The Footwashing: A Johannine ‘Rereading’ of the Last Supper
This doctoral thesis examines the account of the Footwashing and the naming of Judas in John 13:1–30 as a Johannine ‘re-reading’ or ‘re-staging’ of the Last Supper and as an anticipatory reconfiguration of the Passion. The study highlights how the Fourth Gospel does not merely pass on a handed-down tradition, but undertakes a genuine theological re-enactment. Through a critical dialogue with the accounts of the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–23; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26) and with extra-biblical texts, this study highlights the deviations, shifts and reconfigurations undertaken by John. It puts forward the thesis that John 13:1–30 constitutes a narrative and theological re-staging of the Last Supper, in which the gesture of service symbolically replaces and interprets the words concerning the bread and the cup, and in which the Passion is already woven into the narrative in the form of anticipatory gestures. Thus, Johannine Christology unfolds within a paradoxical tension between humiliation and exaltation, service and lordship. By rediscovering the theological significance of the Footwashing and the figures of Peter and Judas in this sequence, this work seeks to highlight its decisive contribution to the understanding of Christological revelation in the Fourth Gospel. Ultimately, this study aims to propose an integrative hermeneutical framework in which re-reading, re-enactment and narrative dynamics converge to shed light on Johannine Christology.
Research Questions
- Why, unlike the Synoptic traditions, does the Gospel of John place a Footwashing narrative which is closely linked to the scene of Judas’s betrayal at the centre of the Last Supper?
- To what extent does the Footwashing represent a symbolic and theological rereading of Jewish, Greco-Roman, Synoptic and Pauline traditions?
- What roles do Peter and Judas play in the narrative and Christological dynamics of this pericope?
- How does this Johannine presentation contribute to a renewed understanding of Christology?
Methodology
This study conducts an in-depth textual analysis of John 13:1-30 in its final canonical form. It adopts a synchronic approach and treats the pericope as a coherent and theologically constructed literary unit. The analysis focuses on the narrative structure and the internal dynamics of the narrative.
Particular attention is paid to the grammatical, syntactic and semantic features of the Greek text to highlight the theological richness of the utterances and gestures described. The study also draws on an intertextual approach, linking John 13:1-30 with the synoptic and Pauline accounts of the Last Supper, as well as with Old Testament, extra-biblical Jewish and Greco-Roman motifs relating to the washing of feet.
Finally, the research adopts a hermeneutical perspective that interlinks the concepts of ‘re-reading’, ‘re-enactment’ and ‘hypertextuality’ in order to do justice to the theological work of the Evangelist John. It thus aims to contribute to a new understanding of Johannine Christology by demonstrating how the narrative of the washing of the feet and the betrayal provides a key to interpreting the Eucharistic tradition and the Passion as an event of Christological revelation.
Bibliography (selection)
- Egasse, Corine, Le lavement des pieds, Recherche sur une pratique négligée, Genève, Labor et Fides, 2015.
- Henrschel, Anni, Die Fußwaschungserzählung im Johannesevangelium, Ein Beitrag zur johanneischen Ekklesiologie, Tübigen, Mohr Siebeck, 2022.
- Metzger, Bruce M., A textual commentary on the Greek New Testament : a companion volume to the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament, fourth revised edition, Stuttgart, Dt. Bibelgesellschaft, 1994.
- Thomas, John Christopher, Footwashing in John 13 and the Johannine Community. 2e éd., Cleveland, CPT Press, 2014.
- Zumstein, Jean, L’évangile selon saint Jean (13-21), Genève, Labor et Fides, 2007.
Supervisor
Prof. Boris Repschinski SJ
Department of Biblical Studies and Historical Theology
Doctoral Candidate
Mag.theol. Jean-Marc Damin
Jean-Marc.Damin@student.uibk.ac.at
