Bede — Commentary on Scripture

John 13:10

Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

Jesus is giving clear notice that this washing of the feet indicates pardoning of sins, and not only that which is given once in baptism but in addition that by which the daily guilty actions of the faithful that everyone lives with in this life are cleansed by his daily grace. Our feet, by which we move about [and] touch the ground—and for this reason we cannot keep them free from contact with dirt, as we can the rest of our bodies—signify the necessity of our living on earth, by which we who are idle and negligent are daily affected to a great extent. Even outstanding people who live the highest kind of life are distracted from the heavenly contemplation that they love so much, so that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” …The person who has been cleansed in the baptismal font and has received pardon for all his sins has no need to be cleansed again. Moreover, he cannot be cleansed again in the same way. He finds it necessary only to have the daily defilements of his worldly life wiped away by the daily forgiveness of his Redeemer. His whole…

Jesus is giving clear notice that this washing of the feet indicates pardoning of sins, and not only that which is given once in baptism but in addition that by which the daily guilty actions of the faithful that everyone lives with in this life are cleansed by his daily grace. Our feet, by which we move about [and] touch the ground—and for this reason we cannot keep them free from contact with dirt, as we can the rest of our bodies—signify the necessity of our living on earth, by which we who are idle and negligent are daily affected to a great extent. Even outstanding people who live the highest kind of life are distracted from the heavenly contemplation that they love so much, so that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” …The person who has been cleansed in the baptismal font and has received pardon for all his sins has no need to be cleansed again. Moreover, he cannot be cleansed again in the same way. He finds it necessary only to have the daily defilements of his worldly life wiped away by the daily forgiveness of his Redeemer. His whole body, together with its actions, is clean, with the exception merely of those things that cling to the mind because of the necessities of temporal cares. For their daily polluting and cleansing we say daily in prayer, “And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.”

John 13:12

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

Our Lord first did a thing, then taught it: as it is said, Jesus began both to do and to teach. (Acts 1:1)

John 13:14

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

Our Lord first did something then taught it, because Jesus, establishing the pattern of a good teacher, taught nothing except those things that he did.

John 13:17

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

To know what is good, and not to do it, tendeth not to happiness, but to condemnation; as James saith, To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). Wherefore He adds, If ye know these things, happy are ye if yo do them.

John 13:23

Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

That he lay in the bosom, and upon the breast, was not only an evidence of present love, but also a sign of the future, (non occ.). viz. of those new and mysterious doctrines which he was afterwards commissioned to reveal to the world.

John 13:38

Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

Which sentence may be read in two ways: either as affirming, thou shalt lay down thy life for My sake, but now through fear of the death of the body, thou shalt incur spiritual death: or as mocking; as if He said,

Nevertheless, should any one fall, let the example of Peter save him from despair, and teach him that he can without delay obtain pardon from God.

John 14:5-7

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

How can our Lord say, If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; when He has just said, Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know? We must suppose that some of them knew, and others not: among the latter, Thomas.

John 14:16

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

If we too, dearly beloved, love Christ perfectly in such a way that we prove the genuineness of this love by our observance of his commandments, he will ask the Father on our behalf, and the Father will give us another Paraclete. He will ask the Father through his humanity and will give [us another Paraclete] with the Father through his divinity. We must not suppose that it was only before his passion that he was asking on behalf of the church and that now, after his ascension, he is not also asking, since the apostle speaks of him, “who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us.”

John 14:17 · 2 passages

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Note too, that when He calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth, He shows that the Holy Spirit is His Spirit: then when He says He is given by the Father, He declares Him to be the Spirit of the Father also. Thus the Holy Ghost proceeds both from the Father, and from the Son.

He calls "the world" the inhabitants of this world who are given over to love of it. In contrast, the saints are on fire with a desire for heavenly things.… And so, anyone who is searching for consolation outwardly in the things of the world is not capable of being reformed inwardly by the favor of divine consolation. Whoever yearns after lowly delight cannot receive the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth flees from a heart it discerns is subject to vanity and restores by the light of his coming only those it beholds carrying out the commandments of truth out of love.

John 14:21

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Even now the Son loves those who love him and the Father. But he loves them now so that they may live properly as a result of their faith, which works through love. Then (in the future), he will love them as well, but in such a way that they may come to the vision of the truth of which they only had a taste through faith. When he adds, “I will show myself to him,” he will indeed show himself to all human beings but will show his very own being only to the elect. At the judgment even the damned will see Christ, but only the just will see the king in all his beauty.

John 14:30

Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

He says this because the time was now approaching for His being taken, and given up to death: For the Prince of this world cometh.

John 16:1

These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

The Savior warned his disciples ahead of time that they would not only be driven away from fellowship with their fellow citizens but also that they would suffer death at their hands. The Jews thought that they were doing a service to God in pursuing the ministers of the new covenant with hatred and death. The apostle says, “For I bear witness to them that they have zeal for God, but not according to full knowledge.” Here, it is as if he were saying, “You are going to suffer battles and tribulations from your fellow citizens, but accept them the more steadfastly in the realization that you are afflicted with them not so much out of hatred toward yourselves as out of zeal for the divine law.” Mindful of this advice, the blessed martyr Stephen prayed for his slayers. Those zealous for the Law thought that they were doing a service to God when they were murdering the heralds of grace.

John 16:5

But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

It is as if he were clearly saying, “By my ascension I shall return to him who determined that I was to become incarnate. And so great and so evident will be the honor of this ascension that there will be no need for any of you to ask where I am going, since all of you will see that I am on my way to heaven.” But it is good that when he had said regarding his ascension, “I am going to him who sent me,” he added, “And none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ” Earlier on, when he was testifying publicly about his passion and saying, “You are not able to come where I am going,” Peter questioned him saying, “Lord, where are you going?” He received the answer, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but [you will follow me] later on.” This was undoubtedly because they were not yet able to understand, not yet able to imitate the mystery of his passion and death. Yet they truly recognized the majesty of his ascension as soon as they saw it, and they wished with the entire capacity of their minds that they might deserve to follow [him].

John 16:7

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

It is evident, and there is no need of a lengthy explanation why he calls this Spirit “the Paraclete,” that is, “the Consoler.” [The Spirit’s] coming consoled and refreshed the hearts of the disciples when [Christ’s] departure had caused them to be sad. But also, when [the Spirit] inspires a hope of pardon and heavenly mercy in any individual believers who are saddened about the commission of sin or are laboring under the ordinary afflictions of this life, he unquestionably relieves them of the anguish of their sorrow by enlightening their minds.

John 16:10

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

The righteousness of Christ’s disciples consisted in this, that they believed that the Lord, whom they discerned was a true human being, was also the true Son of God, and that they worshiped always with a definite love the one whom they knew had been taken away bodily from them. The righteousness of the believers, that is, of those who have not seen the Lord in his human body, consists in this, that with their hearts they believe and love him whom they have never seen with their bodily vision as true God and man. Unbelievers are convicted of this righteousness, [which arises from] faith because, when they hear the word of life in the same way [as believers], they are unwilling to believe [in a way that leads] to righteousness.

John 16:11

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

He calls the devil “the ruler of this world” because he rules over those who, in a perverse way, love the world rather than the world’s Maker. He was judged by the Lord when he said, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven.” He was judged by [the Lord] when he was casting out demons and when he gave his disciples the power of treading on all the power of the enemy. Accordingly, the world is convicted of the judgment by which the devil is judged when human beings are frightened by the example of the archangel who was condemned because of his pride, lest they presume to resist the will of God. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of the judgment by which the ruler of the world has been judged when the apostle Jude, speaking in the Holy Spirit, in order to correct the wickedness of evil human beings records the punishment of the proud angels, saying, “The angels who did not preserve their place of leadership but left their dwelling place, he has kept in eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day.”

John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

It is true that a countless number of the faithful have foreknown and proclaimed coming events as a result of the gift of the Spirit. There are some who, filled with the grace of the Spirit, cure the sick raise, raise the dead, command demons and shine forth with many virtues. They lead an angelic life on earth. Nevertheless they do not know by a revelation of the Spirit the things that are to come about there. We can also take these words of the Lord to mean that when the Spirit comes, he may announce to us “the things that are to come” when he brings back to our memory the joys of the heavenly fatherland, when he makes known to us the feasts of the commonwealth on high through the gift of his breathing on [us]. He announces to us “the things that are to come” when he draws us away from the delights of present things and kindles within us the desire for the kingdom that has been promised us in heaven.

John 16:16

A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

Since he spoke these words on the night on which he was betrayed, it was “a little while,” that is, the [remaining] time of that same night and that of the following day, until the hour [came] when they would begin not to see him. For he was arrested on that night by the Jews, and he was crucified the next day when it was late. He was taken down from the cross and shut off from human sight within the confines of the sepulcher. “And again” it was “a little while” until they saw him again, for he rose from the dead on the third day and appeared to them with many proofs throughout forty days. As to why there had to be “a little while” when they would not see him, “and again a little while” and they would see him, he added the reason, saying, “Because I am going to the Father,” as if he were saying unmistakably, “After a little while I am going to be hidden from your sight within the closed space of the grave, and again after a little while I am going to appear for you to look at, after the sovereignty of death has been destroyed. This is so that I may now return to the Father, since the…

Since he spoke these words on the night on which he was betrayed, it was “a little while,” that is, the [remaining] time of that same night and that of the following day, until the hour [came] when they would begin not to see him. For he was arrested on that night by the Jews, and he was crucified the next day when it was late. He was taken down from the cross and shut off from human sight within the confines of the sepulcher. “And again” it was “a little while” until they saw him again, for he rose from the dead on the third day and appeared to them with many proofs throughout forty days. As to why there had to be “a little while” when they would not see him, “and again a little while” and they would see him, he added the reason, saying, “Because I am going to the Father,” as if he were saying unmistakably, “After a little while I am going to be hidden from your sight within the closed space of the grave, and again after a little while I am going to appear for you to look at, after the sovereignty of death has been destroyed. This is so that I may now return to the Father, since the divinely arranged plan of my taking mortality on myself has been fulfilled, together with the triumph of my resurrection.”

John 16:17-20

Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

What he added by way of explanation to those inquiring of him, “Truly, truly, I say to you that you will lament and weep, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be changed to joy” is fitting to their condition and to that of the entire church. Those who loved Christ lamented and wept when they saw him apprehended by his enemies, bound, led before the Sanhedrin, condemned [to death], scourged, exposed as an object of derision and finally crucified, his side pierced with a lance and buried. Those who loved the world … rejoiced when they condemned to a shameful death one who was troubling for them even to look at. The disciples were sorrowful when their Lord was put to death, but when they acknowledged his resurrection, their sorrow was changed to joy. And when they saw the mighty power of his ascension, they were raised up to an even higher level of joy, praising and blessing God. …But this discourse of the Lord is also appropriate to all believers who are striving to arrive at eternal joys through the tears and distress of the present [life]. They righ…

What he added by way of explanation to those inquiring of him, “Truly, truly, I say to you that you will lament and weep, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be changed to joy” is fitting to their condition and to that of the entire church. Those who loved Christ lamented and wept when they saw him apprehended by his enemies, bound, led before the Sanhedrin, condemned [to death], scourged, exposed as an object of derision and finally crucified, his side pierced with a lance and buried. Those who loved the world … rejoiced when they condemned to a shameful death one who was troubling for them even to look at. The disciples were sorrowful when their Lord was put to death, but when they acknowledged his resurrection, their sorrow was changed to joy. And when they saw the mighty power of his ascension, they were raised up to an even higher level of joy, praising and blessing God. …But this discourse of the Lord is also appropriate to all believers who are striving to arrive at eternal joys through the tears and distress of the present [life]. They rightly lament and weep and are sorrowful during the present [time], since they are not yet capable of seeing him whom they love. As long as they are in their body, they recognize that they are on a journey and [absent] from their fatherland and kingdom. They have no doubt that they must reach their crown by labors and contests. Their sorrow will be changed to joy when, after the struggle of this present life is over, they receive the prize of everlasting life, about which it is said in the psalm, “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.”