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John 13 · a question people ask

Jesus said, "you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (13:14). Does that mean his followers should wash feet today?

In the text

Here is what the chapter says. Jesus said, "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (13:14), and "For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you" (13:15). He added, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (13:17). The chapter doesn't say whether the washing is to be kept as a practice, or how, and these notes don't say how anyone should keep it today.

The verses

“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither is one who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
John 13:14-17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of John 13

John 13: The towel and the basin

Just before the towel and the basin, John's Gospel tells what Jesus knew: "that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God and was going to God" (13:3). Then he "arose from supper" (13:4) and began to wash the disciples' feet (13:5).

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Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions