John 13-19 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

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. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.^[a]

² Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. ⁴ So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. 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, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterward you will know.”

⁸ “You will never wash my feet—ever!” 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, “You are not all clean.”

The Meaning of Footwashing

¹² When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined^[b] again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.

¹⁶ “I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master,^[c] 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. ¹⁸ I’m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: The one who eats My bread^[d] has raised his heel against Me.^[e]

¹⁹ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. ²⁰ I assure you: Whoever receives anyone I send receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

Judas’s Betrayal Predicted

²¹ When Jesus had said this, He was troubled in His spirit and testified, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me!”

²² The disciples started looking at one another—uncertain which one He was speaking about. ²³ One of His disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus.^{[f] 24} Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was He was talking about. ²⁵ So he leaned back against Jesus and asked Him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus replied, “He’s the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it.” When He had dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son.^{[g] 27} After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Therefore Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

²⁸ None of those reclining at the table knew why He told him this. ²⁹ Since Judas kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰ After receiving the piece of bread, he went out immediately. And it was night.

The New Command

³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. ³² If God is glorified in Him,^[h] God will also glorify Him in Himself and will glorify Him at once.

³³ “Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ so now I tell you.

³⁴ “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Peter’s Denials Predicted

³⁶ “Lord,” Simon Peter said to Him, “where are You going?”

Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ “Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for Me? I assure you: A rooster will not crow until you have denied Me three times.

The Way to the Father

14 “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe^[i] in God; believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;^[j] if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. ³ If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. ⁴ You know the way to where I am going.”^[k]

⁵ “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus Reveals the Father

⁷ “If you know Me, you will also know^[l] My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

⁸ “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe^[m] because of the works themselves.

Praying in Jesus’ Name

¹² “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me^[n] anything in My name, I will do it.^[o]

Another Counselor Promised

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep^[p] My commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. ¹⁷ He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be^[q] in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

¹⁹ “In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. ²¹ The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³ Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.

²⁵ “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. ²⁶ But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

Jesus’ Gift of Peace

²⁷ “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful. ²⁸ You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe. ³⁰ I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over Me.^{[r] 31} On the contrary, I am going away^[s] so that the world may know that I love the Father. Just as the Father commanded Me, so I do.

“Get up; let’s leave this place.

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. ² Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be^[t] My disciples.

Christlike Love

⁹ “As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love.

¹¹ “I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master^[u] is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ¹⁷ This is what I command you: Love one another.

Persecutions Predicted

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don’t know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin.^[v] Now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ The one who hates Me also hates My Father. ²⁴ If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened so that the statement written in their scripture might be fulfilled: They hated Me for no reason.^[w]

Coming Testimony and Rejection

²⁶ “When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. ²⁷ You also will testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

16 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. ² They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³ They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or Me. ⁴ But I have told you these things so that when their time^[x] comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

The Counselor’s Ministry

⁵ “But now I am going away to Him who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸ When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: ⁹ About sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you.

Sorrow Turned to Joy

¹⁶ “A little while and you will no longer see Me; again a little while and you will see Me.”^[y]

¹⁷ Therefore some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this He tells us: ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They said, “What is this He is saying,^[z] ‘A little while’? We don’t know what He’s talking about!”

¹⁹ Jesus knew they wanted to question Him, so He said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’?

²⁰ “I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. ²¹ When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. ²² So you also have sorrow^[aa] now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. ²³ In that day you will not ask Me anything.

“I assure you: Anything you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked for nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Jesus the Victor

²⁵ “I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in My name. I am not telling you that I will make requests to the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.^{[ab] 28} I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹ “Ah!” His disciples said. “Now You’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language. ³⁰ Now we know that You know everything and don’t need anyone to question You. By this we believe that You came from God.”

³¹ Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? ³² Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Jesus Prays for Himself

17 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said:

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Jesus Prays for All Believers

Jesus Betrayed

18 After Jesus had said these things, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, and He and His disciples went into it. ² Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with His disciples. ³ So Judas took a company of soldiers and some temple police from the chief priests and the Pharisees and came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

⁴ Then Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to Him, went out and said to them, “Who is it you’re looking for?”

⁵ “Jesus the Nazarene,” they answered.

“I am He,”^[ai] Jesus told them.

Judas, who betrayed Him, was also standing with them. ⁶ When He told them, “I am He,” they stepped back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Then He asked them again, “Who is it you’re looking for?”

“Jesus the Nazarene,” they said.

⁸ “I told you I am He,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for Me, let these men go.” ⁹ This was to fulfill the words He had said: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. (The slave’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹ At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Sheathe your sword! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given Me?”

Jesus Arrested and Taken to Annas

¹² Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish temple police arrested Jesus and tied Him up. ¹³ First they led Him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was advantageous that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus

¹⁵ Meanwhile, Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. ¹⁶ But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in.

¹⁷ Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?”

“I am not!” he said. ¹⁸ Now the slaves and the temple police had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.

Jesus before Annas

¹⁹ The high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching.

²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered him. “I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple complex, where all the Jews congregate, and I haven’t spoken anything in secret. ²¹ Why do you question Me? Question those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.”

²² When He had said these things, one of the temple police standing by slapped Jesus, saying, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

²³ “If I have spoken wrongly,” Jesus answered him, “give evidence^[aj] about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit Me?”

²⁴ Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Jesus Twice More

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of His disciples too, are you?”

He denied it and said, “I am not!”

²⁶ One of the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”

²⁷ Peter then denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸ Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

²⁹ Then Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”

³⁰ They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal,^[ak] we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”

³¹ So Pilate told them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law.”

“It’s not legal^[al] for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared. ³² They said this so that Jesus’ words might be fulfilled signifying what kind of death He was going to die.

³³ Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”

³⁵ “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

³⁶ “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants^[am] would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”^[an]

³⁷ “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.

“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” said Pilate.

Jesus or Barabbas

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging Him. ³⁹ You have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.^[ao]

Jesus Flogged and Mocked

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. ² The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple robe around Him. ³ And they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and were slapping His face.

⁴ Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I’m bringing Him outside to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging Him.”

Pilate Sentences Jesus to Death

⁵ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ When the chief priests and the temple police saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

Pilate responded, “Take Him and crucify Him yourselves, for I find no grounds for charging Him.”

⁷ “We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law He must die, because He made Himself^[ap] the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever. ⁹ He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to Him, “You’re not talking to me? Don’t You know that I have the authority to release You and the authority to crucify You?”

¹¹ “You would have no authority over Me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”^[aq]

¹² From that moment Pilate made every effort^[ar] to release Him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”

¹³ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s bench in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Hebrew Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about six in the morning.^[as] Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”

“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ So then, because of them, he handed Him over to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

Therefore they took Jesus away.^{[at] 17} Carrying His own cross, He went out to what is called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was:

²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew,^[au] Latin, and Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” They did this to fulfill the Scripture that says: They divided My clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.^[av] And this is what the soldiers did.

Jesus’ Provision for His Mother

²⁵ Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

The Finished Work of Jesus

²⁸ After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop^[aw] and held it up to His mouth.

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus’ Side Pierced

³¹ Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special^[ax] day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with Him. ³³ When they came to Jesus, they did not break His legs since they saw that He was already dead. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵ He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. ³⁶ For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken.^{[ay] 37} Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.^[az]

Jesus’ Burial

³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took His body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus (who had previously come to Him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about 75 pounds^[ba] of myrrh and aloes. ⁴⁰ Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the aromatic spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ There was a garden in the place where He was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. ⁴² They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation and since the tomb was nearby.