5. Deinde mittit aquam in pelvim, et coepit lavare pedes discipulorum, et extergere linteo quo erat praecinctus.5. After that, he putteth water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girded.

5. After that, he putteth water into a basin. In the Greek we have the basin (τὸν νιπτῆρα), probably denoting a vessel ordinarily used for the washing of feet, or that had been provided for the ceremony of the washing of hands, which was portion of the ritual of the Paschal Supper. We take it that the fourth and fifth verses describe in a general way how our Lord set about washing the disciples' feet.

6. Venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum. Et dicet ei Petrus: Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes?6. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter said to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

6. Here the Evangelist goes on to state in detail what happened when our Lord presented Himself first of all before Peter. Thus we need not suppose that our Lord had washed the feet of any other disciple before He came to Peter. St. Peter almost always stands first among the Apostles, and on the present occasion, the remonstrance would naturally come from the first person at whose feet our Lord presented Himself.

“There is nothing to support the old notion that the action began with Judas. It is more natural to suppose that the Lord began with St. Peter. In that case his refusal to accept the services is more intelligible than it would be if others had already accepted it” (Westc. in The Speaker's Commentary).

Dost thou wash my feet? The position of the pronouns in the Greek brings out sharply the contrast of the persons.

7. Respondit Iesus, et dixit ei: Quod ego facio, tu nescis modo, scies autem postea.7. Jesus answered, and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.

7. Peter, bewildered by His Divine Master's condescension, is told that he shall afterwards learn the moral significance of what Jesus was about to do.

8. Dicit ei Petrus: Non lavabis mihi pedes in aeternum. Respondit ei Iesus: Si non lavero te, non habebis partem mecum.8. Peter said to him: Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.

8. Strong in faith, and mindful of the dignity of his Master, with that impetuosity which displayed itself on other [pg 235] occasions, Peter declares that he will never consent to such an act of self-abasement on the part of his Lord. Christ at once replies to him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me. The meaning is, that if Peter refused obedience to Christ's wish, now distinctly made known to him in these words, he should be excluded from Christ's society here and hereafter. Complete surrender of his will to Christ was a necessary condition of discipleship.