For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are not all clean.”
- KJV For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
- NKJV For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
- NASB For He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
- NLT For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John explains that Jesus said 'not all clean' because He knew His betrayer. It exposes Judas as outwardly present but inwardly unclean.
Overview
Jesus' knowledge of Judas underscores His divine omniscience and His sovereign awareness of the betrayal to come. Judas's outward association with Christ did not make him clean within. The verse warns that nearness to Jesus and religious appearance are no substitute for genuine, cleansing faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- John 13:26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.
- John 13:18I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
- John 13:21After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”
- John 13:2The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
- John 6:64–71However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
- Matt 26:24–25The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
- John 2:25He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.
- John 17:12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 13:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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