King James Version
John 13
38 verses with commentary
Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse opens Jesus' Upper Room discourse with a profound statement: knowing 'his hour was come', He loved His own 'unto the end' (Greek 'eis telos', meaning both 'to the uttermost' and 'to the end of time'). This introduces the full extent of Christ's love demonstrated at the cross. The Passover timing is deliberate—Christ, our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), will be sacrificed. 'His own' e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1)LOVE MANIFESTED IN HUMILIATION (John 13:1-30).
(*a*)*The washing of the disciples’ feet* (verses
(b)*The spiritual interpretation of this act *(John 13:12-28).
(c)*The Betrayal. Hatred passes from the presence of love* (John 13:21-30). ]
(1) **Now before the feast of the passover.**—Comp. John 12:1; John 12:12; John 12:36, and *Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord.*
**When Jesus k...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-27. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again--**purposely expressing Himself in general terms, to draw her out.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And supper being ended</strong> (καὶ δείπνου γινομένου)—More literally "supper being in progress" or "while supper was happening." This is the Passover meal (or the meal immediately preceding it, depending on Synoptic/Johannine chronology). The context is intimate fellowship before betrayal.<br><br><strong>The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot</strong> (τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **And supper being ended.**—The reading here is uncertain, but neither reading justifies our translation. It should probably be, “And it now becoming supper time.” As a matter of fact, the supper was not ended (John 13:12; John 13:26); but they had already reclined, and were, as we say, ready for supper.
**The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot.**—The better reading is, *The...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-27. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again--**purposely expressing Himself in general terms, to draw her out.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands</strong> (εἰδὼς ὅτι πάντα δέδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ εἰς τὰς χεῖρας)—The participle "knowing" (εἰδώς/<em>eidōs</em>) indicates Jesus's full consciousness of His authority. The Father had committed "all things" (πάντα/<em>panta</em>)—universal authority—into Christ's hands. This echoes Matthew 28:18: "All power is given unto me in ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands . . .**—This explains the act of humility which follows. With the full consciousness of His supreme power and divine origin, and’ of the divine glory to which He was about to return; yes, because He was conscious of all this, He left the disciples an example of the self-denial which is the necessary outcome of love. “Subsistin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-27. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again--**purposely expressing Himself in general terms, to draw her out.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments</strong> (ἐγείρεται ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου καὶ τίθησιν τὰ ἱμάτια)—The verb "laid aside" (τίθησιν/<em>tithēsin</em>) is the same word used in John 10:11, 15, 17-18 where Jesus says the Good Shepherd "lays down" (τίθησιν) His life. This isn't coincidence—John is showing the foot-washing as a symbolic anticipation of Calvary. Jesus voluntarily lays a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **He riseth from supper, and laid aside’ his garments.**—Comp. Notes on Luke 22 *et seq.* We there read of “a strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest.” It is placed by St. Luke after the Supper; but our Lord’s words, “I am among you as he that serveth,” point almost certainly to a connection with this parabolic act. There had been, we may well think, some self-assertio...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-27. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again--**purposely expressing Himself in general terms, to draw her out.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>After that he poureth water into a bason</strong> (εἶτα βάλλει ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν νιπτῆρα)—The simple, practical actions emphasize the incarnation's concreteness. God in flesh performs physical, humble tasks. The water (ὕδωρ/<em>hydōr</em>) anticipates the water and blood flowing from Jesus's pierced side (John 19:34), symbols of spiritual cleansing and life.<br><br><strong>And began to wash the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **After that he poureth water into a bason.**—Better, . . . *into the bason.* It was the bason in the room, commonly used, and now ready for suck purposes. The water was at hand. All suggested then that one of the disciples might have performed this act which the Lord now performs. That it was commonly regarded as an act of reverence from an inferior to a superior is made clear by the Rabbinic...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-27. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again--**purposely expressing Himself in general terms, to draw her out.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Peter saith: Gr. he saith
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?</strong> Peter's reaction to Jesus washing his feet reveals the natural human recoil from grace—the pride that resists receiving unmerited service. The phrase <strong>Lord, dost thou wash my feet?</strong> (Κύριε, σύ μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας/<em>Kyrie, sy mou nipteis tous podas</em>) places emphatic pronou...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Then cometh he to Simon Peter.**—Men who have come to these words with minds full of opinions with regard to the position of St. Peter have, of course, understood them to express that he had precedence of the other Apostles; while others have formed the opinion that Judas Iscariot was first. It is a point of no importance, and cannot be determined. The natural impression from this verse, how...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-32. The Master is come and calleth for thee--**The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter .
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.</strong> Christ's response to Peter's protest introduces the pedagogical principle that divine actions often precede human understanding. The phrase <strong>What I do</strong> (ἐγὼ ποιῶ/<em>egō poiō</em>) emphasizes Jesus's sovereignty—<em>I</em> am doing this, regardless of your comprehension....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **What I do thou knowest not now.**—Here both pronouns are emphatic, and convey a rebuke to Peter. His words had almost implied that the Lord’s .act was wholly out of place, as of one who knew not what he was doing. The opposite was really the case. “What *I* do *thou* knowest not now.”
**But thou shalt know hereafter**—*i.e.,* in the teaching which is to follow (John 13:13-17). The word rende...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-32. The Master is come and calleth for thee--**The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.</strong> Peter's emphatic refusal—<strong>never</strong> (οὐ μὴ...εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα/<em>ou mē...eis ton aiōna</em>)—uses the strongest Greek negation plus 'unto the age,' creating absolute, eternal refusal. Yet Jesus's response is more absolute still: <strong>If I wash thee n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Thou shalt never wash my feet.**—For the word “never,” comp. Note on John 8:51. The incidental touches of character where individual apostles are named in this Gospel are in striking agreement with the more fully-drawn character of the other evangelists, and the value of their evidence for the authorship cannot be over-estimated. They are perfectly artless, but are beyond the most consummate...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-32. The Master is come and calleth for thee--**The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.</strong> Peter's characteristic impulsiveness swings from absolute refusal (v.8) to maximal request. The emphatic negation <strong>not...only</strong> (οὐ...μόνον/<em>ou...monon</em>) followed by <strong>but also</strong> (ἀλλὰ καί/<em>alla kai</em>) intensifies his plea. If cleansing by Christ brings fellow...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.**—Peter still misunderstands the meaning; but he is true to his loving impulsive character. No part with his Master! He will give up anything, everything. He knows not what this washing means, and cannot conceive that it is fitting for Christ to wash his feet; but if it in any sense can mean having a part with Christ, then not the feet o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-32. The Master is come and calleth for thee--**The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.</strong> Jesus corrects Peter's misunderstanding with crucial theological distinction. <strong>He that is washed</strong> (ὁ λελουμένος/<em>ho leloumenos</em>) uses the perfect passive participle of λούω (<em>louō</em>)—to bathe the whole body—indicating complete...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet.**—Better, *He who has bathed* . . . St. Peter’s words have implied that he was wholly unclean, and needed for feet, and head, and hands, for the whole man, a moral cleansing. Christ answers that this was not so. The man who has been bathed is clean, but his feet coming in contact with the dust of the road need to be washed. It was so mora...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-32. The Master is come and calleth for thee--**The narrative does not give us this interesting detail, but Martha's words do.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.</strong> This verse explains Jesus's cryptic statement in verse 10. The phrase <strong>he knew</strong> (ᾔδει γάρ/<em>ēdei gar</em>) uses the pluperfect form of οἶδα (<em>oida</em>), indicating comprehensive, settled knowledge existing before the moment—Jesus had always known. The participle <strong>who should betr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **For he knew who should betray him.**—Comp. John 18:2, and Note on Matthew 26:48. This is the first reference to the betrayal during the feast. The words are words of warning, spoken in the love which even then might have redeemed and cleansed the heart, if it had been open to receive it. The feet of Judas were washed by his Master. Had he learnt the lesson of humility and love, he might hav...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?</strong> Having completed the foot-washing, Jesus resumes His position as teacher (ἀνέπεσεν πάλιν/<em>anepesen palin</em>—reclined again at table) to explain the acted parable. The question <strong>Know ye what I have done?</strong> (Γινώσκετε τί πεποίη...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **And was set down again.**—This means in the reclining position customary at meals. Comp. Luke 11:37; Luke 22:14; and in this Gospel John 6:10; John 21:20. Here it implies that the washing the feet preceded the supper (John 13:1).
**Know ye what I have done to you?**—This question is asked, not to be answered, but to direct their attention to what He had done, and to the interpretation which...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye call me Master and Lord</strong> (διδάσκαλος καὶ κύριος, didaskalos kai kyrios)—Jesus affirms the disciples' correct recognition of His dual authority. <em>Didaskalos</em> (Teacher) denotes His role as authoritative instructor; <em>kyrios</em> (Lord) declares His sovereign divine authority. <strong>And ye say well; for so I am</strong>—Jesus unequivocally validates their confession. Unl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Ye call me Master and Lord**—*i.e.,* Master in the sense of Teacher. The word in the original is not “Rabbi.” (Comp. Note on John 11:28.) The Jewish pupils called their teachers “Rabbi” and “Mar” (Teacher), and it was not permitted to any pupil to call his teacher by his proper name (*Sanhedr.,* fol. 100, §1). The word “Master” here refers to His position as their Teacher; the word Lord to ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If I then, your Lord and Master</strong>—Jesus grounds His command in His established authority from v. 13. The conditional "if" (εἰ, ei) assumes the reality: since I (the Lord) have done this, you must also. <strong>Have washed your feet</strong> (ἔνιψα, enipsa)—aorist tense emphasizes the completed historical act. <strong>Ye also ought</strong> (ὀφείλετε, opheilete)—not optional suggesti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Ye ought also to wash one another’s feet.**—The argument is *à fortiori.* If He had so humbled Himself as to do the work of a servant for them, much more ought they to humble themselves for each other. To make his words as striking as possible, they are prefaced by the emphatic *I*, and “Master and Lord” is repeated from the previous verse, but in the inverse order, to give special prominen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I have given you an example</strong> (ὑπόδειγμα, hypodeigma)—not merely illustration but pattern to be followed. Jesus explicitly states His purpose: modeling replicable behavior. The perfect tense "have given" indicates lasting effect—this example stands as permanent template for Christian conduct.<br><br><strong>That ye should do as I have done to you</strong> (καθὼς ἐγὼ ἐποίησα, kat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **That ye should do as I have done to you.**—The example is in the principle, not in the specific act; it is not “that which I have done to you,” but “according as I have done to you.” The imitation is to be worked out in applying the same principle of love and self-sacrifice in all the varying circumstances of life in which we are placed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Verily, verily</strong> (ἀμὴν ἀμήν, amēn amēn)—Jesus' signature formula marking solemn, authoritative pronouncement. The doubled "amen" appears 25 times in John, always introducing crucial teaching. <strong>The servant is not greater than his lord</strong> (δοῦλος, doulos; κύριος, kyrios)—a proverbial truth Jesus applies to justify the foot-washing command. If the Master serves, the slave ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The servant is not greater than his lord.**—These words have already occurred in the earlier Gospels in another connection. (Comp. Note on Matthew 10:24, and Luke 6:40.) They occur again in this Gospel in John 15:20.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--**the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If ye know these things</strong> (εἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε, ei tauta oidate)—Jesus assumes they possess the knowledge from His teaching and example. The condition is reality: "since you know." But knowledge alone doesn't constitute blessedness. <strong>Happy are ye if ye do them</strong> (μακάριοι, makarioi; ποιῆτε, poiēte)—<em>makarios</em> is the beatitude word (Matthew 5:3-11), denoting deep spi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.**—The first clause of this verse assumes their knowledge of the things which He had been teaching them (John 13:13-17). They were, indeed, old lessons taught before in word, and now taught in act and word.
The second clause makes their blessedness depend upon their combining action with knowledge. They had known the truth before, but thei...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Christ washes the disciples' feet.(1-17)
The treachery of Judas foretold.(18-30)
Christ commands the disciples to love one another.(31-38)
**Verses 1-17**
Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people....
Read full commentary →One of You Will Betray Me
I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.</strong> Jesus speaks these words during the Last Supper, distinguishing between the faithful eleven and Judas Iscariot. The Greek verb for "know" (<em>oida</em>, οἶδα) indicates comprehensive, intimate knowledge—not merely intellectua...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **I speak not of you all.**—The thought of their blessedness brings back again the dark thought that there is one present who will not do these things, and who cannot therefore be blessed.
**I know whom I have chosen.**—Comp. Note on John 6:70. The pronoun is strongly emphatic. “*I *(for My part) know whom I have chosen.” (See next verse.)
**But that the scripture may be fulfilled.**—Comp. No...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Now: or, From henceforth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now I tell you before it come</strong> (ἀπ' ἄρτι, ap' arti; πρὶν γενέσθαι, prin genesthai)—Jesus prophesies Judas' betrayal (v. 21) before its occurrence. Predictive prophecy authenticates His deity. <strong>That, when it is come to pass, ye may believe</strong> (πιστεύητε, pisteuēte)—fulfilled prophecy strengthens faith. The purpose clause reveals Jesus' pastoral care: He forewarns to pre...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Now I tell you before it come.**—The marginal rendering is to be preferred. (Comp. John 1:51; John 14:7.)
**Ye may believe that I am he.**—Comp. Note on John 8:24; John 14:29. The result of His henceforth declaring these things unto them before the events, will be that they will find confirmation of their faith in Him as the Messiah. Had He not then declared His knowledge of all, and traced...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Verily, verily</strong> introduces weighty truth. <strong>He that receiveth whomsoever I send</strong> (λαμβάνων, lambanōn; πέμπω, pempō)—receiving Christ's sent messengers equals receiving Christ. "Send" (<em>pempō</em>) is apostolic terminology; Jesus sends His apostles with His authority. <strong>Receiveth me</strong>—accepting Christ's representatives means accepting Christ Himself. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me.**—The thoughts presented to their minds in the preceding verses are—(1) their mission as His servants; (2) the betrayal by one of their own number; (3) the announcement of this beforehand that in the event it may be a confirmation of their faith. They are to go forth, then, and to be content if their path is as that which their Master has tr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit</strong> (ἐταράχθη τῷ πνεύματι, etarachthē tō pneumati)—Jesus experiences deep emotional distress. The passive verb suggests both external circumstances and internal wrestling. This is genuine humanity; the Word made flesh feels anguish at impending betrayal. Earlier Jesus was "troubled in spirit" at Lazarus' tomb (11:33); here betrayal b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **He was troubled in spirit.**—Comp. Note on John 11:33. He has spoken of the future of those who are true to their commission as Apostles. He now turns in deep emotion to him of whom those words cannot be spoken. The “Verily, verily,” and the three verbs, “was troubled,” “bare witness,” “spake,” perhaps imply that there was a pause in which His feeling checked His words, but that the witness...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Then the disciples looked one on another , doubting of whom he spake.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the disciples looked one on another</strong> (ἔβλεπον εἰς ἀλλήλους, blepōn eis allēlous)—the imperfect tense suggests they kept looking, scanning faces. Each wonders if he might be the traitor. <strong>Doubting of whom he spake</strong> (ἀπορούμενοι, aporoumenoi)—complete perplexity and confusion. The word suggests being at a loss, unable to determine the answer. No one suspects Judas...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Then the disciples looked one on another.**—Comp. Matthew 26:22 *et seq.,* and the parallel in Mark 14:19 and Luke 22:23. St. Matthew and St. Mark both state that they expressed their doubt in words, and St. Luke’s narrative implies this questioning, but as addressed to one another, not to our Lord (“And they began to inquire among themselves”). St. John remembers the look of astonishment, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39-44. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--**spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [Grotius]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact with the dead. Hence they avoided coming nearer a grave than four cubits [Maimonides in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom</strong> (ἀνακείμενος ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ, anakeimenos en tō kolpō)—the posture of reclining at table, common in Greco-Roman dining. Guests reclined on left elbow, leaving right hand free for eating. The one "in the bosom" reclined with head near Jesus' chest—position of intimacy and honor. <strong>One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved</strong>—John's charact...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom.**—Leonardo’s picture is in one respect misleading, and, like most paintings of the Lord’s Supper, has not represented the method in which the guests reclined rather than sat at table. Each leaned on his left arm, leaving the right arm free. The feet were stretched out behind the guest on his right hand, and the back of the head reached near to the boso...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**45-46. many ... which ... had seen ... believed ... But some ... went ... to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done--**the two classes which continually reappear in the Gospel history; nor is there ever any great work of God which does not produce both. "It is remarkable that on each of the three occasions on which our Lord raised the dead, a large number of persons was assembled. In tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him</strong> (νεύει, neuei)—Peter gestures, likely not wanting to interrupt the meal or speak over Jesus. Peter's characteristic boldness appears even here; he wants to know immediately who will betray Christ. <strong>That he should ask who it should be</strong>—Peter delegates the question to John, who has proximity to Jesus. This reveals the disciples' s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him.**—The tense in the original is present. “Simon Peter therefore beckons,” or, *makes a sign.* We have to remember that these Apostles were both members of the first group, who are from some special characteristics nearer to our Lord than the others. They had both been disciples of the Baptist (John 1:40-41), and we may think of them in the earlier as in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**45-46. many ... which ... had seen ... believed ... But some ... went ... to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done--**the two classes which continually reappear in the Gospel history; nor is there ever any great work of God which does not produce both. "It is remarkable that on each of the three occasions on which our Lord raised the dead, a large number of persons was assembled. In tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He then lying on Jesus' breast</strong> (ἐπιπεσὼν ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος, epipesōn epi to stēthos)—John leans back onto Jesus' chest, the position enabling quiet conversation. The intimacy is profound; John's head rests where he can hear Jesus' heartbeat. This physical closeness pictures spiritual intimacy available to all believers through the Spirit. <strong>Saith unto him, Lord, who is it?</stro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **He then lying on Jesus’ breast.**—Several good authorities, including the Vatican and the Cambridge MSS., insert the word “thus.” “He then leaning thus . . . ,” describes the action just as it took place (comp. Note on John 4:6); but the balance of authority is against the insertion. The action is, however, exactly described in the original, for the words “lying” and “breast” are both diffe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. sop: or, morsel
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop</strong> (ψωμίον, <em>psōmion</em>)—a morsel of bread dipped in sauce, wine, or bitter herbs, typically a gesture of honor at a Passover meal. By identifying the betrayer through this act, Jesus demonstrates both sovereign knowledge and one final offer of fellowship to Judas. The <em>psōmion</em> was culturally significant: the host woul...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it.**—The better reading is probably, *He it is for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him;* but the change does not affect the sense. The pronouns are emphatic. “*He* it is for whom *I* . . .”The word “morsel” or “sop” occurs in the New Testament only in this context. The meaning is illustrated by the use in the LXX. in Ruth ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>After the sop Satan entered into him</strong> (εἰσῆλθεν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὁ Σατανᾶς, <em>eisēlthen eis ekeinon ho Satanas</em>)—not mere external temptation but demonic possession. John 13:2 says Satan had already "put into" Judas's heart to betray Jesus; now Satan personally indwells him. This progression shows how entertaining sin opens the door to Satan's dominion. The aorist tense marks a de...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **And after the sop Satan entered into him.**—The Greek expresses more vividly the very moment when the mind finally cast out love, and left itself as a possession for Satan. “And after the sop, *then* Satan entered into him.” It was at that moment, when the last effort had been tried, and tried in vain, when the heart hardened itself to receive from Jesus the sacred pledge of love, while it ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>No man at the table knew for what intent he spake this</strong> (οὐδεὶς ἔγνω... πρὸς τί εἶπεν, <em>oudeis egnō... pros ti eipen</em>)—the verb <em>ginōskō</em> (to know, perceive) emphasizes their complete incomprehension. Even John, the beloved disciple who had just leaned on Jesus's breast (v.23), misses the significance. This reveals how Jesus shielded Judas's reputation to the very end...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Now no man at the table knew.**—This is a comment of the Apostle’s, as he writes in remembrance of the impression made at the time upon all who were present. They heard our Lord say to Judas, “What thou doest, do quickly; “but none of them knew until afterwards that these words referred to the betrayal.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because Judas had the bag</strong> (τὸ γλωσσόκομον, <em>to glōssokomon</em>)—originally a case for storing mouthpieces of wind instruments, here a money box or purse. Judas was the group's treasurer, handling finances for Jesus's itinerant ministry. John 12:6 reveals he was a thief who pilfered from this fund, making his betrayal for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15) particularly sor...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Because Judas had the bag.**—Comp. Notes on John 12:6.
**Buy those things that we have need of against the feast.**—Here, again, it will be better to postpone the consideration of details in the order of the events of this week, and to deal with the question as a whole. (Comp. *Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord.*)
**That he should give something to the poor.**—Such gifts se...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He then having received the sop went immediately out</strong> (ἐξῆλθεν εὐθύς, <em>exēlthen euthys</em>)—the adverb <em>euthys</em> (immediately, at once) appears 51 times in the Gospels, always denoting urgency. Judas's instant departure after receiving Satan shows how demonic possession drives toward destruction. He exits the light of Christ's presence into literal and spiritual darkness....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **He then having received the sop.**—Comp. Note on John 13:27. The narrative is resumed from that point, John 13:28-29 being an explanatory note added by the writer. Returning to the record of what took place, he dwells again on the moment of receiving the sop as that in which the betrayer took the fatal step which could not be retraced.
**And it was night.**—These words doubtless state the p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-30**
Our Lord had often spoken of his own sufferings and death, without such trouble of spirit as he now discovered when he spake of Judas. The sins of Christians are the grief of Christ. We are not to confine our attention to Judas. The prophecy of his treachery may apply to all who partake of God's mercies, and meet them with ingratitude. See the infidel, who only looks at the Sc...
Read full commentary →A New Commandment
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now is the Son of man glorified</strong> (νῦν ἐδοξάσθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, <em>nyn edoxasthē ho huios tou anthrōpou</em>)—the aorist passive verb <em>edoxasthē</em> (was glorified) treats Christ's coming suffering as already accomplished. In John's theology, the cross is not humiliation but glorification (John 12:23-24). The betrayal sets in motion the Passion that reveals God's glory: ho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Now is the Son of man glorified.**—Comp. Notes on John 11:4; John 12:28. The going out of Judas is the sign that the betrayal and death of the Son of Man was at hand. In that was the glory of His accomplished work, and He speaks of this glory as present. It lies so immediately before Him that it is at once realised; and the brightness of the vision over-powers all thought of the darkness of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 31-35**
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state. Satisfaction was thereby made for the wrong done to God by the sin of man. We cannot now follow our Lord to his heavenly happiness, but if we truly believe in him, we shall follow him hereafter;...
Read full commentary →If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself</strong> (εἰ ὁ θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ὁ θεὸς δοξάσει αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ)—the conditional 'if' assumes reality ('since God is glorified'). The future tense <em>doxasei</em> (shall glorify) points to the resurrection and ascension. <strong>In himself</strong> (ἐν ἑαυτῷ, <em>en heautō</em>) means God will glorify Christ not thr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **If God be glorified in him.**—These words are omitted by a majority of the best MSS.
**God shall also glorify him in himself.**—The tense now changes to the future, and the glory thought of is that of the Father’s throne. The words “in Himself,” refer to “God,” not to “the Son of Man.” The thought is that the humiliation by which God is manifested to the world is the glory of God in the per...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-54. What do we? for this man doeth many miracles--**"While we trifle, 'this man,' by His 'many miracles,' will carry all before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin." What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless effect, from His bitterest enemies!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 31-35**
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state. Satisfaction was thereby made for the wrong done to God by the sin of man. We cannot now follow our Lord to his heavenly happiness, but if we truly believe in him, we shall follow him hereafter;...
Read full commentary →Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Little children</strong> (Τεκνία, <em>teknia</em>)—a tender diminutive used only here in the Gospels (but 7x in 1 John), expressing deep affection and paternal care. Jesus's tone shifts from confronting Judas to tenderly preparing His remaining disciples for separation. This term conveys both intimacy and the disciples' spiritual immaturity—they are children who need comfort.<br><br><stron...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Little children, yet a little while I am with you.**—The thought of His own glory brings with it the thought of their state of orphanage when He shall have departed from them, and He addresses them as “Little children,” with a word of tenderness spoken only here by Him. The word impressed itself upon the mind of St. John, and it occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in his First Epistl...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**55-57. passover ... at hand ... many went ... up ... before the passover, to purify themselves--**from any legal uncleanness which would have disqualified them from keeping the feast. This is mentioned to introduce the graphic statement which follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 31-35**
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state. Satisfaction was thereby made for the wrong done to God by the sin of man. We cannot now follow our Lord to his heavenly happiness, but if we truly believe in him, we shall follow him hereafter;...
Read full commentary →A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus issues 'a new commandment' (entolen kainen), though the command to love is ancient (Leviticus 19:18). The newness lies in the standard: 'as I have loved you' (kathos egapesa hymas). The aorist tense egapesa points to His completed act of love - supremely the Cross. The command is 'that ye love one another' (hina agapate allelous), using agapao, the verb of self-giving, sacrificial love. Jesu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.**—There is no reference in the context to the Ten Commandments, and we are not therefore to seek the meaning of the “new commandment” in any more or less full contrast with them. They also taught that a man should love his neighbour as himself; and the fulfilment of the law is love. The contrast here is between what our Lord had s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**55-57. passover ... at hand ... many went ... up ... before the passover, to purify themselves--**from any legal uncleanness which would have disqualified them from keeping the feast. This is mentioned to introduce the graphic statement which follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 31-35**
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state. Satisfaction was thereby made for the wrong done to God by the sin of man. We cannot now follow our Lord to his heavenly happiness, but if we truly believe in him, we shall follow him hereafter;...
Read full commentary →By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another .
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares 'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples' (en touto gnosontai pantes hoti emoi mathetai este) - the identifying mark of genuine discipleship follows: 'if ye have love one to another' (ean agapen echete en allelois). The conditional ean (if) with present subjunctive echete indicates an ongoing condition, not a one-time demonstration. The phrase 'love one to another' (agap...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.**—The thought of their state of orphanage when He should depart from them is still present. He gives them a bond of union, by which they should always be linked to Him and to each other in the principle of love. The followers of great Teachers and Rabbis had their distinctive marks. Here was the distinctive Christian mark, which all men s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**55-57. passover ... at hand ... many went ... up ... before the passover, to purify themselves--**from any legal uncleanness which would have disqualified them from keeping the feast. This is mentioned to introduce the graphic statement which follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 31-35**
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state. Satisfaction was thereby made for the wrong done to God by the sin of man. We cannot now follow our Lord to his heavenly happiness, but if we truly believe in him, we shall follow him hereafter;...
Read full commentary →Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Lord, whither goest thou?</strong> (Κύριε, ποῦ ὑπάγεις; <em>Kyrie, pou hypageis</em>)—Peter's question interrupts Jesus's teaching, characteristically impulsive. The present tense <em>hypageis</em> (you are going) shows Peter fixated on physical departure, missing the spiritual reality. He wants destination details, not understanding Jesus goes to the cross and then glory.<br><br><strong>T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?**—Comp. John 13:33. The earnest, loving nature of the Apostle dwells upon the words which tell of the Master’s departure. He is prepared to follow Him to danger, or even to death, and, that he may do so, asks whither it is that He is going.
**Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now.**—Our Lord does not give the answer which St. Peter h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-38**
What Christ had said concerning brotherly love, Peter overlooked, but spoke of that about which Christ kept them ignorant. It is common to be more eager to know about secret things, which belong to God only, than about things revealed, which belong to us and our children; to be more desirous to have our curiosity gratified, than our consciences directed; to know what is done i...
Read full commentary →Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.</strong> Peter's passionate declaration reveals both sincere devotion and tragic self-confidence. The Greek verb <em>akoloutheo</em> (ἀκολουθέω, "follow") carries deep meaning in John's Gospel—not merely physical accompaniment but complete discipleship and willingness to share Christ's destiny. J...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Lord, why cannot I follow thee now?**—True to his impulsive, self-confident character, St. Peter is impatient of the delay imposed upon him. He is ready, in the fulness of his love, now, and does not dream that in the moment of trial he will be found wanting.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 12 Joh 12:1-11. The Anointing at Bethany.
(See on Mt 26:6-13).
**1-8. six days before the passover--**that is, on the sixth day before it; probably after sunset on Friday evening, or the commencement of the Jewish sabbath preceding the passover.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-38**
What Christ had said concerning brotherly love, Peter overlooked, but spoke of that about which Christ kept them ignorant. It is common to be more eager to know about secret things, which belong to God only, than about things revealed, which belong to us and our children; to be more desirous to have our curiosity gratified, than our consciences directed; to know what is done i...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?</strong> (ἀποκρίνεται Ἰησοῦς· Τὴν ψυχήν σου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ θήσεις, <em>apokrinetai Iēsous· Tēn psychēn sou hyper emou thēseis</em>)—Jesus questions Peter's confident self-assessment (13:37). The verb θήσεις (<em>thēseis</em>, 'will you lay down') echoes Jesus's own statement about laying down His life (John 10:11, 15). <strong>Verily,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?**—Comp. for this phrase Note on John 10:11. The pronouns are emphatic, and there is a solemn emphasis in the repetition of what St. Peter had said. He was using words of which he knew not the full meaning. He spoke of laying down his life for his Lord. He would hereafter be able to follow, because his Lord would lay down His own life for him.
For the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 12 Joh 12:1-11. The Anointing at Bethany.
(See on Mt 26:6-13).
**1-8. six days before the passover--**that is, on the sixth day before it; probably after sunset on Friday evening, or the commencement of the Jewish sabbath preceding the passover.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-38**
What Christ had said concerning brotherly love, Peter overlooked, but spoke of that about which Christ kept them ignorant. It is common to be more eager to know about secret things, which belong to God only, than about things revealed, which belong to us and our children; to be more desirous to have our curiosity gratified, than our consciences directed; to know what is done i...
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