John 13:8 (DRB)

Passage

Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash my feet, Jesus answered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.

Nearby Context

John 13:6 He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

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

John 13:8 Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash my feet, Jesus answered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.

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

John 13:10 Jesus saith to him: He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "peter", "saith", "thou", "shalt", "never", "wash", "feet", and "jesus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "peter" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Jesus answered and said to him What..." into verse 9's "Simon Peter saith to him Lord not...", so "peter" and "saith" 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 "peter" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.