john-13:1

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - John 13:1

John THE LOVE OF THE DEPARTING CHRIST Joh_13:1 . The latter half of St. John’s Gospel, which begins with these words, is the Holy of Holies of the New Testament. Nowhere else do the blended lights of our Lord’s superhuman dignity and human tenderness shine with such lambent brightness. Nowhere else is His speech at once so simple and so deep. Nowhere else have we the heart of God so unveiled to us. On no other page, even of the Bible, have so many eyes, glistening with tears, looked and had... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - John 13:1-11

Jesus Glorifies Humble Service John 13:1-11 In the Temple the laver preceded the brazen altar. It was kept filled with pure water for the constant washing of the priests; Exodus 30:18-21 ; Leviticus 16:4 . We cannot have fellowship with Christ at Calvary or on Olivet unless we draw near with our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The Synoptic Gospels tell us that on their way to the feast the disciples had yielded to contention and pride. It was... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - John 13:1-38

For a time our Lord now devoted Himself to His own, and in this connection we have the account of His washing the disciples' feet. The whole action was Eastern, and was the action of a slave: By what He did and said our Lord intended to emphasize that the supreme action of God is service, and that fellowship with Him demands such action on the part of His followers. Then, in connection with the Pass over feast, Judas was excluded, and our Lord uttered the significant words, "Now is the Son of... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - John 13:1

PERFECT LOVE‘Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.’John 13:1The margin of the R.V. reads, ‘to the uttermost’: ‘He loved them to the uttermost.’ I. Great crises, whether of joy or sorrow, reveal character and disposition.—To-morrow Christ was to die. It was the evening hour, and oh! on what a morning was that setting sun to dawn! The time-table of his wondrous Life was before Him and He knew what was coming. But when the great crisis came it only revealed... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - John 13:1

separates what has gone before, the self-revelation of Jesus to the people over a period of two to three years or more, from what follows, His self-revelation to His diciples and His preparation for the establishment of the New Vine (John 15:1-6), the new Israel, which includes His death and resurrection, and takes place within a three day period. This latter takes up eight chapters. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are thus seen by John as pivotal, and as unique in that, having revealed... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - John 13:1-17

The Washing of the Feet: A Lesson in Humility (John 13:1-17 ). Two major lessons come out from this passage. The first is that of the example that Jesus was giving of true humility in love and service. He stressed that His disciples were similarly to behave as He has (John 13:13-17). The second is what is to be learned from His statement to Peter about the need for those who have already been bathed only to wash their feet. It was indicating that He was the source both of their initial... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - John 13:1-11

John 13. The Revelation to the Disciples. John 13:1-1 Kings : . The Agape and the Foot Washing.— According to Jn. the events of the Passion are the voluntary sacrifice of Love. He “ loved” His own to the end. At the meal which took place before the Passover, an intentional (?) correction of the earlier accounts, He gave them proof of the completeness of His love. Where the others record facts about the Eucharist, our author dwells on the origin of the “ Agape.” Christ’ s love is contrasted... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - John 13:1

That this was the fourth passover after that he entered upon his public ministry is out of doubt, and the last he ever celebrated. We have taken notice of this evangelist’s mention of the other three: but how long what follows was before the passover, which is here expressed by before the feast, is a great question: some will have it the day, others immediately before, as προ (the very same particle) is used. Luke 11:38, before dinner, and Luke 22:15, before I suffer. The resolution of it much... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - John 13:1-17

EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL NOTESJohn 13:1. Before the feast, etc.—Jesus came to Jerusalem steadfastly resolved to finish the work given Him to do (Luke 12:50, etc.). These words are not to be connected with either εἰδώς, or ἀγαπήσας. They “mark the date of the manifold exhibition of love, of the acts and discourses which follow immediately afterward” (Westcott). (As to the day, see note, pp. 371–373).) Knowing.—It was an hour He had been looking forward to (John 9:4; John 11:9). That He should... read more

William Nicoll

Sermon Bible Commentary - John 13:1

John 13:1 I. It was a test of love for His own that at the last Christ did not forget them in the agitation of His own departure. Would it have been a very strange thing, if alternately engrossed betwixt the solemn novelty of dying experience and the exciting prospect of a return to glory, His last hours had been spent in personal exercises of meditation and solitary prayer? But in efforts to console friends whom pain and fear and mortal wickedness oppressed, He almost forgot His own glorious... read more