John 13:36 (KJV)

Passage

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Nearby Context

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 13:36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

John 13:37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

John 13:38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "simon", "peter", "said", "lord", "whither", "goest", "thou", and "jesus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "simon" and "peter", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "By this shall all men know that..." into verse 37's "Peter said unto him Lord why cannot...", so "simon" and "peter" 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 "simon" and "peter" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.