John 13:1–17

¹It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.^{a 2}The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

³Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. ⁴So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. ⁵After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,^b nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.