King James Bible
"Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake."
Peter responds to Jesus' statement that he cannot follow Him yet (v.36) with an urgent question that reveals both devotion and misunderstanding. His emphasis on "now" shows impatience and failure to grasp that Jesus must go to the cross alone, while Peter's spiritual readiness requires further testing. Peter makes a bold declaration of ultimate loyalty, using the same phrase Jesus used for His own sacrifice (John 10:11). This dramatic promise reveals Peter's sincere but overconfident self-assessment, setting up the tragic irony of his imminent threefold denial.