Church Fathers Commentary John 13:12-20

"So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another`s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled: He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me. From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am [he]. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." — John 13:12-20 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord, mindful of His promise to Peter that he would know the meaning of His act—you will know afterward—now begins to teach him. So after He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and had sat down again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you?

Origen of Alexandria: The question, “Do you know,” is either interrogative, to show the greatness of the act, or imperative, to rouse their minds.

Alcuin of York: Mystically, when at our redemption we were changed by the shedding of His blood, He took up His garments again by rising from the grave on the third day. Clothed in the same body, now immortal, He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, from where He will come to judge the world.

St. John Chrysostom: He speaks now not to Peter alone, but to all: You call Me Master and Lord. He accepts their judgment, and to prevent the words from being attributed merely to their favor, He adds, And you say well, for so I am.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is commanded in the Proverbs, Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. For it is dangerous for a person to praise himself, as he must beware of pride. But He who is above all things, however He praises Himself, does not extol Himself too highly. Nor can God be called arrogant, for our knowing Him is no gain to Him, but to us. Nor can anyone know Him unless He who knows reveals Himself. Therefore, if He did not praise Himself in order to avoid arrogance, He would be denying us wisdom.

But why should the Truth fear arrogance? No one could object to His calling Himself Master, even if He were only a man, since teachers in various fields call themselves so without presumption. Yet what free person can bear another human having the title of 'lord'? But when God speaks, His height cannot be over-exalted, and the truth cannot lie. It is for us to submit to that height and obey that truth.

Therefore, you speak well when you call Me Master and Lord, for so I am; but if I were not what you say, you would be speaking wrongly.

Origen of Alexandria: They do not say "Lord" well to whom it will be said, Depart from Me, you who work iniquity. But the Apostles say "Master and Lord" well, for wickedness did not have dominion over them, but the Word of God did.

St. John Chrysostom: He shows us the greater, so that we may do the lesser. For He was the Lord, but we, if we do this, do it for our fellow servants. For He says, I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

The Venerable Bede: Our Lord first did a thing and then taught it, as it is said, Jesus began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1).

St. Augustine of Hippo: This, blessed Peter, is what you did not know; this is what you were told you would know afterward.

Origen of Alexandria: But it is not necessary for one who wishes to follow all the commandments of Jesus to perform the literal act of washing feet. This is merely a matter of custom, and that custom has now been generally discontinued.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This act is still done literally by many when they receive one another in hospitality. For it is unquestionably better that it should be done with the hands, and that the Christian should not disdain to do what Christ did. For when the body is bent at the feet of a brother, the feeling of humility arises in the heart or, if it is already there, is strengthened.

But besides this moral meaning, is not a brother also able to cleanse another brother from the pollution of sin? Let us confess our faults to one another, forgive one another’s faults, and pray for one another’s faults. In this way, we will wash one another’s feet.

Origen of Alexandria: Or, consider it this way: This spiritual washing of the feet is done primarily by Jesus Himself, and secondarily by His disciples, since He said to them, You ought to wash one another’s feet. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples as their Master, and of His servants as their Lord. But the object of a master is to make his disciples like himself. Our Savior, beyond all other masters and lords, wished His disciples to be like their Master and Lord, not having the spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:19).

So then, before they become masters and lords, they need the washing of the feet, being as yet insufficient disciples and partaking of the spirit of bondage. But when they have attained the state of master and lord, they are then able to imitate their Master and wash the disciples’ feet through their doctrine.

St. John Chrysostom: He continues to urge them to wash one another’s feet: Verily, verily, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. It is as if to say, "If I do it, how much more should you."

Theophylact of Ohrid: This was a necessary admonition for the Apostles, some of whom were about to rise to higher degrees of eminence and others to lower ones. So that none might exalt himself over another, He changes the hearts of all.

The Venerable Bede: To know what is good and not to do it leads not to happiness but to condemnation, as James said, To him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). Therefore, our Lord adds, If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.

St. John Chrysostom: For all know, but not all do. He then rebukes the traitor, not openly, but covertly: I speak not of you all.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if to say, "There is one among you who will not be blessed, for he does not do these things." He continues, I know whom I have chosen. Whom has He chosen, but those who will be happy by doing His commandments? Judas, therefore, was not chosen for this. But if so, why does He say in another place, Have not I chosen you twelve? It is because Judas was chosen for the purpose for which he was necessary, but not for the happiness of which He says, Happy are you if you do them.

Origen of Alexandria: Or consider this: The phrase I speak not of you all does not refer to Happy are you if you do them. For of Judas, or any other person, it may be said, "Happy is he if he does them." The words refer to the sentence above: The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. For Judas, being a servant of sin, was not a servant of the Divine Word, nor was he an Apostle once the devil had entered into him. Our Lord knew those who were His and did not know those who were not His, and therefore says not, "I know all who are present," but, I know whom I have chosen—that is, I know My Elect.

St. John Chrysostom: Then, so that He might not sadden them all, He adds, But that the Scripture must be fulfilled, He that eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me. This showed that He knew who the traitor was—an intimation that surely would have checked him, if anything could. He does not say, "shall betray Me," but, "has lifted up his heel against Me," alluding to his deceit and secret plotting.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The phrase "has lifted up his heel against Me" means "shall tread upon Me." This refers to the traitor Judas.

St. John Chrysostom: He that eats bread with Me—that is, he who was fed by Me, who partook of My table. Therefore, if we are ever injured by our servants or those under us, we need not be offended. Judas had received infinite benefits, and yet this is how he repaid his Benefactor.

St. Augustine of Hippo: They who were chosen ate the Lord; he ate the bread of the Lord in order to injure the Lord. They ate life; he ate damnation, for he that eats unworthily, eats damnation to himself (1 Corinthians 11:27).

Origen of Alexandria: The phrase that you may believe is not said as if the Apostles did not believe already. It is equivalent to saying, "Act according to your belief and persevere in it, seeking no occasion to fall away." For besides the evidence the disciples had already seen, they now had the evidence of fulfilled prophecy.

St. John Chrysostom: As the disciples were about to go out and suffer many things, He consoles them by promising His own assistance and that of others. He promises His own help when He says, Happy are you if you do them, and the help of others in what follows: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that receives whomsoever I send, receives Me; and he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me.

Origen of Alexandria: For he who receives the one whom Jesus sends, receives Jesus who is represented by him; and he who receives Jesus, receives the Father. Therefore, he who receives the one whom Jesus sends also receives the Father who sent Jesus. The words may have this meaning as well: He who receives the one I send has attained to receiving Me. But he who receives Me, not through any Apostle but by My own entrance into his soul, receives the Father, so that not only I abide in him, but the Father also.

St. Augustine of Hippo: When the Arians hear this passage, they immediately appeal to the gradations in their system, arguing that the Son is as distant from the Father as an Apostle is from the Lord. But our Lord has left us no room for doubt on this matter, for He said, I and My Father are one.

But how are we to understand our Lord's words, He that receives Me, receives Him that sent Me? If we take them to mean that the Father and the Son are of one nature, it would seem to follow from His other words, He that receives whomsoever I send, receives Me, that the Son and an Apostle are also of one nature.

Could the meaning be: "He that receives whomever I send, receives Me" (that is, Me as man), but "He that receives Me" (that is, Me as God), "receives Him that sent Me"? No, it is not this unity of nature that is being expressed here, but rather the authority of the Sender as represented by the one who is sent. In Peter, hear Christ, the Master of the disciple; in the Son, hear the Father, the Begotten of the Only-Begotten.