And at the time of supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot of Simon to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was departing to God, arose from the supper, took off His outer garment, and taking a towel, girded Himself; Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.

The Evangelist, wondering that Christ washed the feet of the one who dared to betray Him, says: "When the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas." Thus to the end He took care of the correction of the traitor. And the words: "at the time of supper" are not set without purpose, but to show the inhumanity of Judas, since participation in the supper did not change him. "Jesus, knowing that the Father has given all things into His hands," that is, He entrusted to Him the salvation of the faithful, and it is necessary to show them all that pertains to salvation, among other things, and to wash the disciples' feet, for by this humility is legitimized... And in other words: knowing that the Father has committed all things to Him, and that He has come forth from God and is departing to God, and His glory will not diminish if He washes the feet of His disciples. For He did not steal glory in order to fear losing it, and therefore not to undertake any humble work. A similar feeling is experienced by those who do not have true nobility. Since they have stolen glory for themselves, they do not even want to bend down, so as not to lose what does not belong to them and what they have stolen. But He was the King of all and the Son of God. For this is the meaning of the words: "He came from God," that is, from the essence of the Father, and again "departs to God." Therefore His glory, when He is so high and so great, will not diminish if He washes the feet of the disciples.

Note, I beseech you, that if humility is the work of one who proceeds from God and departs to God, then pride will obviously be the work of one who proceeds from demons and departs to demons. But when you hear that "the Father has delivered up to Him," do not think that the impotence of the Son is revealed here, but oneness of honor and oneness of mind with the Father. For if because it is said that the Father has delivered up to Him, the Son appears to you to be powerless, then imagine the Father also to be powerless. For to Him also, as the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 15:24), the Son will deliver up the kingdom. But this is not the case; and "tradition" means, so to speak, the oneness of mind and cooperation, and the good will of the Father.

Note also the superlative degree of humility. For He does not wash before supper, but when all are seated, He alone rises, and the rest rest. He lays aside His garments, teaching us to make ourselves unhindered and easy to serve. He girds himself with a towel, doing everything Himself – both washing and rubbing. He pours in water, and does it Himself, and does not order someone else to do it. All this is an example and a law for us as to how we should serve, namely, with all diligence, to do everything ourselves, and not to use the service of others.

He came up to Simon Peter, and he said to Him, "Lord! Do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not know now, but you will understand later."

The Lord does not wash Peter's feet first, although he had primacy over the disciples, but perhaps the traitor, being impudent and shameless, reclined higher than Peter, and the Lord washed his feet. Where does this come from? From the following. "He began," it is said, to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them, and then he came to Simon Peter. From this it is clear that the Lord did not wash Peter first. For if the Lord had not washed someone before Peter, the Evangelist would not have said, "He comes to Simon Peter." None of the other disciples would have dared to accept washing before Peter, and the traitor could have dared to do so. For if the Lord had begun to wash any of the other disciples, this one, whoever he might have been, would not have allowed the Lord to be allowed to do so, and would have said the same thing as Peter: "Lord, shall Thou wash my feet?" This means that of the other disciples, the Lord washed the traitor first, then Peter. And the rest, enlightened by the example of Peter, naturally did not contradict, but accepted such a high honor given to them by the Lord. Consider also the power of the words of the Apostle Peter. Wilt thou wash my feet with the hands with which thou didst cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and open the eyes of the blind? Will you, Who have done this and more than this, wash me, a servant and an unlearned one, and not your hands, nor any other most honorable member, but your feet, the last member of all, which is considered especially filthy and dishonorable? What about the Lord? He says, "What I am doing, now you do not know it; My work contains deep humility, which I teach you also. However, after you have cast out demons in My name, when you have seen My ascension into heaven, when you have learned from the Holy Spirit that I sit at the right hand of the Father, then you will understand that He Who humbled Himself to the point of washing your feet, He is the One who gives you such power over the demons, and ascended and was glorified with the Father, not in the least degraded by humility. And therefore you yourself have implanted in yourself humility, which does not humiliate, but elevates more.

Peter said to Him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, he has no part with me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord! not only my feet, but also my hands and head.

Peter deeply respects his Teacher, and therefore he reveres Him, and does not accept His ministry. Although on other occasions Peter received a rebuke from the Lord (Matt. 16:22), and in order to avoid that reproach he would now have to accept washing from the Lord, nevertheless, since the work now being done by Christ is very important, Peter resists, and does not think that the Lord may again reprimand him even more severely, as if he were disobedient. What about Christ? He does not say to Peter, "I teach you humility, and for this I wash your feet." For Peter would have told Him, even with an oath, that I would have humility even without washing my feet. What does the Lord say to him? Which, according to the Lord's knowledge, could especially touch Peter's heart, He makes it seem to be a certain threat. "If," he says, "I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Since Peter, more than all the other disciples, desired to be together with Christ, which is why he asked Him where He was going, and out of love promised to lay down his life for Him (John 13:36, 37), the Lord shakes his soul with a real threat. "If," he says, "I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Peter, having heard such a terrible threat, as he was firm in his resistance, was just as strong, and still more, in expressing his consent; for he also gives his head to wash. In both cases, he is guided by love: he resists washing because he greatly reveres the Lord; agrees because he does not want to be separated from Him. And I ask you: when you see that someone insists on his own way out of ignorance, and with an oath promises, "I will not do this," and then, out of respect for the oath, abides in that which he has not discussed well, and because of this suffers harm in soul or body, then make good use of the example of the Apostle Peter, who insisted on his own, but when he saw it, that his persistence could separate him from Christ, he lagged behind her.

Jesus said to him; He who has been washed only needs to wash his feet, because he is completely clean; and you are pure, but not all. For He knew His betrayer, therefore He said, "Not all of you are pure."

The Lord, having received a pretext, denounces the betrayer that he has an impure thought, needs to be washed from deceit and to change his intention. You, he says, being washed, do not yet need another ablution, but one is unclean and needs ablution. Many people ask: why did the Lord say to the Apostles: "You are clean," when they were not yet freed from sins, when they had not yet received the Spirit, since sin still reigned, the oath still retained its power, for the Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world, had not yet been slain, our Redeemer from the curse had not yet been hanged on a tree? In what sense were the apostles pure? It can be said that although they have not been completely freed from sins, they are pure through the word which the Lord preached to them (John 15:3), pure, at least in that they have already received the Light, have already been freed from the Jewish error. For listen to how Isaiah teaches us to wash: "Wash yourselves and be cleansed, put away evil from your souls" (Isaiah 1:16). For this reason the Lord justly calls His disciples washed and clean; for they dwelt with Christ with all kindness and simplicity. By supper some have understood the knowledge of the mystery of Christ at the end of the ages, which Jesus teaches His disciples, for which purpose He also washes their feet, not because they are dirty, but in order to prepare them for the gospel, according to the saying of Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace!" (Isaiah 52:7), And so, he says, you are clean, as far as yourselves are concerned, but you must also be sent to cleanse others, which is expressed by washing your feet. Thus, washing does not give us the thought of cleansing the apostles from sins, for they, according to the testimony of the Lord, are pure, but serves as a sign that they are sent out to preach, so that the purity granted to them through the teaching of the Lord may be passed on to others. For this reason Peter also says: "Wash not only my feet, but also my head," that is, not only go forth to preach, but cleanse my head also through martyrdom. Notice, perhaps, how this is done today. For even now there is a supper when the Divine Body and His Blood are presented during the Divine rite. What kind of work is required of each of us? Listen. All of us who believe in Christ have within us the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel, for we have all received Christ into our hearts; but in this divine supper, we must restore this Word and take off his garments that hide Him. Such garments are the love of money, vanity, envy, and each of the other passions, which, leaning on the Word of God that exists in us, burden it. So, when the Word arises, we need to put aside the passions, so that He, having become light, can cleanse us through repentance. For the Word, having risen and laid aside all burdens and cares of life, will wash away our thoughts, which learn from Him and follow Him, and will also wash our feet, that is, our active movements and our actions. But if anyone is in need of another purification, desires improvement in study and contemplation, let him say to the Lord: Lord! Wash not only my feet, but also my hands and head, that is, cleanse not only my actions, but also my "hands," so that I may be able to guide others and take up the good, "and my head," so that in the contemplative and theological sense I may have a pure and irreproachable conception of the things of God. Thus, through confession we can be washed, so that we may worthily partake of the supper, and not eat or drink condemnation to ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:29).

And when He had washed their feet, and put on His garments, He sat down again, and said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for I am exactly that. Therefore, if I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, then you also must wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, A servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than he who sent him.

The Lord no longer addresses His speech to Peter alone, but to everyone, and sets forth the reason for such humility on His part. The reason is that the disciples are to imitate Him in this. Perhaps it is not about the present tense that the Lord is speaking when He says to Peter: "You will know "after this," that is: Peter, you will know after I take My garment and sit down, and begin to teach you and say: "Do you know what I have done to you? For if I, who am acknowledged by you as Lord and Teacher, and who am not falsely acknowledged, for I am certain, have washed your feet (and did not say, "Unlettered and unlearned servants," but left it to you to figure it out for yourselves), then you also must necessarily wash one another's feet, that is, render every service to one another. For through washing, which is considered the last service, it teaches that we should all the more perform other services, which are more honorable. I have given you an example that you also should do what I have done to you, that is, serve with the same diligence. Yet My work is greater, for I, the Lord, have washed the feet of slaves, and you wash the feet of slaves like you. Thus we see that teachers also write very beautiful letters for children, so that little by little they will come to imitation. To the Apostles, of necessity, the Lord inspires this. They had to receive honor, some greater, others less. In order that they may not be exalted before one another, He purifies the thoughts of all of them. For a servant is not greater than his master, as long as he is a servant, nor a messenger greater than him who sent him, as long as he is a messenger, and when he is greater, then he is neither a servant nor a messenger;

If you know this, blessed are you when you do it. I do not say of all of you, I know whom I have chosen; but let the Scripture be fulfilled: "He that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel against Me" (Psalm 40:10). Now I tell you, before it comes to pass, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that it is I.

Lest they say, "What dost thou tell us about this, as if we did not know?" We ourselves know that humility is good, and therefore He says: if you know, this alone is not enough, but you are blessed when you do it. For the Jews also knew the commandments, but they are not blessed, but very miserable, because they did not keep them. "I do not say of all of you, I know whom I have chosen." With these hidden words he denounces the traitor and at the same time does not convict him, for he wanted to bring him to repentance. Therefore, omitting all the other benefits that he has shown him, he sets forth that which could convert him most of all. Whoever eats My bread, whom I nourish, whoever shares a table with Me (which circumstance softens even enemies), he... and he did not say, "He betrayeth" Me, but, "He has lifted up his heel against Me," that is, he has used deceit and deceit against Me, in the likeness of wrestlers who contrive against their rivals, and stumbling their heels, they overthrow them. "I am not talking about all of you." In order not to bring fear into many, He clearly separates him (the betrayer) and shows that He is only one plotting against Him. Therefore He says: "He who eats My bread with Me."