John 13–17

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now showed them how much he really loved them.

²The evening meal was being served. The devil had already tempted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. He had told Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God.

⁴So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter.

“Lord,” Peter said to him, “are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”

⁸“No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with me.”

⁹“Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”

¹⁰Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs to wash only his feet. The rest of his body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.”

¹¹Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.

¹²When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. ¹⁴I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.

¹⁶“What I’m about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. ¹⁷Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Tells What Judas Will Do

¹⁸“I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this will happen so that Scripture will come true. It says, ‘The one who shares my bread has deserted me.’

¹⁹“I am telling you now, before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe that I am he. ²⁰What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who accepts someone I send accepts me. And anyone who accepts me accepts the One who sent me.”

²¹After he had said this, Jesus’ spirit was troubled. Here is the witness he gave. “What I’m about to tell you is true,” he said. “One of you is going to hand me over to my enemies.”

²²His disciples stared at one another. They had no idea which one of them he meant. ²³The disciple Jesus loved was next to him at the table. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to that disciple. He said, “Ask Jesus which one he means.”

²⁵The disciple was leaning back against Jesus. He asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one I will give this piece of bread to. I will give it to him after I have dipped it in the dish.”

He dipped the piece of bread. Then he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

“Do quickly what you are going to do,” Jesus told him.

²⁸But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Judas was in charge of the money. So some of the disciples thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast. Others thought Jesus was talking about giving something to poor people.

³⁰As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Jesus Says That Peter Will Fail

³¹After Judas was gone, Jesus spoke. He said, “Now the Son of Man receives glory. And he brings glory to God. ³²If the Son brings glory to God, God himself will bring glory to the Son. God will do it at once.

³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. Just as I told the Jews, so I am telling you now. You can’t come where I am going.

³⁴“I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. ³⁵If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.”

³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going you can’t follow now. But you will follow me later.”

³⁷“Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will give my life for you.”

³⁸Then Jesus answered, “Will you really give your life for me? What I’m about to tell you is true. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me!

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust in me also.

²“There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If this were not true, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³If I go and do that, I will come back. And I will take you to be with me. Then you will also be where I am.

⁴“You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus Is the Way to the Father

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really knew me, you would know my Father also. From now on, you do know him. And you have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip? I have been among you such a long time! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

¹⁰“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father? Don’t you believe that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. The Father lives in me. He is the One who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say I am in the Father. Also believe that the Father is in me. Or at least believe what the miracles show about me.

¹²“What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. In fact, he will do even greater things. That is because I am going to the Father.

¹³“And I will do anything you ask in my name. Then the Son will bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name. I will do it.

The Father Will Send the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶I will ask the Father. And he will give you another Friend to help you and to be with you forever. ¹⁷The Friend is the Spirit of truth. The world can’t accept him. That is because the world does not see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸“I will not leave you like children who don’t have parents. I will come to you.

¹⁹“Before long, the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father. You will know that you are in me, and I am in you.

²¹“Anyone who has my commands and obeys them loves me. My Father will love the one who loves me. I too will love him. And I will show myself to him.”

²²Then Judas spoke. “Lord,” he said, “why do you plan to show yourself only to us? Why not also to the world?” The Judas who spoke those words was not Judas Iscariot.

²³Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love him. We will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. The words you hear me say are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵“I have spoken all these things while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you.

²⁷“I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid.

²⁸“You heard me say, ‘I am going away. And I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad I am going to the Father. The Father is greater than I am. ²⁹I have told you now before it happens. Then when it does happen, you will believe.

³⁰“I will not speak with you much longer. The prince of this world is coming. He has no power over me. ³¹But the world must learn that I love the Father. They must also learn that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me to do.

“Come now. Let us leave.

The Vine and the Branches

15“I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit.

³“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain joined to me, and I will remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.

⁵“I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me. ⁶If anyone does not remain joined to me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned.

⁷“If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you. ⁸When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.

⁹“Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy will be in you. I also want your joy to be complete.

¹²“Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command.

¹⁵“I do not call you servants anymore. Servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have…