A Rhetorical Analysis Of Jesus In John 13

John 13:

After all of the waiting for Jesus' hour, it finally arrives in John 13. This chapter, which proffers such a commonly shared story, certainly one of the most popular in modern teaching, is very powerful. In it, Jesus gives an example of direction for the students he is about to leave behind: that of service. We witness one of closest students confirm his decision to betray Jesus. Another one of Jesus' disciples will give voice to a misunderstanding of Jesus' lessons, not once, but twice (13:8-10, 36-38). As Jesus' hour draws nigh, he becomes increasingly more troubled in his spirit; as a result, he speaks to his disciples in a much more urgent way that he has up until this point.
13:1-20
The initial verse of this chapter clues
Whereas many of the other disciples would have been from Galilee, Judas offers a unique perspective regarding how the Judeans would have struggled with the way of Jesus (we will later be introduced to another Judas later, who helps to reaffirm that no Judeans can participate with Jesus). It is interesting also that, the vessel by which Jesus identifies the betrayer, is through his appetite. I think there is something to be said about the kind of frustration Judas had with Jesus, and his tendency to be controlled by appetite. In a moment where he, the Judean, would have wanted Jesus to take up his throne, he is instead washing their feet. Yet Jesus still chooses to serve Judas, even though he is fully aware of both the imminent betrayal (13:11), and the consistent theft from their moneybag on the part of
Judas, here, chooses to reject his basket and only consume a morsel of the available word from Jesus. It is a betrayal – it affects Jesus. It makes Jesus concerned for his other students. Even though Jesus was able to see Judas’ betrayal coming, the other disciples were not (13:25, 28-29). One of the issues that occurs when a narrative is so commonly taught (i.e. the betrayal of Judas) lies in the reality that practical implications can be lost to the sacredness of an important story. The betrayal of Judas, in most modern thought and discussion, is understood highly theologically. Poorly considered questions such as, “Did God want Judas to betray Jesus?” replace what could become a realistic discussion for those who, like Jesus urges his disciples to do in this passage, love on another and live in community, replicating his own