John 13:16 (DBY)

Passage

Verily, verily, I say to you, The bondman is not greater than his lord, nor the sent greater than he who has sent him.

Nearby Context

John 13:14 If I therefore, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet;

John 13:15 for I have given you an example that, as I have done to you, ye should do also.

John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say to you, The bondman is not greater than his lord, nor the sent greater than he who has sent him.

John 13:17 If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them.

John 13:18 I speak not of you all. I know those whom I have chosen; but that the scripture might be fulfilled, He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "bondman", "greater", "than", "lord", and "sent". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "verily" and "bondman", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "for I have given you an example..." into verse 17's "If ye know these things blessed are...", so "verily" and "bondman" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "verily" and "bondman" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.