John 13:3

3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.

John 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

John 13:3

Jesus knowing that the Father
These words express the sense Christ had of his own greatness and dignity as Mediator:

had given all things into his hands;
all the persons of the elect, all blessings both of grace and glory for them, and power and authority over all other persons and things, to make them subservient to his purposes:

and that he was come from God;
had his mission and commission, as man, from God; did not come of himself, but he sent him:

and went to God;
or was going to him in a very little time, to sit at his right hand, to have a name above every name, and to have angels, authorities, and powers subject to him; which, as it shows his high esteem with his Father, and his exalted character as Mediator, so it greatly illustrates his wonderful humility, that in the view, and under a sense and consideration of all this, he should condescend to wash the feet of his disciples; of which an account is given in the following verses.

John 13:3 In-Context

1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.
2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.
4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist,
5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.