What Jesus Did

[Jesus said to the disciples,] "I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me." Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!" The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean.

—John 13:20-22 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus felt anguish! His caring acts for his disciples were carried out as he battled his own personal...

 

[Jesus said to the disciples,] "I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, 'The one who eats my food has turned against me.' I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah."

—John 13:18-19 NLT

Key Thought


Nothing hurts quite like someone you love betraying you. Jesus knows what is going on with Judas. He also knows that the rest of the twelve will...

 

So [Jesus] got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

—John 13:4-5 NLT

Key Thought


"Get real, man!" is a slang expression intended to bring someone into reality — no exaggeration, no pretending, no imaginary tale. Jesus' washing the disciples' feet is a time when God's becoming human flesh "gets real." Jesus, God come...

 

[Jesus said to the disciples,] "I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them."

—John 13:16-17 NLT

Key Thought


A good friend once remarked: "I've yet to meet a Christian whose knowledge didn't exceed his obedience." His point was simple: Most Christians know far more of God's truth than they live. That doesn't...

 

After washing [the disciples'] feet, [Jesus] put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you."

—John 13:12-15 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus didn't teach just with words. His life was a conscious...

 

Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you." For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, "Not all of you are clean."

—John 13:10-11 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus can clean the disciples' dirty feet, but they have to offer their hearts for him to clean them truly. Judas' heart was dirtier than his feet. Jesus gave Judas this moment...

 

When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will." "No," Peter protested, "you will never ever wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me." Simon Peter exclaimed, "Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!"

—John 13:6-9 NLT

Key Thought


Peter hasn't learned the lesson. Jesus wants his disciples to...

 

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

—John 13:3-5 NLT

Key Thought


Confidence in his walk with God enables Jesus to serve others and to submit his will to God sacrificially — Jesus...

 

It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

—John 13:2 NLT

Key Thought


We must never forget that the events of the cross — from Judas' plan to betray Jesus to his opponents to the death of Jesus on the cross being mocked by the crowds — were part of the Devil's plan. More than entering a room with Jesus and his disciples in John 13, we have joined them on the battlefield. The evil one will not leave the...

 

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.

—John 13:1 NLT

Key Thought


Many poems, songs, books, and movies have been written about true love. Jesus defines it. On the eve of his own torture and death, knowing that of the twelve men in the room with him, one will betray him, one will deny him, and they all...