Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
The Passover celebration was approaching, and Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved His followers who were with Him in the world, and now He showed them the full extent of His love. They were eating their evening meal together when the devil had already planted the idea in Judas Iscariot's heart—Simon's son—to hand Jesus over to His enemies. Jesus understood that the Father had given Him authority over everything, and that He had come from God and would soon return to God. During the meal, Jesus stood up and took off His outer robe. He picked up a towel and tied it around His waist like a servant would do. Then He poured water into a large bowl and began washing His disciples' feet, drying each one with the towel He wore. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter questioned Him: "Lord, are You really going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "You don't understand what I'm doing right now, but you will understand later." Peter protested strongly, "You will never wash my feet!" But Jesus told him, "If I don't wash you, then you can't be part of what I'm doing." Hearing this, Simon Peter quickly changed his mind and said, "Then Lord, don't just wash my feet—wash my hands and my head too!" Jesus explained to him, "Someone who has already taken a bath only needs to wash his feet to be completely clean. You are clean, though not every one of you is." Jesus said this because He knew which one of them would betray Him. That's why He said not all of them were clean. After Jesus finished washing all their feet, He put His outer robe back on and sat down with them again. Then He asked them, "Do you understand what I have just done for you? You call Me your Teacher and Lord, and you're right to do so, because that's exactly what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, then you should also wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow, so that you will do for others what I have done for you. I'm telling you the absolute truth: no servant is more important than his master, and no messenger is greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you actually do them."
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
"I'm not talking about all of you," Jesus said. "I know the ones I have chosen. But this must happen to fulfill what the Scriptures say: 'The one who eats my bread has turned against me.' I'm telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I say I am. I tell you the absolute truth: whoever welcomes the person I send also welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me also welcomes the One who sent me." After Jesus said these words, his spirit became deeply troubled, and he declared, "I tell you the absolute truth: one of you is going to betray me." The disciples stared at each other in shock, completely confused about which one of them he could possibly mean. One of his disciples, the one Jesus especially loved, was sitting right next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter caught his attention and gestured for him to ask Jesus who he was talking about. So this disciple leaned closer to Jesus and whispered, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus replied, "It's the one I'm about to give this piece of bread to after I dip it in the bowl." Then Jesus dipped the piece of bread and handed it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. The moment Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus then said to Judas, "Whatever you're planning to do, go do it quickly." None of the other disciples sitting at the table understood why Jesus had said this to him. Since Judas was in charge of their money bag, some of them assumed Jesus was telling him to go buy supplies they needed for the festival, or perhaps to give money to the poor. As soon as Judas received the piece of bread, he got up and walked out into the darkness of the night.
The New Commandment
After Judas left the room, Jesus spoke to his remaining disciples: "Now the Son of Man receives glory, and God receives glory in him. Since God receives glory in him, God will also give glory to the Son in himself—and he will give him this glory immediately. My dear children, I will be with you only a short time longer. You will search for me, but just as I told the Jewish leaders, I now tell you the same thing: you cannot go where I am going. I am giving you a new command: love each other. Love one another in the same way that I have loved you. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my followers—by the love you show to each other."
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
Simon Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "You cannot come with me to the place where I am going right now, but you will follow me there later." Peter said, "Lord, why can't I come with you now? I am willing to die for you!" Jesus replied, "Will you really die for me? I tell you the absolute truth—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me."