Hello, and welcome to the STC podcast. My name is Casey Strine, I’m a member of the STC staff, and I’m excited to be sharing a few of my reflections on the Gospel of John with you this week.

This week we will be looking at materials from chapters 12, 13, and 14 of the Gospel according to John.

This section of the Gospel of John includes Jesus’ final public conversation (in chapter 12) and some of the last conversations he has with his closest disciples. These passages are filled with the ideas Jesus wants to ensure his closest followers understand before his death because they are the concepts on which God will build a movement of people following Jesus and seeking to complete his mission.

REFLECTION:

With the beginning of chapter 13, the Gospel of John now takes us literally inside Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. Verse two tells us the evening meal is in progress. Since Jesus is not travelling with family, it is his inner circle of twelve followers who he eats with in this scene. It is not like Jesus to mince words in the Gospel of John in any scenario, but with this small group of trusted friends there is no reason at all for him to hide his innermost thoughts. Over the next few chapters, that is proven to be the case.

One of the most often observed differences between the Gospel of John and those of Matthew, Mark, and Luke is that John does not have a so-called Last Supper where Jesus conducts the first Holy Communion through the eating of bread and drinking of wine. Instead, John portrays Jesus washing the feet of his closest friends. There are many things that might be said about why feet washing was a sign of service in the ancient world, but I don’t have time to address them here because I want to focus on what Jesus wants to teach his disciples through the act, not why he chose it in particular.

Simon Peter – the follower Jesus would choose to lead the movement in his name after his death – clearly is uncomfortable with Jesus’ act of service. Despite his objections, Jesus finally completes the task. He asks, at this point, if these men understand what he has done for them. Peter’s behaviour makes it pretty clear they do not. The question is obviously rhetorical, for Jesus goes on to answer it. First, he reminds them that he is their leader and their teacher; according to outward appearances and to the way the world considers things, Jesus is superior to them. Second, Jesus says that what he has done is an example for them. An example that ‘no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.’

Jesus displays an important form of leadership here: he casts a vision for what he wants his team to do and he removes an obstacle that might keep them from accomplishing it. So what is Jesus’ vision and what is the obstacle?

Jesus’ vision, what he has been calling for since the beginning of his ministry, is to see people return to following God with all their heart, and soul, and strength. That faith is reflected in the way they love others – which we’ll explore in tomorrow’s passage. In God’s economy, the one who is rich and has resources is to use them to care for those who lack them; in God’s kingdom, the powerful – like Jesus – employ that power to make life better for the marginalized. This is the mission that Jesus will leave to his disciples.

What is the greatest obstacle to doing that? Thinking that one is too important to offer such service to another, especially another person who might be thought lower on the social ladder than you. Through his act of washing the feet of his disciples – even his friend who would hand him over to the authorities who will kill him – Jesus removes any argument for such pretension. By washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus seeks to clear away the obstacle of pride and self-importance that might prohibit his followers from carrying out this mission.