‘Simon Peter says to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me later”. Peter says to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you even now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus replies, “Will you lay down your life for me. I tell you emphatically, the cock will not crow before you have denied me three times”.’

The disciples were still not sure what was happening, and what Jesus meant, and so Peter asks Him where He is going. Jesus’ enigmatic reply makes Peter recognise that perhaps death is involved. That, however, does not put him off. He is ready to die for Jesus, or so he thinks. Yes, immediately. Let them go to death together. It was not a question of later. And he meant it.

How careful we should be in our boasting. We all know what happened with Peter. Just as Jesus says, he will shortly deny Jesus three times out of craven fear. But at least he would be there. He did his best but it was just too much for him. All the disciples learned a new lesson in humility that night, and the wonder of their forgiving Lord. No wonder then that Jesus recognised the need for His words of encouragement. But when we think of their failure we must also remember the sinister and dark forces that were at work. All the forces of Hell had been gathered for the coming battle.

Yet in contrast with Judas, out of Peter’s failure would come a new beginning. Only his feet would need to be washed. We too may fail Jesus out of weakness. But if we are willing He will restore us so that we have the strength to overcome. Being His is never a guarantee that we will not fail. It is rather a guarantee that we will not finally fail, because He is our shepherd.

Mark has ‘before the cock crow twice’ (Joh 14:30). His is probably the more exact rendering. Rarely does a cock crow just once, and Jesus knew it. But the remaining Gospels are thinking of ‘the cock crow’ as an event of timing each day rather than picturing the actual happening.

Note on The Passover.

The Passover – Was the Last Supper the Passover Meal?

The Passover was the great Jewish festival which commemorated the slaying of the firstborn in Egypt, and the following exodus from Egypt of the Israelites (Exo 12:24-27), together with those who joined themselves with them (the ‘mixed multitude’) and became Israelite by adoption (Exo 12:38). The passover lambs were slain on the afternoon of the 14th Nisan (14 days after the new moon roughly in March/April), following the offering of the daily sacrifice, which, by the time of Jesus, was put back in order to leave time for the slaying of the passover lambs, which had to be slain in great numbers. The Passover meal was eaten in the evening (the commencement of 15th Nisan, for the Jewish day began at sunset). There was a specific pattern followed at the meal, although variations within that pattern were allowed. The celebration of the Passover was connected with the seven day feast of Unleavened Bread which by this time was so closely linked with the Passover that the whole eight days of the feast could be called The Passover (Luk 22:1) or Unleavened Bread (Mar 14:12). This specific link with the Passover, which was there from earliest times, is confirmed by Josephus, the Jewish first century AD historian.

It was celebrated in Jerusalem in smallish groups (ten males or more) in individual houses within the city bounds, each group having a lamb. The lambs were slain within the Temple area, which confirms that they were sacrificial offerings. Movement during the evening was restricted to a limited area, although Gethsemane came within that area. Jews living within a reasonable distance were expected to gather in Jerusalem for the feast, and even those who lived far afield among the Gentiles (the Dispersion) made great efforts to attend. Thus Jerusalem might contain around 200,000 people at Passover time (Josephus’ estimate of 3,000,000 is almost certainly exaggerated. It would not have been possible to sacrifice sufficient lambs to meet his figures within the restricted Temple area in such a short time).

The Passover meal would begin with the ritual search by candlelight for any leavened bread which may have been overlooked (it was forbidden at the feast) and the Passover meal would then be eaten reclining. It included the symbolic elements of roasted lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, some other condiments and four cups of red wine mixed with water, at specific points. The first cup was drunk with a blessing (Luk 22:17 probably refers to this cup, although some refer Luke’s reference to the second cup), followed by the washing of hands by dipping in water. Some of the herbs would then be dipped in salt water and given out After this the eating surface would be cleared, and the second cup would be filled.

Before the drinking of the second cup the story of the original Passover was recounted in a dialogue between father and eldest son (or if necessary suitable substitutes). At this stage the Passover meal would be brought back to the table and each of its constituents explained. It is quite possible that one question would be (as it was later) ‘what means this bread?’ The reply was ‘this is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate when they were delivered from the land of Egypt’. (Note the ‘this is –’. It was not, of course, but it represented it)

After these explanations the second cup would be drunk, accompanied by the singing of part of the Hallel, and then there would be a further dipping of the hands in water. After this came the breaking of one or two of the unleavened cakes, which was  followed  by the giving of thanks. Pieces of the broken bread with bitter herbs between them were dipped in a mixture and handed to each of the company (see Joh 13:26), and it would appear that then the company would themselves dip bread and herbs into the mixture (Mat 26:23; Mar 14:20). This was the real beginning of the actual Passover meal. The Passover lamb would now be eaten. Nothing was to be eaten thereafter, although in later times the eating of a final piece of unleavened bread followed. After a third dipping of hands in water the third cup was drunk, again accompanied by a blessing. This cup was considered of special importance. The singing of the Hallel was completed with the fourth cup (see Mat 26:30; Mar 14:26), and this was followed by prayer. It must be remembered that this was a feast and not a service so that eating and general conversation would be taking place throughout, except at the solemn moments.

It is quite clear that the first three Gospels (the Synoptic Gospels) show the Last Supper of Jesus to be the Passover meal. Jesus sent two of His disciples (Peter and John – Luk 22:8) to ‘prepare the Passover’ (the lamb, the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, the wine, etc), so that He could ‘eat the Passover with His disciples’ (Mar 14:12-15 and parallels). It was probably one of these who went to the Temple area with the lamb for slaying. The room was ‘furnished and ready’ which may mean that the owner had provided what was necessary. We are told that they ate the meal reclining (Mat 26:20; Joh 13:23) as would be expected at the Passover meal.

It is possible that the breaking of bread by Jesus ‘after He had given thanks’ was the same as the breaking of bread at the feast but if so it is noticeable that Jesus gave thanks beforehand because He was enduing it with a new meaning . It could, however, have been that Jesus introduced a second breaking of bread, establishing a new pattern with a new significance. ‘This is my body’ parallels ‘this is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate’. In the latter case it was clearly symbolic, a partaking with the fathers, as it were, in their affliction, but with a sense of real participation. Thus the former is also to be seen as symbolic, a partaking with Jesus, as it were, in His sufferings and their consequence, again with a real sense of participation. The wine, which Paul calls the ‘cup of blessing’ (1Co 10:16), was probably the third cup given a new significance.

Some have argued that it could not have been the Passover meal. They have argued:

1). A trial would not have been held on Passover night.

2). The disciples would not have borne arms on that night.

3). Simon of Cyrene would not have been ‘coming in from the country’ the following morning.

4). Some Synoptic passages are inconsistent with it e.g. Mar 14:2.

However these arguments are not convincing. Passover time, while the pilgrims were still in the city, might be considered precisely the time when a ‘false prophet’ should be executed in order that ‘all Israel might hear and fear’ (Deu 17:13). Furthermore the whole affair was carried out in haste probably because Judas’ information made it possible for it to be done secretly and Jesus was there available. They dared not miss such an opportunity.

Mar 14:2 merely expresses the plan of the authorities, which was subject to change if circumstances demanded, while some suggest translating ‘feast’ as ‘festal crowd’ rather than ‘feast day’ which is quite possible.

There was no prohibition of arms being carried at the Passover.

‘Coming in from the country’ need not mean that Simon had been outside the prescribed limits, and indeed he may not have been a Jew. Besides it would always be possible that he had been delayed by some cause beyond his control so that he had arrived late for the Passover.

But this immediately faces us with a problem. Joh 18:28 seems to suggest that Jesus died at the same time as the Passover sacrifice. That would mean that the scene in John 13 occurred on the night before the Passover feast. Yet as we have seen the other Gospels make clear that Jesus officiates at the Passover feast (Mar 14:12; Luk 22:7), and there can be no doubt that both are depicting the same feast.

However what must be borne in mind is that Joh 18:28 may be speaking of ‘the Passover’, not as meaning the Passover feast itself, but in a general sense as including the whole seven day feast (compare Joh 2:23 where ‘the feast of the Passover’ is clearly the seven days of the feast and Luke’s use in Luk 22:1). so that ‘eating the Passover’ may refer to the continual feasting during the week (unleavened bread had to be eaten throughout the week and there would be thank-offerings as well) and not to the actual Passover celebration, in which case there is no contradiction.

We can compare with this how in 2Ch 30:22 the keeping of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Joh 13:13) which includes the Passover (Joh 13:15) is described as ‘eating the food of the festival for seven days’.

Against this, however we should note that ‘to eat the Passover’ does at least include eating the Passover supper in the Synoptics (Mat 26:17; Mar 14:12; Mar 14:14; Luk 22:8; Luk 22:11; Luk 22:15). Although that does not necessarily tie the escorts of Jesus to using it in the same way after the Passover supper has passed.

Alternately it has been suggested that in fact the men involved had been so taken up with the pursuit of Jesus into the night as a result of Judas’ unexpected offer to lead them to Jesus in a place where he could be taken without fear of the people, that they had not yet had time to complete their Passover meal. We only have to consider the facts of that night to recognised how involved their night had been! They may well have been disturbed in the middle of their Passover meal and have convinced themselves that such a delay was justified in order to deal with Jesus at what was clearly a crucial moment. Once they had dealt with Him they could go home to finish ‘eating their Passover’, which had been suddenly delayed for reasons of state, with contented minds.

In the same way his reference to ‘the preparation of the Passover’ or ‘the Friday of the Passover’ (paraskeue tou pascha) (Joh 19:14) can equally be seen as referring to the ‘preparation’ for the Sabbath occurring in Passover week, i.e. the Friday of Passover week, as it certainly does in verse Joh 19:31, and therefore not to the preparation of the Passover feast itself. Basically the word paraskeue does mean ‘Friday’ as well as ‘preparation’ and the term Passover (pascha) was used to describe the whole festival. If this be the case he gives no suggestion that Jesus died at the same time as the Passover lamb.

Another alternative answer suggests that not all Jews celebrated the Passover on the same day. We do know that the Essenes had their own calendar to which they rigidly adhered, and forbade their members to follow the orthodox calendar, and they would therefore celebrate the Passover on a different day from the priests. And there are grounds for suggesting that Galileans, an independent lot who were looked on by Judeans as somewhat unorthodox, may well have celebrated the Passover a day earlier than Judeans. Thus it may be that Jesus and His disciples, who were Galileans, followed this Galilean tradition, if it existed, and celebrated the Passover a day earlier than the priests.

A further possibility that has been suggested is that in that year the Pharisees observed the Passover on a different day from the Sadducees, due to a dispute as to when the new moon had appeared that introduced Nisan. This is known to have happened around this time. Jesus would thus have been able to observe the feast of the Passover with His disciples and then die at the same time as the Passover sacrifices.

The suggestion that John was either mistaken or changed the day for theological purposes is the least likely explanation. The early church was far too well aware of the fact that the Last Supper was ‘the Passover feast’ for such a change to be accepted, and John would have had it firmly pointed out to him by his ‘backers’ (Joh 21:24-25). We must not assume that the leaders of the early church were dimwits. Nor does John emphasise anywhere that Jesus died at the same time as the Passover lamb. Had this been his intention he would surely have drawn attention to it more specifically.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Peter’s boast and the Lord’s correction:

v. 36. Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whither guest Thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards.

v. 37. Peter said unto Him, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake.

v. 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.

Peter was not yet altogether clear in his mind as to the glorification of his Master. That one thought had struck Peter’s consciousness, that the Lord was going away, that He would be removed from them, and he wanted to know whither. Jesus patiently explained to Peter what He indicated to them all, that he could not accompany his Master now, but that he could and should follow later. It was necessary for Peter to learn many a lesson, to go through many an experience, to suffer and to labor for his Lord in many countries. He should therefore patiently wait until such a time as the Lord would call him to his eternal reward. But Peter was impetuous and impatient. Like a spoiled child he wanted to know the reason for being denied his desire. Right now he is willing, he proudly asserts, to lay down his life for his Master. That was no exhibition of strong faith, but a rash promise proceeding from the flesh. Let no man think he can do anything good without the assistance of Christ and God. The answering exclamation of Jesus sounds almost sarcastic: Thy life thou wouldst lay down for Me? The fact that without Christ he can do nothing had not yet been brought home to Peter. The prophecy of the Lord, accompanied as it was with the solemn words of emphasis, must have come to him as a distinct shock: The cock will not crow, the time of cock-crowing will not come this night, before thou hast denied Me thrice. These earnest words of Christ should have brought Peter to his senses; but he was too full of self-confidence and belief in his own powers to heed them earnestly, as he should have done. Every believer in Christ should earnestly examine himself in this respect, whether his love and faithfulness in Christianity depends merely upon his personal feeling or on the Word of the eternal God. Faithfulness unto death is possible only in the power of the Lord.

Summary. Jesus washes the feet of His disciples at the Passover meal, makes the application of His action to them and to their circumstances, speaks words of warning concerning the traitor at the table, rejoices in His glorification, and rebukes the self-confidence of Peter.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Joh 13:36. Thou canst not follow me now: We may gather hence, that the declaration, Joh 13:33. Whither I go, ye cannot come, is one of those general propositions, whereof there are many in scripture, which were spoken with a limitation not expressed. Here we are directed to add the limitation thus: Whither I go, ye cannot come now; for they were in general, equally with St. Peter, to follow Jesus afterwards, by suffering a violent death. Our Lord, in the next words, Thou shalt follow me afterwards, seems obliquely to hint what he afterwards further signified, in his command to St. Peter after his resurrection, when he ordered him to follow him, ch. Joh 21:18-19 namely, that Peter should die on the cross for his sake, which ancient history assures us he did. For the remainder of the chapter, the reader is referred to the parallel places.

Inferences on the betraying of Christ, Joh 13:21-30 compared with Mat 26:14-25. Such an eye-sore was Christ who raised Lazarus, and Lazarus when raised, to the envious priests, scribes, and elders of the Jews, that they consult to murder both. While either of them lives, neither can the glory of that miracle die, nor the shame of its malicious cavillers. How happy had it been for that miserable council, had they but spent half those thoughts upon their own salvation, which they misemployed upon the destruction of the innocent! But mean are the motives, and the result must be base and detestable. Treachery must do that, which power would have attempted in vain.

Who so fit for their purpose among the domestics of Christ, as he who bare the bag, and loved immoderately what he bare?The heart which has once enslaved itself to yellow and white earth, may be made any thing bad. Affianced as he was openly to Christ, still Judas is Mammon’s servant. How could he but hate that Master whom he formally professed to serve, who really stooped to serve privily that master whom Christ, on all occasions, professed to hate!

Wretched Judas, whether shall we more abhor thy treachery, or wonder at thy folly! Had thy wretched chapman been able to fetch down those starry spangles of heaven, and to have put them into thy venal grasp, what had this been, to weigh with a God? The time was when he that set thee at work could say, All the kingdoms of the earth and their glory are mine, I will give them to whom I will;and all these will I give thee: had he now made thee that offer, it might have carried some colour of a temptation: but to tender so invaluable a commodity for thirty poor silverlings, was no less mean than wicked.

How unequal is this woeful bargain! He that would value Mary’s ointment, bestowed on the feet of Christ, at 300 pieces, now sells his Master, on whom those precious odours were spent, at thirty. Worldly hearts, as the old adage expresses it, are indeed penny-wise and pound-foolish. They know how to set high prices upon this world’s trash; but as for heavenly things, or the God who owns them, these they shamefully undervalue.
The bargain is made, the price is paid; and Judas returns, and looks no less smoothly upon his Master and his fellows, than if he had done them no disservice: he was not now first a hypocrite: the passover is at hand, no man more busy to prepare for, more devoutly forward to receive it, than Judas!O the foolishness, the obduracy of this son of perdition! How many proofs had he formerly seen of his Master’s omniscience?And yet so blind is sinful man,the miscreant dares to plot a secret villany against his person, and then to face him, calmly, as if all were well. While he, however, thinks fit to conceal his treachery, our Saviour chose not to conceal his prescience of the fact. Verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

And did not Judas, think you, blush,and grow pale,and cast down his guilty eyes, and turn away his troubled countenance, at so alarming an intimation? Alas! custom of sin so steels the brow, it is incapable of any relentings. Could the other disciples have discerned any change in any face there, they had not been so sorrowfully affected with the charge. How intentively their eyes are bent upon each other, as if they would pierce through those windows down into the bosom: with what mutual jealousy do they peruse each other’s foreheads! At length, as rather willing to distrust their own innocence, than their Master’s assertion, see how each trembles to say, Lord, is it I?“It is possible there may lurk secret wickedness in some blind corner of the heart. It is possible that time and temptation, working upon our corruption, may draw us into such sin, as we could not beforehand conceive. Whither may we not fall, if left to our own strength?”It is wise to fear the worst:Lord, is it I?

Oh the mad infatuation of sin! Judas can sit by, and hear his Master say, Woe be to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed: good were it for that man, had he never been born: yet is his countenance unshaken, unappalled! O Judas, didst thou ever hear aught but truth fall from those lips?How then durst thou persist in the purpose of so damnable a villany? Alas! resolved sinners run on so desperately in their wicked courses, and have so bent their eyes upon the profit or the pleasure of their mischievous projects, that they will not see hell and eternal misery, though they continually lie open before them in the way.

As if that shameless man meant to outbrave all accusations, and outface his own heart, he dares to ask with the rest, Master, is it I? No disciple more zealously decries that perfidy, than he who fosters it in his own breast. His fellows think him honest; and all is well, while he can be well esteemed. Reputation,–strange as the paradox may appear,is the only care of false hearts: not truth, not consciousness of integrity:So they may but seem fair to men, they care not how foul they are to God.

But he, whose piercing eye sees things as they are, can peremptorily convict the impudence of this hollow questionist with a direct affirmation, Thou hast said. Foolish traitor, couldst thou then think that those eyes of thine would endure the beams of the sun? Thou supposedst thy crime unknown; to men it was so. Had thy Master been no more than man it had been so to him. But this avowed knowledge shall argue him divine; nor canst thou escape its observance: for there is not any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked, and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

As yet the charge was private; either not heard, or not observed by the other disciples: it shall be whispered to one, and afterwards known to all. Peter’s zeal would not let him dwell under the danger of so doubtful an imputation. He is anxious to know the man; his signs ask what his voice dares not; the beloved disciple well understands this silent language, and ventures to clothe Peter’s thought in words, Lord, who is it that will betray thee? Joh 13:25.

That which was timorously demanded, is graciously answered. How loth was our Saviour to name him whom he was not unwilling to point out? In the same language, wherein Peter asked the question of John, does our Lord shape the answer; what a beckoning demanded, is answered by a sop. Surely a stander-by would have thought this man well with his Master, and have construed this act, as the Jews did his tears for Lazarus, Behold how he loveth him!But the outward gifts of God (alarming consideration!) are not always proofs of his love; yea, sometimes are bestowed in displeasure. So foolish are they, who, measuring God’s affection by temporal benefits, are ready to applaud prospering wickedness, and to grudge outward blessings to those who are incapable of better. See Psalms 73.

After the sop, Satan entered into Judas. Favours ill used make the heart more guilty, and capable of further evil; that wicked spirit frequently takes occasion by God’s gifts to assault us the more eagerly. Thus Satan took advantage, by the sop, of a further possession, who had twice before made a palpable entry into Judas’s false heart; first in his covetousness, and next in his damnable plot of conspiracy against Christ. As in every gross sin which we entertain, we give harbour to that evil one; so at every growth in wickedness, new hold is taken by him of the heart. At first Satan entered to make the house of Judas’s heart his own: now he enters it as being his. The first purpose of sin opens the gates to Satan; consent admits him into the entry; full resolution of sin gives up the keys into his hands, and puts him into absolute possession. What an awakening consideration to every serious heart! Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.

O the admirable meekness of this Lamb of God! We see not a frown, nor hear a check; but what thou doest, do quickly, is his single testimony of knowledge, correction, and reproof against the false disciple. Why do we startle, and redden at our petty wrongs, and swell with anger, and break into furious resentments upon every occasion, when the pattern of our patience, the Captain of our salvation, lets not fall one harsh word, even upon so foul an apostate?

Judas hears him, and departs. That steely heart relents not: the confirmed traitor knows his way to the high-priest’s hall, and to the garden. The watch-word is given,Hail, Master! and a kiss: yet more hypocrisy; yet more presumption is practised, on the foundation of the Saviour’s lenity. O the impudence of a hardened sinner! that tongue which has agreed to sell its Master, dares to say Hail; and those lips which have passed the vile compact of his death, dare offer to kiss Him whom they have covenanted to kill. It was the divine charge of old, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry: O Saviour, thou hadst reason to be angry with this kiss; the scourges, the thorns, the nails, the spear of thy murderers, were not so piercing, so painful, as this touch of Judas. All these were in this alone; the stabs of an enemy cannot be so grievous, as the skin-deep wounds of a disciple. See Joh 13:18 and Zec 13:6.

REFLECTIONS.1st, In the transaction of Christ’s washing his disciples’ feet, we have the following particulars:

1. Christ in deepest humility condescends to wash his disciples’ feet, to terrify his love towards them, and set them an example. When he knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, by his death, resurrection, and ascension, having loved his own apostles which were in the world, he loved them unto the end: and on the evening of the paschal day, Christ knowing how short a time he had to live, and consequently that what he had to say, or do, to his apostles before his departure, would most fitly be done presently, he expressed the constancy of his love and kindness to them as follows: and, as an instance of his love, says the evangelist, supper being ended, or it being supper time, (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,) Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, all power in heaven and in earth; and that he was come from God, and went to God; notwithstanding the transcendant glory which he possessed in consequence thereof, yet, to make his humiliation more illustrious, and his love appear more astonishing, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his upper garments, and, as a servant, took a towel and girded himself, tucked it round his waist. After that, he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Note; (1.) The devil’s wiles are fatally prevalent: even an apostle becomes his prey. Who need not then tremble for himself? (2.) While the amazing humility of Jesus raises our highest admiration, we should learn to imitate his bright example, and count nothing beneath us which will tend to God’s glory, or the good of immortal souls.

2. We have the conversation which past between Christ and St. Peter on this occasion. When our Lord came to Peter, he, amazed at such condescension, could not bear to see his Master in so servile an office, and saith, Lord, dost thou, the God of glory, the divine Messiah, wash my feet, a vile sinner as I am? Jesus answered and said, What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter, be made acquainted with my purpose and design in this matter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet: he was shocked at the idea of his Master’s degrading himself so low, and thought he never would consent that he should perform so mean a service to so worthless a creature as he felt himself to be. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, if thou art not spiritually washed from thy sins by my blood, and cleansed by my Spirit, which is signified by this washing of water, thou hast no part with me, no communion with me, no interest in me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head; convinced of his error, and desiring nothing so much as Christ’s favour, and communion with him; and sensible how polluted he was, he longs to be thoroughly purged from corruption, and to be washed all over. (See the Annotations.) Jesus saith to him, He that is washed, justified and sanctified, needeth not, save to wash his feet by daily application to the same fountain of my blood, to cleanse him from any corruption or guilt contracted in this polluted world; but is clean every whit, accepted of God, and freed at least from the dominion of sin; and ye are clean in this sense, but not all, not every individual of you. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, ye are not all clean, Judas the traitor being in their number. Note; (1.) The condescensions of Jesus cannot but be the astonishment of the enlightened soul. (2.) Though God’s dispensations appear dark and intricate, it becomes us never to object: we know not now, but we shall know hereafter, the reasons of his procedure. (3.) None have a part in Christ, who are not cleansed by his heavenly washing, so as at least to possess dominion over sin. But we cannot partake of his glory, if we are not first made partakers of his grace, washed in his blood, and perfectly cleansed by his Spirit. (4.) It is good not to be peremptory in our resolves, as we may see cause to change our minds. (5.) They who have tasted the grace of God in truth, desire the perfect sanctification of their hearts and lives. (6.) We need not only once come to Jesus for pardon and grace, but every day renew the exercise of repentance and faith. (7.) Christ tries the hearts of his professing people, and knows who are hypocrites, and who are disciples indeed.

3. Christ explains to them the meaning of what he had done. Ye call me Master, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet, condescending to every office of kindness towards the meanest disciple. And, to reconcile them to duties of self-denial, he adds, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. With such an example therefore before them, they need not think the lowest offices of charity a disparagement to them. If ye know these things, and understood my meaning, happy are ye if ye do them, and in your spirit and practice conform to my precepts and pattern. Note; (1.) Jesus our Lord and Master: his teaching we must observe, his commands obey. (2.) A faithful disciple of Jesus studies how to serve his brethren, and is ready to condescend to the lowest in every work of faith and labour of love. (3.) Christ hath set us an example, that we should follow his steps; what he enjoins upon us, he has practised first himself. (4.) Knowledge is good, but practice is the life of religion. They are doubly criminal, who know better and do worse.

2nd, Christ knew who would betray him, and begins to point out the traitor.
1. In general he lets them know there was a false disciple among them, on whom none of the things that he had spoken would have any effect. I speak not of you all, as clean and faithful: I know whom I have chosen: I expect not this obedience from you all: I know I have chosen twelve apostles; and the scripture is fulfilled of one of them, which said, He that eateth bread with me, hath lift up his heel against me: though he be so near to me, as to be entertained daily at my table with me, yet he will do me all the mischief he can. Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he, and may be more confirmed in your faith of my divine omniscience and mediatorial character, when you see this prediction awfully verified. And to encourage you to be faithful, whatever falsehoods you may see in others, or whatever humbling services you may be called to, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me, and testifies his respect for me, in the honour paid to my ambassador; and he that receiveth me as the Messiah sent of God, receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, deeply affected with the traitor’s guilt, and the ruin hanging over his head, and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Note; (1.) Many eat at Christ’s table, who most ungratefully lift up their heel against him, and with aggravated guilt prove faithless, and betray him. (2.) Every true minister of Jesus is his ambassador, and represents his Prince’s person. For his sake therefore is he to be honoured.

2. He points out Judas in particular as the person designed. Shocked at what they heard, doubtful which of them he meant, and anxious to know, each of them looked at the other, to observe whether any one would betray any symptoms of guilt; and, as John the beloved disciple lay on the couch next below Jesus, as it were in his bosom, Simon Peter, eager to be resolved, privately gave him a hint that he should softly ask their Master whom he meant: when, taking an opportunity, John whispered, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, so low as not to be heard by the rest, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it in the sauce. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, intimating to John that he was the person. Note; (1.) It is a bitter grief to a true disciple, to hear of the scandals brought upon Jesus by false professors of religion. (2.) Those are happy, whom Jesus favours with his especial regard, and lays in the bosom of his love.

3. Judas immediately sets himself to accomplish his hellish purpose. After the sop, Satan entered into him, possessed his body and soul, and drove him to the precipice of destruction. Then said Jesus, That thou dost, do quickly, either challenging him to do his worst, or abandoning him to Satan’s devices. None at the table having heard what he had said to John, they suspected Christ had given Judas orders to provide something against the feast, or to distribute some relief to the poor, he being the purse-bearer. Urged on by the power of the wicked one, he went immediately out, fixed in his base and wicked purpose; and it was night, the fittest time for such deeds of darkness; and, however unseasonable the hour, so eagerly was he bent upon his treachery, that nothing could delay him. Note; (1.) When Christ abandons the sinner to Satan’s power, he rushes headlong to ruin. (2.) They who withdraw from the society of the faithful, begin to shew the apostacy of their hearts.

3rdly, When Judas was gone out, Jesus addressed himself to his faithful apostles.
1. He informs them that the hour of his glorification was nearly arrived. Jesus said, now is the Son of man glorified: he is ready by his sufferings to obtain the glorious victory over all his own and his faithful people’s foes, sin, Satan, death, and hell: and God is glorified in him; all his divine perfections being most eminently displayed in the obedience to death of the Redeemer. If God be glorified in him, his justice, truth, wisdom, mercy, exalted to the highest by his cross; God shall also glorify him in himself, or with himself; bringing him to the mediatorial throne in heaven; and shall straightway glorify him, in the amazing signs and wonders which should accompany the death of Jesus, and especially by his speedy resurrection.

2. He intimates to them, that the time of his stay with them would be very short. Little children, so tenderly and affectionately doth the Lord Jesus regard his dear believing people, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: longing for my bodily presence with you: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you; you must be content for a while under the irksome separation, till the hour of your glory shall also arrive, and ye shall then come to be with me where I am.

3. He charges them to cultivate mutual love. A new commandment I give unto you; not indeed now first enjoined, since it was the old commandment which had been from the beginning; but through the degeneracy of the times it had generally ceased to be practised, but was now more clearly explained, and enforced by new motives; a command the most excellent, and the fundamental law of that kingdom which he came to establish; that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another; ready to every act of kindness, and to part with every thing, if need be, even life itself, for the good of your brethren: and this was to be the characteristic mark of their discipleship; for by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another; they shall take knowledge of you, that you have been with me, and learned of me. Note; The distinguishing badge of true Christianity is this spirit of fervent love. Love is the image of Jesus: he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in him. This will make us meek and lowly towards our brethren; ready to pass by their provocations; to forgive their offences; to pity their infirmities; to bear their differences in opinion; to delight in their prosperity; to promote their good, spiritual and temporal; and ever to maintain towards them the kindest sentiments, and be constant in the warmest applications to the throne of grace on their behalf. A spirit of selfishness, narrowness, bitterness, dispute, animosity, is a reproach to the profession of Christianity; and proves, that those who are actuated by it, deceive their ownselves, when they call themselves the followers of Jesus.

4. We have a conference between Christ and St. Peter, on what our Lord had said, Joh 13:33.

[1.] Peter, dissatisfied perhaps with what Christ had spoken, is solicitous to know where he was going, and therefore earnestly inquires. Probably he thought he was about to quit Judea, and, according to their prejudiced opinions of the Messiah, to erect his kingdom in some other part of the world.
[2.] Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now: Christ had work yet for Peter to do upon earth, before he should gain the glorious crown of martyrdom: but thou shalt follow me afterwards, partaking both of my sufferings and glory.

[3.] Peter, with too much self-confidence, unwilling that his Master should doubt his courage or determined purpose to cleave to him wherever he went, replied, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? what dangers or difficulties can deter me? I will lay down my life for thy sake, and will die sooner than desert thee.

[4.] Christ warns him of the weakness of his resolution, and how unable he would find himself for the least part of what he promised. Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? how little dost thou know of thy own weakness! Verily, verily, I say unto thee, take notice of it as a most certain truth, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice; before another sun shall rise, and the time of cock-crowing is over, thou shalt not only deny me as thy Master, but disown the very knowledge of my person. Note; We know not our weakness till the temptation comes; and every boast of self-confidence is a certain prelude to a fall.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Joh 13:36-38 . The words spoken in Joh 13:33 are still in Peter’s mind; he has not understood them, but can the less therefore get quit of them, and hence asks: ; Jesus does not directly answer this, but points him to the personal experience of a later future, in which he (on the way to a martyr’s death) will follow after Him (comp. Joh 21:18-19 ), which at present is not possible. The latter statement surprises the fiery disciple, since he already feels that he is ready to sacrifice his very life for Him. Jesus then quenches this fire, Joh 13:38 . ] not meant of moral ability (against Tholuck, Hengstenberg), as Peter took it, but of objective possibility as in Joh 13:33 . The disciple also has “his hour,” and Peter had first a great calling before him, Joh 21:15 ff.; Mat 16:18 .

. . ] See on Joh 10:11 . In the zeal of love he mistakes the measure of his moral strength.

On the discrepancy, that Matthew and Mark place the prediction of the denial on the way to Gethsemane (Luk 22:23 agrees substantially with John), see on Luk 22:31 . The declaration of Joh 13:38 itself is certainly more original in John and Mat 26:34 , Luk 22:34 (without ), than in Mar 14:30 .

NOTE.

The question, to what place in John’s narrative the celebration of the Supper belongs, is not to be more precisely determined on the ground of Mat 26:23-25 (against Luk 22:21 ), than that the Supper finds its place, not before the departure of Judas, [137] consequently first after Joh 13:30 . Nothing more definite can be said (Paulus, B. Crusius, Kahnis, place it immediately after. Joh 13:30 , against which, however, is the reading before in Joh 13:30 ; Lcke, Maier, and several others, between Joh 13:33-34 , opposed to which is the question of Peter, Joh 13:36 , which looks back to Joh 13:33 ; Neander, Ammon, and Ebrard, after Joh 13:32 ; Tholuck, in Joh 13:34 ; Lange, indeed, says: the , Joh 13:34 , is the ordainment of the Supper itself; Olshausen, after Joh 13:38 ), since the entire arrangement of John in these chapters leaves the Supper completely out of consideration, and, what is to be particularly noted here in Joh 13:30 ; Joh 14:1 ff., is so inseparably connected together, that, in reality, there remains nowhere in his representation an opening for its insertion. This betrays, indeed, the free concatenation of the discourses on the part of John, but not his non-acquaintance with the institution (Strauss), and cannot justify the extreme assumptions, that it is to be placed, in spite of the periodic-structure of Joh 13:1-4 , already before the feet-washing (Sieffert, Godet), or first after Joh 14:31 (Kern). So also Bengel, Wichelhaus, and Rpe, in so far as they make Jesus, in Joh 14:31 , to be setting out for the Paschal Supper to Jerusalem. See on Joh 14:31 . According to Schenkel, the feet-washing does not fall within the last hours of Jesus, but at an earlier period, whereby, of course, all difficulty would be removed.

[137] That Judas did not join in celebrating the Supper (Beza and several others), has been recently (also by Kahnis, not by Hofmann and Hengstenberg, who places the celebration before , ver. 30) almost universally recognised, although formerly (even already in the Fathers) the opposite view preponderated, and, owing to a dogmatic interest, was supported in the Lutheran Church against the Reformed, on account of the participation of the unworthy. See Wichelhaus, Komm. zur Leidensgesch. p. 256 f. In quite a different interest has Schenkel maintained that Jesus did not exclude the traitor from the solemnity; that He, in fact, desired thereby to remove even the pretext “ for its again being made an ordinance ,” and that without preparation or antecedent confession He granted an unconditional freedom of participation .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

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

For the observations on the fall of Peter, and the Lord’s recovery of him by his grace. See Luk 22:31 and the Commentary.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Not Now, But Afterwards

Joh 13:36

“Not now, but afterwards.”

The whole verse reads thus: “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.” Children will have everything now: “afterwards” is a word that plagues them. It is a most mocking word: it points to a time that can never come: it may be to-morrow, or next year; but whether to-morrow or next year, it lies beyond the vision and beyond the range of the little grasping hand. As life advances we become more intimately acquainted with the word “afterwards,” and, indeed, we come to like it. As for time, it is nothing: we begin to touch the meaning of the august expression, “A thousand years are as one day.” We know that nothing is so near as the future; we know that yesterday is gone beyond recall, and that to-morrow is always coming and is always available. It is the mystery and the charm of this little life. How throughout the whole of this chapter Jesus Christ is Lord and Master! The title fills the whole chapter, gives nobleness to all the Divine speeches, covers with tender radiance all the interviews which Jesus Christ conducts on this day of shadows with his wonder-struck and fear-troubled disciples. It is a master’s tone delivered with a brother’s heart and voice which says, “Not now, but afterwards.” This is the second time in the chapter that Jesus Christ has said the same thing to the same man. Simon Peter was never more impatient than within the lines of this chapter. Said he, “What is the meaning of this feet-washing? I do not know what thou doest”; and the answer was: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” Then again he comes before us: “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.” So this child-man was constantly put back and told to wait till the clock struck and the hour had come when he should have the keener vision, the more sensitive heart, the more receptive spirit and understanding mind. This was the training Peter needed: Peter was a man who wanted everything to be done instantaneously; there must be no waiting; to-morrow must contrive to push itself into this day, and everything which the impatient heart desired must be supplied the moment the desire was expressed. The Lord, knowing this, always said to him, “Not now,” that most vexing and teasing word. We want it now; we could do well with it now; it seems to us as if this were the very time to have it; and when we are in that high blood mad with impatience he quietly, with sovereignly tone, says, “Not now.” He says it as from a throne, there is no halting or incertitude in his way of saying it; at first he taught with authority, and not as the scribes, and now, the shadows gathering around him quickly into darkest night, he still speaks with the authority which at first made him conspicuous. This is a grand doctrine; who can receive it? We have to be drilled into it; patience of this kind is not born in us. Blessed be God, we can be chastened and mellowed into the reception of the doctrine that afterwards is greater than now, and that not to have an afterwards is to be imprisoned and impoverished. Jesus Christ lived in to-morrow; early in his ministry he said, “Hereafter ye shall see.”

Look at this in the direction of revelation. We cannot follow any great Scriptural doctrine now in all the range of its thought, in all the scope of its imagination, in all the possibilities of its issues. Who can explain the Atonement? The angels desire to look into it; the Voice from above says, “Not now, but afterward.” We begin in the right spirit when we begin in the spirit of waiting. Personally, I accept the Cross, but cannot explain it; personally, I need the Atonement by a necessity for which there are no words, but which presses upon my heart with all the gnawing agony of hunger. It cannot tell the quality of the blood, the measure of the oblation, the efficacy of the sacrifice. It is called “precious blood,” it is called “self-sacrifice”: the words dimly hint to me a meaning very gracious and comforting; what they imply in all the compass of their thought I know not now, but shall know afterwards. Is there then an afterwards for me, a higher school, a brighter day, additional facilities, closer intercourse with things and spirits and forces Divine? To be assured of that is to know the meaning of the mystery, “Death is abolished.”

Or look at the same doctrine in relation to the mysteries of daily providence. “Thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards,” the direction not being from one locality to another, from one point of space to another, but a following in thought, purpose, meaning, and sovereign decree a mighty flying after God, a keeping up pari fassu with the great Leader, whose way is in the whirlwind and in the cloud. I limp now, halt and stagger and fall and half rise again and am down before I can straighten myself; I cannot follow, except in the dim far distance now, but afterward . We want to know why we were made as we are so singular, constituted so mysteriously, with a will so easily led, with passions so instantly ignited, with dispositions now rising upwards, now flinging downwards, with a life that seems all forms; why not have been made otherwise, dear Lord, with stronger wills, with tenderer hearts, without perversity, without selfishness? And the Voice says, “Not now, but afterwards shalt thou know.” This individuality is a heavy burden; this personal secret of the Almighty, which every man carries in his heart, is a most tormenting fire. An explanation would help us to bear it. To think that if we had been just otherwise made, in some line or curve of being, with an additional element, with a certain quality that is omitted from our constitution, we should have prayed ourselves into answers and have lifted ourselves by the power of intercession into the temple where there are no clouds, no nights, but where the interviews are face to face with hand locked in hand. We want to know why; it would comfort us to have some hint of meaning, and the only reply we can elicit is “Not now, but afterwards.” Why this suffering? Who did sin, I or my parents, that this burden is laid upon me a burden for which I have certainly no light and certainly no strength? But for it, I could fly; with it, I am buried every day. What a life would yours be but for the one thing in it that enters the soul like iron! Old age could never touch you but for that one thing. It is that one thing that takes the erectness out of your figure, and makes your hair white in a night, and ploughs your cheeks into great furrows through which the tear rivers roll. A hundred times have I heard you say, “But for that I could sleep soundly all night, and be cheerful all day; the eating of bread would be a sacrament and the going out of the house an eager hastening to fight for God and the truth; why should I have had this chain upon my feet, this manacle upon my hand, this black night shadow bound round my poor eyes? Why?” And the answer is: “Not now, but afterwards.” “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

There cannot be an afterwards of revelation unless there is a now of obedience. The now is not evacuated of all meaning, stripped of all urgency, and turned into a blank nothing; now has its agony, now has its immediate fight. To obey in the darkness is the great thing. Were I to say, “I will trust God in the seventh trouble because he has delivered me in six,” I should be saying something hardly worth saying. There is a subtle selfishness in that verbal piety; there is a most suspicious selfishness about that reasoning, though it sounds so holy. Hear it: “He hath delivered me in six troubles, and in seven he will be with me.” The testimony in itself is good, and is sincere, because it is historically true and is meant to be full of solace from the historical side; but do not make too much of it as a test of growth in grace. Who then has grown in grace? This man who says, “Though he slay me, yet will I put my trust in him.” That is faith. If you tell me that you have been so reduced, that you knew not how to turn, and at the very moment of extremity light appeared and deliverance was wrought out, and therefore you intend to hope even under similar circumstances, your speech within narrow limits is perfectly good; it is a most valid testimony, but it is no necessary sign of growth in grace. This I want to be able to say: “I have nothing, I know not in what direction to turn, and if nothing should remain nothing, my hymn shall still be sung; though the fig tree shall not blossom I don’t say, though there be a late harvest of figs, but though the fig tree shall not blossom I will be as pious as ever.” That is growing in grace, that is maturity in the life Divine, and that is the lesson which we learn now; the afterwards is not in that particular lesson: it is the agony, the stinging fire of the immediate moment. How many persons make a deep mistake here! They think they are pious because, having been delivered out of six troubles, they feel sure they will be delivered out of the seventh. That may be a species of profanity; on the other hand, it may be the testimony of a grateful heart. But this is piety to have nothing in the right hand, nothing in the left, nothing in the world, and then not to pray, which is a beggar’s attitude, but to sing, which is a child’s and a prince’s posture. This is the miracle of God; this is the ideal attainment. We are bound to keep it steadily before our dazzling eyes; we count not ourselves to have attained: far from it; but this one thing we do we press toward the mark. We know our selfishness better than any other men know it, and we mourn it, but seem as if we could not get rid of it; yet the grace of God is equal even to this miracle. So, whilst we pray, we will sing; and whilst we mourn, we will also hope.

Obedience now is revelation afterward. We shall know if we follow on to know. He that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine. Obedience is preparation for revelation. Blessed is that servant who shall be found watching, waiting, when his Lord cometh; verily, I say unto you, he will put keys into that servant’s hand, and call him to honour, and sit him in inner places, and make a son of him. “Mine, then, is a drudging life.” Be it so. “I have to keep beating at this door so no sign of opening.” No matter. “The Lord told me to knock, and here I am knocking, knocking, knocking; I want to fly, but he says, ‘Knock’; I want to go inside, and hold festival with the angels, but he tells me to knock.” Obedience prepares the mind for revelation, takes out or’ that revelation the light that would dazzle the spirit’s vision, and prepares the heart to receive wider demonstrations of the sovereignty and grace of God. We must be blind three days before we begin to see the outline of things; we must lie down as blind, helpless creatures, simply and lovingly waiting for any prophet God may send to us to open our eyes and teach us our first lesson in the higher alphabet. This does not suit us: we want to walk more quickly, pass on, because we are measuring time by a false chronometer. We do not know the joy which is laid up for us in complete obedience to the word, “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” There is marvellous graciousness in a gradual revelation. If “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” it is because his spiritual education is imaged by that same fair symbol. The next piece of knowledge comes easily. Were the child to be compelled to overleap seven years of the process of education, and to commence a lesson which lies seven years ahead of the page he is reading today, he would be overcome with fear, and no strength would be left in him. What the child has to do is to read the next line, and then to turn over the next page. What we, as Christian students, have to do is to keep to the present truth, obey the immediate duty, do the work that lies next and easily to hand; and then the revelation will, so to say, steal upon us, and then encompass us without the violence of haste and without the unrest of surprise. We cannot tell how the light grows in the heavens. In the morning it is seed-time, and at noonday the harvest fields of the firmament are white with an abundance of result; hardly is the morning seed-time past than the noontide harvest is ripe. So in mental illumination and in spiritual culture and growth. We shall know when we receive our last accession of truth. God’s accessions are known by various names sometimes by the starting up in the mind of a distinct fact; sometimes by the gift of an impression; sometimes by the prick of a new impulse; sometimes by the glow of a new ambition; sometimes by a mysterious, profound, all-calming peace. But when the accession comes be it under this name or under that, the great fire, shocks of whirlwind, tumults of thunder, or a still small voice we shall have no doubt about its identity. Divinity cannot be successfully imitated.

Note

“Towards the close of our Lord’s ministry St. Peter’s characteristics become especially prominent. Together with his brother, and the two sons of Zebedee, he listened to the last awful predictions and warnings delivered to the disciples in reference to the second advent (Mat 24:3 ; Mar 13:3 , who alone mentions these names; Luk 21:7 ). At the Last Supper Peter seems to have been particularly earnest in the request that the traitor might be pointed out, expressing of course a general feeling, to which some inward consciousness of infirmity may have added force. After the supper his words drew out the meaning of the significant, almost sacramental, act of our Lord in washing his disciples’ feet; an occasion on which we find the same mixture of goodness and frailty, humility and deep affection, with a certain taint of self-will, which was at once hushed into submissive reverence by the voice of Jesus. Then too it was that he made those repeated protestations of unalterable fidelity, so soon to be falsified by his miserable fall….

“Judas had left the guest-chamber when St. Peter put the question, Lord, whither goest thou? words which modern theologians generally represent as savouring of idle curiosity, or presumption, but in which the early Fathers (as Chrysostom and Augustine) recognised the utterance of love and devotion. The answer was a promise that Peter should follow his Master, but accompanied with an intimation of present unfitness in the disciple. Then came the first protestation, which elicited the sharp and stern rebuke, and distinct prediction of Peter’s denial ( Joh 13:36-38 ). From comparing this account with those of the other evangelists (Mat 26:33-35 ; Mar 14:29-31 ; Luk 22:33-34 ), it seems evident that with some diversity of circumstances both the protestation and warning were thrice repeated. The tempter was to sift all the disciples, our apostle’s faith was to be preserved from failing by the special intercession of Christ, he being thus singled out either as the representative of the whole body, or, as seems more probable, because his character was one which had special need of supernatural aid….

“After the agony of Gethsemane, when the three, Peter, James, and John, were, as on former occasions, selected to be with our Lord, the only witnesses of his passion, where also all three had alike failed to prepare themselves by prayer and watching, the arrest of Jesus took place. Peter did not shrink from the danger…. Thrice, each time with greater vehemence, the last time with blasphemous asseveration, he denied his Master. The triumph of Satan seemed complete. Yet it is evident that it was an obscuration of faith, not an extinction. It needed but a glance of his Lord’s eye to bring him to himself. His repentance was instantaneous, and effectual. The light in which he himself regarded his conduct is clearly shown by the terms in which it is related by St. Mark.” Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

Chapter 109

Prayer

Almighty God, we are gathered around thy Son in his humblest form, and we wish to hear every word that may be spoken by the voice of his heart. The traitor has gone out, so now we may hear the music of love the inner word which traitors may not hear. They have gone out into the night to be lost in the darkness they love; but here we tarry in the morning, in the summer glow, and we are all bending forward to listen to the sweet Gospel voice, full of love, full of hope, so gentle a voice, hastening, as it were, to its own death to rise again in trumpets and thunders of sovereignty and power. But we will hear its lesser tone, we will listen to the gentler speech; we will listen with our hearts. Speak, Lord, for thy servants hear! We are tired of all other voices; we would purge our ears of all inferior sounds; and if thou wilt circumcise our ears, we shall hear, and nothing shall escape our adoring and grateful attention. Our hearts need thy voice: they are lone and weary and full of troubling wonder; yea, they are often sore afraid. They need to hear the voice from the great light, saying, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The voice is comfort, the call brings with it great strength in every tone, the battle is already won; whilst our Master speaks to us we rise like men enriched with answered prayer. We love thy tabernacles, thou God of Zion; our souls have a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord. There we find great liberty; there we spread out our whole strength no fold that is not rolled out to its fullest length; there we eat and drink abundantly; there the high festival of thy love makes us forget all weight, all burden. We are thine, bought with blood, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, made meet by thy grace to be partakers of the inheritance of life. We would know to whom we belong: we would see thy signature written upon our life, we would feel thy claim in our hearts urging us by sweetest persuasion of love to do some nobler deed. Thou hast led us to despise time and the earth, and all things we can see, when compared with the eternity of heaven and invisible realities. Thou dost train us by our impatience; our being kept so long outside the door that opens back upon the heavens is itself an education. We knock, and are not answered; we wait, and there is no reply; we linger through the night and are wet with heavy dews, still the door is not opened from within; but we wait, we still continue, we cannot go away; our standing at heaven’s gate helps us to do earth’s weary work. We have come to make many speeches to thee, because our hearts are many and our histories a great number. Hear the plaint of the sad and those who are ill at ease disappointed men, vexed and troubled hearts, souls that love right, and wish evermore to walk in the light, and yet are hindered by those who ought to help them; men of feeble will, whose prayers break right off in the middle and fall down to earth again, who wish to do right and feel as if they could not, who put out their hand to the altar and quickly let it fall; men who are full of concern about health and business and domestic affairs and success and ability to live honestly in the sight of all men things will not come right; if they are put right overnight, they are all wrong in the morning. These men are full of trouble, and they are like to fret themselves to do evil. The Lord have pity upon them and put an end to their vexation, lest it become a stumbling-block over which they fall and never can rise again. Thou dost train us by a way that is often weary. Our eyes are vexed by the prosperity of the wicked; our souls are full of wonder because they are not in trouble like other men. We cannot understand their fatness, their abundance of gold, and the innumerableness of their cattle; but thou hast surely set them in slippery places, and presently the tremendous solution will begin. We commit one another lo thy care. Draw us closer to thyself; speak as we are able to bear it; adapt the light to our vision, and when we would pray, let thy Spirit work mightily within us; teach the heart great words to express great desires. Qualify us every day for broader service, for more patient suffering, for deeper and more loving obedience; and when the little flame of life’s short day lies down and goes from human eyes quite spark out, may our souls hail thee in heaven’s eternal morning! Amen.

Not Now, But Afterwards

Joh 13:36

The whole verse reads thus: “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.” Children will have everything now: “afterwards” is a word that plagues them. It is a most mocking word: it points to a time that can never come: it may be tomorrow, or next year; but whether to morrow or next year, it lies beyond the vision and beyond the range of the little grasping hand. As life advances we become more intimately acquainted with the word “afterwards,” and, indeed, we come to like it. As for time, it is nothing: we begin to touch the meaning of the august expression, “A thousand years are as one day.” We know that nothing is so near as the future; we know that yesterday is gone beyond recall, and that tomorrow is always coming and is always available. It is the mystery and the charm of this little life. How throughout the whole of this chapter Jesus Christ is Lord and Master! The title fills the whole chapter, gives nobleness to all the Divine speeches, covers with tender radiance all the interviews which Jesus Christ conducts on this day of shadows with his wonder-struck and fear-troubled disciples. It is a master’s tone delivered with a brother’s heart and voice which says, “Not now, but afterwards.” This is the second time in the chapter that Jesus Christ has said the same thing to the same man. Simon Peter was never more impatient than within the lines of this chapter. Said he, “What is the meaning of this feet-washing? I do not know what thou doest”; and the answer was: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Then again he comes before us: “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.” So this child-man was constantly put back and told to wait till the clock struck and the hour had Come when he should have the keener vision, the more sensitive heart, the more receptive spirit and understanding mind. This was the training Peter needed: Peter was a man who wanted everything to be done instantaneously.; there must be no waiting; tomorrow must contrive to push itself into this day, and everything which the impatient heart desired must be supplied the moment the desire was expressed. The Lord, knowing this, always said to him, “Not now,” that most vexing and teasing word. We want it now; we could do well with it now; it seems to us as if this were the very time to have it; and when we are in that high blood mad with impatience he quietly, with sovereignly tone, says, “Not now.” He says it as from a throne, there is no halting or incertitude in his way of saying it; at first he taught with authority, and not as the scribes, and now, the shadows gathering around him quickly into darkest night, he still speaks with the authority which at first made him conspicuous. This is a grand doctrine; who can receive it? We have to be drilled into it; patience of this kind is not born in us. Blessed be God, we can be chastened and mellowed into the reception of the doctrine that afterwards is greater than now, and that not to have an afterwards is to be imprisoned and impoverished. Jesus Christ lived in tomorrow; early in his ministry he said, “Hereafter ye shall see.”

Look at this in the direction of revelation. We cannot follow any great Scriptural doctrine now in all the range of its thought, in all the scope of its imagination, in all the possibilities of its issues. Who can explain the Atonement? The angels desire to look into it; the Voice from above says, “Not now, but afterwards.” We begin in the right spirit when we begin in the spirit of waiting. Personally, I accept the Cross, but cannot explain it; personally, I need the Atonement by a necessity for which there are no words, but which presses upon my heart with all the gnawing agony of hunger. It cannot tell the quality of the blood, the measure of the oblation, the efficacy of the sacrifice. It is called “precious blood,” it is called “self-sacrifice”: the words dimly hint to me a meaning very gracious and comforting; what they imply in all the compass of their thought I know not now, but shall know afterwards. Is there then an afterwards for me, a higher school, a brighter day. additional facilities, closer intercourse with things and spirits and forces Divine? To be assured of that is to know the meaning of the mystery, “Death is abolished.”

Or look at the same doctrine in relation to the mysteries of daily providence. “Thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards,” the direction not being from one locality to another, from one point of space to another, but a following in thought, purpose, meaning, and sovereign decree a mighty flying after God, a keeping up pari passu with the great Walker, whose way is in the whirlwind and in the cloud. I limp now, halt and stagger and fall and half rise again and am down before I can straighten myself; I cannot follow, except in the dim, far distance now, but afterward . We want to know why we were made as we are so singular, constituted so mysteriously, with a will so easily led, with passions so instantly ignited, with dispositions now rising upwards, now flinging downwards, with a life that seems all forms; why not have been made otherwise, dear Lord, with stronger wills, with tenderer hearts, without perversity, without selfishness? And the Voice says, “Not now, but afterwards shalt thou know.” This individuality is a heavy burden; this personal secret of the Almighty, which every man carries in his heart, is a most tormenting fire. An explanation will help us to bear it. To think that if we had been just otherwise made, in some line or curve of being, with an additional element, with a certain quality that is omitted from our constitution, we should have prayed ourselves into answers and have lifted ourselves by the power of intercession into the temple where there are no clouds, no nights, but where the interviews are face to face with hand locked in hand. We want to know why; it would comfort us to have some hint of meaning, and the only reply we can elicit is “Not now, but afterwards.” Why this suffering? Who did sin, I or my parents, that this burden is laid upon me a burden for which I have certainly no light and certainly no strength? But for it, I could fly; with it, I am buried every day. What a life would yours be but for the one thing that enters the soul like iron! Old age could never touch you but for one thing. It is that that one thing that takes the erectness out of your figure, and makes your hair white in a night, and ploughs your cheeks into great furrows through which the tear rivers roll. A hundred times have I heard you say, “But for that I could sleep soundly all night, and be cheerful all day; the eating of bread would be a sacrament and the going out of the house an eager hastening to fight for God and the truth; why should I have had this chain upon my feet, this manacle upon my hand, this black night shadow bound round my poor eyes? Why?” And the answer is: “Not now, but afterwards.” “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

There cannot be an afterwards of revelation unless there is a now of obedience. The now is not evacuated of all meaning, stripped of all urgency, and turned into a blank nothing; now has its agony, now has its immediate fight. To obey in the darkness is the great thing. Were I to say, “I will trust God in the seventh trouble because he has delivered me in six,” I should be saying something hardly worth saying. There is a subtle selfishness in that verbal piety; there is a most suspicious selfishness about that reasoning, though it sounds so holy. Hear it: “He hath delivered me in six troubles, and in seven he will be with me.” The testimony in itself is good, and is sincere, because it is historically true and is meant to be full of solace from the historical side; but do not make too much of it as a test of growth in grace. Who then has grown in grace? This man who says, “Though he slay me, yet will I put my trust in him.” That is faith. If you tell me that you have been so reduced, that you know not how to turn, and at the very moment of extremity light appeared and deliverance was wrought out, and therefore you intend to hope even under similar circumstances, your speech within narrow limits is perfectly good; it is a most valid testimony, but it is no necessary sign of growth in grace. This I want to be able to say: “I have nothing, I know not in what direction to turn, and if nothing should remain nothing, my hymn shall still be sung; though the fig-tree shall not blossom I don’t say, though there be a late harvest of figs, but though the fig-tree shall not blossom I will be as pious as ever.” That is growing in grace, that is maturity in the life Divine, and that is the lesson which we learn now; the afterwards is not in that particular lesson: it is the agony, the stinging fire of the immediate moment. How many persons make a deep mistake here! They think they are pious because, having been delivered out of six troubles, they feel sure they will be delivered out of the seventh. That may be a species of profanity; on the other hand, it may be the testimony of a grateful heart. But this is piety to have nothing in the right hand, nothing in the left, nothing in the world, and then not to pray, which is a beggar’s attitude, but to sing, which is a child’s and a prince’s posture. This is the miracle of God; this is the ideal attainment. We are bound to keep it steadily before our dazzling eyes; we count not ourselves to have attained: far from it; but this one thing we do we press toward the mark. We know our selfishness better than any other men know it, and we mourn it, but seem as if we could not get rid of it; yet the grace of God is equal to this miracle. So, whilst we pray, we will sing; and whilst we mourn, we will also hope.

Obedience now is revelation afterward. We shall know if we follow on to know. He that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine. Obedience is preparation for revelation. Blessed is that servant who shall be found watching, waiting, when his Lord cometh; verily, I say unto you, he will put keys into that servant’s hand, and call him to honour, and sit him in inner places, and make a son of him. “Mine, then, is a drudging life.” Be it so. “I have to keep beating at this door so no sign of opening.” No matter. “The Lord told me to knock, and here I am knocking, knocking, knocking; I want to fly, but he says, ‘Knock’; I want to go inside, and hold festival with the angels, but he tells me to knock.” Obedience prepares the mind for revelation, takes out of that revelation trie light that would dazzle the spirit’s vision, and prepares the heart to receive wider demonstrations of the sovereignty and grace of God. We must be blind three days before we begin to see the outlines of things; we must lie down as blind, helpless creatures, simply and lovingly waiting for any prophet God may send to us to open our eyes and teach us our first lesson in the higher alphabet. This does not suit us: we want to walk more quickly, pass on, because we are measuring time by a false chronometer. We do not know the joy which is laid up for us in complete obedience to the word, “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” There is marvellous graciousness in a gradual revelation. If “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” it is because his spiritual education is imaged by that same fair symbol. The next piece of knowledge comes easily. Were the child to be compelled to overleap seven years of the process of education, and to commence a lesson which lies seven years ahead of the page he is reading today, he would be overcome with fear, and no strength would be left in him. What the child has to do is to read the next line, and then to turn over the next page. What we, as Christian students, have to do is to keep to the present truth, obey the immediate duty, do the work that lies next and easily to hand; and then the revelation will, so to say, steal upon us, and then encompass us without the violence of haste and without the unrest of surprise. We cannot tell how the light grows in the heavens. In the morning it is seed-time, and at noonday the harvest fields of the firmament are white with an abundance of result; hardly is the morning seed-time past than the noontide harvest is ripe. So in mental illumination and in spiritual culture and growth. We shall know when we receive our last accession of truth. God’s accessions are known by various names sometimes by the starting up in the mind of a distinct fact; sometimes by the gift of an impression; sometimes by the prick of a new impulse; sometimes by the glow of a new ambition; sometimes by a mysterious, profound, all-calming peace. But when the accession comes be it under this name or under that, the great fire, shocks of whirlwind, tumults of thunder, or a still small voice we shall have no doubt about its identity. Divinity cannot be successfully imitated.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

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.

Ver. 36. Whither goest thou? ] That deep conceit he had drunk in of an earthly kingdom, so hung in his light, that he could not see whither Christ was ascending. A little saucer held close to the eyes hinders the sight of a huge hill.

But thou shalt follow me ] Perhaps in the same kind of death; but to heaven, most certainly.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

36. ] This announcement of Peter’s denial is probably the same with that in Luk 22:33 ff., where see notes: but distinct from that on the way to Gethsemane, Mat 26:34 ; Mar 14:30 .

. ., alluding probably both to the future reception of His Apostle into His glory, and to the particular path by which he should come to that glory; as in ch. Joh 21:18-19 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Joh 13:36 . On this announcement of Jesus that He was shortly to leave them follow four characteristic utterances of the disciples. First as usual, , ; “Lord, where are you going?” referring to Joh 13:33 . The Vulgate renders “Domine, quo vadis?” the words which the legend ascribes to Peter when withdrawing from persecution in Rome he met Jesus entering the city. Jesus does not needlessly excite them by plainly telling them of His death, for He has much to say to them which He wishes them to listen to undisturbed. He assures Peter that though he cannot now accompany his Master, he will afterwards follow, and so rejoin Him; cf. Joh 21:19 .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh 13:36-38

36Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” 37Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” 38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

Joh 13:36 “Simon Peter said to Him” This is the first in a series of questions by the disciples about Jesus’ statements in Joh 13:31-35 (cf. Joh 13:36; Joh 14:5; Joh 14:8; Joh 14:22; Joh 16:17-19). I am so glad these disciples asked these questions and that John remembered them and recorded them!

Joh 13:37 “I will lay down my life for you” Peter meant this! But it does show how weak fallen mankind is and how committed our Lord, who did exactly this, is.

Joh 13:38 “Truly, truly” See note at Joh 1:51.

“a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times” This must have been a Roman rooster. Jews did not allow animals in the city because it was holy ground. This is why most wealthy people had gardens (which needed fertilizer) outside the city walls on the Mt. of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane was one such garden.

Jesus is using prediction to encourage belief in Himself. Even something as negative as this reveals His knowledge and control of future events (cf. Joh 18:17-18; Joh 18:25-27; Mat 26:31-35; Mar 14:27-31; Luk 22:31-34).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Me. All the texts omit.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

36.] This announcement of Peters denial is probably the same with that in Luk 22:33 ff., where see notes: but distinct from that on the way to Gethsemane, Mat 26:34; Mar 14:30.

. ., alluding probably both to the future reception of His Apostle into His glory, and to the particular path by which he should come to that glory;-as in ch. Joh 21:18-19.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Joh 13:36. [342] , Peter) Peter speaks in this place, then Thomas, then Philip, then Judas, ch. Joh 14:5; Joh 14:8; Joh 14:22, then all the disciples, ch. Joh 16:29. [Those very interlocutory speeches, noted down in ch, 14., seem to imply that Peter and John had not returned, and that the paschal lamb had not yet been got ready. And though this be so, John had no less power to describe the speeches (subjects) contained in that chapter, than had Luke those in his ch. Luke 1., etc. Would any one readily venture to describe those speeches, even though he had heard or read them a hundred times? It (the power) was divinely given to the sacred winters. But if you are of opinion, that the discourse which meets us in ch. 14. was delivered before that Peter and John had departed into the city, no doubt the series of the remaining parts of the narrative is not disarranged thereby: however, the rest of the discourse, on this supposition, will have to be separated from the short clause, Arise, etc., ch. Joh 14:31.-Harm., p. 506, etc.]-, whither) Joh 13:33, Ye shall seek Me; as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. Peter was asking the question, as one who was supposing that he could follow the Lord. The heart of Peter had clung close to Jesus: ch. Joh 6:68, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life; Joh 21:7, When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fishers coat unto him, and did cast himself into the sea.-, answered) To the question whither, He answers, after an interval, ch. Joh 14:2, In My Fathers house, etc., I go to prepare a place for you, etc., 12, I go unto My Father, 28, Joh 16:5, Now I go My way to Him that sent Me.- , thou canst not) Neither did the circumstances admit of it, nor the weakness of Peter; but Peter has regard to this latter alone in his objection in reply. Peter did follow, ch. Joh 18:15 [at Jesus apprehension], but it was afar off [Mat 26:58], and not without loss to himself.-, thou shalt follow) ch. Joh 21:19; Joh 21:22, This (as to another girding him) spake Jesus, signifying by what death Peter should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He saith unto Him, Follow Me.-If I will that he (John) tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me.

[342] , among yourselves, one toward the other) Men of the world love one another mutually, ch. Joh 15:19, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. The disciples of Christ much more love mutually and are beloved. The men of the world account the disciples of Christ as an object of hatred: therefore he who cherishes love towards the latter, is himself a disciple.-V. g.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Joh 13:36

Joh 13:36

Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.-[Peter does not yet comprehend the Lords death. We now come to one of the saddest points recorded by John, that is, the last moments the Lord spent with his own before his suffering, a moment in which he speaks words full of tenderness and heavenly meaning. The Lords way was to the cross, the sepulchre, the ascension, and to heaven. Peter might follow in due time, but the Lord had other work for him now. The Lord does not answer his question directly. Tradition says that Peter did follow Christ to the cross in death. He was also crucified.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

whither: Joh 13:33, Joh 14:4, Joh 14:5, Joh 16:17, Joh 21:21

thou: Joh 21:18, Joh 21:19, Joh 21:22, 2Pe 1:14

Reciprocal: Psa 24:3 – Who Mat 8:19 – I will Mat 14:28 – bid Mat 26:33 – Though Mar 8:34 – follow Mar 14:29 – Although Mar 14:68 – he denied Luk 22:33 – I am Joh 14:2 – I go Joh 16:5 – Whither Joh 16:23 – ask Joh 18:8 – let Act 12:4 – he put

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

6

Peter was referring to the statement of Jesus recorded in verse 33. Jesus repeated the statement, then added that Peter would follow him afterwards. He said this with reference to the manner in which Peter would die. (See chapter 21:18, 19.)

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Joh 13:36. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou away? Jesus answered. Whither I go away, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow afterwards. Peter has not been able to apprehend aright the truths of which Jesus has been speaking. We need not wonder at it; and, had he understood them fully, there would have been less necessity either for the instructions that follow or for the discipline of his fall. As it is, thinking only of himself and his fellow-disciples, failing to see the greatness of the charge that would be committed to them when Jesus went away, and not yet trained as he will be, he turns to the thought of the separation spoken of in Joh 13:33, and asks whither his Lord goeth. No direct answer is given to the question. Peter must have known his work and done it before he could have properly comprehended the answer, had it been given; for a disciples reward stands in such a relation to his work, that without a knowledge of the latter he can have no true knowledge of the former. Therefore it is that he is told that the time is not come for his following his Lord. He shall follow Him afterwards; follow Him in shame, in humiliation, to the cross, to the life beyond the grave: then shall he know.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Here we find Peter reflecting upon what our Saviour had said just before, Whither I go, ye cannot come Joh 13:33 : he is inquisitive to know of Christ whither he went. Our Lord tells him, that for the present he could not follow him, but should hereafter; he was not yet strong enough to suffer for him, as he should and did afterwards. St. Peter, grieved at this, rashly resolves to follow him, though he should die for his sake. Christ advises him not to be over-confident of his own strength and standing, for he should deny him thrice, within the time of cock-crowing.

Observe here, 1. How that fond conceit, which our Lord’s disciples had of his temporal kingdom here in the world, did abide and continue with them to the very last; for when Christ speaks of leaving them by ascending into heaven, Peter understands him of a removal that was earthly, fom one place to another, whereas Christ intended it of a removal from earth to heaven.

The opinion, that the Messias was to be a temporal prince, and that his kingdom should be of this world, was so deeply rooted in the minds of the Jews, that they stumbled at it fatally: and Christ’s own disciples had so drank in the notion, that they wonder to hear Christ say, that he is going from them, and that whither he goes they cannot come.

Observe, 2. That Christ’s disciples shall certainly follow their Master afterwards, and be forever with the Lord; but they must wait their Lord’s time, and finish their Lord’s work: they must patiently wait for their change, and not peevishly to heaven, they shall follow him afterwards.

Observe, 3. The greatness of St. Peter’s self-confidence: I will lay down my life for thy sake.

Good man! he resolved honestly, but too, too much in his own strength. Little, O little did he think what a feather he should be in the wind of temptation, if once God left him to the power and prevalency of his own fears! The holiest of men knows not his own strength, till temptation brings him to the trial.

Observe lastly, how detestable St. Peter’s presumption and self-confidence was to Christ, and how fatal and pernicious to himself; Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? As if Christ had said, “Peter thou sayest more than thou canst do; thine own strength will fail thee, and thy self-confidence deceive thee; I know thy heart better than thou dost thyself; and I foresee, that before the cock crows thou shalt deny me thrice.”

Thence learn, That none are so near falling, as those that are most confident of their own standing.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Joh 13:36-38. Simon Peter saith, Lord, whither goest thou, &c. The exalted virtue which our Lord had just inculcated, did not make so strong an impression on Peters mind, as the words which he had before spoken, concerning his going away to a place where his disciples could not come. He therefore replies by thus asking whither he was going. He seems to have supposed that Christ, in consequence of being rejected by the Jews, was about to go to some other part of the earth to erect his throne, where he might reign without disturbance, according to the gross notion which he had of Christs kingdom. Jesus answered, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, &c. Thou art too weak at present to follow me in my sufferings: but thou shalt be enabled to do it afterward. From this clause we gather that the declaration, (Joh 13:33,) Whither I go ye cannot come, is one of those general propositions whereof there are many in Scripture, which were spoken with a limitation not expressed. Here we are directed to add the limitation, thus, Whither I go ye cannot come NOW. For they were all, equally with Peter, to follow Jesus afterward, by suffering a violent death. Macknight. Peter said, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? He was very unwilling to believe that he was so weak as Christs words intimated he was. He thought he was prepared to do or suffer any thing for his dear Master; adding, I will lay down my life for thy sake As if he had said, Is there any road more terrible than the dark valley of the shadow of death? Yet through these black and gloomy shades I am willing to accompany thee this moment. Jesus answered, Wilt thou lay down thy life, &c. Alas! Peter, thy promises are too large, and uttered with too much confidence to be relied on: thou dost not consider with what reluctance life is parted with, and what a hard task it is to suffer death. Verily, the cock shall not crow, &c. Notwithstanding thy pretended affection and fortitude, a few hours shall not pass till, in great consternation at the danger with which I and my disciples will be threatened, thou shalt basely deny three several times that thou art my disciple. Peter, therefore, had no reason to be elated, though on a former occasion he had confessed Jesus to be the Son of God. And his behaviour, in this instance, affords a very affecting example of human vanity, in the midst of the greatest weakness.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 36-38. Simon Peter says to him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. 37. Peter says to him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now?I will lay down my life for thee. 38. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

What especially impressed St. Peter in the preceding words is the thought of Joh 13:33 : Whither I go, you cannot come. Jesus is going to glory: Peter does not doubt this (Joh 13:32); why then, after having walked with Him on the waters and having ascended with Him the Mount of Transfiguration, can he not follow Him to glory, to return with Him soon to the earth, when he will establish His kingdom? Peter had merely said:Whither goest thou? but evidently, as a child who, when asking his father: Whither art thou going? means: Cannot I go with thee? Jesus understood the purpose of his question, and He replies to it by saying: Thou canst not. The temporary separation is inevitable; does Jesus think of the task which Peter will have still to accomplish here on earth by his apostolic ministry (Weiss)?

Or must this word can be understood in a purely moral sense: Thou art not yet capable of making the sacrifice necessary for following me (Tholuck)? The words of Joh 14:2-3 cause us rather to think of reasons of another nature, at once objective and subjective. On the one hand, the redemption is not yet effected, and consequently the place of Peter is not yet prepared in heaven; on the other, Peter himself is not yet prepared for the place; the Holy Spirit has not yet made of him a new man. Peter, however, imagines that Jesus speaks thus only because He believes him incapable of facing death; and in the ardor of his zeal, exaggerating the measure of his moral strength, he declares himself ready to undergo martyrdom (Joh 13:37). Jesus, who knows him better than he knows himself, then declares to him that, even in this respect, he is still incapable of accompanying Him (Joh 13:38).

The cock- crowing of which Jesus speaks is that which properly bore this name; the second, that which precedes the break of day, about three o’clock in the morning (Mar 13:35). In the prediction of the denial in Mark (Mar 14:30) allusion is also made to the first, the one at midnight.The prediction of his denial seems to have produced on the apostle a very profound impression; he is, as it were, thunder-struck by it, and from this moment he does not speak any more until the end of these discourses.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

JESUS PREDICTS THE FALL OF PETER AND THE DISPERSION OF THE APOSTLES

Mat 26:31-35; Mar 14:27-31; Luk 22:31-38;Joh 13:36-38. N.B. They are all still at the supper-table except Judas, who, at nightfall, went away alone and not alone, for Satan went with him. Simon Peter says to Him, Lord, whither art Thou going? Jesus responded to him, Whither I go, thou art not able to follow Me now; but shall follow Me hereafter. Peter says to Him, Lord, wherefore am I not able to follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thee. Peter absolutely and sincerely meant all he said, and yet in a few hours denied Him, illustrating the horrific instability of unsanctified humanity. After Peter received the fiery baptism, he was more than a match for earth and hell, living a hero and dying a martyr. What an admonition is Peters case to all to get sanctified!

Mat 26:31. Then Jesus says to them, All you will be offended in Me this night. For it has been written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. (Zec 13:7) The application of this is very plain and simple, as it was fulfilled in Gethsemane about three hours after this utterance. And after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. Jesus had repeatedly predicted to them that He would meet them in Galilee, His native land and that of most of His apostles, whither they all went soon after His resurrection, and He met them on the bank of the Galilean Sea, after a night of toil in dragging their nets through the waters; but then, to their unutterable surprise, pursuant to His mandate, casting the net on the right side of the ship, they caught one hundred and fifty-three large fish. He also met them on one of the mountains of Galilee, not named.

Peter, responding, said to Him, If all shall be offended in Thee, I will never be offended. Peter was no hypocrite. He meant all he said; yet before the crowing of the cock that very night, he denied that he knew Him.

Luk 22:31. The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan sought after you, to sift you like wheat. Here the pronoun you is humas, the plural number, including not only Peter, but all of the apostles. All the depravity in human nature belongs to Satan, because he put it there in the fall. All sin is the crop of Satans own sowing. So long as there is anything in you which Satan can sift out, you are not ready for heaven. Satan could not sift Jesus, because when he came to Him, he found nothing in Him belonging to him. After the apostles were all sanctified at Pentecost, Satans sifting was fruitless toil, as the celestial flame had consumed all the chaff, straw, cheat, cockle, and trash, leaving nothing but the pure wheat, ready for the Lords mill. But I prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. You is in the singular number, meaning Peter alone, as the especial subject of the Saviors prayer in this case, lest he might be gobbled up by Satan. Jesus here tells them, You will all be offended in Me this night. This word is from scandalon, a stumbling-block, showing that they all ran over a great stumbling-block, which jostled them exceedingly, and Peter, the most sanguine of all, became more seriously upset than any of his comrades. This word, however, does not convey the idea of a total apostasy, but a stumbling and temporary backsliding, the prayer of Jesus prevailing, so that the faith, though terribly tried, did not utterly let go. And you, having turned, then strengthen your brethren. When thou art converted, E. V., is too strong a rendering of epistrepsas, which simply means having turned, being in the active voice; i. e., Having turned from your backsliding, strengthen your brethren. Peter was the senior apostle, his house in Capernaum being headquarters of Jesus during the two and a half years of His ministry in Galilee. Therefore he wielded a very potent influence over his brethren, who, of course, being jostled by his backsliding, would need confirmation by his confession and testimony. And he said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee to prison, and to death. Mar 14:30 : And Jesus says to him, Truly I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crows twice, thou shall deny Me thrice. And he continued to say the more positively, If it may be necessary for me to die along with Thee, I will not deny Thee. And all the others said likewise. You see how sanguine Peter was, feeling perfectly sure; and yet when the emergency came he failed. A significant illustration of the bold utterances of unsanctified Christians, believing indubitably that they will do just what they say; but signally failing, because they have an indwelling enemy stronger than they.

Luk 22:35-38. And He said to them, When I sent you out without purse, valise, and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing. Then He said to them, But now, let the one having purse take it, likewise also valise; and let every one not having a sword, sell his cloak and purchase one. For I say unto you, that it behooveth that which has been written yet to be fulfilled in Me, And He was numbered with the transgressors [Isa 53:12]; and those things concerning Me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And He said to them, It is sufficient. While our Savior was with them on the earth, He miraculously fed, clothed, and protected them when it was necessary. Consequently they could go without these provisions, incident to human life, indiscriminately. But now that He is going away to leave them, they must take heed and give the necessary attention to the temporalities essential to their physical support and protection. The Orientals wear two garments the cheiton, interior, and the himation, exterior. The outer garment they frequently carried while traveling and laid aside when at labor, keeping it for night and storms. Jesus here tells them, if necessary, to sell the himation and buy a sword. I never could understand why He told them to take a sword till I traveled in that country and saw the necessity of carrying weapons. I did not carry any, as I did not know how to use them; but a sanctified preacher in our company carried a revolver, our dragman also being armed with a revolver and a dagger. In some places we were compelled to hire an armed escort to keep the robbers off. Why were you compelled to do it? Our guide refused to go without the armed escort. Going round in Jerusalem, men, as a rule, had no visible weapons; but traveling through the country, all we met were armed with guns, swords, or huge clubs, almost as large as an American rifle, and convenient to kill a man with a single stroke. The guide-books advise all travelers to go armed, but not to use their weapons, their utility being that of intimidation, as robbers abound everywhere, who do not content themselves by simply taking your money, but take everything you possess, leaving you utterly destitute of clothing, baggage, etc. In that day there were no firearms, the sword being the most common weapon of defense; also regarded as a badge of itinerancy. You see, when they pointed out these two swords, He said they were sufficient. The presumption is that the sword was a prudential, peace, and safety provision, for the intimidation of robbers and for personal security in case of emergency, as persons openly avowing the absence of all protecting weapons in their peregrinations would soon fall a prey to the robbers. Along the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho, where the traveler (Luke 10) was attacked by the robbers, the Roman Government had a garrison of armed men to protect the travelers, as the robbers were so troublesome.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 36

Whither, &c.; referring to what Jesus had said, (John 13:33.)

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

13:36 {5} 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.

(5) A weighty example of rash trust and confidence.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

2. Peter’s profession of loyalty 13:36-38 (cf. Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-34)

Peter next declared his love for Jesus indirectly.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Peter returned to the subject of Jesus’ departure (Joh 13:33; Joh 8:21). He was unclear about where Jesus meant He would go. Jesus did not answer him unambiguously, probably because such an answer would have created even more serious problems for him. It was not God’s will for Peter to follow Jesus through death into heaven then, but it would be later (Joh 21:18-19). Jesus’ answer implied that Peter had asked his question so he could accompany Jesus wherever He was going. Peter’s statement was an indirect expression of affection for and commitment to Jesus.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)