To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 13:13-25; Jn 13:16-20
These
verses contain the second part of the discourse spoken by Jesus after he washes
the feet of his disciples. In the first part (13:12-15), Jesus teaches his
disciples about the meaning of his washing their feet, and the implications
that this action has for their lives as his disciples.
In
the second part of this discourse (13:16-20), Jesus teaches about discipleship
in general and the relationship that the disciples share with him. The double
Amen at 13:16, and at 13:20, forms an inclusion and so brackets and highlights
what Jesus says in between. The disciples must remember that their role, in
their relationship with Jesus, is that of servants to their master. If they
understand this and act on it, then they will be blessed. They must, at every
stage, know where their authority ends. The sayings which are highlighted by
the inclusion are in 13:18-19 and contain a prediction of betrayal. Jesus is
aware of who the betrayer is and also knows that it is not an outsider, but one
who has eaten at table with him. Ps 41:9 is quoted here to accentuate the
intimacy of the betrayal. The betrayer is someone whose feet he has washed, one
with whom he has broken bread and one whom Jesus has loved to the very end.
This foreknowledge of the betrayer also means that Jesus is in control of the
events that lead to his death and is not taken by surprise. Another reason for
informing his disciples about his betrayal, in advance, is so that they may
realize who Jesus is: Son of God. Even as he is betrayed, he will reveal
himself as God for us.
Since
Jesus has been sent by God, he has God’s stamp and authority. The disciples,
who are in turn sent by Jesus, have the authority and stamp of Jesus. Thus, if
anyone accepts the disciples, they are in effect accepting Jesus. Just as Jesus
shares fully in God’s work, so the disciples share fully in Jesus’ work of
giving life to all and giving it in abundance.
Jesus’
act toward us, in love, manifested symbolically in the washing of the feet and
sharing of bread, presents everyone who sits at his table with a choice: One
can embrace Jesus’ gift to us and embody one’s embrace of that gift through
one’s own acts of love or, one can turn one’s back on Jesus’ gift of love. This
means that merely sitting at Jesus’ table, and even eating the bread that he
gives, is not the full story. It has to be continued in the giving of self to
others and is only completed when this is done. We then enter into community
with Jesus and with one another.
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