You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.
Parallel translations
- KJV Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
- BSB You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
- NKJV You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
- NASB You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am.
- NLT You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.
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
Jesus affirms that they rightly call Him Teacher and Lord, for that is who He is. It establishes His authority as the basis for the example He gives.
Overview
Far from denying His dignity, Jesus confirms His true identity as Lord and Master. This makes His foot-washing all the more remarkable, for the Sovereign One served. His acknowledged lordship gives weight to the command that follows: those who own Him as Lord must follow His example.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 6:46“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?
- Phil 2:11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- 1 Cor 12:3Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.
- John 11:28When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here, and is calling you.”
- Rom 14:8–9For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
- Phil 3:8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
- Jas 2:19You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.
- Matt 23:8–10But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.
- 1 Cor 8:6yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
- Luke 10:28He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
- Matt 7:21–22Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
- Luke 7:43Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
- 2 Pet 1:14–16knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
- Jer 1:12Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 13:13 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.