Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus answered him, “You don’t know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.”
- KJV Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
- BSB Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
- NASB Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand later.”
- NLT Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells Peter he cannot understand now but will understand later. It points to a meaning that only the cross and resurrection would make clear.
Overview
Jesus acknowledges that the full significance of the foot-washing, especially as it pictures His cleansing death, lies beyond Peter's present grasp. Understanding would come after the passion and the Spirit's later teaching (cf. 14:26; 2:22). The verse counsels trust in Christ even when His ways are not yet understood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Dan 12:8I heard, but I didn’t understand: then I said, my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?
- John 12:16His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
- John 14:26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
- Jas 5:7–11Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
- John 13:10–12Jesus said to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.”
- Dan 12:12Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.
- John 13:36Simon 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.”
- Hab 2:1–3I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
- Jer 32:24–25“Behold, the mounds, they have come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and behold, you see it.
- Jer 32:43Fields shall be bought in this land, about which you say, It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 13:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.