At the Last Supper, Jesus gives final instruction to Apostles. Peter asks where he is going.
John 13:36 Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
John 13:36 Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
Where I lead, you don't have the power now to follow me, but you will follow after.
You can't see it in English, but Jesus is addressing an individual, Peter here, both the Apostles. The word "can" is a weak word in English, indicating ability but also permission. The Greek verb means "having power" and "being capable." The noun form in Greek is strength and power in a more direct form. We get our word, dynamic, the ability to change, from the same root. The Greek verb translated as "follow" has the sense of "being guided by" a teacher or leader. So afterward makes perfect sense, because followers follow behind. This sense is very much in keeping with the earlier verse (John 13:33) that this reverences, where Christ addresses his followers as being children. While this is affectionate, we cannot follow because we are still children.
We follow when we have the power to do so.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" is not a helper verb, but the active verb in the sentence.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "follow" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to follow."
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "me" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "can" is not a helper verb, but the active verb in the sentence.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "follow" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to follow."
Whither -- The word translated as "whither" means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
go, -- "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go," but he often uses it to mean "go away" and "depart."
thou - This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
canst -- (CW) The word translated as "can" means having the power or possibly a desire to accomplish something. Often, in English, "can" is a helper verb, indicating a possibility. In Greek, it indicates ability or power. This is the active verb here, not a helper verb. It takes an infinitive as "have the ability" does in English. --
not . -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
follow -- (WF) The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of."
me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me." A dative object of a preposition implies no movement, but in a fixed position, events that occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.
now; -- The Greek word translated as "now" means "now," "at the present moment,""presently," and "as it is."
but -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. It can also be an explanation of cause ("so").
thou - This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
follow -- The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of."
me -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "me" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.
afterwards. -- The word translated as "afterward," means "latter," "last," "coming after," "after" (in Time), "posterior," "inferior," and "extremely." It is technically an adjective, but it works like an adjective.
Where -- The word translated as "where" means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
am -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.
going, -- "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go," but he often uses it to mean "go away" and "depart."
you - This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
can- -- (CW) The word translated as "can" means having the power or possibly a desire to accomplish something. Often, in English, "can" is a helper verb, indicating a possibility. In Greek, it indicates ability or power. This is the active verb here, not a helper verb. It takes an infinitive as "have the ability" does in English. --
-not . -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no," "not," or"no truly." It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
follow -- (WF) The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of."
me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me." A dative object of a preposition implies no movement, but in a fixed position, events that occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.
now; -- The Greek word translated as "now" means "now," "at the present moment,""presently," and "as it is."
but -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. It can also be an explanation of cause ("so").
you - This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense but the form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
follow -- The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of."
later. -- The word translated as "afterward," means "latter," "last," "coming after," "after" (in Time), "posterior," "inferior," and "extremely." It is technically an adjective, but it works like an adjective.
Ὅπου [32 verses] (adv/conj) "Whither" is hopou, which means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," and "where."
ὑπάγω [47 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act) "I go" is hypago, which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."
οὐ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.
δύνασαί [61 verses](3rd sg pres ind mp) "Canst" is the verb, dynamai, which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough."
μοί, [96 verses](pron 1st sg masc/fem dat) "Me" is moi (emoi) , which can be the object of some prepositions and as the object of a verb means "to me" "for me," and "by me."
νῦν [31 verses](adv) "Now" is nyn (nun), which means "now," "at the present moment," "at the present time," "just now," "presently," and "as it is."
ἀκολουθῆσαι, [22 verses](verb aor inf act) "Follow" is akoloutheo, which means "to follow," and "to go with." It also means "to be guided by" and means following a leader as a disciple. Follow is from akoloutheô, which is from a root meaning "first road" (alpha keleuthos ).
ἀκολουθήσεις [22 verses](verb 2nd sg fut ind act OR verb 2nd sg aor subj act) "Follow" is akoloutheo, which means "to follow," and "to go with." It also means "to be guided by" and means following a leader as a disciple.
δὲ [446 verses](conj) "But" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so"). With the Greek word for "if" the sense is "if...than."
ὕστερον. [5 verses](adj sg masc acc) "Afterwards" is hysteros (husteros), which means "later," "last," "coming after," "after" (in Time), "posterior," "inferior," and "extremely." --