John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Guide C)

At this point in the Gospel we move out of the streets into the quiet of a room. “The noise of the cosmos has died away: the stillness of night prevails” (Bultmann). And yet, in [that] quiet room, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the mission to the world on which he will send them. And the word cosmos occurs no less than forty times in the five chapters [13-17] which begin here.

Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel (Eerdmans), p.167.

Maundy Thursday, An Introduction