John 13 - Jon Courson's Application Commentary

Regardless of the fact that at this moment, as Luke tells us, His own disciples are bickering and arguing among themselves concerning who is the greatest, Jesus looks at His disciples and calls them His own. So, too, as Jesus’ followers, we are His own-His own sheep in John 10, His own brethren in Hebrews 2, His own bride in Ephesians 5, His own Body in 1 Corinthians 12. His ownership was creative in that He made us, elective in that He chose us, redemptive in that He died for us.

Jesus looked at this motley crew of ragtag renegades and loved them to the end, or, literally “unto the uttermost.” In other words, He loved them with no limit-even though He was aware of their past faltering.

“Let’s call down fire from heaven and kill everyone who doesn’t respond to You,” said James and John heatedly (see Luke 9:54).

“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” scoffed Nathanael skeptically (see John 1:46).

He was also aware of their future failings.

“Satan desires to sift you like wheat, Peter,” He would say. “But I have prayed for you, and when you come through, strengthen the brothers” (see Luke 22:31,32) .

He was also aware of their present flaws.

As they sat together in the Upper Room, Luke tells us the disciples were not sitting in ladder-backed chairs gazing piously at Jesus. No, they were reclined around a low table, arguing among themselves about who was the greatest (Luke 22:24).

Not only was there arguing around the table, but stinking feet underneath the table. You see, it was customary for a servant to wash the dust off the feet of anyone who entered the home of his master. In this case, however, no one humbled himself to wash feet, so everyone’s feet remained dirty.

Past faltering, present failure, future flaws, and stinking feet notwithstanding, Jesus saw His disciples not only in their present vulnerabilities but also in their eventual victory-and loved them to the uttermost.

Jesus looked at His bickering, stinky disciples and loved them because He knew from whence He came and where He was headed. Both are absolute prerequisites for love. You see, only faith concerning the past and hope concerning the future allow one to genuinely love in the present.

Just as Jesus rose from the Last Supper, He rose, in eternity past, from the banquet that He enjoyed with the Father and Spirit continually to willingly take upon Himself the form of a Man. It wasn’t that a committee of three-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost-voted who would go, and Jesus lost two to one. No, in the council of eternity past, the Son said, “I choose to leave the intimacy of this heavenly banquet to invade the time/space continuum in order to redeem mankind” (see Philippians 2:7,8) .

Just as Jesus laid aside His earthly garments, Philippians 2 says He laid aside His garments of glory to come and dwell among us. When you grasp this vital concept, your reading of the Gospels will take on an entirely new dimension, for you will understand that the miracles Jesus did-the walking on water, the multiplying of the loaves and fishes, the quieting of the storm-were all done not because of any innate power, but simply because of His dependence upon the Father.

Just as Jesus wrapped Himself in a towel, so He wrapped His divinity in human flesh. He was still God, totally God, always God-yet wrapped in the towel of humanity. One commentator points out that the word “towel” used here refers to a linen towel. Linen speaking of righteousness, the picture is perfect. Jesus wraps Himself in the righteous towel of human flesh, for He was like us-yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Water speaks of the Word. “You are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you,” said Jesus (see John 15:3). We are washed, says Paul, by the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26). So, wrapped in the towel of human frailty, Jesus pours out His Word to us. He tells us who God is. He tells us how to live. He becomes flesh and dwells among us.

This model is not a picture of salvation, but of sanctification; not of conversion, but of confession (1 John 1:9). As I walk through this world, I get dirty feet. And here’s Jesus, who not only pours out the truth of purity, but then makes application for you and me as He washes us continually.

Just as He dried the disciples’ feet, what’s Jesus doing at this moment? He is interceding for us. And He’s going to complete the job. He’ll not leave us all wet. He’ll dry our feet. He’ll see us through (Philippians 1:6).

The washing of feet being the job of a slave, Peter couldn’t understand why Jesus would do this. Yet instead of saying, “Peter, this is a beautiful type or model of Philippians 2, ” Jesus simply said, “Peter, you’re not going to understand what I’m doing now-but later you will.” Did Peter? Yes, for in 1 Peter 5:5, it’s as if he draws upon this very scene as a picture of humility.

Is the Lord speaking to you right now about some area of obedience-some challenge, some adjustment in your life-but you’re saying, “I’m not going to do it until I can see how it’s going to work out”? Husband, are you saying, “I’m not going to stay with her until I see a change in her attitude”? Wife, are you saying, “I’m not going to submit to him until he proves himself”? Teenager, are you saying, “I’m not going to obey them until they make sense”? That’s backward. Revelation follows obedience.

“You don’t need a bath, Peter. You’re already clean. You see, it’s just your feet that need washing.” This speaks of communion with Jesus on a daily basis. If I walk in pollution and don’t allow cleansing to take place in my life, I will experience a separation from Him. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,” declares the psalmist (Psalm 66:18). It’s not about losing salvation-it’s about losing intimacy. In Exodus 30, we see the Old Testament illustration of this New Testament principle.…

When a priest was first called, he was washed from head to toe in a ceremonial bathing equivalent to our baptism. From that point on, although he never again needed a head-to-toe cleansing, before entering the tabernacle, he would wash his hands and feet in the laver that stood in the tabernacle courtyard. Otherwise, although he would still be a priest, although he would still be a son of Aaron, he wouldn’t be allowed access to the Tabernacle and would therefore be hindered in his ability to minister and receive blessing.

So, too, as the priests needed a continual cleansing of their hands and feet, we need a continual cleansing of our hearts through confession (1 John 1:9). The word translated “confess” in Scripture is homologeo, or, “speak the same.” Confession is not promising never to sin again, but rather saying, “Father, Your Word is right. That’s sin, and I confess it as such. Have mercy upon me. Lord, deal with me.”

Considering the fact that the blood of Jesus has already been shed and that the work of the Cross is fully completed, why is confession so important? I suggest three reasons.…

“If you don’t let Me wash your feet, I have no part with you,” Jesus said. “You don’t need to be baptized again. You don’t need to be saved again. You don’t need a bath, Peter. You just need your feet washed.” And so do we.

“Do you understand the example I have set for you?” Jesus asks His disciples-for it would only be in understanding what He had done for them that they would be able to do the same for others.

In the Gospels, the disciples call Jesus “Lord” and “Master,” but never “Jesus.” When describing Him, the Gospel writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write “Jesus”-but in addressing Him, it is always as “Lord” or “Master.” Am I suggesting we should not call the Lord “Jesus”? No, because as in the Book of Acts, these same apostles refer to Him as Jesus because, having been born again after Jesus died for them, rose again, and set His Holy Spirit within them, they are now the bride of Christ. The relationship has changed. Therefore, I personally feel at perfect liberty to call my Lord and Master Jesus because I, too, am His bride.

“Master,” or didaskalos, refers to a teacher-a fitting title for the One who is the Truth (John 14:6).

Why humble myself and wash feet? Because after humiliation comes exaltation (Philippians 2:8,9) . Tired of being in the pits? Want to be lifted up to a higher plane? Want to experience joy on a level you’ve never known before and happiness in a dimension you’ve never understood? The key is humility. Just as the branch that bears the most fruit bows the lowest, the one who’s really fruitful in the things of Jesus Christ will bow the lowest to serve others.

Either Jesus is telling the truth when He says we’ll be happy if we follow His example and love as He loved, or He is lying. I have found Jesus to be true in everything He’s ever said-absolutely, completely, totally true. And here He’s saying the way to happiness lies not in agreeing with what He’s told us to do, not in taking notes on what He’s told us to do, but in doing what He’s told us to do. Next time you feel depressed or distressed, discouraged or despondent; next time you feel like throwing in the towel, do what Jesus did instead. Grab the towel, find some dirty feet to wash, and experience the happiness He promised.

For topical study of John 13:1-17 see “Washing Feet”.

Explaining that there was one in their midst who needed more than just his feet washed, Jesus quotes Psalm 41:9, where the reference is to David’s betrayal by a man named Ahithophel. You recall the story. When David’s son, Absalom, launched a rebellion against him, Ahithophel, David’s key advisor, defected and joined Absalom. “He who ate bread with me-the guy who sat at my table, the one who shared with me-has kicked me,” a crushed David lamented. What happened to David, though, was simply a picture of what would happen to the Son of David, Jesus Christ, as Jesus would be betrayed by one who ate bread with Him, one who traveled alongside of Him, one who had his feet washed by Him. And Ahithophel was a picture of what would happen to Judas, for, like Judas, he too eventually hanged himself because of guilt (2 Samuel 17:23).

There is another who was guilty of betrayal. Peter denied Jesus, but he didn’t end up hanging from the limb of a tree because he looked to the One who hung on the tree of Calvary in his place. Every one of us has a choice to make, for you and I are Peter, Judas, and Ahithophel. We have all sinned. The only question is, are we going to get hung up and say, “I’m going to end it all”-or are we going to look to Him who hung on the tree and say, “Thank You for dying in my place”?

“Don’t be blown away by what’s about to happen,” says Jesus. “I’m sending you out that others might hear about and receive Me.”

Each disciple suspected himself before he ever suspected Judas (Matthew 26:22).

As was customary, the disciples were reclining around a U-shaped table, propping themselves up on one arm while eating with the other.

As Karl Barth-the father of neo-Orthodoxy, a prolific writer, a man of great intellect-got older, his faith got simpler, and I believe, deeper. Toward the end of his life, he was asked to state the most profound truth he knew. He replied by repeating the words of a well-known child’s song, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The more I know Jesus, the more I love Him. But the more I know me, the more amazed I am that Jesus loves me. I believe it’s in this spirit of amazement that John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved.

Whatever your question, the best place to get it answered is at the breast of Jesus Christ. “That may sound good poetically,” you say, “but how does it translate practically?” I believe you are nearest His heart when you’re at His table. That’s where John was. I know of no finer place to feel the love of Jesus Christ and to experience oneness with Him than at the table of Communion. I have found I hear the heart of the Lord at His table in a way I do nowhere else.

John being seated to the right of Jesus, Judas was seated to His left-the customary place of honor. So amazing is Jesus that even at the very end, He showed His love for Judas by giving him a place of honor at His table, still offering Judas opportunity to come to Him.

Even though Jesus identified Judas with the sop-a piece of bread dipped in sauce-the other disciples still didn’t realize the one who would betray Him was Judas. Why? Perhaps they didn’t hear Jesus speak this word to John. Or perhaps they couldn’t put it together, for, evidently, Judas, their treasurer, was the last one they suspected.

The rest of the disciples thought Jesus was merely sending Judas on an errand.

It was night when Judas left to betray Jesus. And Judas’ soul would itself become increasingly darker.

Even though it was dark, Jesus said to His disciples, “This is the hour of glory. I’m going to be leaving, and where I’m going, you can’t come now. So in the meantime, I’m giving you a new commandment to love one another.” A new commandment? Doesn’t it say way back in Leviticus that we are to love God and that we are to love our neighbor? Isn’t that the message, really, of the Scriptures in their entirety? Hadn’t Jesus Himself said that upon these two commandments-to love God and to love people-hang all the aw and the prophets? What does He mean a new commandment?

Look carefully at what Jesus is saying because it’s radical. Yes, the Old Testament is filled with commandments and exhortations to love. But Jesus here makes everything new when He says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” How did Jesus love them? How does Jesus love us? That’s what’s new. Paul tells us how He loves us when he writes, “Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

The newness, the unfolding, the fullness of this new commandment is that we are to love in a way that costs us your life-not just loving generally, but loving sacrificially to the place of death. You see, biblically there is never true reconciliation apart from someone or something dying. In the Old Testament, reconciliation was impossible without the sacrifice of an animal. In the New Testament, we see Old Testament typology become reality with the death of the innocent Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. There will never be true reconciliation between you and the person with whom you’re angry or from whom you’re estranged until you say, “I’m not going to grind my ax any longer. I’m not going to press my point any further. I’m not going to prove I’m right anymore. I’m just going to die.” The question is, will you?

“But I’m innocent,” you say.

So was Jesus.

“But I’m right.”

Wasn’t He?

The commandment He gave us is to die-to our pride, our complaints, our position, our proof. “What if I die?” you ask. “Does laying down my life and giving up my rights guarantee reconciliation?”

Was everyone reconciled to Jesus? No. Not everyone is born again. Not everyone says, “Thank You, Lord, for laying down Your life for me.” When you love like Jesus, some will respond and there will be reconciliation. Others, however, will continue to spit and curse and mock-even as they did to Jesus as He was in the very act of dying for their sins. But if we are to love as Jesus loved, like Him, we’ll pray, “Father, forgive them. They just don’t know what they’re doing.”

“By this kind of love shall all men know you are My disciples,” said Jesus, “-when you love like I do-when you love to the point of death.”

Peter wanted to get back to Jesus’ earlier statement in which He said He was going somewhere no one else could come (verse 33).

“You can count on me, Lord,” insisted Peter. “I’ll die for You if necessary.”

“Peter I know what you’re about to go through,” said Jesus. “I know the failure that will haunt you. But read ahead to chapter 14. Let not your heart be troubled, Peter. Why? You’re going to heaven!”