It is important to correct some misunderstandings that have arisen over the years concerning the ‘Last Supper’ and the Passover meal. Note the first phrases of John 13:1 - ‘It was just before the Passover Festival . . And John 13:2 - The evening meal was in progress,’
Later on we will read John 18:28 ‘Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.’
And John 19:31 ‘Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.’
Passover always fell on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which started on 15th Nisan regardless of what day of the week that was. But the festival had to start and end with a Sabbath. These were then simply imposed on a normal week so unless the 15th happened to be a Saturday, the feast had three Sabbaths, one normal weekly one and the two ‘special’ festival Sabbaths.
Looking at the events of the week (see ‘Easter’ study) it seems likely that the last supper was on Wednesday evening. The crucifixion then took place on ‘Preparation Day’, Thursday; Passover (Sabbath) was on Friday; the normal weekly Sabbath was on Saturday; and Jesus rose on the first day of the week, Sunday. (It complicates matters further that each day started and finished at twilight – around 6 pm., so the last supper actually took place at the start of Preparation Day! – again, see ‘Easter’ study.)
Some have suggested that the ‘Last Supper’ was the Passover meal and have read significance into the elements of the meal, but the text here does not support this. Rather, John continues with his theme that Jesus was ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29). The Passover Lamb was to be slaughtered at twilight at the end the Day of Preparation (14th). The Passover meal then followed, as the 15th began.
(Matthew 26:17 and Mark 14:12 record that the last supper was on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Luke 22:7 suggests it was on the Day of Preparation. But all four Gospels agree that Jesus was actually crucified on the Day of Preparation: Matthew 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:42)
John now deliberately skips over the events of Jesus’ final week and instead concentrates the next chapters on the teaching Jesus gave in the upper room.
We have already read In John 7:6-8 ‘My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.’
But now Jesus was well aware of the significance of this particular Passover, and the fact that the time had come for him to fulfil his destiny – remember our previous study in John 12:27? ‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour’.
(You could read the whole passage here if you wish, but it seemed better to take each verse as it came.)
Now to our study:
Read the first part of John 13:1
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Jesus’ sacrifice was not inevitable. At any time he could have chosen not to die, but his love for us was the same as God’s love for us:
‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8)
God’s love, and consequently Jesus’ love for the people he had created meant that there was no other way.
Why was Jesus’ sacrifice necessary? Encourage everyone to join in the discussion and guide them to the essential points:
- All have sinned – Romans 3:23
- The wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23
- There is nothing a sinner can do to escape the punishment – Galatians 2:16
- Only a sinless person could die in our place Romans 8:3-4
(The following websites may be helpful:
www.gotquestions.org/why-Jesus-die.html
www.carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/why-did-jesus-have-die-our-sins
Now read the rest of John 13:1
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Reminding us of the amazing love of Jesus towards all mankind, John immediately singles out Judas:
Read John 13:2
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Our response may well be ‘how could he?’ But it’s probably fair to say that we have all let Jesus down.
Is it a dangerous delusion to think that we are strong enough to withstand the wiles of the devil?
Did Jesus love Judas as much as the others? Yes, of course!
Read John 13:3
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;
Jesus was the creator of everything (John 1:3) and what we describe as miracles were to Jesus something that was simply an integral part of his nature. To his disciples he was a man like them; but Jesus knew he was God the Son and that his brief time on Earth was about to draw to its conclusion, and that he would then return to his Father’s presence.
But there was much he still had to teach his disciples, and firstly he had to set an example to demonstrate what it would mean to follow him.
Read John 13:4-5
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
(Remember that the customs of those days meant that they would have been reclining on low couches with their heads towards the table, like spokes of a wheel)
Can anyone describe the thoughts or emotions that his Disciples would have had as he moved from feet to feet? (Bewilderment, confusion, astonishment, embarrassment, shock?)
Read John 13:6-8
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
7 Jesus replied, ‘You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
8 ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Peter just couldn’t cope. He had seen Jesus kneeling at the feet of others, acting as the most menial of servants, washing their dirty feet; and now it was his turn. He just wouldn’t allow it; it was too degrading.
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
Now the light came on! Now he understood! To be washed clean by Jesus was his deepest desire, but not only his feet:
Read John 13:9
9 ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’
Peter knew he needed cleansing, and to him it was his thoughts and actions that needed it most.
Read John 13:10-11
10 Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
What Jesus had done was symbolic on different levels. The Disciples understood that their hearts had been cleansed, not only their feet, but Jesus had to explain more than that.
Read John 13:12
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.
Very doubtful, so he now explains:
Read John 13:13-17
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 Very truly I tell you, 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.
The world in which they had grown up was well ordered with ‘a place for everyone and everyone in their place’. They knew the place of a Lord and his subjects. They knew the place of a Rabbi and his disciples. They understood the place of a Master and his servants, or messengers; and their own sense of position in the pecking order was important to them.
Jesus has just undermined all that: in the new Kingdom that he would usher in, all would be equal, and all must be willing to serve each other. If God the son could humble himself in this way for them, it was surely a small thing to ask that his disciples should follow his example.
(It seems that the disciples were slow to understand. The question of who was greatest had already been addressed by Jesus (Mark 9:34-37, Luke 9:46:49) and yet it came up again at the Last Supper – Luke 22:24-30)
Jesus had just washed the feet of Judas, but he well understood the response in Judas’ heart. Instead of the deep feelings of humility and awe that the others were feeling, it seems that Judas only felt disappointment and contempt that the one he had believed was the Messiah-King, could degrade himself in this way.
Read John 13:18
18 ‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfil this passage of Scripture: “He who shared my bread has turned against me.” (Psalm 41:9)
Jesus loves everyone, unconditionally. In many cases those he called responded in love. Judas was different yet his very refusal to accept Jesus would also be used in God’s plan.
Read John 13:19
19 ‘I am telling you now before it happens.
Before what happens? The other disciples had no inkling of what would happen later that night. The important phrase is ‘so . . . you will believe that I am who I am’. The disciples were content to follow Jesus as Rabbi, even as lord and master, but to accept the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus as the Son of God was something they still couldn’t grasp.
Read John 13:20
20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.’
His disciples must accept the challenge: they would be sent into the world as Jesus’ representatives; but not just his representatives - ambassadors of God himself.
Read John 13:21(a)
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit
Again we have the word: Tarrasso. (See previous study and John15i)
we saw it meant:
- Troubled
- Disturbed
- Perplexed
- Thrown into confusion
Here it is translated ‘troubled in spirit’. Jesus knew how he would be betrayed, and why, but he still found it confusing that a friend could betray him like this. Finally he felt compelled to share his thoughts with the others:
Read John 13:21(b)-22
and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
Now they understood, and suddenly it had become very personal. No-one could believe they would do it, nor could they believe anyone else would. How could anyone betray Jesus?
The way they reclined to eat meant that all their heads were close together at the table.
Read John 13:23-24
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask him which one he means.’
As they reclined on their left hand side, leaving their right hand free for eating, each faced the back of the person to his right. John was to the right of Jesus, so could simply lean back slightly to bring his head closer.
Read John 13:25-26
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’
26 Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
It seems it was normal practise for the host at a meal to take pieces of bread, dip them in the broth or sauce and hand them to those at the table; but more than that, the act was also a token of friendship and love.
Read John 13:27
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
At that moment, it seems that Judas finally closed the door to Jesus’ love, and opened the deer to Satan. Judas had made his choice, but Jesus was still in control and would use this betrayal to complete the plan of salvation for which ‘the hour had come’.
So Jesus told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’
For Jesus, what was about to happen was already decided, but it needed Judas to initiate it. It was already late, so it was best that Judas should leave now.
Read John 13:28-30
28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Still no-one (except perhaps Peter and John) understood what was about to happen. Jesus had said ‘one of you is going to betray me’ but no-one appreciated how little time they had left.
Read John 13:31-32
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
It seems that now Judas had gone, Jesus can be unrestrained in sharing what is on his mind.
What does ‘Glorify’ mean?
Give praise to, praise, extol, exalt, laud, worship, revere, reverence, venerate, pay homage/tribute to, honour, adore, thank, give thanks to, bless.
Judas had planned misery, humiliation, death, and destruction – Jesus saw beyond that and recognised that what he was about to endure would bring unimaginable glory, not only to himself but to Almighty God as his plan for the salvation of the whole world would be accomplished.
Read John 13:33
33 ‘My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: where I am going, you cannot come.
Jesus had only a couple of hours left in which to tell his disciples many vital things. Firstly, they really had to grasp the fact that he was to die. Secondly they really had to grasp the concept that love was the key to everything.
Read John 13:34-35
34 ‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’
This was to be the defining difference. As the love of Jesus enters Christian hearts, they in turn demonstrate their love for others.
Peter didn’t hear verse 34, he was still reeling from the implications of verse 33.
Read John 13:36-37
36 Simon Peter asked him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’
Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.’
37 Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’
Where could Jesus possibly be going that Peter couldn’t go too? He had happily followed Jesus closely these last three years – nothing would stop him following now. But of course Jesus was speaking of death itself, and for now, Peter still had work to do in this life.
Read John 13:38
38 Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times!
We asked earlier: Is it a dangerous delusion to think that we are strong enough to withstand the wiles of the devil?
It is said that three things conspire against us: the World, the Flesh and the devil. And often it is only the influence of the world or the weakness of our own flesh that causes us to stumble. But we cannot ignore the fact that the devil will use anything to lead us astray.
A sad note for us to end this study, but imagine the feelings of Jesus as he tried to prepare his disciples for what was about to come.
