Maundy Thursday - John 13: 1-15

Hi everyone. Welcome back to the podcast or hope you're enjoying learning the gospels this way where we really dive into the text and we always want to get it the literal sense. What was the author trying to convey to his original audience? And that's where we have to start and we do that by looking at the type of words that are used the type of items that were in use at the time, the geography, all that sort of stuff comes together when we do

an exegesis. Now, on this particular day in the liturgical calendar, it's Holy Thursday, as we call it in most countries, but the technical name on the general, Roman Calendar is Maundy Thursday and there's actually two different masses on this day, which have two different readings. So there's often a morning Mass, which is called the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday. And then there's a later Mass called the mass of the Lord's

supper. And that later one is the one that most of us are familiar with. So we're going to do the gospel. Reading for that later, mass for the mass of the Lord's Supper. So we're looking today at John chapter 13 verses 1 to 15. It was before the Festival of the Passover. And Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the father.

He had always loved those who were in the world but now he showed how perfect his love was They were at supper and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas. Iscariot the son of Simon to betray him. Jesus knew that the father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God and he

got up from table removed. His outer garment and taking a towel wrapped it round his waist, then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him? Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus answered at the moment, you do not know what I'm doing, but later, you will understand never said, Peter. You shall never wash my feet. Jesus replied.

If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me. Then lord said, Simon Peter, not only my feet but my hands are my head as well. Jesus said, no one who has taken a bath needs washing. He is clean all over you. Two are clean though. Not all of you are He knew who is going to portray him. That's why he said though, not all of you are. When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again, he went back to the table. Do you understand? He said, what I have done to

you. You call me master and Lord and rightly so I am if I then the Lord and Master have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you. So, what's the context what's

happened? Just before this, in the Gospel of John. So Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. So, we're now in the final week and in this particular section, Jesus begins, and this starts quite a long section John. He begins to personally, show his love for his own particularly in relation to his impending, death. So verse one of chapter 13, says it was before the Festival of the Passover.

So the Passover was going to take place on the Friday of that week, so that will be April 3rd 33 ad. And for whatever reason, Jesus ends up celebrating the Passover meal on Thursday with his disciples. And we've talked in this podcast about different theories as to why he celebrates his Passover meal with the disciples on the Thursday, rather than the Friday. Verse one goes on, Jesus knew that the hour had come. So Jesus has this Supernatural knowledge and he knows that his

death is close. He can feel it. So the hour has come and in a theological terms, this is the hour of his new Passover and Exodus. The Great ACT of Salvation in which God's love defeats the power of sin, and ransoms, those enslaved to it. So, all of that is about to happen. And Jesus knows that and he knows it in. Nuclear, the time has come for him to pass from this world to

the father. So, depending on how you interpret that to pass to the father, certainly it means that Jesus Earthly ministry will ended his crucifixion. So, although after he after he dies, he doesn't technically go to the father. You could say that the end of his, because he doesn't go to the father till after his Ascension. But certainly after his crucifixion that's the end of his ministry.

With his disciples, he does see the disciples again after his death but he no longer spends regular. Time in Ministry with them, it's only a short while after his death that he goes to heaven to be with the father. So that's probably what it means. He senses that the end of his ministry has arrived. He had always loved those who were his in the world.

So this passage is talking about his followers, those who is going to leave behind when he leaves the world and goes to the father and he has always loved his followers. Now, what does loved mean? It can mean a few different things, but in the Gospels, it usually means caring deeply for the well-being of someone. So doing good to someone. And that's probably what it means here as well.

Jesus wants to continue doing good for This one says, but now he showed how perfect his love was or most translations have this as he loved them until the end and that's quite a beautiful phrase so it could may need when it says the end. It could mean, as in time, Jesus, love them right up until the moment of his death. But the end can also mean, in terms of perfection Jesus, love them to completion.

So, John the narrator Is telling us just how perfect Jesus love really is. And in fact, he's about to perform the ultimate Act of love. So what is this demonstration of love? You could interpret it as the cross certainly that's the ultimate Act of Love or it could mean the very next thing that Jesus does which is also a demonstration of his love and that is the foot washing verse 2.

They were at supper so they're at the Passover dinner on the Thursday evening The devil had already put it into the mind of Judas, Iscariot the son of Simon to betray him. So the devil wants Jesus. Did the devil thinks that if Jesus dies then he wins. So the devil's plan is just not slowly manipulate the plans and thoughts of Judas to ensure that Jesus will die verse 3. Jesus knew that the father had

put everything into his hands. And that he had come from God and was returning to God. So Jesus knows. An awful lot. He knows his place as the second person of the Trinity. He knows it. He's from God, and he knows God's plan. He knows all that's about to occur and why? Basically, now we got to get to this next section which is about foot washing and it's important to talk about the cultural context, why would people's feet be washed before meals?

So in that society and it's largely a desert country while it's certainly in the middle of the Middle East and desert Most people traveled by foot either Barefoot or with open sandals that was quite common in that culture. So the reality is that most of the time, people's feet were very dirty. So when someone went in for a meal, it was an act of hospitality to offer guests

water for washing their feet. So usually the hosts would offer sort of a bowl of water for the person to wash their own feet with in order to feel a bit more refreshed and clean and to get ready to enter the meal. Now the underside of the foot was considered to be a dishonorable part of the body. So that's why the host wouldn't wash the guests feet that would get the guests to do it themselves because it was not considered a nice part of the body to touch.

So if the host was going to get anyone to wash their feet, it would either be getting the person themself to do it or sending one of their slaves or a person of lower status to do the foot washing, you don't get someone of higher status to wash feet. That's just consider to be gross and not, Done thing. But now verse for Jesus, got up from table removed, his outer garments.

So he sort of taking off the larger cloak, so he's a bit more free to do the manual labor associated with foot-washing. He takes a towel and wrapped it around his waist, so Jesus is clearly taking on the position of servant here. So if a person a rich person had servants, they would get the servant to wash the guests feet and Jesus is now becoming this servant. He Poured water into a basin. And began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the

towel he was wearing. So imagine how shocking this would be for the disciples. Masters did not do this for servants higher class. People did not wash the feet of lower people. So why is Jesus doing that? While he actually tells us a bit later on? That he is setting an example for the disciples but it's also you could see this and some Scholars, see this As a pre enactment of what he's about to do on the cross.

So, on the cross. Jesus, descends to the lowest depths the human can be for the sake of all other creatures. And that's what Philippians chapter 2. Says it says, though, he was in the form of God, taking the form of a slave. He humbled himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. So, the feet washing, is in a sense of foreshadowing of the ultimate humility that Jesus is about to experience. It's verse 6. He came to Simon Peter, who said

to him? Lord, are you going to wash my feet? So, Peter here seems to be indignant as he does elsewhere in the gospels. He think he doesn't think it's appropriate for Jesus as the Messiah to be doing these actions. He thinks that, you know, the Messiah should not be doing these kind of lower actions. That doesn't make sense for the Messiah. Jesus says, at the moment, you do not know what I'm doing, but later, You will understand.

So there's the reality is as we look at the gospels, there's a whole lot of things that Jesus said and did that were mysterious that it to the disciples during his ministry. They just didn't get a lot of what he did. But later when they were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they did understand the things that had happened.

They were able to look back and say now I understand and we see that in John chapter 16 verse 13 and 14, the disciples were clearly enlightened by the Holy Spirit later on Verse 8. Jesus continued to talks to Peter. If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.

So Jesus, here is saying that if Peter can't accept the model that Jesus is setting out for the kingdom and if Peter can't yield to Jesus instructions, then basically he's not fit to be a part of that Kingdom. So Jesus here is using quite forceful language. He's telling Jesus, he must submit Now, this is in a sense director, to all Christians as

well. And some commentaries talked about how sometimes we might feel like, Jesus isn't good enough to wash your feet or on the other hand, we might feel that we're not good enough and Jesus shouldn't come near us and wash our feet. But Jesus instruction here is pretty clear. If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me. We must submit to Christ in order to benefit from his death on the cross. No matter who we think we are in relation to him.

We must submit to Jesus and he's Structions. Verse 9 Peter thinks he understands he says well then Lord not only my feet but my hands and my head as well. So Peter probably thinks Jesus is talking about you know doing a physical complete washing of the body. He seems to be saying something like well if that's the case Jesus, then I want more of your washing washing me all over. Verse 10. Jesus indicates that. Peter hasn't understood. He says no one who has taken a

bath needs washing. He is clean all over. So, Jesus is basically saying to Peter. That's not the reason I'm watching you. It's not that kind of washing. So, Jesus is doing this action of washing the feet because there's something symbolic about washing the feet in particular. It's not about washing the whole body to make it clean. It's actually about the action of washing someone's feet that Jesus wants them to pay attention to And the Peter hasn't understood.

Remember that in that culture feet would typically dirty. And so people would servants would wash the feet of higher class people, when they arrive for a meal and it was considered to be quite a gross. Debasing thing to do to watch someone else's meal. Now, some translations actually have this first to make it a bit clearer. It says no one who is taking a bath needs washing except for his feet. So that would certainly make sense. Jesus wants him to pay attention

to the feet. There's something about that. And then Jesus finishes this by saying, you two are clean though, not all of you are. So Jesus uses this as a teaching opportunity, he says to Peter, you're clean. But someone else in here or rather some of you in here are not. So he's Shifting the metaphor to now mean, morally clean. He says, that in a sense, there's some people here who are not more Ali, clean and verse 11. John tells us, he knew who was

going to betray him. That's why he said though, not all of you are. So Jesus, here is talking about Judas, Judas is not really clean morally, Verse 12. Now, Jesus, if it just finished, their, we'd still be kind of left wondering a little bit about what exactly the foot washing means. And sometimes, unfortunately, that's what people do when they're interpreting. This passage, is they finished their and they don't actually.

They don't actually read the rest of the passage where Jesus explains why he washed their feet verse 12. Jesus says, do you understand what I have done to you? So, Jesus wants to ensure that his disciples of understood the message. Now he says, you call me master or teacher and Lord. So Jesus is establishing. These are the common titles of respect that you've called me during my Ministry and they submit to his authority. So Jesus establishes that and then he says this and this is

important and rightly. So I am So here, Jesus confirms that he is their master and Lord. He says you are correct. I am your master and Lord. Now that's important when we're doing an exegesis because some people, you might have heard, some people do sermons on this where they interpret the washing of the feet to mean that Jesus is telling the disciples that he's not really their master and that they have misunderstood he's saying I'm not really your

master. Now this verse rules that interpretation out that can't be correct because Jesus here says you call me master And Lord and rightly. So I am. So Jesus first starts by saying I am your master but here's the point he wants to make verse 14. If I then the Lord and Master have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example. So that you may copy what I have done to you. This is the key reason why Jesus washed their feet.

He set an example to them. So, as the master Jesus has model, the kind of behavior. He It's his disciples to show to each other. As the lord of the Kingdom. He's telling the the other leaders of the Kingdom how he wants them to act once he's gone. So just as Jesus has washed their feet, he wants him to wash each other's feet, even though that's not the done thing in that culture. The disciples would not really

wash each other's feet. That would be considered to be a debasing thing to do. But Jesus has said, look, I've just done it for you. And I'm your master. You need to do this to each other. In fact, in verse 16 verse 16 is not part of our reading today but it's just after where we get to, Jesus says that if they actually refused to follow, if they refuse to wash each other's feet, they're actually refusing to follow his instructions.

Verse 16 says, truly truly, I say unto you a servant is not greater than his master. So, in other words, Jesus is saying, if I your master Have done this. Then you as servants can certainly do it as well. He knows that this is going to be a hard teaching for them to accept that they have to wash each other's feet. That's fairly confronting So Jesus tells them why he has

washed their feet. And the answer is because he wants to model to them, a behavior that he wants them to do. He wants him to wash each other's feet. What he doesn't explain here is why he wants them to wash each other's feet that isn't made explicit although I think we can work it out because Jesus says something a few verses after this that helps Why does he want

them to wash each other's feet? It's because he wants them to be each other's servant and that matches nicely with other things Jesus has said, because remember elsewhere in the gospels, he says, the greatest in the Kingdom must be the least. Remember that Jesus knows that he's about to leave and he knows that in his absence. The apostles are going to be in

charge of the kingdom. And he knows also that the apostles are going to be tempted to Lord it over each other and to Lord it over other Christians because he's seen them do that. So here, Jesus shows them how a true Christian leaders should act, he's showing them what he wants leadership in the Kingdom to look like and in particular, how the disciple should treat each other. In fact, the Apostle John, the person who wrote this passage would later.

Say the way we came to know, love was that he lay down his life for us. So we ought to lay down our lives for our own brothers. That's in 1, John 3:16 in the first letter of John later in the Bible. So John understood what Jesus is saying here. He wants Christian leaders, To be willing to become servants for each other. Now, a few verses later Jesus says this this is still in the Last Supper, he says to them a new commandment. I give unto you, love one.

Another as I have loved you notice, this is essentially the same teaching, you must wash. Each other's feet is essentially the same teaching as love one another. It's the same basic idea. Jesus wants the apostles to treat each other in such a way that the rest of the world takes notice. And is drawn to Jesus as a

result. So Jesus wants to make sure that the leaders of his kingdom treat each other in such a humble servant like way that other people in the world will take notice and want to become part of the Kingdom. That's the whole reason. Why Jesus shows them this foot-washing. As an example of the kind of servant leadership, he wants his Apostles to have Hopefully, that

makes sense. Now, this passage that's the end of your exegesis, but it gets quite a bit of air time in the catechism, particularly the first verse where Jesus, it says, Jesus loved them until the end. And there's lots of amazing verses here where the catechism really makes clear the importance of Jesus death and this is foundational stuff and theology. Why does Jesus died on the cross?

So I want to read out a few of these paragraphs from the catechism Paragraph 609 says, by, embracing in his human heart, The Father's Love For Men, Jesus loved them to the end for greater love has no, man than this, that a man lay down his life, for his friends, in suffering and death. His Humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his Divine love, which desires the salvation of men, indeed, out of love for his father. And for men, whom the father

wants to save Jesus freely. Accepted his passion and death. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Hence, the Sovereign freedom of God's son as he went out to his death. Then in paragraph 6 16 again it says it is love to the end, the confers on, Christ's sacrifice, its value as Redemption and reparation as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. Now, the love of Christ controls us because we are convinced that

one has died for all. Therefore, all have died. No man. Even the holiest was ever able to take on himself. All the sins of all men and offered himself as a sacrifice for all the existence in Christ of the Divine person of the son, who, at once, surpasses and Embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the head of all mankind, makes possible. His Redemptive sacrifice for all. So quite strong, but quite powerful theological language is used here about.

The reason Jesus died on the cross was because he loved us to the end paragraph 1380 applies. This to the Eucharist, it says it is highly fitting. The Christ should have wanted to remain present to his church in this unique way, since Christ was about to take his departure, from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his Sacramento Presidents. Since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us.

He wanted us to have the memorial of the love with, which he loved us to the end, even to the giving of his life in his Eucharistic presence. He remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that Express and communicate this love, and then in paragraph, 15 to 4. This is in the section about Viacom which is the last Eucharist a person receives as he's about to die.

It says, in addition to the anointing of the sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life. The Eucharist as via tucum communion in the body and blood of Christ received at this moment of passing over to the father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of Resurrection.

According to the words of the Lord, he who eats my flesh and drinks my My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day, the sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here. The sacrament of passing over from Death to life from this world to the father. So that particular paragraph uses the language from John Chapter 13 about passing over to the father as an image of death.

The last couple of paragraphs, talk about how this applies to us today, in terms of our commandment to love each other and Jesus example, in the washing of the feet. So paragraph, 1823 says, Jesus makes charity or love the new commandment by loving his own quote to the end unquote.

He makes manifest The Father's Love which he receives by loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus, which they themselves receive Wentz. Jesus said, Says as the father has loved me. So I have loved you and abide in my love. And again this is my commandment that you love one. Another as I have loved you, Paragraph 1694 says, incorporated into Christ by baptism, Christians are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.

And so participate in the life of the Risen Lord, following Christ and United with him, Christian's can strive to be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in Love by conforming. Their thoughts words and actions to the mind which is yours in Christ Jesus. And by following his example, So, that is a paragraph about how we should be copying the example of Christ. For example, his washing of the feet in John Chapter 13

paragraph. 1269 I won't read that one, but that's about how Christians are called to be obedient to the church and to continue to conform ourselves to the wishes of Christ. And then in paragraph, five to zero will finish with this one in all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model, he is the perfect man who invites us to become his disciples and follow him in humbling himself.

He has given us an example to imitate through his prayer, he draws us to pray and by his poverty, he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way. So there's a lot of powerful things to meditate on there from this passage in John chapter 13. Thanks for listening. If you learn something new and you think others would appreciate hearing this podcast, please share it around. Subscribe on YouTube. Leave a rating on iTunes. I really appreciate it.

Thank you. Hopefully, you'll tune in again tomorrow.