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JOHN 13:9 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 13:8John 13:10
“Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, if that is the case, then not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well!' — Peter swings from absolute refusal to absolute surrender, from "never" to excessive excess. His demand to be washed entirely reveals his misunderstanding: he thinks quantity of washing equals purity, yet grasps that refusal of Jesus' love has terrible consequences. His panic and overcorrection show a man grappling with a grace too large for him, responding with childlike vulnerability. Peter's oscillation between fear and devotion becomes emblematic of the disciple's condition—always seeking the right response, always partially seeing, always in need of transformation.

Church Fathers on John 13:9

As a physician, who has many sick under his care, begins with those who want his attention most, so Christ, in washing His disciples’ feet, begins with the most unclean, and so comes at last to Peter, who needed the washing less than any: Then comes He to Simon Peter. Peter resisted being washed, perhaps because his feet were nearly clean: and Peter said to Him, Lord, do you wash my feet?

Origen · 3rd century

What is the meaning of you and my feet? It is better to think than speak of this; lest one should fail in explaining adequately what might have been rightly conceived.

Augustine · 4th century

Though Peter was the first of the Apostles, yet it is possible that the traitor petulantly placed himself above him; and that this may be the reason why our Lord first began to wash, and then comes to Peter.

Chrysostom · 4th century
Read all 24 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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