John 13:7 Meaning - “You May Not Know Now But Later You Will Understand”

You know that moment when you’re in the middle of something confusing, painful, maybe even frustrating, and someone says, “One day, this will all make sense”? It’s the kind of thing that’s supposed to be comforting but usually isn’t. Because at that moment, all you want is clarity now, not later.

That’s exactly the situation Peter found himself in during the Last Supper. Jesus, the man he’d followed for years, the man he believed to be the Messiah, suddenly kneels and starts washing his feet. This wasn’t just confusing, it was completely upside-down. Servants washed feet. Teachers, kings, and Messiahs did not. Peter pushes back, and Jesus replies with a simple but loaded statement:

"You may not know now, but later you will understand." (John 13:7)

That line is a reality check about life itself. Because whether you’re religious or not, we’ve all been in situations where we’re stuck in the “not realizing now” phase. So, what do you do in those moments? And more importantly, when does the “later” actually come?

That’s what we’re exploring. Because John 13:7 isn’t just about what happened in that upper room, it’s about how life works, and how, sometimes, the only way forward is trusting that clarity will come when it’s ready.

The Context: A Moment of Confusion

To get what’s happening in John 13:7, you have to picture the scene. It’s the night before Jesus is arrested. The disciples are gathered for the Passover meal, expecting something big. They still don’t fully grasp what’s coming, but Jesus does. He knows this is his last night with them before the cross.

And then, in the middle of dinner, he gets up, takes off his outer robe, grabs a towel, and kneels to wash their feet (John 13:4-5).

Now, in modern terms, this might not seem like a big deal. But in first-century Jewish culture, foot washing was about as low as it got. Roads were filthy, people wore sandals, and washing someone’s feet was a task reserved for the lowest servant in the household. It was never something a respected teacher, let alone the Son of God, would do.

So, when Jesus moves to wash Peter’s feet, Peter reacts exactly how most of us would. “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” (John 13:6). You can almost hear the disbelief in his voice. This is backward. This is uncomfortable. This is wrong.

But Jesus insists. And when Peter outright refuses, Jesus raises the stakes:

“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:8)

That’s when Peter, in classic Peter fashion, flips to the other extreme: “Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:9). He still doesn’t fully get it, but if this is what it takes to stay with Jesus, he’s all in.

And that’s when Jesus delivers the line:

“You may not know now, but later you will understand.” (John 13:7)

Peter doesn’t get it, not yet. But later, after the crucifixion, after the resurrection, and after years of leading the early church, it will all click.

This moment is more than just an act of humility, it’s a foreshadowing. Jesus isn’t just washing their feet; he’s showing them something deeper about who he is and what he’s about to do. But right now? Right now, all Peter sees is confusion.

Just like us, in the middle of our own unanswered questions.

The Pattern: Why We Rarely Understand in the Moment

Peter’s confusion in John 13:7 isn’t just a one-time thing. If you step back and look at the bigger picture, both in the Bible and in life, you’ll notice a pattern: God rarely explains things upfront. Understanding almost always comes later.

Biblical Examples of “Not Knowing Now”

Peter wasn’t the first to be caught in the fog of confusion. Throughout scripture, God’s plan often unfolds in ways that don’t make sense at the time:

• Joseph in Egypt – Imagine being Joseph, sitting in prison for a crime you didn’t commit, years after your brothers sold you into slavery. At that moment, did he understand why? Absolutely not. But later? Later, he became second-in-command of Egypt and saved an entire nation, including those same brothers (Genesis 50:20).
• The Israelites in the Wilderness – Forty years of wandering with no clear destination. Why? The people didn’t get it. But later, it became clear that God was preparing them for something bigger than just reaching the Promised Land. He was shaping them into a nation that could carry his covenant (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
• The Disciples at the Crucifixion – If you had asked them on that Friday, as they watched Jesus die, whether this was part of the plan, they would’ve said no. In their eyes, it was the end of everything. But three days later? Everything changed (Luke 24:25-27).

Why Understanding Comes Later

It’s not just a biblical pattern - it’s a human one. There’s a reason we struggle to grasp things while they’re happening but can see them clearly in hindsight.

Psychologists call it the hindsight bias. When we look back, our brain connects the dots in ways we couldn’t see before. The chaos of the moment feels like it had a purpose, even if it didn’t make sense at the time.

Think about any major lesson you’ve learned in life. Did you understand it fully while you were in the middle of it? Probably not. Clarity tends to show up after the fact…sometimes weeks, sometimes years later.

If we could see the full picture right away, faith wouldn’t be necessary. Growth wouldn’t be necessary. But God doesn’t just hand out blueprints for our lives, he invites us to walk forward, even when we don’t understand.

Peter didn’t get it in that moment. But later, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after years of following in his footsteps, he understood.

The same is true for us. Right now, you might be in the middle of something that doesn’t make sense. But later? Later, it might just become the most meaningful chapter in your story.

The Pain of the Unknown and the Challenge of Trust

Knowing that understanding comes later doesn’t make the now any easier. When you’re in the middle of confusion, uncertainty, or pain, the promise that one day it will all make sense doesn’t always feel like enough.

Peter’s Struggle Is Our Struggle

Peter’s reaction in John 13:7 is so relatable because it’s exactly how we respond to things that don’t make sense.

• Sometimes we push back (“No way, this can’t be happening!”).
• Sometimes we try to overcompensate (“Fine, then do everything. Fix my whole life while you’re at it!”).
• And sometimes, we just sit in silence, confused, wondering why things aren’t unfolding the way we expected.

Jesus’ response isn’t an explanation. He doesn’t stop to walk Peter through the reasons for what he’s doing. He just tells him to trust, that understanding will come, but not yet.

That’s frustrating. We want reasons, logic, and a plan. Instead, we’re often given the same response Peter got: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Why Trusting Is So Hard

Trusting God (or even just trusting the process of life) is difficult because:

• We want control. If we can understand something, we can predict it. If we can predict it, we can control it. But faith asks us to let go of that illusion.
• Pain feels pointless when we’re in it. When something hurts, it’s hard to imagine it ever being useful or meaningful later.
• The wait can feel endless. How long until we understand? A week? A year? A lifetime? Not knowing how long we have to wait makes trust even harder.

What Does Trust Look Like in the Middle of Confusion?

Jesus isn’t asking Peter to figure it all out, he’s asking him to trust him anyway. That’s the same thing we’re asked to do in the moments when things don’t make sense.

Peter didn’t pretend to understand, he asked questions. It’s okay to wrestle with things. He then eventually let Jesus wash his feet, even though he didn’t get it yet. Sometimes, faith means saying, “I don’t understand this, but I’m choosing to keep going.”. In that moment, Peter was lost. But later, when he looked back, he saw the full picture.

Right now, you might be in the middle of something that doesn’t make sense. Maybe you're waiting for the job, the healing, the clarity, the breakthrough. Maybe you're asking the same thing Peter asked: “Why is this happening?”

And maybe the answer, for now, is the same one Peter got.

"You may not know now, but later you will understand."

"Later You Will Understand": The Invitation to Live Differently

If we really take John 13:7 to heart, it does more than just comfort us, it challenges us. It invites us to change how we handle uncertainty, setbacks, and the things that don’t make sense yet.

Because here’s the thing: if understanding always comes later, then how we live in the “not knowing” stage matters.

1. Learning to Live with Delayed Understanding

Most of life happens before the clarity. Joseph was in prison for years before realizing it was part of God’s bigger plan. The disciples spent an entire Saturday believing Jesus was gone forever before they saw the resurrection.

You and I? We’re probably in the middle of our own “not realizing now” moment right this second. If we know that clarity always comes in hindsight, we can start living with a little less panic and a little more patience.

• Instead of demanding answers, we can focus on the next step. Peter didn’t understand, but he let Jesus wash his feet anyway. Sometimes, that’s all we can do, just take the next step in faith.
• Instead of assuming the worst, we can leave space for ‘later.’ What if the thing that doesn’t make sense today is leading to something better tomorrow?
• Instead of rushing the process, we can trust that timing matters. Jesus didn’t explain everything to Peter that night. He let him sit with the unknown for a while. Some lessons only make sense with time.

2. Jesus' Model of Trusting the Bigger Picture

The wildest thing is that Jesus himself had to walk this road too.

He knew what was coming. He knew that within hours, he’d be betrayed, arrested, beaten, and crucified. And yet, he still moved forward. He still washed their feet. He still went to the cross.

He did that because he knew something they didn’t: Sunday was coming. He knew that the worst moment of their lives, watching him die, would later become the greatest source of hope the world had ever known.

And if Jesus, knowing what was ahead, could keep moving forward with faith, maybe we can too.

A Challenge to the Reader: Look Back at Your Own Story

What’s something in your life that once didn’t make sense, but now does?

Maybe it was a job that fell through, only for a better opportunity to come later.

Maybe it was a heartbreak that, in hindsight, saved you from something worse.

Maybe it was a painful season that shaped you in ways you couldn’t have predicted.

If there’s one thing John 13:7 reminds us, it’s that confusion isn’t the end of the story, it’s just a chapter in the middle. Peter didn’t get it at the time. The disciples didn’t get it at the cross. Joseph didn’t get it in prison. The Israelites didn’t get it in the desert.

Whatever it is, the pattern is the same: understanding comes later.

That’s how life works. Some of the hardest, most confusing moments only make sense in hindsight. The heartbreak that led to something better. The failure that redirected your path. The loss that, painful as it was, shaped you into someone stronger, wiser, more whole.

But if this verse is true, if God’s track record is anything to go by, then that silence doesn’t mean he’s absent. It just means the understanding hasn’t arrived yet.

So what do you do? You keep going. You keep trusting. You let Jesus wash your feet even if you don’t understand why. You choose to believe that later will come.

Because one day, you’ll look back. And what doesn’t make sense today might just become the thing that shaped you the most.