At the start of Jesus’ passion week, we’re told in John 13:1 that He did something that showed His disciples the “full extent” of His love. He…wait! What? There is a “full extent” of Jesus’ love? Jesus has a limit on love?
John 13-17 is one of the most intimate stretches of Scripture with regard to Jesus’ ministry. It’s what’s known as Jesus’ “farewell discourse” to His disciples and contains some of the most power-packed of Jesus’ teachings as He prepares His disciples for the coming events. This conversation begins with the humble scene of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, a scene that seems to cleanse the spiritual palate of the disciples in prep for what Jesus was about to teach them. This feet washing scene is where we find a phrase that can imply a limit on Jesus’ love. But it all depends on how you translate a particular phrase in John 13:1. These two NIV versions, one older (1984) and one newer (2011) show the variation:
NIV 1984:
Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
NIV 2011:
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Those are two very different takes on the same Greek phrase. In fact, it’s a Greek phrase that can be translated more than one way. And the difference, as you can see, is significant. The first implies that the act Jesus is about to do is a depiction of how much He loves (and seems to imply a limit on love). The second implies that the act Jesus is about to do is proof of Jesus’ love to the end of His ministry. Noted commentator Leon Morris has a fix for these two disparate meanings. It’s both. And he’s not just suggesting a quick fix to get himself on to the next verse, but he notes that John frequently, and intentionally, used Greek phrases with double meaning, leading readers to accept both meanings!
In this case, John is assuring us that Jesus’ love consists of two key elements that are often in tension with each other: quality and quantity. In the case of Jesus’ love, it’s the maximum level of both. So, what does it mean to us to accept both meanings in light of Jesus’ washing feet? Let’s try it out.
- Full Extent Love
It feels as if Jesus is answering this question for us: If you had to choose one practical thing to show us your love, what would that one thing be? And that one, practical thing is of course, washing each others’ feet. In this act, which Jesus told his disciples to do to one another, Jesus was showing us the quality of His love: sacrificial, serving, practical, and so much more. And no, the phrase is not suggesting a limit on Jesus’ love, but rather how the quality of His love can be best displayed.
- Loved to the End
Translated this way, this phrase is an exclamation point in describing Jesus’ love. The whole sentence in John 13:1 reads, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” This gives us an assurance that Jesus loves us, and He will keep loving us! When you consider the many moments in Jesus’ ministry when His disciples exhibited a less than stellar faith, it’s a significant point-out that Jesus loved them to the end. Jesus showed the quantity of His love for His disciples with a final act of servitude.
How can we show the quality and quantity of Jesus’ love? Should we be washing feet?
Yes. If not literally, then figuratively. And don’t be too quick to dismiss the literal. As soon as Jesus finished washing His disciples’ feet, He instructed them to wash one another’s feet. Then later in John 13 Jesus told His disciples to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” When the disciples heard the qualifier “as I have loved you,” what do you think went through their minds? Two things are likely: 1) Jesus had just shown them the “quality of his love” by washing their feet; 2) Jesus had just shown them the “quanityt of his love” by washing their feet.
We can imitate Jesus’ love by loving sacrificially, practically, and persistently. It’s instructive that Jesus used a daily, menial task (a task reserved for the servants lowest in the pecking order) to depict His love. This tells us to be creative and thoughtful in showing Jesus’ love with daily, practical acts of sacrificial service. So, I close with some ideas for practical acts of sacrificial service.
- Mobilize For Ministry
Brainstorm with your students on ways your ministry can show Jesus’ love through practical and sacrificial acts. Think of types of people in your church who could use a hand: single parents, widows/widowers, elderly, sick, unemployed. Then think of types of tasks that would be helpful: Clean gutters. Clean/vacuum floors. Do laundry. Provide meals. Run errands.
- Wash One Another’s Feet
Church traditions differ on whether Jesus was speaking literally or figuratively when he told the disciples to “do as I have done to you” in reference to His washing their feet. But why not do a literal version? Give your students an opportunity to personally experience Jesus’ humility toward brothers and sisters in Christ, and to reflect on the love that Jesus has shown all of us through His humble obedience on the cross. You can find a helpful guide here.
- Think Small Circle
It’s possible your best opportunity to show Jesus’ sacrificial and practical love is right under your roof or around your cubicle. What can you do for your family members that shows the sacrificial, practical, and patient love of Jesus? Under your roof: add household tasks to your responsibilities, perform your standard household tasks well and with a positive spirit, be sensitive to others’ interests and needs. Around your cubicle: be a supportive force in a competitive environment, offer emotional support to life issues going on outside the office, give unexpected help with projects.
- Teen Devo
For a devotional to share with your teens on the subject of Jesus’ washing His disciples’ feet, click here to read as a post or download as a PDF to share with your students.
One more thought: It’s striking how John records Jesus’ washing of feet in the equivalent of super slow motion. In John 1-12 the apostle John covers a lot of ground, all of Jesus’ ministry in fact, in a short number of chapters. When we hit John 13, Jesus’ acts are recounted for us in a frame-by-frame commentary. John (and God!) wanted to be sure we got this scene, inviting us to become “sole” mates with Jesus in embracing and sharing His love.