Passage
Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
John 13:33 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 13:31 Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him;
John 13:32 if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.
John 13:33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "little", "children", "longer", "seek", "said", "jews", and "where". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "little" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 32's "if God is glorified in Him God..." into verse 34's "A new commandment I give to you...", so "little" and "children" 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 "little" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.