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The Passion and the Resurrection · John 13

The Last Supper

Before the Feast of the Passover, knowing that his hour had come, Jesus “loved them unto the end.” During supper, he gets up from the table, wraps a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and begins to wash his disciples’ feet. Peter protests: “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answers: “If I wash you not, you have no part with me.” He leaves them this example: wash one another’s feet. Then, troubled in spirit, he announces: “One of you shall betray me.” He gives the dipped morsel to Judas Iscariot, who goes out immediately. “And it was night.” Jesus then gives a new commandment: “Love one another; as I have loved you.” He also predicts that Peter will deny him three times. It is during this meal that he institutes the Lord’s Supper: “This is my body…” (Luke 22:19-20).

What happens

  1. Jesus wraps a towel around his waist and washes the disciples’ feet John 13:4–5
  2. Peter refuses, then asks to be washed all over John 13:8–9
  3. “I have given you an example” John 13:14–15
  4. “One of you shall betray me” John 13:21
  5. Judas takes the morsel and goes out: “And it was night” John 13:27–30
  6. The new commandment: “Love one another” John 13:34–35

Who is in this story

The lesson

Jesus, the Lord and Master, made himself a servant. This is how a disciple is recognized: by serving humbly and loving others as Christ has loved us (13:35).

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34–35

Quick quiz on this story

What does Jesus do for his disciples during supper?

What “new commandment” does Jesus give that night?

How does Jesus point out the one who will betray him?

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