Towel

The towel appears in scripture as the implement Jesus picks up at the Last Supper to wash his disciples' feet. The whole umbrella sits in two consecutive verses of John's account.

The Towel at the Last Supper

The narrative is sequential: garments aside, towel taken, basin filled, feet washed, feet dried. "Rises from supper, and lays aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. Then he pours water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded" (John 13:4-5).

The towel is named twice in the two verses, and each naming has a distinct function. In the first, Jesus girds himself with it — the towel becomes his garment for the act, replacing the outer clothing he has just laid aside. In the second, the same towel, still around him, is what he uses to wipe the disciples' feet after he has washed them with the basin's water. The single piece of cloth thus does double duty: it dresses him for the task and, while still worn, becomes the drying instrument. The whole footwashing is bracketed by the towel.