Week 8: Jesus' Final Teaching and Prayer (John 13:1–17:26)

John 13:1–17:26

Chapter 13 marks a transition into the second half of John’s Gospel. John 13–21 zeroes in on Jesus’ final few days leading to his death and resurrection. Having been rejected by the Jews, Jesus turns his attention to his new messianic community (his disciples). He prepares his disciples for the time to come after his resurrection and ascension to the Father. Jesus cleanses his disciples, teaches his disciples, and prays for his disciples. This “Farewell Discourse” (John 13–17) is unique to John’s Gospel.

In John 13:1–17:26 Jesus cleanses, teaches, and prays for his disciples, preparing them for the time when he is gone, exalted to be with the Father.

Read through the complete passage for this study, John 13:1–17:26. Then review the questions below and write your notes on them concerning this phase of Jesus’ ministry. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 2050–2060; also available online at www.esvbible.org.)

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet to demonstrate his love for them, to set an example of servanthood, and to symbolize the washing away of sins through his death. Startlingly, Jesus washes all of his disciples’ feet, including the feet of the one about to betray him—Judas. This scene is also unexpected because in first-century Jewish culture, footwashing was a task reserved for non-Jewish slaves. Here we have the Savior of the world washing the dirty feet of ordinary men, including the man about to betray him. What does this scene teach us about Jesus? What sticks out to you the most about this scene?

Note the events and words surrounding Judas’s departure from the disciples in order to betray Jesus (13:21–30). How does Jesus feel, what does Jesus say, and what does Jesus know? What happens to Judas before leaving, and how does John 13:2 relate to 13:27? How do the other disciples react to what’s going on? What do you make of John’s closing words, “And it was night”?

According to John 13:34, how does Jesus want his disciples to love one another? According to John 13:35, what is the result of such love? In light of Jesus’ subsequent death, what does it mean to love one another “just as” Jesus has loved?

Jesus says something startling to his disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Because of the work Jesus is about to accomplish on the cross, and because God would send his Spirit to the church after Jesus’ ascension,1 Jesus tells his disciples that they will, in a sense, exercise a greater ministry than his. What do you think Jesus means by this statement? From what you know about the book of Acts, what takes place in Acts and in the early church that did not take place in Jesus’ ministry?

According to John 14:15, what would Jesus’ disciples do if they loved him? According to 14:24, what is the identifying mark of those who do not love Jesus?

Review Jesus’ words about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15–26 and 16:4–15. According to these verses, who is the Holy Spirit, and what does he do?

In John 15 Jesus gives the last of his seven “I am . . . ” sayings. Summarize in a sentence what Jesus teaches in the metaphor that is used throughout this chapter.

According to John 15:8, how do people glorify God and prove their allegiance to Jesus?

Jesus shares a wonderful reason for why he gives this Farewell Discourse to his disciples (John 15:11). How does this reason expand your conception of Jesus and what it means to follow him?

John 17 narrates Jesus’ final prayer. Speaking to his Father, who had sent him to earth, Jesus gives an account of his earthly mission. Jesus prays for himself, then for his disciples, and finally for later believers. Write down five truths this prayer teaches us.

Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to reflect on the Personal Implications this passage from John may have for your walk with the Lord.

THE WAY. One of the disciples, Thomas, asked Jesus how to get to heaven, into the presence of God. Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This is good news! While on the one hand this statement from Jesus is hard news—there is one exclusive way to know God, and it is only through Jesus—it is also liberating news. Jesus is declaring the gospel here, the news that sinners can have a relationship with God and a place in heaven not through hard-wrought effort, but through casting themselves on the merit of Jesus. The way to heaven, Jesus says, is through himself. The way to heaven isn’t to work harder and do more, but rather to trust that Jesus has done the work for us. He made a way for us. Jesus is the mediator2 between God and sinful humanity.

JOY. In John 15:11, Jesus explains why he instructs his followers: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Joy! The reason Jesus came to earth and the reason Jesus instructs and leads us is for our joy, so that our joy “may be full.” In Jesus we have a master, a Lord, who sets us free. This is unique to Christianity. Only Christianity tells of a God who calls his followers to know and obey him for the sake of their own joy. Jesus went to a cross so that you and I, sinners though we are, may be restored to God—and to real joy.

LOVE. In John 13:34–35 Jesus calls his disciples to love one another, announcing that this is a “new commandment.” At one level, these words of Jesus are not new; they are rooted in the Mosaic commands to love the Lord with all one’s might and to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5). But here Jesus deepens and expands this commandment. What is new about this commandment is that Jesus calls his disciples to love one another “just as I have loved you.” This takes the call to love into a whole new realm. Jesus now calls his followers to a sacrificial love—a love he supremely demonstrated on the cross.

FRUITFUL. When God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he instructed them to be fruitful (Gen. 1:28). Later God gave Israel the same commandment; the nation was called to be a fruitful tree, but they failed: “When I would gather them, declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered” (Jer. 8:13; see also Hos. 9:10, 16; Joel 1:7). In John 15, Jesus teaches the secret of fruitfulness: to abide in him. We are branches that can bear fruit as long as we are connected to the vine, Jesus. Jesus, however, went to the cross—was judged and treated as “fruitless”—so that fallen and unfruitful people like us can become the fruitful branches we were meant to be.

HOLY SPIRIT. In this section of John, Jesus talks repeatedly about the Holy Spirit. As Jesus instructs his disciples on how to live and minister subsequent to his ascension, he emphasizes the point that only through the power of the Holy Spirit can his disciples carry out their mission to the world. Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a “Helper” (John 14:16) who will dwell in, guide, and empower his disciples. The entire New Testament emphasizes what Jesus emphasizes here: the Christian life cannot be lived apart from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.

HEAVEN. In John 14 Jesus speaks of heaven as “my Father’s house” (14:2). Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to heaven in order to prepare a place for them, in order to eventually bring them there. Scripture3 regularly talks about heaven. It’s the place where believers live in God’s presence after death. The words Jesus uses to describe heaven here in John are significant, as they express the personal manner in which Jesus cares for his disciples in order to bring them safely home to heaven.

Take time to reflect on the implications of John 13:1–17:26 for your own life today. Make notes below on the personal implications for your walk with the Lord of (1) the Gospel Glimpses, (2) the Whole-Bible Connections, (3) the Theological Soundings, and (4) this passage as a whole.

1. Gospel Glimpses

2. Whole-Bible Connections

3. Theological Soundings

4. John 13:1–17:26

Take a moment now to ask for the Lord’s blessing and help as you engage in this study of John. And take a moment also to look back through this unit of study, to reflect on a few key things that the Lord may be teaching you—and perhaps to highlight or underline these to review again in the future.

Definitions

1 Ascension – The departure of the resurrected, glorified Jesus to God the Father in heaven (Luke 24:50–51; Acts 1:6–11).

2 Mediator – One who intercedes between parties to resolve a conflict or achieve a goal. Jesus is the mediator between God and rebellious humanity (1 Tim. 2:5; compare Heb. 9:15; 12:24).

3 Scripture – Writings regarded by Christians as inspired by God and authoritative in all areas of doctrine and practice.

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