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New Testament Interpretation: Exegesis of John 13:1-17 The Washing of the Disciples� Feet By Jesus Alvin D. Shaul New Testament Interpretation Dr. George Lyons 15 April 2005 Major Translations Used: New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update New Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version The New International Version Today�s English Version The New Living Translation The Message Also Drawn From: Nestle-Aland 27th Edition Greek New Testament With McReynolds English Interlinear Personal translation of the Greek text Resources: International Critical Commentary, Word Biblical Commentary, New Interpreter�s Bible, Sacra Paginas Paraphrase: It was just before the time for the party to celebrate the Holy Spirit�s pass over the Hebrews during the time of Moses and Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave earth and go to his father in heaven. He loved everybody right up to this time. Satan, the one who tricks people into doing bad things, had already tricked Judas into giving Jesus over to the police. And so while they were eating, Jesus, knowing that his father told him he could do whatever he wanted, and that since he had come from his father, so he should now go back to his father, stood up and took off most of his clothes. He then wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a bucket and began to wash his friend�s feet and then dry them with the towel. When he got to Peter, Peter asked him, �Lord! You�re going to wash my feet?� So Jesus told him that he [Peter] didn�t understand what He [Jesus] was doing now, but that Peter would understand later. But Peter told him to stop and that Jesus could never wash his feet. But Jesus told him that he had to wash him or Peter could not be his friend anymore. Peter said to him, �Well, if you�re going to wash my feet, you might as well wash my hand and my head as well so I�m completely clean.� But Jesus said, �You�ve had a bath already, the rest of your body is already clean. But your feet become dirty as soon as you get out. So you (plural) are all clean, but not completely, because your feet are still dirty. Jesus said this because He knew that Judas was going to turn him in. After Jesus had washed all his friend�s feet he put his clothes back on and went back to the table. His friends didn�t really know why Jesus had decided to wash their feet. So Jesus told them, �You are right in calling me Teacher and Lord, because I am just that. Since I am your teacher, you should do as I have done for you and go and wash your other friend�s feet, and even the feet of those whom you don�t know yet. Follow my example. Jesus told them that no one who serves someone else can be greater that them, otherwise he wouldn�t be serving them, nor would someone volunteer to be sent by someone if he were greater than the one who sent him. This is as true as it gets. Since you know these things, you will now be extremely happy and fortunate when you do them. Contextual Outline of John 13:1-17 The Knowledge Of Christ Just before the Passover (1) Jesus knows his time has come to depart from earth (1) Jesus loves his own, now and forever (1) Jesus knows Judas has already been deceived (2, 11) Jesus knows he has been given power to do as he wishes, and so (3) He prepares to wash His desciples� feet. (4) The Washing: Jesus pours the water into a basin (5) Washes his desciples� feet with his hands, most likely, and uses the towel only to dry. (5) Jesus reaches Peter and Peter asks him if he is to wash his feet (6) Jesus informs Peter of his ignorance of this action (7) Peter refuses to be cleaned.(8) Jesus refuses to be in part with Peter if Peter does not let Him wash Peter�s feet. (8) Peter then pleads to have his hands and head washed as well. (9) Jesus informs Peter that the bathed person need only have his feet cleaned (10) Not all the desciples are �clean� (10) Jesus knows Judas has been deceived and will betray him (2,11) Jesus redresses and returns to his place at the table. (12) The Explanation: Jesus asked the rhetorical question �do you know what I have done for you� (12) Jesus affirms his �Teacher� and �Lord� status. (13) Jesus informs his desciples that His actions should be duplicated by them for each other (14-15). A slave is not greater than his master One who is sent is not greater than his sender. Blessing are in store for those who follow Jesus� commands. Structural Outline of John 13:1-17 1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come For him to leave this world And To go to the Father Having loved his own Who are in the world He now showed them the full extent of His love. 2 The evening meal was being served, And The devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot Son of Simon, To betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that The father had put all things under his power And That he had come from God And Was returning to God; 4 So he got up from the meal Took off his outer clothing, And Wrapped a towel around his waist *(cont. below) 5 *After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash his desciples� feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter who said to him, �Lord, are you going to wash my feet?� 7 Jesus replied �You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand� 8 �No,� Replied Peter �you shall never wash my feet� Jesus answered �Unless I was 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!� 10 Jesus answered response �A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean and You (plural) are clean, though Not completely 11 For He knew who was going to betray Him, And That was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When 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� And �Lord� and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, Your Lord And Teacher Have washed your feet, You also should wash one another�s feet. 15 I have set you an example that You should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth No servant is greater than his master Nor Is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed If you do them. B. Significant Words Worthy of Further Study Verse WORDS 1 Passover Hour His own 2 devil Judas of Simon Iscariot 3 Knowing Hands 4 girded 7 Realize now Understand hereafter 8 No part with me 9 Hands Head 10 You are clean But not all 11 betraying All of you 13 Teacher Lord 15 example 16 Slave/master One.sent/one.who.sent 17 These things Blessed Chosen Word Study: Passover, verse 1: ????? Passover is a Jewish festival which is celebrated on the 14th of the month of Nisan and continues into the morning hours of the 15th. Immediately following is the Feast of Unleavened Bread from the 15th to the 21st. The two were popularly merged and treated as one because they were for practical purposes (Bauer 633). The Passover meal itself is distinct from regular meals because it began soon after sunset and went well into the night. The meal was traditionally eaten in Jerusalem and was accompanied by a liturgy including a Passover prayer and the reciting of the Hallel (Ps.113-118). There is much debate as to whether the Last Supper was a Passover because the Synoptic Gospels say it was while John places it a day or two before Passover (Kittel 899-900). The history of the Passover is broad. It derives from the nomadic days of Israel. A young lamb or goat was killed and its blood sprinkled over the entrance to the tent and later over the doorposts. The flesh of the animal was eaten during the feast that night. It was only in Canaan that this feast merge with the Mazzot feast. The killing and eating of the lamb or goat in Jerusalem began after the cultic reforms of Josiah in 621 B.C. At this time the sprinkling of the blood was done on the altar of burnt offering instead of over the doorpost. The tradition slowly spread outside Jerusalem and immersed itself in neighboring areas even in the pre-Christian period. Moses established the Passover feast as a permanent institution, showing his faith �that God would spare the firstborn of Israel for the sake of the paschal blood� (Kittel 898). ????? appears 9 times in John, seven times in Luke, four times in Matthew and Mark, and once in Acts, 1 Corinthians and Hebrews (Thayer and Smith). EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS Verse 1: The time period is set, yet not exactly specific: �before the time of the Passover�. ??? has no specific relation to �just before�. It simply means before. The time period could be anywhere from a week to a few minutes. For notes on the Passover, see the word study above. The next phrase uses the word ???, meaning �hour�. This must be interpreted figuratively because Christ�s ascension would not happen that very hour. Instead, a translation of �time� is much more helpful since time has no specific boundaries. It must be inferred that Christ is going to heaven since John only speaks of Jesus �going to his father�. �His own� includes all of humanity. Translations which render �loved those who loved him� are inaccurate. The point is that Christ loves everyone, and now he is going to show them how much he loves them through his death. John Calvin argued that �his own� was actually referring only to the Apostles (54). This is much to narrow of an approach in my opinion. This type of terminology contributes greatly to Calvin�s theology of predestination, to which I am also apposed. The International Critical Commentary defines �his own� as �his own intimate friends and disciples�his own people, the Jews� (454). This is an acceptable translation and probably a correct one. I choose, however, to believe that John was speaking in relation to Christ�s humanity. Verse 2: Maloney cites and agrees with Delebecque that ?????????? ??? ??? ??????? should be translated as �to make up one�s mind� in reference to the devil, not Judas (378). I don�t understand this at all, first because ??????? means �heart�, not �mind.� Second, the main characteristics and names for the devil are �slanderer� and �deceiver�. The translation that the devil made up his own mind that Judas would betray Jesus does not fit his being as a deceiver. A deceiver changes someone else�s motives. My belief here, in fact, is strongly affirmed by the words of Alford referring such a theory as �wholly unworthy of a scholar and simply absurd� (Lange 407). In this case, I believe an accurate translation to be �the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him,� as the NRSV suggests. Interestingly enough, only Luke and John ascribe Judas� deception as from the devil (Bernard 456). Calvin, while interpreting the beginning of the verse incorrectly as �after supper� continues to point out the very excellent point that Jesus washed all the desciples� feet, including Judas� even after knowing that Judas would betray him. Even to the evilest of all people, Christ is a servant and merciful (54-55). Verse 3: Works Cited Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. 1996, c1979. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature: A translation and adaptation of the fourth revised and augmented edition of Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Worterbuch zu den Schrift en des Neuen Testaments und der ubrigen urchristlichen Literatur. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. Bernard, Archbishop J.H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John. Vol. 2. The International Critical Commentary. Ed. Rev. A. H. McNeile. T. &T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1953 Calvin, John. Commentary on the Gospel According John. Vol. 2 Calvin�s Commentaries, Vol.18. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Moloney, Francis J. The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina. Ed. Daniel J. Harrington. Vol. 4. 1998, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Skinner, John. The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of Old and New Testaments: Genesis. Great Britain: Morrison and Gibb, 1951. . Thayer and Smith. "Greek Lexicon entry for Pascha". "The New Testament Greek Lexicon". <http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=3957>. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vol. 5 ed. Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed. . Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, Michigan. |