13. Ye call me Master—Teacher. and Lord—learning of Him in the one capacity, obeying Him in the other. and ye say well, for so I am—The conscious dignity with which this claim is made is remarkable, following immediately on His laying aside the towel of service. Yet what is this whole history but a succession of such astonishing contrast from first to last? read more
14. If I then—the Lord. have washed your feet—the servants'. ye—but fellow servants. ought to wash one another's feet—not in the narrow sense of a literal washing, profanely caricatured by popes and emperors, but by the very humblest real services one to another. read more
12-15. Know ye what I have done?—that is, its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer. read more
16, 17. The servant is not greater than his lord, &c.—an oft-repeated saying ( :-, &c.). If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them—a hint that even among real Christians the doing of such things would come lamentably short of the knowing. read more
1. Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet 13:1-20Jesus began His farewell address (cf. Moses, Deuteronomy 31-33; Joshua, Joshua 23-24; Paul, Acts 20) with an object lesson. read more
A. The Last Supper 13:1-30Jesus concluded each of His prolonged stays and ministries in a district with an important meal."At the first ’Supper,’ [i.e., the feeding of the 5,000, at the end of the Galilean ministry, mainly to Jews] the Jewish guests would fain have proclaimed Him Messiah-King; at the second [i.e., the feeding of the 4,000, at the end of the Decapolis ministry, mainly to Gentiles], as ’the Son of Man,’ He gave food to those Gentile multitudes which having been with Him those... read more
The explanation of foot-washing 13:12-20 read more
"Teacher" translates the Hebrew "Rabbi" (Gr. didaskalos) and "Lord," the Aramaic "Mari" (Gr. kyrios). The title "Lord" took on deeper meaning after the Resurrection as Christians began to understand better who Jesus is (cf. John 20:28; Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-11). Both titles were respectful and acknowledged Jesus’ superiority over His disciples. read more
Jesus had given the Twelve a lesson in humble service of one another. Specifically He took a lower role than theirs for their welfare. Similarly Jesus’ disciples should willingly and happily put meeting the needs of others before maintaining their own prestige (cf. Philippians 2:1-11)."The world asks, ’How many people work for you?’ but the Lord asks, ’For how many people do you work?’" [Note: Wiersbe, 1:347.] Some Christians believe that Jesus’ command here is binding on the church in a... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 13:15
John 13:15. For I have given you an example,— "I have set you a pattern of humility, to recommend that indispensably necessary grace to you:" and it must be acknowledged, that nothing shews us more effectually the necessity of this grace, than its being recommended to us by so high an example—a recommendation, which in the present circumstances was peculiarly seasonable; for the disciples having heard Jesus say, that the kingdom of God was at hand, (Luke 22:18.) their minds were so fired with... read more