John 13:36

Whither goest thou? Peter by-passes comment on the new commandment. Perhaps its requirements were too rigid for his present level of experience. He was, however, interested in Jesus’ reference to a departure, the nature of which he misunderstood (see v. 37), as had the Pharisees earlier (chs. 7:35; 8:22).

Follow me afterwards. The passage probably has a twofold application: (1) Peter’s following Jesus in death. This the disciple was unprepared to do at the moment, as later events clearly indicated (Matt. 26:56, 69-75). However, he later suffered crucifixion for his faith (see John 21:18, 19; cf. AA 537, 538). (2) To Jesus’ ascension to heaven. For this Peter would have to wait until the return of his Lord at the end of the age (ch. 14:1—3). There was probably a purposeful ambiguity in the statement.