John 13 · Verse 36

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 13:36, King James Version

John 13:36 in other translations

BSB“Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked. Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”
WEBSimon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you can’t follow now, but you will follow afterwards.”
ASVSimon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.
YLTSimon Peter saith to him, ‘Sir, whither dost thou go away?' Jesus answered him, ‘Whither I go away, thou art not able now to follow me, but afterward thou shalt follow me.'
DARBYSimon Peter says to him, Lord, where goest thou? Jesus answered him, Where I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me after.
BBESimon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus said in answer, Where I am going you may not come with me now, but you will come later.
WebsterSimon Peter said to him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterward.

What does John 13:36 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 13:36-38
36-38. Peter said--seeing plainly in these directions how to behave themselves, that He was indeed going from them. Lord, whither guest thou?--having hardly a glimmer of the real truth. Jesus answered, ... thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards--How different from what He said to the Jews: "Whither I go ye cannot come" (Joh 8:21).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 36.

(y) "but thou shalt follow me" Jn 21:18, 2Pet 1:14

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 36 Thou canst not follow me now - Thou hast not faith strong enough to die for me, nor is thy work yet done; but hereafter thou shalt suffer for my sake, and die in defense of my truth. See Joh 21:18.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 13:36-38
What Christ had said concerning brotherly love, Peter overlooked, but spoke of that about which Christ kept them ignorant. It is common to be more eager to know about secret things, which belong to God only, than about things revealed, which belong to us and our children; to be more desirous to have our curiosity gratified, than our consciences directed; to know what is done in heaven, than what we may do to get thither. How soon discourse as to what is plain and edifying is dropped, while a doubtful dispute runs on into endless strife of words! We are apt to take it amiss to be told we cannot do this and the other, whereas, without Christ we can do nothing. Christ knows us better than we know ourselves, and has many ways of discovering those to themselves, whom he loves, and he will hide pride from them. May we endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, to love one another with a pure heart fervently, and to walk humbly with our God.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

John 13:36 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

λέγειlegeiSaysG3004
αὐτῷautōto HimG846
ΣίμωνSimōnSimonG4613
Πέτρος·PetrosPeter;G4074
κύριε,kurieLord,G2962
ποῦpouwhereG4226
ὑπάγεις;hupageisgo You?G5217
ἀπεκρίθηapekrithēAnsweredG611
αὐτῷautōto himG846
Ἰησοῦς·IēsousJesus;G2424
ὅπουhopouWhereG3699
ὑπάγωhupagōI goG5217
οὐounotG3756
δύνασαίdunasaiyou are ableG1410
μοιmoiMeG3165
νῦνnunnowG3568
ἀκολουθῆσαι·akolouthēsaito follow;G190
ἀκολουθήσειςakolouthēseisyou will followG190
δὲdehoweverG1161
ὕστερονhusteronafterwardG5306

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 13:36

  • 2 Peter 1:14

    Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

  • John 21:21-22

    Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

  • John 13:33

    Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

  • John 14:2

    In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

  • John 21:18-19

    Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

  • John 14:4-5

    And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

  • John 16:17

    Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
whither.
33; 14:4,5; 16:17; 21:21
thou.
21:18,19,22; 2Pe 1:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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.

Read all of John 13

John 13:36 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dícele Simón Pedro: Señor, ¿adónde vas? Respondióle Jesús: Donde yo voy, no me puedes ahora seguir; mas me seguirás después.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Simon Pierre lui dit: Seigneur, où vas-tu? Jésus lui répondit: Là où je vais, tu ne peux pas me suivre maintenant, mais tu me suivras plus tard.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Simon Petrus spricht zu ihm: Herr, wo gehst du hin? Jesus antwortete ihm: Wo ich hingehe, kannst du mir jetzt nicht folgen; du wirst mir aber später folgen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dicit ei Simon Petrus: Domine, quo vadis? Respondit Jesus: Quo ego vado non potes me modo sequi: sequeris autem postea.