Related articles
The multiplication of the breads
The bread that came down from heaven
Before beginning his last meal, Jesus washes the apostles’ feet. This gesture indicates a necessary purification, a condition for access to the meal. Jesus explains to Peter, who did not understand why Jesus wanted to wash his feet: “If you do not let me wash your feet, you will have no part with me”. When Jesus sends his apostles to invite all mankind to this meal at the Resurrection, he breathes his spirit upon them and instructs them to go and forgive mankind’s sins (John 20:22-23). Then, after Pentecost, they will be able to celebrate the memorial of the Last Supper themselves, and invite the baptized to share in this meal.
John 13:1-17
1 Πρὸ δὲ τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ πάσχα εἰδὼς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥρα ἵνα μεταβῇ ἐκ κόσμου τούτου πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ἀγαπήσας τοὺς ἰδίους ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, εἰς τέλος ἠγάπησεν αὐτούς.
01 Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end.
2 καὶ δείπνου γινομένου, τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτης,
2 And during the meal, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas, [son] of Simon the Iscariot, [the intention] to betray him,
3 εἰδὼς ὅτι πάντα ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Πατὴρ εἰς τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἐξῆλθεν καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑπάγει,
3 [Jesus], knowing that the Father had given him everything in his hand, and that he had come forth from God and is going to God,
4 ἐγείρεται ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου καὶ τίθησιν τὰ ἱμάτια, καὶ λαβὼν λέντιον διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν-
4 rises from the meal, lays down the garments, and having taken a cloth he put it around his waist;
5 εἶτα βάλλει ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν νιπτῆρα, καὶ ἤρξατο νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας τῶν μαθητῶν καὶ τῷ λεντίῳ ᾧ ἦν διεζωσμένος.
5 then he poured water into a basin. And he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had put around their waists.
6 ἔρχεται οὖν πρὸς Σίμωνα Πέτρον- λέγει αὐτῷ Κύριε, σύ μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας;
6 He comes, therefore, to Simon Peter, who says to him, “Lord, you wash my feet?”
7 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ὃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ σὺ οὐκ οἶδας ἄρτι, γνώσῃ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα.
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do, you do not know now, but you will know after these things.”
8 λέγει αὐτῷ Πέτρος Οὐ μὴ νίψῃς μου τοὺς πόδας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς αὐτῷ Ἐὰν μὴ νίψω σε, οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ’ ἐμοῦ.
8 Peter said to him, “You will not wash my feet, not for [the duration of] the time [of my life].” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you will have no part with me.”
9 λέγει αὐτῷ Σίμων Πέτρος Κύριε, μὴ τοὺς πόδας μου μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν.
9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and head.”
10 λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰησοῦς Ὁ λελουμένος οὐκ ἔχει χρείαν εἰ μὴ τοὺς πόδας νίψασθαι, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν καθαρὸς ὅλος- καὶ ὑμεῖς καθαροί ἐστε, ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ πάντες.
10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed has no need to wash except his feet, but he is clean all over. And you are pure, but not all of you.”
11 ᾔδει γὰρ τὸν παραδιδόντα αὐτόν- διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν ὅτι Οὐχὶ πάντες καθαροί ἐστε.
11 For he knew the one who betrayed him: that is why he had said, “You are not all pure.”
12 Ὅτε οὖν ἔνιψεν τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν καὶ ἔλαβεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἀνέπεσεν πάλιν, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Γινώσκετε τί πεποίηκα ὑμῖν;
12 When, therefore, he had washed their feet, he took his clothes, reclined at the table again, and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you?
13 ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με Ὁ Διδάσκαλος καὶ ὁ Κύριος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε- εἰμὶ γάρ.
13 You call me “Master” and “Lord,” and you [rightly] say: indeed, I [am].
14 εἰ οὖν ἐγὼ ἔνιψα ὑμῶν τοὺς πόδας ὁ Κύριος καὶ ὁ Διδάσκαλος, καὶ ὑμεῖς ὀφείλετε ἀλλήλων νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας-
14 If therefore I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 ὑπόδειγμα γὰρ ἔδωκα ὑμῖν ἵνα καθὼς ἐγὼ ἐποίησα ὑμῖν καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιῆτε.
15 Indeed, I have given you an example, so that as I have done for you, you too may do.
16 ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐκ ἔστιν δοῦλος μείζων τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ ἀπόστολος μείζων τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτόν.
16 Amen, amen, I say to you: a servant is not greater than his master, nor a one sent greater than the one who sent him.
17 εἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε, μακάριοί ἐστε ἐὰν ποιῆτε αὐτά.
17 If you know these things, happy are you, if you do them.