Passage
The disciples began looking at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
John 13:22 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 13:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives anyone I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
John 13:21 When Jesus had said these things, He became troubled in spirit, and bore witness and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
John 13:22 The disciples began looking at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
John 13:23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
John 13:24 So Simon Peter gestured to him to inquire, “Who is the one of whom He is speaking?”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "disciples", "began", "looking", "another", "perplexed", and "spoke". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "disciples" and "began", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 21's "When Jesus had said these things He..." into verse 23's "There was reclining on Jesus bosom one...", so "disciples" and "began" 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 "disciples" and "began" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.