{"id":4574,"date":"2024-05-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/reading-plan\/may-15\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T10:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T15:15:12","slug":"may-15","status":"publish","type":"reading-plan","link":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/reading-plan\/may-15\/","title":{"rendered":"May 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insight from John 13<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 13 begins with a sort of umbrella statement under which the rest of chapter 13, along with all of chapters 14 through 17, rests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.\u201d <\/span>John 13:1<\/b><\/p>\n

An important fact is revealed in this first verse: \u201cJesus knew that his hour had come.\u201d This fact explains a good deal about the evening\u2019s activities. Birds change their behavior when the time comes for them to fly south. The same may be said of Jesus\u2019s actions on this night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early in the book of John, we read that Jesus was very aware that his hour had not yet come, and this knowledge, even at that stage of his ministry, directed his actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Jesus said to her, \u2018Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.\u2019\u201d <\/span>John 2:4<\/b><\/p>\n

In later chapters, we read, again, that his hour had not yet come.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.\u201d John 7:30<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.\u201d John 8:20<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, just the opposite is true. Jesus\u2019s hour had come. And his actions in chapter 13, and his words in chapters 13 through 17, were directly related to that fact. Now that the hour had finally struck, Jesus changed his interaction with the disciples. No longer did he act as one who is waiting for his hour. The hour had come.<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Sometime during the evening, the disciples began arguing.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.\u201d Luke 22:24<\/p>\n

We are not told what started this argument. It may have been due to the places the disciples were given at the table. Seating order at a banquet such as this designated one\u2019s importance. Judas, as we will see next week, was probably seated in the place of honor, to Jesus\u2019s left. John was seated to his right. How the other disciples were situated is not known, however, it is not unlikely that some of the disciples were disappointed by the unimportant places they were given at the table and made their grievances known.<\/p>\n

John did not record this argument. However, it is possible that Jesus rose from the table while the dispute continued on.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper.\u201d John 13:3-4<\/p>\n

Jesus rose to wash the disciples\u2019 feet. Foot washing was a necessary task because the streets were dirty, and the people wore sandals. But it was servant\u2019s work. Evidently, there were no servants present when this meal was served, so this task was left undone. With the disciples lying on their left sides facing inward, it is easy to imagine their dirty feet extending outward from the table. Jesus saw the 24 unwashed feet, heard the angry words, and he thought about \u2026 himself. It is significant that John directly links the washing of the disciples\u2019 feet to Jesus\u2019s awareness \u201cthat the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God.\u201d At first glance, these thoughts do not seem related in any way to the foot washing. But, to Jesus at least, the foot washing and his own greatness were very much related. Jesus\u2019s knowledge of his own authority, greatness and majesty compelled him to rise from the table and prepare to wash the disciples\u2019 feet.<\/p>\n

Jesus didn\u2019t ask to wash the disciples\u2019 feet. If he had asked, he would have been refused. He used his divine authority, the authority he had over all things, to take the job of the lowest servant.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4574","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}