Antecedentes de la investigación

After the reflections of both the narrator (12:37-43) and Jesus (12:44- 50) that conclude the Johannine account of the public ministry, 13:1 points the narrative in a new direction. Jesus is alone with his disciples in the upper room. It is “the most significant transition in the Gospel, introducing not only the scene of the footwashing but the entire second half of the Gospel.”47 _{But where does the unit end? Are we}

to consider only 13:1-30, or did the author intend that vv. 31-38 be read as part of the story of the footwashing and the gift of the morsel?48 _{The material in vv. 31-38 is not pure discourse. There is also}

the report of an encounter between Simon Peter and Jesus in vv. 36- 38 where the future denials of Simon Peter are foretold. This passage closely matches the similar prophecies, earlier in the narrative, that told of the future betrayal of Judas (vv. 10b-11, 21-22) and picks up Peter’s earlier misunderstanding of Jesus’ gesture in the footwashing (see vv. 6-10a). There are other literary indications that bind the words of Jesus to Peter in vv. 36-38 with his earlier words about Judas in vv. 10b-11, especially Jesus’ promise that what Peter cannot know and understand now will become clear later (v. 7; vv. 36-37. See also v. 19).

A feature of John 13:1-38 is the regular appearance of a typically Johannine expression: “Amen, amen I say to you” (see vv. 16, 20, 21, 38). This expression is found only in the Fourth Gospel, where it appears 24 times.49 _{It appears in 13:1-38 more times (four uses)}

than in any other chapter of the Gospel, and it appears only three times in the rest of the last discourse (14:12; 16:20, 23).50 _{The second}

reference to the betrayal of Judas (v. 21) opens with this Johannine expression, while the prophecy of the denials of Peter closes with

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it (v. 38). The use of the Johannine expression “amen, amen I say to you,” at the beginning and the end of the prophecies of betrayal and denial reported in vv. 21-38 may keep vv. 31-38 more closely associated with 13:1-30 than with the rest of the discourse in chapters 14-17. The themes of the failure of Judas and Peter play no further role in the discourse proper. It does not reappear until the passion narrative, where it returns as a major element in the drama (18:1-11, 15-18, 25-27).51

The Johannine use of the double “amen” serves as an important indication of the overall structure of this part of the narrative. John has deliberately positioned double “amen” sayings in vv. 17, 20, 21, and 38 to create the following carefully structured plot:

1. Verses 1-17: The footwashing is dramatically reported, and a number of discussions surround the narrative. This section features John’s comments (see vv. 1-5), dialogue between Jesus and Peter (vv. 6-10a), and Jesus’ words on Judas (vv. 10b-11), in the midst of the failure and ignorance of the disciples. The section

concludes with the double “amen” in vv. 16-17.

2. Verses 18-20: Jesus speaks to his disciples, and his words form the literary center of the passage. The section concludes with the double

“amen” in v. 20.

3. Verses 21-38: In a narrative that matches vv. 1-17, John tells of Jesus’ gift of the morsel, and a number of discussions surround the narrative. The context of betrayal and denial intensify (vv. 21- 30, 36-38). The section opens and closes with a double “amen” in

v. 21 and in v. 38.

In the first major section of vv. 1-38, the double “amen” appears in v. 16, opening two statements from Jesus, one about the relationship between servant and master (v. 16) and another about knowing and doing (v. 17). These statements of vv. 16-17 look back to the remarks from John’s introduction in vv. 1-5 where the themes of (a) Jesus and “his own,” (b) Jesus’ “knowing,” and (c) Jesus’ “doing” are spelt out: “When Jesus knew that his hour had come … having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (v. 1). … Jesus

knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands … rose

from the supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel” (vv. 3-4).

Jesus’ “knowing” that his hour had come, and that the Father had given all things into his hands, led to an active “doing”: he loves his disciples to the end (Greek: eis telos), and as a sign of this, he washes their feet: knowledge flows into action.52 _{John 13 opens with a message}

to the audience that the “knowing” and “doing’ of Jesus touches the life of the disciples, whom he loves unconditionally (“to the end”). The narrative reporting Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples, and calling them “to have part with him,” follows. At the close of the section, after the solemn introduction of the double “amen,” Jesus tells the disciples that, in their relationship to him as his servants and sent ones (v. 16), they are called to repeat what “the master” has done. Blessed are they if, knowing these things, they do them (v. 17). He has given them an “example” (v. 15).

The verb “to know” reappears in v. 18: “I know whom I have chosen.” But another theme emerges that was not found in vv. 1-17. It is not only Jesus’ knowledge that is stressed, but also the fact that he has “chosen” his disciples. Not only has he chosen them, but they are to become his “sent ones”: “He who receives any one whom I send receives me” (v. 20). The “chosen ones” are further described as “any one whom I send.” The closely linked themes of being chosen and being sent mark the beginning and the end of vv. 18-20. The themes of choosing and sending, surrounding Jesus’ hope that the disciples will eventually come to believe who he is in v. 19 (“you will believe that I AM HE”), form a unit, rounded off by the double “amen” in v. 20.

The double “amen” opens and closes vv. 21-38. The section is also framed with Jesus’ prophecies concerning the failure of members of his innermost circle of friends, the disciples with whom he is sharing his table: Judas (vv. 21-30) and Peter (vv. 36-38). Intertwined through the passage dealing with the betrayal of Judas is the theme of the gift of the morsel. On receiving the morsel, Judas leaves the upper room, and the passion is set in motion. This is the significance of the introduction to Jesus’ words of exultation in v. 31a: “When he had gone out …”. The action of Judas is crucial to John’s understanding of the glorification of Jesus through the Cross. One should not force a break in the narrative between Judas’ exit into the night in v. 30 and the words of Jesus in vv. 31-32. John makes clear reference to Judas

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in v. 31a (literally: “When, therefore, he had gone out” [AT]; Greek:

hote oun exêlthen) because he wants his audience to link the two. There

is a logical and causal link between the departure of Judas into the dark (vv. 30-31a) and the glorification of Jesus through the Cross (vv. 31b-32).

The Gift of the Morsel: