John 13:1–30

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13It was just before the Passover Festival.^v Jesus knew that the hour had come^w for him to leave this world and go to the Father.^x Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

²The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.^{y 3}Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,^z and that he had come from God^a and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.^{b 5}After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,^c drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”^d

⁸“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,^e though not every one of you.”^{f 11}For he knew who was going to betray him,^g and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’^h and ‘Lord,’ⁱ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.^{j 15}I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.^{k 16}Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,^l nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.^m

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

¹⁸“I am not referring to all of you;ⁿ I know those I have chosen.^o But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture:^p ‘He who shared my bread^q has turned^ar against me.’^bs

¹⁹“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe^t that I am who I am.^{u 20}Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”^v

²¹After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit^w and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”^x

²²His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,^y was reclining next to him. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”^z

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas,^a the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.^b

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Since Judas had charge of the money,^c some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival,^d or to give something to the poor.^{e 30}As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.^f