John 13:31-35

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, most recently May 18, 2025

Summary:  I offer some initial reflections on the Greek.  If I preach on this, I would likely draw on the narrative in which it is set:  Jesus washing his disciples feet, Jesus being betrayed, Jesus about to be arrested, condemned and crucified.  Jesus is not just talking about love, but revealing it to his disciples.  Likewise, we are called to love each other.  In reality.

Key words:
εδοξασθη (aorist form of δοξαζω, meaning "glorify, 13:31,32):  I was struck by this word; what does it mean for Jesus to be glorified?  What does glory mean in John's Gospel.  In the Old Testament, the word for glory is associated with the awe-inspiring presence of God:

• Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34 
• Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.  Psalm 72:19

John presents Jesus as the fullness of God's glory on earth.  The miracles of Jesus reveal this glory.

• And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14
• Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.  John 2:11 
• Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 
• So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.  John 17:5

Yet Jesus begins to discuss God's glory, especially in these passages (13:31-32) in connection with his crucifixion and resurrection.  This is kind of strange; either John wants us to see the resurrection as the glory (total Christus Victor) or John sees that somehow the crucifixion is an revelation of God's glory.  That is something truly worth considering, not as a theological question, but as a Biblical question -- does John go that far?

The other movement in terms of God's glory is that the disciples, by their actions, reveal God's glory:

• My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.  John 15:8

This is something really worth pondering -- and struggling with as a Lutheran -- to what extent is God's glory revealed through our Spirit-led actions?

υμιν υμας (forms of "you", 13:34)   Jesus gives us a new commandment to YOU and declared he loved YOU.  But the YOU here is actually plural:  Y'ALL!!  Worth remembering that Jesus love is for the whole community, not just the individual.

διδυμι ("give"; 13:34)  Jesus gives this command in the present tense, "I keep giving you the new commandment."  We must be taught, again and again, to love each other.

μαθηται (form of  μαθητης, meaning "disciple"; 13:35).  The word for disciple means pupil.  Are we called to be a pupil of Jesus or his teachings?  The new pope (Leo XIV), in one of his first sermons, said that Jesus doesn't need soldiers, but brothers.  A beautiful reminder that to be a student isn't simply about "discipline" (thanks Latin!) but learning, in this case, learning by serving others.

John 13:1-17

This passage occurs in the Narrative Lectionary Year 4 Lenten Cycle, most recently on Mar 16, 2014.

Summary for John 13:1-17:  In this passage, Jesus asserts himself as a moral example and THE teacher, concluding with a challenging 'if' statement about blessings.  Perhaps this law-filled message is a good one to hear during Lent -- our journey to the cross is not simply one of mild self-imposed discomfort.  Rather, it is the difficult work of dealing with, if not healing, the sins of others in a caring manner.  Admittedly, there is plenty of Gospel too, revealed in the extent of Christ's love for us in both the foot-washing and the foreshadowing of the cross.  And yes, there's living water once again.

As I ponder this text within the context of Lent, I see the powerful interplay between faith, humilty and grace at work.   We will not be able to serve others, certainly not blessed by it, until we become aware of grace, of Jesus Christ and his tremendous self-emptying love.  I believe that only in acts of having our feet washed -- realizing that Jesus knows our sins, and still loves us and cares for us -- are we made into disciples.  We cannot "accept" Jesus, but we learn to confess him as teacher and Lord as we encounter him in times of weakness and sin.

Key words
εις τελος  ("completely", 13:1)  Jesus hear says he will love the disciples "to the end," literally.  It means more naturally "completely" but translators wanted to leave in this connection to Jesus words from the cross, "it is finished."  If they really wanted to do that though, they should have translated this passage as "He loved them to the finish."  A gift to my methodist friends:  The phrase could also mean "into fullness" or "into perfection." (Love divine anyone!!)

τιθησιν  (from τιθημι, "to place or lay down". 13:4)  In John chapter 10, Jesus declared he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.  Here Jesus lays down his garments.  I think this suggests his act of food washing is the beginning of his laying down his life for his disciples.  (Indeed 13:3 gives the context for Jesus' actions)

βαλλω  ("throw", 13:2 and 5).  In vs 2, this verb appears in a brutal form:  genitive perfect participle!  The point is that the devil throws something into Judas' heart, namely greed, fear and hatred.  Jesus, on the other hand, throws water into a basin.  Water to cleanse, water to heal and water to make whole.

ο διδασκαλος ο κυριος ("THE teacher THE lord"  13:13,14)  Every translator drops the article from both versus.  Jesus is not just a teacher or a lord, but THE teacher and THE lord.  This alone is worth preaching on.

Grammar
ει and εαν (if, 13:17)  These words are best translated as "if."  Both are used in John 13:17
ει you understand, you are blessed εαν you do these things.
The first ει means more "since" than "if" when it is paired with an indicative verb, as it is in this case.  This is why the NIV gets it right by translating this "Now that you know these things"
εαν is more hypothetical and demands the subjunctive, as it is in this case. 
But this if could also be translated as "when"; see John 11:10; John 12:32.
In short, the sentence could read:
"Since you understand this, you are blessed when you do these things."