You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.
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John 13:13-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jesus said to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are not all clean.” So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither is one who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’ From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he. Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”
Parallel Translations
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You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.
If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.
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Ye call me master and Lorde and ye saye well for so am I.
If I then youre Lorde and master have wesshed youre fete ye also ought to wesshe one anothers fete.
For I have geven you an ensample that ye shuld do as I have done to you.
Show all 3 translations
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Ye call me Master, and Lord, and ye say well: for so am I.
If I then your Lord, and Master, haue washed your feete, ye also ought to wash one an others feete.
For I haue giuen you an example, that ye should doe, euen as I haue done to you.
Cross-references (36)
- 1 Peter 5:5 (v14) Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another;…
- Acts 20:35 (v14) In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he…
- Romans 12:16 (v14) Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own…
- Galatians 5:13 (v14) For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
- Luke 22:26-27 (v14) But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves. For…
Show all 36 cross-references
- Mark 10:43-45 (v14) But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever of you wants to become first…
- 1 Peter 4:1 (v14) Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has…
- Hebrews 5:8-9 (v14) though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey…
- Matthew 20:26-28 (v14) It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you…
- Matthew 11:29 (v15) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
- 1 Corinthians 8:13 (v14) Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
- Philippians 2:2-8 (v14) make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through…
- 1 John 2:6 (v15) he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
- Romans 15:1-3 (v14) Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for…
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 (v14) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty…
- Galatians 6:1-2 (v14) Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to…
- Luke 6:46 (v13) “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?
- 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 (v14) For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I…
- 2 Corinthians 10:1 (v14) Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am…
- Hebrews 12:2 (v14) looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and…
- 1 Peter 2:21 (v15) For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,
- 1 Peter 3:17-18 (v15) For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the…
- 1 Corinthians 12:3 (v13) Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the…
- Philippians 2:11 (v13) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- John 11:28 (v13) When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”
- Romans 12:10 (v14) In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;
- Ephesians 5:2 (v15) Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
- Romans 14:8-9 (v13) For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end…
- Matthew 23:8-10 (v13) But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father,…
- Romans 15:5 (v15) Now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 (v13) yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,…
- Philippians 3:8 (v13) Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered…
- James 2:19 (v13) You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.
- Matthew 7:21-22 (v13) Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.…
- Luke 7:43 (v13) Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
- Luke 10:28 (v13) He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv14–15 14. If then I, who am your Lord and…
14. If then I, who am your Lord and Master. This is an argument from the greater to the less. Pride hinders us from maintaining that equality which ought to exist amongst us. But Christ, who is far exalted above all others, stoops down, that he may make the proud men ashamed, who, forgetting their station and rank, look upon themselves as not bound to hold intercourse with the brethren. For what does a mortal man imagine himself to be, when he refuses to bear the burdens of brethren, to accommodate himself to their customs, and, in short, to perform those offices by which the unity of the Church is maintained? In short, he means that the man who does not think of associating with weak brethren, on the condition of submitting mildly and gently even to offices which appear to be mean, claims more than he has a right to claim, and has too high an opinion of himself.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye…
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Ver. 13. Ye call me Master and Lord] A little before our Saviour came in the flesh, the Jewish doctors had taken up divers titles in this order; Rabbi, Rabban, Rub, Rabba, Gaon, Moreh, Morenu, and Morehtsedeck. These they did arrogantly appropriate to themselves; but Christ was the true owner of them all.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–15 The disciples in their ordinary discourses called Christ
The disciples in their ordinary discourses called Christ
Master and Lord; nor was it a name improper for him, for he was their Master to instruct them, their Lord to rule, guide, and govern them: now, saith our Saviour, disciples ought to obey their master, servants ought to obey their lord, and disciples also ought to imitate their master.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Ye call me Master and Lord,.... and "Master" and…
Ye call me Master and Lord,.... and "Master" and "Lord", were dignified titles among the Jews, which they frequently (y) gave to their doctors and men of learning, and are often to be met with in their writings: hence the disciples called Christ by these names, not out of flattery, but reverence of him, and esteem for him; nor are they blamed, but commended for it:
and ye say well, for so I am; though he had acted the part of a servant in such a surprising manner, by washing their feet; yet he had not dropped and lost, but still maintains his place and authority as a "Master" to teach and instruct them, and as a "Lord" to rule and govern them.
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(y) Vid. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 3. 1. Derech Erets, c. 6. fol. 18. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v14 Ye ought also to wash one another's feet -…
Ye ought also to wash one another's feet - And why did they not? Why do we not read of any one apostle ever washing the feet of any other? Because they understood the Lord better. They knew he never designed that this should be literally taken. He designed to teach them the great lesson of humble love, as well as to confer inward purity upon them. And hereby he teaches us,
1. In every possible way to assist each other in attaining that purity;
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2. To wash each other's feet, by performing all sorts of good offices to each other, even those of the lowest kind, when opportunity serves, and the necessity of any calls for them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Verse 13. Ye call me Master and Lord] Ὁ…
Verse 13. Ye call me Master and Lord] Ὁ διδασκαλος και ὁ κυριος, similar to רבי Rabbi, and מר Mar, titles very common among the Jewish doctors, as may be seen in Schoettgen. This double title was not given except to the most accredited teachers, רבי ומורי Rabbi vemore, my master, my lord!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Ye call me Master - Teacher.
Ye call me Master - Teacher.
And Lord - This word is applied to one who rules, and is often given to God as being the Proprietor and Ruler of all things. It is given to Christ many hundred times in the New Testament.
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Ye say well ... - Mat 23:8, Mat 23:10.
So I am - That is, he was their Teacher and Instructor, and he was their Sovereign and King.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v14 You also ought to wash one another’s feet. Not…
You also ought to wash one another’s feet. Not that he made this a standing precept according to the letter; but designed it as a lesson in humility. We find this custom literally observed in several churches, as it is now down every year by diverse prelates, and by Christian kings and princes. (Witham) --- He gives us an example of a more elevated act of virtue, that we may at least learn to practise the lower degrees of it. For he indeed was their Lord, but when we perform this office, we can but do it to our fellow-servants. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxx. in Joan.) --- That it is, blessed Peter, which you were ignorant of, but which he promises to explain afterwards. (St. Augustine, tract. 58. in Joan.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Ye call me Master--Teacher.
Ye call me Master--Teacher.
and Lord--learning of Him in the one capacity, obeying Him in the other.
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and ye say well, for so I am--The conscious dignity with which this claim is made is remarkable, following immediately on His laying aside the towel of service. Yet what is this whole history but a succession of such astonishing contrast from first to last?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–14 13. Master and Lord—Literally, the Master and the Lord;…
13. Master and Lord—Literally, the Master and the Lord; using the titles as the disciples applied them to him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. Master and Lord] Or, The Master (Teacher) and…
13. Master and Lord] Or, The Master (Teacher) and the Lord. These are the ordinary titles of respect paid to a Rabbi: ‘Lord’ is the correlative of ‘servant,’ so that ‘Master’ might be a synonym for that also; but the disciples would no doubt use the word with deeper meaning as their knowledge of their Master increased. In the next verse the order of the titles is reversed, to give emphasis to the one with this deeper meaning.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 (13) Ye call me Master and Lord—i.e., Master in…
(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 Joh_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 the reverence which they paid to Him. These were the common titles of everyday life which He here asserts for Himself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Ye name me the Teacher and the Lord. "Rabbi…
Ye name me the Teacher and the Lord. "Rabbi and Mara," the names of reverence which disciples of the Hebrew teachers were accustomed to offer to their masters. Fwnein means to name, and the two nominatives are used appellatively, not as vocatives. Tholuck regards them as vocatives. Scholars dared not address their teachers without some marks of respect. Didaskalov is John"s equivalent for ybr, my Master. (see Joh_1:29 Joh_20:16) And ye say well; for so I am. At this supreme moment he does not repudiate this high function, nor abate any of his lofty claims. He was most obviously the highest in his condescending love. He had given no more amazing proof of the originality and supremacy of his nature than this inversion of all ordinary relations. So I AM more, indeed, than "the Teacher," "the Savior," more than "the Master," as Peter said on a memorable occasion, "God was with him," and he was Immanuel with us," and "Lord of all". (Act_10:37, Act_10:38)
Mastership and subjection.
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Equality amongst men is the dream of fanatics. It is true that men should by law have equal rights. But the Creator has not bestowed equal gifts or powers of body or of mind, and no human laws can equalize men"s condition, their possessions, or their enjoyments. And in all society there must be authority and. subordination; some must rule, and some obey. So is it in the spiritual kingdom of our Lord.
I THE CLAIM OF CHRIST.
1. Wheel it is.
(1) Jesus claims to be the authoritative Teacher, the Master of his people and of mankind, lie reveals and communicates the truth of God to men. He bids us learn of him.
(2) He claims to be the Lord who rules. His authority is not merely over men"s beliefs; it is over their actions. He issues laws, and requires homage and obedience. In both these respects Christ is unrivalled and supreme. "One is your Master.
2. On what it rests.
(1) On grounds of native right. The Deity of our Lord"s Person, the Divinity of his attributes, his appointment by the Father, give him a right to teach and. to govern his people.
(2) On grounds of moral fitness, His wisdom and insight are such that none is so qualified to instruct; his moral authority is such that the conscience bows before him as before none other.
(3) Christ"s claim rests upon tenderer grounds upon his love toward his people. What he has done and suffered for us is proof of his disinterested affection, and gives his claim to our devotion an efficacy quite unique.
II HIS PEOPLE"S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CHRIST"S CLAIM.
1. The character of this acknowledgment. It is sincere and practical; opposed to resistance and rebellion, and equally opposed to pretence and hypocrisy. The repudiation of the rebel, the enemy, and the pretence and dissimulation of the hypocrite, are alike detestable to Christ.
2. The methods of this acknowledgment. Practical submission to Jesus means the studying and reception of his doctrines, and obedience to his commands. Yet there are certain definite ways in which we may recognize Christ"s lordship, e.g. by honoring his holy Name, and by discountenancing and rebuking profanity; and again by devoutly observing his ordinance, concerning which he said, "Do this in remembrance of me.
3. The advantages of this acknowledgment. It tends
(1) to the improvement of the individual Christian character;
(2) to the unity of the Church, which needs to think less of human leaders and more of the Divine Head; and
(3) to the illumination and conversion of the world. On these accounts they "say well" who sincerely recognize Christ"s just demands upon them, and. prove their sincerity by their docility and. their obedience. T.
The Lordship of Jesus.
I OUR RESEMBLANCE TO THE DISCIPLES IN USING THE NAME. These men called Jesus "Lord," and were known as his helpers and agents. As long as Jesus remained in the flesh there was no difficulty in looking upon him as Master. All their doings had been sufficiently easy, consisting, as they did, for the most part, of outward actions. But in due season the visible Master became the invisible, and one by one the first servants also died away and went into the invisible. Thus generation has succeeded generation, ever getting further and further from those first days when the visible Master stood among his servants, appointing their tasks. But we have not yet lost the habit of using the Master-name. We also say, "Lord," and Jesus might well ask what we mean by using the name. Is it to be a mere title of honor, with the recollections of power and duty that first caused it to be given emptied out of it? Or is there a real mastery and a real service still? We cannot say, "Lord, Lord!" too often, if the saying helps in serving and in bringing others to serve.
II It may be we resemble the disciples in using the Master-name without knowing from a deep experience WHAT IT IS TRULY TO HAVE JESUS FOR MASTER. Empty compliments do Jesus no good, any more than mere names of abuse do him harm. The first disciples did not become the true servants of Jesus just because of what they did for him in the days of his flesh. Only when Jesus had passed through all those experiences which put him at God"s right hand did his disciples really comprehend what Jesus wants from men, and what men can do and are bound to do for Jesus. The Lordship of Jesus is a spiritual thing, and has to be spiritually discerned. This is emphatically a matter in which none of us is to be taken on his bare word. We are not the servants of Jesus because we say we are or think we are. The service truly acceptable to him does not lie in a quantity of talking or even of doing. With Jesus, quality goes before quantity, and where there is quality, quantity never fails. Character and inward life, these constitute the richest service to Jesus. Jesus expects every one of us to do much for him, but it is by being much. Jesus does want our service, our best, fullest, heartiest service, and he will not leave us in any doubt as to whether we are doing just what he wants. No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, and where the Holy Ghost is there must be true service.
III THE SERVICE IS ONE CONDITIONED BY OUR PRESENT LIFE. We are here in the flesh. Our fellow-creatures in need can see us, but they cannot see Jesus. We are to furnish bodies through which the spiritual Jesus can bless mankind. We are even to do greater works than Jesus did in the days of his flesh. Preaching the gospel of spiritual salvation and renewal to sinners, with demonstration of the Spirit and of power, is a far greater work than the resurrection of Lazarus. This makes our obligation, our privilege, and our abundant opportunity. As long as there are sinners in the world there will be no lack of opportunities for serving the Lord Jesus. We have each to find our own opportunity. Doing what lies nearest us is our wisdom. Because it lies nearest us we are more responsible for it than any one else. We serve as the lighted lamp serves, and it is not expected to give light to those a mile away. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 13, 14. Ye call me Master and Lord. Ye…
13, 14. Ye call me Master and Lord. Ye ought to follow the example of humility, self-sacrifice, and service to others, that your Lord sets you. Instead of seeking the pre-eminence, disputing concerning the seats of honor, and shrinking from humble service to each other, ye should follow my example.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 13:14-15 Jesus’ acts of service, such as washing feet…
13:14-15 Jesus’ acts of service, such as washing feet and dying on the cross, provided an example of personal sacrifice to follow. • wash each other’s feet: Foot washing was so commonplace that Jesus might have intended a literal repetition of his act, or he might have seen it as symbolic. Either way, Jesus wants similar servanthood and sacrifice to characterize his followers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.