John 13:8

“Peter saith unto him, thou shall never wash my feet, etc.] Before he had behaved with modesty, but now with obstinacy and perverseness; and though these expressions might arise from great reverence to Christ, yet they were wrong and rashly spoken. Peter ought to have been satisfied with Christ’s reply, and have submitted, since though he then did not know the reason of such surprising conduct, he should hereafter. In order therefore to bring him to a compliance, Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me; he does not say, if I wash not thy feet, but thee, meaning not with water, but with his blood, and by his Spirit; for Christ uses the word wash here, not literally,…”

“Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash, &c.--more emphatically, "Never shalt Thou wash my feet": that is, "That is an incongruity to which I can never submit." How like the man! If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me--What Peter could not submit to was, that the Master should serve His servant. But the whole saving work of Christ was one continued series of such services, ending with and consummated by the most self-sacrificing and transcendent of all services: THE SON OF MAN CAME not to be ministered unto, but TO MINISTER, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY. (See on Mar 10:45). If Peter then could not submit to let his Master go down so low as to wash his feet, how should he…”

“Thou shalt never wash my feet - This was a decided and firm expression of his reverence for his Master, and yet it was improper. Jesus had just declared that it had a meaning, and that he ought to submit to it. We should yield to all the plain and positive requirements of God, even if we cannot now see how obedience would promote his glory. If I wash thee not - This had immediate reference to the act of washing his feet; and it denotes that if Peter had not so much confidence in him as to believe that an act which he performed was proper, though he could not see its propriety - if he was not willing to submit his will to that of Christ and implicitly obey him, he had no evidence of piety. As…”

“If I wash thee not - If thou dost not submit to my will, thou hast no part with me - Thou art not my disciple. In a more general sense it may mean, If I do not wash thee in my blood, and purify thee by my Spirit, thou canst have no communion with me, nor any share in the blessings of my kingdom. John 13:9”

“13:8 Based on the depth of his devotion to Jesus, it is understandable that Peter protested. But Jesus was not simply giving Peter a model of service; this was a symbolic pre-enactment of his greater act of sacrifice on the cross (13:7). Receiving Jesus’ spiritual cleansing is a condition for discipleship, so if Peter could not accept this act, he could not be Jesus’ disciple at all.”

“Thou shalt: Gen 42:38; Mat 16:22, Mat 21:29, Mat 26:33, Mat 26:35; Col 2:18, Col 2:23 If: Joh 13:6, Joh 3:5; Isa 4:4; Eze 16:4-9, Eze 36:25; Zac 13:1; Act 22:16; Co1 6:11; Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5; Heb 9:22, Heb 9:23, Heb 10:4-10, Heb 10:22; Rev 1:5, Rev 7:14 John 13:9”