel and" gird "Himself" (John 13:4)?
He was dressing Himself down as a slave.
Why did feet needed to be washed in those days?
Because they became
very dirty.
Is that why Jesus dressed down like a slave and
began to wash the disciples' feet?
No, if that were the case, the feet would have been washed before the meal
started and by someone else. It was unthinkable for a rabbi to wash the feet
of his disciples.
When did Jesus start to wash their feet?
He had told them that one of them would betray Him:
"But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the
Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is
betrayed!" (Luke 22:21-22) They began
trying to guess the perpetrator among them, and their discussion soon
degenerated into an argument over who was the best among them:
"Then they began
to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
Now there was also a dispute among them,
as to which of them should be considered the greatest." (Luke
22:23-24) It was while their argued on in pride that Jesus dressed down like a slave and began
to wash their feet.
JOHN 13:6-11 6
Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You
washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and
said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will
know after this.” 8 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.” 9 Simon
Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my
head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is
bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are
clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He
knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
What tendency does Peter exhibit in John 13:6-9?
He tends to talk before thinking.
What doesn't he exhibit in John 13:6-9?
An ego before Jesus. Having just declared,
“You shall never wash my
feet!” (John 13:8) one would expect him to start by trying to defend his
position. Yet on one word from Jesus, he abandons it and instead swings to
the other extreme.
What is meant by, "He who is bathed needs only to
wash his feet, but is completely clean" (John 13:10)?
When a person is saved by Jesus, they are
"completely clean"
of sins, but they don't completely stop sinning, even though they
sin less and less. So, just as road dirt continue to accumulate on cleaned
feet and need to be washed constantly, so must our daily sins constantly be
confessed before Jesus - not another human being - for His forgiveness.
Who is Jesus talking about in John 13:11 and what was He
saying about him?
He was saying that Judas Iscariot is not saved.
JOHN 13:12-17 12 So when He had washed their feet,
taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know
what I have done to you? 13 You call Me
Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that
you should do as I have done to you. 16
Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master;
nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
17 If you know these things, blessed are
you if you do them.
What’s disappointing about what is described in John
13:4-12?
It records one of the twelve protesting, but no one volunteering to wash the
others’ feet in Jesus’ place.
What is Jesus' message above?
Be humble and have no ego before each other either.
How did Jesus teach and lead?
By example, which should be heeded by more leaders today.
What is the difference between a "Teacher"
and a "Lord" (John 13:13)?
Teacher is someone to be listened to and observed. Lord is someone to be
obeyed unconditionally.
To you, is Jesus both or one?
JOHN 13:18-22 18
“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but
that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has
lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 Now I
tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may
believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who
receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” 21
When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and
testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will
betray Me.” 22 Then the disciples looked
at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
What does Jesus mean by, "He who eats bread with Me
has lifted up his heel against Me" (John 13:18)?
He is telling them that someone close to Him will strike out at Him, and
that this will fulfill another prophecy in the
"Scripture":
"Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me." (Psalm 41:9)
Is He saying this so that they can try to stop the striker?
No, He is revealing this
"before it comes"
so that
"when it does come to pass" (John 13:19), they will know that He
wasn't caught off guard, but is
"He" (John 13:19), the
Messiah who knew all things in advance.
What is Jesus doing in John 13:20?
He is commissioning them as His ambassadors.
What does the disciples being "perplexed"
in John 13:22 tell about Judas Iscariot?
The disciples had spent 3 years day and night with Judas but couldn't
recognize him as the betrayer even after Jesus said there is a betrayer in
their midst. His hypocrisy was good enough to fool everyone except Jesus.
Are there betrayers of Christ in churches today?
Unfortunately yes, and some of their hypocrisy is as good as Judas'. The
only person we can and should trust completely is the Word of God.
JOHN 13:23-30 23
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus
loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned
to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25
Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I
shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped
the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus
said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” 28
But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him.
29 For some thought, because Judas had
the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for
the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.
30 Having received the piece of bread,
he then went out immediately. And it was night.
Who is "one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23)?
John who wrote this Gospel.
What was he doing "leaning on Jesus' bosom" (John 13:23)
and "leaning back on Jesus' breast" (John 13:25)?
Contrary to the depiction by a famous Medieval artist, the Last Supper
wasn't eaten by 13 men sitting on one side of a long dining table while
facing an audience. For communal meals like this one, everyone sat on the floor around the food, leaning on their left elbow with
their legs stretched out behind them and ate with their right hand. This
meant that each person’s head was just in front of the torso -
"bosom" or
"breast" - of the person to their left.
The person to the left of John was Jesus. Peter, who was further away,
"motioned" John to ask Jesus
"who it was of whom He
spoke" (John 13:24), so John leaned back to ask.
Did the other disciples hear John’s question and Jesus’ answer
to him?
Most likely not, since
"some thought, because Judas had the money
box, that Jesus had said to him, 'Buy those things we need for the feast,'
or that he should give something to the poor." (John 13:29)
To whom did Jesus say, "What you do, do quickly"
(John 13:27)?
Since Satan had
"entered" (John 13:27) Judas, Judas was under Satan's
possession, so Jesus was speaking to Satan.
What does this mean?
Jesus wasn't killed by Satan but used Satan's attack and Judas' betrayal to
affect His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus was in full control of everyone
involved in His crucifixion, down to their respective timing.
Then when did Judas betray Jesus?
The first time he stole from
"the money box". (John 12:6)
JOHN 13:31-38
31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said,
“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
32 If God is glorified in Him, God will
also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.
33 Little children, I shall be with you
a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews,
‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that
you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. 35 By this all will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where
are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow
Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” 37
Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down
my life for Your sake.” 38 Jesus
answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly,
I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three
times.
Why does He say “Now" the "Son
of Man is glorified, and God is glorified
in Him" (John 13:31)?
Since those who would arrest Him had been sent for, the trap had been sprung.
How much longer is "a little while longer"
in John 13:33?
Jesus would be on the cross within 12 hours.
How will people recognize Jesus' disciples?
By their
"love for one another." (John 13:35)
What is Peter saying by, "I will lay down my life
for Your sake" (John 13:37)?
That he is willing to die for Jesus.
Is is easier to die or to live for Jesus?
For those who will go to heaven upon death, dying actually may seem easier
than continuing to live in this sinful world. But until the One who laid His
life down for us calls us to heaven, we are to live for Him.