The Gospel According to John (American Standard Version, 1901) · 24 of 37 · tr. American Standard Version (1901)
13:3-13:26
[13:3] Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God,
[13:4] riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself.
[13:5] Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
[13:6] So he cometh to Simon Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
[13:7] Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter.
[13:8] Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
[13:9] Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
[13:10] Jesus saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
[13:11] For he knew him that should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
[13:12] So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
[13:13] Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
[13:14] If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
[13:15] For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you.
[13:16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him.
[13:17] If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them.
[13:18] I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me.
[13:19] From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
[13:20] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
[13:21] When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
[13:22] The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
[13:23] There was at the table reclining in Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
[13:24] Simon Peter therefore beckoneth to him, and saith unto him, Tell us who it is of whom he speaketh.
[13:25] He leaning back, as he was, on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
[13:26] Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
Peter is told 'What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter,' indicating an outer meaning (foot washing) concealing an inner liberating truth.
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
The divine one takes on bounded bodily form, laying aside garments, pouring water, and performing physical acts of service in a specific corporeal existence.
Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.
The central act is Jesus washing his disciples' feet and commanding them to do the same, making active compassionate care for others the core teaching of the passage.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The washing establishes a state of spiritual cleanliness ('ye are clean, but not all'), with the bathed one needing only foot-washing, distinguishing the pure from the impure.
The Self-Begotten (Autogenes) — the great angel and 'God of the Light' who emerges from the luminous cloud at the supreme Spirit's command and organizes the aeons, luminaries, and realms of light; the Sethian first-born of the divine fullness, distinct from the demiurge in being an emanation of light rather than an ignorant creator.
Jesus is described as having 'came forth from God,' echoing the language of the Self-Begotten emerging from the supreme source.