John 13:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It is dangerous, beloved, dangerous to fall into the depth of evils. Then it becomes difficult for the soul to be corrected.

Therefore one must strive in every way not to be caught at the beginning, for it is easier not to enter into evil than, after entering it, to amend oneself.

Look at Judas. Once he cast himself into evil, no matter how much help he receives, he does not rise.

Christ said to him, "One of you is a devil." He said, "Not all believe" (Jn 6:70, 64). He said, "I do not speak of all of you," and, "I know whom I have chosen" (Jn 13:18).

Yet he feels none of this.

"So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and reclined again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?'" He now says this not to Peter alone, but to all.

The Lord no longer directs His speech only to Peter, but to all. He sets forth the reason for such humility on His part. The reason is that the disciples must imitate Him in this. Perhaps the Lord is speaking of the present time when He says to Peter, “You will understand after this.” That is: Peter, you will understand after I take My garment and recline, and begin to teach you and say, “Do you know what I have done to you?”

Now He clearly states the reason for His action and says that for our benefit He gave this "example" of incomparable humility.

Since He presents the vice of pride as inexcusable, He considers it necessary to set forth the dignity of His own person. In this everyone will perceive the incomparable greatness of humility.

For how could what is lowly in itself and of no account undergo humiliation? Or where can that which lies below descend?

By its nature, it can only bring down from above to below. But when what is on high is found in humiliation, it arouses wonder, because it has descended into what it was not.

The time had come for what was promised to blessed Peter to be fulfilled.

Its fulfillment had been deferred when, frightened, he said, "You shall never wash my feet" (Jn 13:8), and received the answer: "What I am doing you do not know now, but you will understand afterward" (Jn 13:7).

Now this "afterward" had come. The time had come for what had shortly before been deferred to be spoken.

Therefore the Lord remembered that He had promised to reveal the meaning of His deed, so unexpected, so wondrous, and so frightening.

Jesus Christ asks His disciples about something they did not know, and He does this in order to arouse their attention. First He washed the disciples’ feet, and now He wishes to explain to them what they did not understand.

Having completed this work of humility, the Lord again reclined at supper with His disciples and explained to them the intention of this action.

"If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet... and blessed are you when you do this."

But the thought of Judas again compelled Him to add: blessed, but I do not speak of all of you. I know whom I have chosen.

Nevertheless, even in this case the word of Scripture is not broken, but fulfilled. It is written: "He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me."

Jesus repeated such hints with the intention that the disciples should not be shaken in their faith when one of them became the instrument of betrayal.

They were not to think that their Teacher Himself had been deceived in them.

The Lord may also have explained this reason in order to awaken Judas' conscience.

According to the Evangelist Luke, Jesus Christ accompanied His instructions on humility (25-27) with an indirect answer to the disciples' dispute about primacy.

For their faithful and firm following of Him up to that point, despite all the persecutions against Him, He gave them all the promise of blessedness in His Kingdom: "that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom."

He also indicated that the first degrees of blessedness in this Kingdom belonged to them. They would be especially near to the Lord the King: "and you shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

When Jesus had finished washing the feet, He put on His outer garment, reclined at table, and, turning to the apostles, said: "Do you know what I have done to you?"

"You call Me Teacher and Lord, and in saying this, you speak rightly. Therefore, if I, being your Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, then you also must always and in all things show the same humility."

"A servant is not greater than his lord, nor an emissary greater than the one who sent him, nor is one who serves at table greater than one who reclines."

"Yet I, who send you to preach, your Lord, reclining here in the first place, have washed your feet. Why, then, do you dispute about which of you is greatest?"

"You must not dispute. You must act as I do and take Me as your example."

"Having reclined again." The supper, interrupted by the washing of the feet, continued. The rites of the Paschal supper were being performed, and during them the Lord continued His final discourse with the disciples.

As is clear from comparing John's accounts with those of the first Evangelists, John does not transmit everything the Lord said at that time. Likewise, each of the first Evangelists does not transmit everything.

John transmits only what related to the washing of the feet described by him and to the indication of the betrayer.

But he alone transmits the Lord's discourse with the disciples after the betrayer's departure in great detail, supplementing the first Evangelists.

Having washed the disciples’ feet, the Lord Jesus Christ explained to them the meaning of this action as an example of humility, love, and service to neighbors.

From the Savior’s words to Peter, the meaning of the washing, of which He had spoken to Peter, was being revealed to the Apostles. But even after understanding this, they had not yet understood everything.

Continuing the likeness indicated by St. Cyril of Jerusalem concerning the towel, that is, humanity, with which God girded Himself for the healing of humanity, we may also see an image in His taking up His garments again and reclining.

This is the image of the return of the incarnate God the Word into the bosom of the Father in His all-glorious Ascension.

But He also raises with Himself the enlightened garments of humanity, and He reclines surrounded by believers, signifying by this: "I am with you to the close of the age."

The Lord Himself answers the question He put to His disciples about the meaning of the action He had performed, in which His whole ministry to mankind was expressed.

He explains to them such great truths as had never entered, nor could have entered, the mind of any wise man.

Power and greatness are in humility, in service, and in self-renunciation.