He riseth from supper - Evidently while they were eating. See John 13:2.

Laid aside his garments - His outer garment. See the notes at Matthew 5:40. This was his mantle or robe, which is said to have been without seam. It was customary to lay this aside when they worked or ran, or in the heat of summer.

Took a towel and girded himself - This was the manner of a servant or slave. See the notes at Luke 17:8.

He riseth from supper - Not from eating, as Bishop Pearce has well observed, but from his place at table; probably the dishes were not as yet laid down, though the guests were seated. According to the custom of the Jews and other Asiatics, this washing must have taken place before the supper. See on John 13:2 (note).

Laid aside his garments - That is, his gown or upper coat, with the girdle wherewith it was girded close to his tunic or under coat; and, instead of this girdle, he tied a towel about him:

1. that he might appear in the character of a servant; and

2. that he might have it in readiness to dry their feet after he had washed them.

He riseth from supper,.... In the midst of the entertainment, and which no doubt was considerable, his mind being intent on something else; and it being his meat and drink to do his Father's will, he rises and leaves his disciples sitting to finish their meal; and whilst they were murmuring at the waste of the ointment poured on his head, and were filled with indignation at it, as they all of them were, see Matthew 26:8; he rises up to wash their feet; amazing patience and humility!

And laid aside his garments; not all his garments, only his upper ones, that he might better dispatch the business he was going about; and which was an emblem of his laying aside, as it were for a while, his glory and dignity as the Son of God, and of his appearing in the form of a servant.

And took a towel; or "linen cloth", the same with in the Jerusalem Talmud (r):

and girded himself; with the towel, or linen cloth, which served both for a girdle, and after he had washed his disciples' feet, to wipe them with. This was a servile habit; so servants used to stand at the feet of their masters, girt about with a linen cloth (s); and shows, that the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.

(r) Sabbat, fol. 3. 1. & 12. 1.((s) Suetonius in Caligula, c. 26.

From the supper (ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου)

Out of the group gathered at the table.

Laid aside (τίθησι)

Present tense: layeth aside.

Garments (ἱμάτια)

See on Matthew 5:40. Upper garments.

Towel (λέντιον)

A Latin word, linteum. A linen cloth. Only here and John 13:5.

Girded (διέζωσεν)

Only in this chapter and John 21:7. The compound verb means to bind or gird all round.

He {c} riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

(c) In that he is said to rise, it argues that there was a space of time between the ceremony of the passover and this washing of feet, at which time it seems that the Lord's supper was instituted.

13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments. Shortly after they had sat down to the table, he arose, laid aside his outer robe, girded a towel upon him, and began the lowly office of washing the feet of twelve men, without a word of explanation. Something more than ordinary must have caused so remarkable an act. The fact that the cause has been lost sight of, has caused many to misunderstand the significance, and to think the Savior was instituting a church ceremonial, rather than giving a deep, practical, spiritual lesson for all ages. I will endeavor to explain the circumstances: (1) The disciples still expected the immediate manifestation of the kingdom. When they sat down to this Supper they felt it was a kind of state occasion, and a strife arose among them for precedence. Each wanted the chief seat at the feast (compare Mr 12:39). An account of this unseemly controversy over the old question, Who should be greatest ? is found in Lu 22:24-30. (2) Their sandals had been laid off according to custom. They sat down to the table with dry and dusty feet, but no one brought water to wash their feet, an eastern duty of hospitality made necessary by their hot, dusty climate. No apostle volunteered to attend to the office, the duty of a servant. (3) Then, while they were filled with their ambitious, envious feelings, and had engaged in strife right at the Lord's table, after waiting long enough to have it shown that no one would condescend to the menial, but needful duty, the Lord, full of conscious divinity, arose, girded on the towel, and began the office. A rebuke to their ambitious strife, far more powerful than words could have spoken: such a rebuke that never again do we see a hint of the old question, Who should be greatest ? It was Christ's answer to their unseemly conduct, and a lesson to those Christians who love the pre-eminence (3Jo 1:9) for all time. It said, Let him that would be greatest become the servant of all (Mr 10:44).

13:4 Layeth aside his garments - That part of them which would have hindered him.

4, 5. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments-outer garments which would have impeded the operation of washing.

and took a towel and girded himself-assuming a servant's dress.

13:1-17 Our Lord Jesus has a people in the world that are his own; he has purchased them, and paid dear for them, and he has set them apart for himself; they devote themselves to him as a peculiar people. Those whom Christ loves, he loves to the end. Nothing can separate a true believer from the love of Christ. We know not when our hour will come, therefore what we have to do in constant preparation for it, ought never to be undone. What way of access the devil has to men's hearts we cannot tell. But some sins are so exceedingly sinful, and there is so little temptation to them from the world and the flesh, that it is plain they are directly from Satan. Jesus washed his disciples' feet, that he might teach us to think nothing below us, wherein we may promote God's glory, and the good of our brethren. We must address ourselves to duty, and must lay aside every thing that would hinder us in what we have to do. Christ washed his disciples' feet, that he might signify to them the value of spiritual washing, and the cleansing of the soul from the pollutions of sin. Our Lord Jesus does many things of which even his own disciples do not for the present know the meaning, but they shall know afterward. We see in the end what was the kindness from events which seemed most cross. And it is not humility, but unbelief, to put away the offers of the gospel, as if too rich to be made to us, or too good news to be true. All those, and those only, who are spiritually washed by Christ, have a part in Christ. All whom Christ owns and saves, he justifies and sanctifies. Peter more than submits; he begs to be washed by Christ. How earnest he is for the purifying grace of the Lord Jesus, and the full effect of it, even upon his hands and head! Those who truly desire to be sanctified, desire to be sanctified throughout, to have the whole man, with all its parts and powers, made pure. The true believer is thus washed when he receives Christ for his salvation. See then what ought to be the daily care of those who through grace are in a justified state, and that is, to wash their feet; to cleanse themselves from daily guilt, and to watch against everything defiling. This should make us the more cautious. From yesterday's pardon, we should be strengthened against this day's temptation. And when hypocrites are discovered, it should be no surprise or cause of stumbling to us. Observe the lesson Christ here taught. Duties are mutual; we must both accept help from our brethren, and afford help to our brethren. When we see our Master serving, we cannot but see how ill it becomes us to domineer. And the same love which led Christ to ransom and reconcile his disciples when enemies, still influences him.