Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 13:4

"riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself." — John 13:4 (ASV)

John emphasizes the fact that Jesus was not the innocent victim of a plot, unaware of what was transpiring around him. Rather, he was fully aware of his authority, his divine origin, and his destiny. John says much more about the inner consciousness of Jesus than the Synoptics do, either because he was more observant or because Jesus confided in him.

The immediate situation was that they had come to the banquet room directly from the street. Ordinarily on such an occasion the host would have delegated a servant to the menial task of removing the sandals of the guests and washing their feet. Since the meeting was obviously intended to be secret, no servants were present. None of the disciples was ready to volunteer for such a task, for each would have considered it an admission of inferiority to all the others (cf. 1:27).

Sometime during the meal Jesus rose, removed his outer cloak, tied a towel around his waist, and began to perform the work of the servant who was not present. It was a voluntary humiliation that rebuked the pride of the disciples. Perhaps it accentuated the tension of the situation, because Luke notes that when the disciples entered the room, they were arguing about who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven .