John 13

Introduction

• By eliminating any reference to the Twelve, Jesus is continually with the Church.
• By not mentioning the Eucharist specifically, John makes the pint that Jesus’ entire life is communal.
• 14:31 and 18:1—Some scholars will say that we have two versions of the “Farewell Discourse.”
  a. The Paraclete is sent to guide the Church in remembering the things that Jesus said, thus these words are actually the words of the resurrected Jesus within the Church. This is a standard literary form for the last will and testament of Jesus as recorded by the Church (Kasemann, p. 59).
  b. It appears that John has inserted eucharistic language within the feeding of chapter 6 to highlight the communal nature of the Christian community and to emphasize that the Eucharist is not a one-time event.
  c. John does not include an account of the Ascension because Jesus is still with the Church, directing its mission and fellowshipping with us.
  d. It is not that John contradicts the other Gospels but that the Enlightenment taught us how to argue the validity of Scripture.
  i. Luke says that he gave us an “orderly account,” although it does have a theological purpose.
  ii. John gives us an orderly account, only with a different theological purpose.

John 13:1-11

• 13:1; cf., 18:28—John’s Passover appears to be a day early.
  a. 1:29—John wants Jesus to die on the Day of Preparation.
  b. 13:23—Beasley-Murray says the Essenes used a different calendar than the mainline Jews. He also says that it was uncommon during evening meals to recline, although it was mandatory for formal meals such as the Passover (p. 327-328).
• 13:2—Jesus is now in a confined space where evil is present (Brown, 1970, p. 563-564).
  a. 13:3—This is similar imagery to the Good Shepherd laying down His life for His sheep.
  b. 13:5—This was a menial task for the lowest servant in the household.
  c. Cullmann sees liturgical connections to the use of water and the Passover celebration (1978, p. 30-32).
  d. Michael Weed (AGST) sees this cleansing as a reference to the redemptive nature of the Cross.
  e. Continuous bragging about one’s self is a sure sign of insecurity. Jesus, however, feels no threat to Himself (cf., 1 Peter 2:23).
  f. 13:10—Some churches look at this proverb for the cleansing nature of baptism and the saving nature of confession.

John 13:12-20

• 13:12-17—This is a word not only to the original disciples but also to the Church.
  a. This is still practiced by those denominations that celebrate Easter liturgically.
  b. 13:17; cf., 1 John 2:18-23; 2 John 7-9—Could this be a defense against incipient Gnosticism or Docetism?
• 13:18—The phrase “to life the heel” means “to strike a low blow.”
  a. Jesus washed Judas’ feet. Love is not based on worthiness, but on need.
  b. The disciples are more concerned with what they are not going to do than with what Jesus was going through.
• 13:20—The disciples will be required to represent the story of Jesus in their lives (Morris, p. 553-554).

John 13:21-30

• The most self-expending and glorious action of Jesus is the Cross. It is here that the Church says, “There is a God!”
• 13:21—The humanity of Jesus comes through.
  a. 13:22—This is a ominous note that they are not prepared for.
  b. 13:23—The author makes himself know.
• 13:26—The incident will occur after the bread (psomion) of the Eucharist is given to Judas (Brown, 1970, p. 575; Morris, p. 557).
• 13:29—This is another reference to this event being before Passover.
• 13:30—Notice that the time of day is mentioned.
  a. This is another piece of Filson’s puzzle for Lazarus being the Gospel’s author.
  b. 1 Corinthians 11:23-31—One of Paul’s traditions is that the betrayer was one of us, thus we should examine ourselves.

John 13:31-38

• 13:31—This glorifies God because Jesus’ being lifted up on the Cross will draw all men to Him.
• 13:33—This is the hero image of ancient literature (Talbert, p. 207-209).
  a. 13:34—However, this is not a new command.
  b. Leviticus 19:18—This was the original social command for God’s people.
  c. This command is founded on a new act within a new order.
  i. Grace was seen in the Prologue to the Decalogue, however now it will take a new form through the revelation of the Cross, what Sittler calls “the shape of the engendering deed” (p. 24-26).
  ii. This is not about raising the bar, but about the new life we receive through the Paraclete, something the previous exodus did not offer.
  d. “Love one another” is the symbol of God’s nature. It is an action, not a feeling!
  i. Perhaps is was a problem in the Johannine community.
  ii. It is best represented in a community that reciprocates that love (Holladay, p. 90).
• 13:36-38—This is not bravado on Peter’s part, only dedication, although he “was not really ready” (Morris, p. 564).

References

G. R. Beasley-Murray, John, Word Biblical Commentary 36 (Waco, TX: Word, 1987).

Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI, Anchor Bible 29a (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970).

Oscar Cullmann, Early Christian Worship, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978).

Tom Holladay, The Relationship Principles of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).

Ernest Kasemann, The Testament of Jesus: A Study of the Gospel of John in Light of Chapter 17, trans. Gerhard Krodel (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968).

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev. ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

Joseph Sittler, The Structure of Christian Ethics (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1958).

Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, rev. ed., Reading the New Testament (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2005).