Mimesis in John 13

Abstract

Johannine scholarship is divided on whether the mimetic imperative in John 13:15 calls for a literal replication of the footwashing or is a general reference to humble (loving) service. My argument is that for the author mimesis involves primarily the creative, truthful, bodily articulation of the idea and attitude that lie behind the original act rather than its exact replication. The Johannine concept of mimesis is a hermeneutical process that involves both the understanding of the original act and a resulting mimetic act that creatively but faithfully articulates this understanding.