Five-year Bible reading plan for 14 June 2024

King James Version (en)

John, Chapter 13, verses 21-30

¹⁸ He foretelleth and discovereth to John by a token that Judas should betray him

²¹When 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.

²²Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

²³Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

²⁴Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.

²⁵He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

²⁶Jesus 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.

²⁷And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

²⁸Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

²⁹For 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.

³⁰He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

NOTES

Jesus has gathered His disciples for the final meal, the meal of the covenant. He gives them a new law unlike the old one. His commandment...

Believers, and also unbelievers, often have to hear something like this: the main problem for a person is that he cannot meet God or Christ personally. If only everyone saw with their own eyes, then there would be no unbelievers; everyone would believe. But here is the situation of the Last Supper. Judas not only sees Christ face to face, but also breaks bread with Him. One could hardly be closer or clearer. And yet he does not change at all. He does not begin to trust the Teacher more than before. And he certainly does not repent of anything. On the contrary, he goes and does what he intended to do. And, strange as it is, Jesus tells him to do it quickly. What is this: a desire to dot the i's as quickly as possible? Maybe.

But another possibility exists: Judas is being given one last chance. Jesus, of course, perfectly understood what Judas intended to do: He sees the human heart through and through, as God sees it. Judas's plan was not a secret to Him, as it was to His disciples. But Jesus understands something else too: a person has a chance for repentance and conversion until the very end. Meeting God face to face, of course, by itself does not guarantee a good outcome. Just as fellowship with Jesus at one table and the breaking of bread with Him did not lead Judas to a good outcome. But such a meeting can become a moment of decision. And what it will be depends on the person's own choice. Meeting God only gives this choice form, makes it visible and conscious for the person himself.

And then a person has a new chance for repentance and conversion. Of course, there are no guarantees that he will use it. There are no guarantees at all in spiritual life. But if there is a chance, it must not be taken away from a person. And Jesus leaves Judas this last chance. He says to him: act. Do what you have planned. Of course, this is not approval of betrayal. It is rather a push that brings a person out of stupor. Since you have decided, do it.

Such words usually bring a person out of spiritual stupor and indecision. And he begins to act. Then there is also a chance that the person will change his mind. That he will change his decision, even at the last moment. Judas did repent, after all; he directly told the high priest that he had betrayed an innocent man. True, he said it too late, when everything had already been done. The decision came late, and the repentance was incomplete. This incompleteness led Judas to suicide. But he received his last chance. And he used it as he wanted and was able.

FAQ

I do not entirely understand the meaning of the passage in the Gospel of John where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. As far as I understand, this had some kind of symbolic meaning?

The washing of feet, which is spoken of in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, has both an important direct meaning and an equally important symbolic one. According to Jewish tradition, when guests who came to a house (or a religious community gathered in a house) sat down for a meal...

The washing of feet, which is spoken of in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, has both an important direct meaning and an equally important symbolic one.

According to Jewish tradition, when guests who came to a house (or a religious community gathered in a house) sat down for a meal, the youngest had to wash the hands of the eldest: the master of the house, the most honored guest, or the head of the community. If there were servants in the house, in certain cases a servant had to wash the feet of the most honored guest.

It is commonly believed that the youngest member of the apostolic community was John the Evangelist; therefore, it was he who was supposed to wash the hands of the head of the community—the Lord Jesus Christ. It was probably from the Apostle John that the Lord took the basin and the towel when He began to wash the disciples' feet. Perhaps this is why the Apostle reports this fact to us.

One way or another, by washing the disciples' feet, the Lord places Himself in the position of a servant, thereby profoundly shocking the disciples. Simon Peter even protested against it…

This action became a realization, as well as a visible and highly memorable repetition, of Christ's words: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" ( 20:28).

But most importantly—the Lord, according to His own words, in washing the disciples' feet set an example both for the apostles themselves and for all those who would head Christian communities. "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant" ( 20:28), says Christ.

It is important that the concept of authority in the Church differs strikingly from secular notions. The paradigm of secular authority has forever been the Roman emperor, who is considered the best, the most important, who is unconditionally obeyed, and whose decisions are not debated. Such a bearer of power is rendered homage, his portraits are hung on walls, and he is driven in chariots with "flashing lights", blocking traffic for him in half the city…

In the Church, authority is associated with credibility and respect, but it is not connected with ostentatious pomp, which the early Roman Christians called pompa diaboli. The main thing is that in the Church, authority consists not in the right to make decisions, but in the power of love and service, and in spiritual responsibility and the readiness to bear the sorrows of the people.

Since antiquity, this passage has been associated with priestly, and especially episcopal, ministry. The heads of Christian communities are appointed precisely to serve the brethren according to the example that Christ gives here. In the early centuries, this was essentially the case, and the early Church Fathers repeatedly urged respect for bishops because of their service, rather than disregarding them. Later, the situation changed… It should be noted that until 1917, there was a custom in the Russian Church whereby bishops on Maundy Thursday (specifically, on Wednesday evening) washed the feet of the presbyters of their diocese. In some Western Churches (including the Catholic Church), this custom has been preserved. In our country, after the persecutions, this custom fell out of use, but the washing of feet remains the principal symbol of Church ministry.

In addition to this, the washing of feet is generally considered one of the symbols of the purification of the heart, which is accomplished both in Baptism and in confession, and this symbol is also connected with priestly ministry.

Why are the words “holy” or “truly” repeated multiple times in the Bible? Is this a feature of direct translation from Aramaic, which has its own grammatical peculiarities, or is there another reason?

“Truly, truly, I say to you…” — this is a rhetorical figure in the Aramaic language, used to strengthen semantic emphasis. It was incorporated without change into almost all translations of the Bible, because nearly all languages possess analogous rhetorical devices...

${currentDateString}


	After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.