However, in general the author relies on strong nouns and verbs to tell the story. B. Composition

1. Verb choices are particularly strong and vibrant: the author uses words like "prompted," "wrapped," and "poured," which makes for a compelling and dramatic narrative and corresponds with the suspenseful atmosphere.

2. The author uses many complex sentences consisting of both dependent and independent clauses, but the author uses varied sentence structure to create rhythm.

3. The author uses subtle repetition: "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well," (John 13: 9).

4. The author uses parallelism also to create rhythm. For example, "he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist," (John 13:4).

5. Foreshadowing is one of the hallmarks of this passage. For example, "Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father," (John 13: 1).

6. As a result, there is some dramatic irony, as only Jesus is privy to the knowledge of his own death; the disciples are in the dark.

7. The dialogue between Jesus and Peter is filled with tension, enhancing the tone and mood of the passage.

8. In general, the use of dialogue elevates what would be mere religious teaching into an actual story or narrative. Dialogue is one of the most effective techniques in any work of prose.

9. The use of the word "clean" to describe the ritual washing of feet denotes the importance...

The writing style is at once formal and familiar. In general the passage is highly readable by modern audiences and has a pace similar to children's stories. On the other hand, the insertion of words like "shall" eliminates the sense of anachronism (John 13: 8).
III. Other observations

1. Line 16 is ambiguous: "I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." What Jesus says seems obvious: of course no servant is greater than his master. If he had stated the opposite, then the line's meaning would be more apparent. However, it is unclear what Jesus is trying to say about the relationship between servant and master.

2. The word "devil" is printed with a lowercase "d," to undermine the power of the devil in relationship to the power of the Father.

3. Line 10 is a prime example of how Jesus used metaphors to get across his spiritual teachings: "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." He refers to spiritual, not physical cleanliness.

4. The passage demonstrates one of the central messages of Jesus' teachings regarding purity of spirit.

5. God is referred to as "the Father," which depersonalizes the father-son relationship between Jesus and God.

6. Jesus has no qualms about presenting himself to…