Beginning
Jesus Washes His Followers’ Feet
13 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover festival. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus had always loved the people in the world who were his. Now was the time he showed them his love the most.
2 Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot to hand Jesus over to his enemies. (Judas was the son of Simon.) 3 The Father had given Jesus power over everything. Jesus knew this. He also knew that he had come from God. And he knew that he was going back to God. 4 So while they were eating, Jesus stood up and took off his robe. He got a towel and wrapped it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet.[a] He dried their feet with the towel that was wrapped around his waist.
6 He came to Simon Peter. But Peter said to him, “Lord, you should not wash my feet.”
7 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what I am doing now. But later you will understand.”
8 Peter said, “No! You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”
9 Simon Peter said, “Lord, after you wash my feet, wash my hands and my head too!”
10 Jesus said, “After a person has a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 Jesus knew who would hand him over to his enemies. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and went back to the table. He asked, “Do you understand what I did for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher.’ And you call me ‘Lord.’ And this is right, because that is what I am. 14 I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as an example for you. So you should serve each other just as I served you. 16 Believe me, servants are not greater than their master. Those who are sent to do something are not greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, great blessings will be yours if you do them.
18 “I am not talking about all of you. I know the people I have chosen. But what the Scriptures say must happen: ‘The man who shared my food has turned against me.’[b] 19 I am telling you this now before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe that I Am.[c] 20 I assure you, whoever accepts the person I send also accepts me. And whoever accepts me also accepts the one who sent me.”
Jesus Tells Who Will Turn Against Him(A)
21 After Jesus said these things, he felt very troubled. He said openly, “Believe me when I say that one of you will hand me over to my enemies.”
22 His followers all looked at each other. They did not understand who Jesus was talking about. 23 One of the followers was next to Jesus and was leaning close to him. This was the one Jesus loved very much. 24 Simon Peter made signs to this follower to ask Jesus who he was talking about.
25 That follower leaned closer to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered him, “I will dip this bread into the dish. The man I give it to is the one.” So Jesus took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 When Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said to Judas, “What you will do—do it quickly!” 28 No one at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. 29 Since Judas was the one in charge of the money, some of them thought that Jesus meant for him to go and buy some things they needed for the feast. Or they thought that Jesus wanted him to go give something to the poor.
30 Judas ate the bread Jesus gave him. Then he immediately went out. It was night.
Jesus Talks About His Death
31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the time for the Son of Man to receive his glory. And God will receive glory through him. 32 If God receives glory through him, he will give glory to the Son through himself. And that will happen very soon.”
33 Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a short time more. You will look for me, but I tell you now what I told the Jewish leaders: Where I am going you cannot come.
34 “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”
Jesus Says Peter Will Deny Him(B)
36 Simon Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow now. But you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I am ready to die for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “Will you really give your life for me? The truth is, before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
Jesus Comforts His Followers
14 Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with me, so that you can be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father too. But now you know the Father. You have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “Philip, I have been with you for a long time. So you should know me. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father too. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The things I have told you don’t come from me. The Father lives in me, and he is doing his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done.
12 “I can assure you that whoever believes in me will do the same things I have done. And they will do even greater things than I have done, because I am going to the Father. 13 And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. 14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will do what I command. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[d] to be with you forever. 17 The Helper is the Spirit of truth.[e] The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a very short time the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you. 21 Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “Lord, how will you make yourself known to us, but not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered, “All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them. 24 But anyone who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you all these things while I am with you. 26 But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.
27 “I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going back to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. 29 I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe.
30 “I will not talk with you much longer. The ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. 31 But the world must know that I love the Father. So I do exactly what the Father told me to do.
“Come now, let’s go.”
Jesus Is Like a Vine
15 Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch[f] of mine that does not produce fruit.[g] He also trims every branch that produces fruit to prepare it to produce even more. 3 You have already been prepared to produce more fruit by the teaching I have given you. 4 Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything. 6 If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. 8 Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor[h] to my Father.
9 “I have loved you as the Father has loved me. Now continue in my love. 10 I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and he continues to love me. In the same way, if you obey my commands, I will continue to love you. 11 I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy. 12 This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 The greatest love people can show is to die for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do. 15 I no longer call you servants, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. But now I call you friends, because I have told you everything that my Father told me.
16 “You did not choose me. I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus Warns His Followers
18 “If the world hates you, remember that they hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as it loves its own people. But I have chosen you to be different from those in the world. So you don’t belong to the world, and that is why the world hates you.
20 “Remember the lesson I told you: Servants are not greater than their master. If people treated me badly, they will treat you badly too. And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too. 21 They will do to you whatever they did to me, because you belong to me. They don’t know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to the people of the world, they would not be guilty of sin. But now I have spoken to them. So they have no excuse for their sin.
23 “Whoever hates me also hates my Father. 24 I did things among the people of the world that no one else has ever done. If I had not done those things, they would not be guilty of sin. But they have seen what I did, and still they hate me and my Father. 25 But this happened to make clear the full meaning of what is written in their law: ‘They hated me for no reason.’[i]
26 “I will send you the Helper[j] from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth[k] who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me. 27 And you will tell people about me too, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International