John 13:7 (DBY)

Passage

Jesus answered and said to him, What I do thou dost not know now, but thou shalt know hereafter.

Nearby Context

John 13:5 then he pours water into the washhand basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the linen towel with which he was girded.

John 13:6 He comes therefore to Simon Peter; and *he* says to him, Lord, dost thou wash *my* feet?

John 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, What I do thou dost not know now, but thou shalt know hereafter.

John 13:8 Peter says to him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me.

John 13:9 Simon Peter says to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "answered", "said", "thou", "dost", "shalt", and "hereafter". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "answered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "He comes therefore to Simon Peter and..." into verse 8's "Peter says to him Thou shalt never...", so "jesus" and "answered" 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 "jesus" and "answered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.