John 13

“Love One Another”

After partaking of the Passover meal, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. He taught them about serving and loving one another. This lesson can encourage you to seek happiness through serving and loving others as Jesus did.

Encouraging multiple responses to questions. Avoid the tendency to accept just one response to a question and then move on with the lesson. Invite other students to respond or to comment on a prior response. Seek the guidance of the Spirit as you invite students to participate in discussions.

Student preparation: Invite students to find an opportunity to serve or demonstrate Christlike love for another person.

Possible Learning Activities

Trying to be like Jesus

Sing or read the lyrics to “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, 78–79). Or you could watch “Music Video: I’m Trying to Be like Jesus—Emily Brown” (3:18), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. As you sing, read, or watch, think about reasons you want to try to be like Jesus.

Consider inviting students to share thoughts or feelings they had as they sang or read the song or watched the video. Ask the following questions, using the first question to invite self-reflection rather than discussion.

• In what ways are you trying to be like Jesus?

• What differences have you seen in people’s lives as they have tried to be like Jesus? What about in your own life?

As you participate in this lesson, pay attention to promptings of the Holy Ghost that can inspire you to better follow the Savior’s example and teachings.

“I have given you an example”

Consider displaying the picture from the beginning of this lesson to help students visualize what is happening in this scripture account.

Toward the end of the Savior’s life, He gathered His Apostles together for His final Passover meal. The events of this evening are often referred to as the Last Supper.

Read John 13:1–11, looking for what Jesus did after He and His Apostles finished eating the Passover meal.

There will be opportunities to address the other events that occurred during the Passover meal in the other lessons for this week.

It might be helpful to know that during New Testament times, people typically had very dirty feet as a result of wearing sandals and walking on mostly dirt roads. Washing another’s feet would typically have been performed by the lowest level of servants.

• What do you learn about Jesus’s character from His act of washing the Apostles’ feet?

• How might you have felt or responded if Jesus offered you this type of humble service?

By washing His Apostles’ feet, the Savior not only performed a beautiful act of service but also instituted a sacred ordinance (see Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary [1965], 1:708–9). This ordinance was restored in our dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:74–75, 137–41; Saints, 1:166). Because this is a sacred ordinance that is rarely spoken of by prophets and apostles, teachers should not discuss how this ordinance is performed in our day. Teachers and students should not participate in any activity related to washing one another’s feet. Instead, emphasize the Savior’s great example of love in serving His disciples in this way.

Read John 13:12–17, looking for lessons you can learn from the Savior’s words.

• What do you learn from the Savior’s teachings in these verses?

• When have you experienced happiness by following Jesus’s example of service?

To show the happiness that can result from serving others, consider showing one or both of the videos “When Ye Are in the Service—YW” (3:07) and “When Ye Are in the Service—YM” (3:02), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

“Love one another”

After washing the feet of His Apostles, the Savior took time to teach them. Read John 13:34–35 to discover the important doctrine He taught.

Help students identify a truth similar to the following: To be true disciples of Jesus Christ, we must love one another as He loves us.

Some students may struggle to love someone who has hurt them. Seek the direction of the Holy Ghost in knowing what adaptations might need to be made to help students feel Jesus Christ’s love for them and for others.

• As you read and think about these verses, what thoughts, feelings, or questions do you have?

Consider inviting students to do the following activity in pairs or small groups. Students could add their examples to a list on the board.

Think of scripture accounts in which the Savior demonstrated love to others.

• How did Jesus Christ show love in different ways to different people?

Take some time to think and write about when or how you feel Jesus’s love for you. Consider being still and asking Heavenly Father to help you recognize these times.

• How does recognizing and feeling the Savior’s love for you affect your desire to show love to others?

Some students may have difficulty thinking of how the Savior shows love to them in personal ways. Consider sharing examples of how He shows love, such as offering forgiveness, helping them see their worth, or letting them know that He understands what they are going through. Consider sharing a personal experience to help students see that He continues to demonstrate the same loving-kindness for us that He did in accounts in the scriptures. It may also be helpful to show Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s message in the video “I ‘Hear Him’ by Feeling His Love for Me” (2:01), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Be aware that the next “Assess Your Learning” lesson will follow up on this plan. If adjustments are made here, be sure to adjust the “Assess Your Learning” lesson accordingly.

Make a plan of how you could follow the Savior’s example to love and serve others, as well as when you would like to do it. The following ideas might be helpful to think about as you make a plan.

• Do something today for a family member, friend, or someone in the community.

• Do something to show love and kindness to someone who is different from you or even someone you have struggled to get along with in the past.

• Identify someone you feel impressed to show greater love or respect toward.

• Consider how you could invite the Savior’s love into your efforts.

Commentary and Background Information

John 13:26. What is a sop?

The “sop” described in John 13:26 was a small piece of bread that those dining would use to scoop broth and meat from a bowl. Since it was a gesture of kindness and respect for a host to dip a sop and give it to a dinner guest, the Savior by this act presented Judas with an offer of friendship, perhaps one final opportunity for him to abandon his planned betrayal.

How can we help others feel Jesus Christ’s love through our service to them?

President Henry B. Eyring shared the following story:

I was assigned to visit a care center sacrament meeting. I was asked to pass the sacrament. Instead of thinking about the process or precision in the way I passed the sacrament, I instead looked in the faces of each elderly person. I saw many of them weeping. One lady grabbed my sleeve, looked up, and said aloud, “Oh, thank you, thank you.”

The Lord had blessed my service given in His name. That day I had prayed for such a miracle to come instead of praying for how well I might do my part. I prayed that the people would feel the Lord’s love through my loving service. I have learned this is the key to serving and blessing others in His name.

(Henry B. Eyring, “Bless in His Name,” Liahona, May 2021, 68–69)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate way to begin the lesson

Display the following diagram on the board:

Read the following questions aloud, and invite students to ponder their answers (explain that they do not need to answer aloud):

• Where would you place yourself on this continuum?

• Would you like to be happier than you currently are?

• Who would you like to help become happier?

As students study John 13, invite them to look for principles that will help them know what they can do to be happier.

How can you demonstrate that you are a Christian?

At the beginning of the section “Love one another,” the following activity could help students reengage in the lesson:

Ask students if they have ever been accused of not being Christians, or true disciples of Jesus Christ, because they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If any students have, ask how they responded to that situation. Invite class members to discuss the following questions:

• How could you respond if someone told you that you are not a Christian?

• What are some ways you could demonstrate that you are a follower of Jesus Christ?

John 13:35. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples”

Consider emphasizing the truth in John 13:34 that as we love one another as Jesus Christ loves us, others will know that we are His disciples.

To illustrate this truth, share the following story, related by Elder Paul E. Koelliker while he served as a member of the Seventy:

Two young missionaries knocked on a door, hoping to find someone to receive their message. The door opened, and a rather large man greeted them in a less-than-friendly voice: “I thought I told you not to knock on my door again. I warned you before that if you ever came back, it would not be a pleasant experience. Now leave me alone.” He quickly closed the door.

As the elders walked away, the older, more experienced missionary put his arm on the younger missionary’s shoulder to comfort and encourage him. Unknown to them, the man watched them through the window to be sure they understood his message. He fully expected to see them laugh and make light of his curt response to their attempted visit. However, as he witnessed the expression of kindness between the two missionaries, his heart was instantly softened. He reopened the door and asked the missionaries to come back and share their message with him.

… This principle of having love one to another and developing our ability to be Christ-centered in how we think, speak, and act is fundamental in becoming disciples of Christ.

(Paul E. Koelliker, “He Truly Loves Us,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 17)

Invite students to consider why this interaction between the missionaries had such an impact on the man.