Religious Hypocrites Denounced

23 Then^(A) Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:^{(B) 2} “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.^{(C) 3} Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.^{(D) 4} They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry^[a] and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.^{(E) 5} They do everything^[b] to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries^(F) and lengthen their tassels.^{[c](G) 6} They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,^{(H) 7} greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher,^[d] and you are all brothers and sisters.^{(I) 9} Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.^{(J) 10} You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(K) 12} Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.^(L)

²⁵ But he said to them,^(A) “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them have themselves called^[a] ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ It is not to be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever is greatest among you should become like the youngest,^(B) and whoever leads, like the one serving.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father.^(A) Having loved his own who were in the world,^(B) he loved them to the end.

² Now when it was time for supper, the devil^(C) had already put it into the heart of Judas,^(D) Simon Iscariot’s son,^[a] to betray^(E) him. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands,^(F) that he had come from God,^(G) and that he was going back to God.^{(H) 4} So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing,^(I) took a towel, and tied it around himself.^{(J) 5} Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter,^(K) who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.”^(L)

⁸ “You will never wash my feet,” Peter said.

Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”

¹⁰ “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who would betray him. This is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

The Meaning of Foot Washing

¹² When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.^{(M) 15} For I have given you an example,^(N) that you also should do just as I have done for you.

¹⁶ “Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master,^[b](O) and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.^(P)

³⁴ “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love^(A) one another.”