13:1 Passover See note on 2:13.

depart This term means to go from one place to another. Jesus prophesied His resurrection and, by extension, His ascension to heaven in 12:27–34.

from this world Jesus’ work continues; His coming suffering and death is not the end, but the beginning. Although He is troubled by His coming death (12:27), He wants His disciples to have confidence in their knowledge that His death does not mark the end of His ministry.

13:2 devil Refers to the enemy of God’s people, the tempter and oppressor (Matt 4:5; 13:39; Acts 10:38; see note on Heb 2:14; compare 1 Tim 3:6–7). Jesus has known all along that Judas was (or would be) influenced by the devil to betray Him (John 6:70). In this moment, when facing Judas, Jesus is not encountering a mere demon; He is facing the one He has called the “murderer from the beginning” of time (8:44).

13:3 given him all things Here, John tells the reader that Jesus is not acting as an ordinary person; He is acting as the Son of God—to whom the entire kingdom has been given. This makes His sacrifice all the more profound.

come forth from God John is clear: Jesus came from God the Father and deserves to reign because all things have been given to Him by the Creator (Gen 1:1; John 1:1). Jesus knows His identity in God, yet He will choose to die because of God’s love for people (3:16).

13:4 his outer clothing First-century Jews typically wore two layers—an outside robe and an inside robe against their skin. Here, Jesus takes off his outside robe either because He doesn’t want to get it wet or, more likely, to demonstrate His vulnerability to His disciples, which suggests that love requires a person to be vulnerable. Jesus then ties a towel around his waist, likely to use if for wiping the disciples’ feet.

13:5 wash the feet This is an act that only slaves performed. When the master of a wealthy household returned from a journey or, at times, a day of labor, a slave would wash his feet. People wore open-toed sandals in the first century, which would have made this an unpleasant task.

13:6 Lord The Greek term used here, kyrios, means “ruler” or “master.” In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, commonly used by early Christians), kyrios is used in place of the divine name, Yahweh.

13:7 after these things Not until Jesus dies and is resurrected will His disciples fully understand His mission and role in the world.

13:9 my hands Symbolizes people’s decisions and their sins against other people and, by extension, against God.

my head Represents people’s thoughts and the sins they commit in their minds.

13:10 who has bathed Jesus is using this imagery metaphorically, implying that He is the water and His work in the believers is the cleansing (see 15:3).

completely clean Cleansing rituals were part of everyday life for Jews of the first century. Jesus suggests that His work in the believer eliminates the need for repetitive cleansing.

but not all Jesus references Judas, who has chosen to reject Him. Even someone who has spent much time in the very presence of Jesus and been witness to His work, like Judas, must still make a decision about whether to accept Him.

13:13 Teacher Jesus leads by example; by affirming this title here, He instructs the disciples to follow His example as they have already committed to doing. He reminds them that even in difficult times or in situations they consider beneath them (see note on v. 5), they must follow Him. See note on 1:38.

I am Jesus is likely evoking God’s chosen way of identifying Himself in the ot—saying that He is Yahweh, the God of Israel and ruler of the universe. This parallels what John says about Jesus in 1:1–4 and what Jesus knows of His own identity, revealed in v. 3. See note on 4:26.

13:16 a slave Jesus is doing the work of a slave (see note on v. 5); He now suggests that His disciples do the same in service to others.

a messenger John the Baptist was God’s messenger about Jesus, and Jesus’ disciples will continue to be God’s messengers to the world (see note on John 1:23). Jesus wants them to understand their role in this service. They should be humbled by it in the sense that they are not equal to Him in any way and that He—the very Son of God to whom the universe belongs—will empower them for this work.

13:17 you are blessed God will help and honor those who follow Jesus.

13:18 whom I have chosen Jesus is referencing all of His disciples who are present, but not Judas.

13:20 receives the one who sent me Anyone who accepts and embraces the work of Jesus’ disciples embraces the work of God the Father.

13:21 troubled in spirit Jesus feels the weight of His imminent suffering and death.

13:23 one whom Jesus loved This is the first reference to this disciple (19:26–27; 20:2–9; 21:7, 20–25), who could be the Apostle John, Lazarus (based on 11:3, 36), or another follower of Jesus. The reference in 21:24 suggests that the disciple Jesus loved is the author of this Gospel. Since church tradition and the vocabulary of 1–3 John and Revelation connect this Gospel to the Apostle John, he likely is the disciple described here. He probably chose this ambiguous reference to downplay his own role in the story of Jesus.

13:25 leaned back accordingly against Jesus’ chest Refers to the position of the disciple Jesus loved—he is sitting in the normal reclining position for this sort of meal setup, probably sharing the same couch with Jesus. This position of honor probably lets him speak to Jesus without the other disciples overhearing.

13:27 Satan entered into him The Greek term satanas is used here instead of the word diabolos (“devil”; v. 2).

13:31 Son of Man Jesus understands that He must suffer in order for His role as the Son of Man to be fulfilled and for God to glorify Him. See note on Matt 8:20 (compare John 1:51 and note).

is glorified Because Jesus allowed God’s will to be done when presented with the option of stopping the person who would betray Him, God makes Jesus great.

13:33 Children A common way for a teacher to address disciples.

Where I am going you cannot come Jesus refers to His death and resurrection.

13:34 just as I have loved you Jesus inserts this phrase into the commandment from Lev 19:18. The new part of the commandment is that Jesus’ disciples are instructed to love other people the way Jesus loved them—serving them like a slave would, as He does in this scene, even to the point of laying down their lives for others.

13:35 everyone will know The indicator of a Christian is the way they treat others.

13:36 will follow later Peter won’t die with Jesus, but he will later die for his faith (according to church tradition). Jesus means that after Peter dies, he will follow Jesus into eternal life.

13:38 denied me three times Although Peter believes he is completely dedicated to following Jesus, he actually is not.