For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, 'Not all of you are clean' — John explicitly confirms what Jesus knew from the beginning: the betrayer is present at the very table where Jesus performs the supreme act of love. Judas receives the footwashing, his feet touched and dried by the Lord he will deliver to death. This is not an exemption from grace but a tragic refusal of grace; the washing does not cleanse him because his heart remains closed. The knowledge Jesus possesses is not punitive but sorrowful—he sees the beloved who will not be loved, the guest who will become betrayer.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse