2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary John Chapter 16
Commentary - John Chapter 16
John 16:1
Joh 16:1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
In the last chapter, Jesus talked to the disciples about the need for them to love one another, to abide in the vine, to expect persecution, but to know God was sending them a Helper.
The reason for telling them these things was to keep them from “falling away.”
When you have a heads-up about what is coming and you’ve already discussed the solution, it is easier not to feel overwhelmed when the problems arrive.
It’s when you are taken off-guard and you don’t have the resources to face the trial that you feel like quitting.
Jesus was making sure the Apostles didn’t get caught in that situation.
John 16:2-3
Joh 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
Joh 16:3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Some of the men who would persecute the Apostles in the future were going to do it because they thought it was the will of God.
They thought the Christians were a sect that displeased God.
There is no better example than Paul.
Paul worked really hard at persecuting Christians.
He thought he was doing what God wanted.
He thought his upbringing had taught him about God.
But He had been brought up by the same Jewish religious leaders who Jesus condemned in the gospels.
APPLICATION:
You can be honest and still be wrong.
Sincerity isn’t the only thing that matters.
We need to take serious time and ask if we really know God.
If the “God” who has been presented to us by our teachers has been accurately represented.
The reason these people would persecute the Apostles was because they didn’t know God.
Similar to Jesus’ statement in John 15:21.
John 16:4-5
Joh 16:4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
Joh 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
Jesus told the Apostles these things so they would be able to recall them when the persecutions came.
It was a way of preparing the Apostles.
It was also a way of increasing their faith.
Similar to Jesus’ words in John 13:19 and 14:29.
Jesus was predicting the future.
Although persecution wouldn’t be pleasant, remembering Jesus’ words would remind them that Jesus knew about this coming trouble and He also knew the kind of help they would need to get through it.
Jesus determined the Apostles didn’t need to know these things while He was still with them on earth, but now that He was about to depart, the time had come for them to be shared.
This was in part because while He remained on the earth, the ire of His enemies would be directed at Him, but following His departure, the Apostles would become the target.
John 16:5-7
Joh 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
Joh 16:6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Joh 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Evidently the Apostles were not responding to Jesus words the way He wanted.
They had allowed their grief of their Friend leaving them to overwhelm them and they weren’t seeing the bigger picture.
Jesus points out none of them had asked Him where He was going.
The answer to that question would have limited their level of sorrow.
But because they hadn’t asked, they were consumed by sadness.
Peter had asked this back in the upper room in John 13:36.
But based on their response, Jesus tells them they should have continued to inquire for greater clarity because their comprehension of the answer wasn’t very good.
Their joy should have been full
Joh 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
But they were sad.
Although they didn’t comprehend it, the truth was, Jesus leaving was to their advantage.
It was the next step in their growth as His Apostles.
If Jesus didn’t leave, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t come, and the Holy Spirit was what was going to aid them in becoming who God wanted them to be.
John 16:8-11
Joh 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Joh 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
Joh 16:10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
Joh 16:11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
When the Spirit came, He would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
The word “convict” means to convince by argument.
When the Spirit came, it would convince the world about the truth of sin, righteousness and judgment.
“Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.”
This is the sin Jesus spoke about in John 15:22-24.
The Spirit through the Apostles and through other believers would convince the world of the mistake of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.
This is exactly what we observe in Acts 2.
Without Jesus as their Savior all men were guilty of sin and separated from God.
Paul, with the help of the Holy Spirit argues this very thing in the book of Romans.
All men are slaves to sin.
All men need freedom in Jesus.
It is through the Holy Spirit that we know sin.
Without the scriptures given by the Holy Spirit, the world wouldn’t know God’s commands and prohibitions.
“Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.”
The Jews would need “convincing by argument” that Jesus was a righteous man.
Jesus faced many accusations during His ministry of being a heretic, an enemy of the Law of Moses, and a blasphemer.
But the Spirit would argue Jesus was the most righteous man to ever live.
By what evidence?
On the evidence that God raised Jesus from the dead and Jesus’ ascension back to Heaven.
“Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
The Spirit would argue that Satan had been defeated.
He had been judged and his fate sealed.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
The Spirit would argue that Christ had defeated Satan’s kingdom and his greatest weapons once and for all and now called all men to His greater Kingdom.
Sin is the truth about man.
Righteousness is the truth about God.
Judgment is the eventual meeting of the two.
John 16:12-15
Joh 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Joh 16:14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Joh 16:15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Apostles learned many things during Jesus’ 3 year ministry, but He still had many more important things to share with them.
Instead of teaching the Apostles personally, He had determined the Holy Spirit would be the one to instruct them in the future.
APPLICATION:
There are some in the Christian world who support a view that we should follow Jesus’ teachings but not those found in the Bible after the gospels.
This view rejects the writings of Paul and the other Apostles.
The view sounds noble, “I want to listen to Jesus and no one else!”
But this verse reveals the view to be contradictory.
You can’t follow Jesus’ teaching while rejecting Jesus’ teaching here that He was going to continue to teach through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told the Apostles the Spirit would teach them, not by His own authority, but with a message received from Jesus.
I think this is important because it shows a unity in the message of God whether it is delivered by God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit taught a message received from Jesus.
Jesus taught a message received from God.
This has been emphasized again and again throughout John’s gospel.
Joh 8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
Why is this important?
Because it shows the unified message presented by all three members of the Godhead.
The Holy Spirit taught the same message as Jesus.
Jesus taught the same message as God the Father.
These weren’t three separate entities all teaching something different.
Jesus reiterates this point in verses 14-15.
The Spirit was going to take the message belonging to Jesus and share it with the Apostles.
That which belonged to Jesus also belonged to God.
Therefore, I think it is correct to say the Holy Spirit was going to take the message of God and share it with the Apostles.
You can see the unity:
God the Father supported the message of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus supported the message of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit supported the message of Jesus and God the Father.
Verse 14 also reveals they were in the business of glorifying one another:
The Holy Spirit would glorify Jesus (16:14).
Jesus would glorify God the Father (13:31-32).
God the Father would glorify Jesus (13:31-32).
SIDE NOTE:
Verse 15 is another claim to equality with God.
A being less than God wouldn’t be able to claim everything the Father possessed was theirs.
John 16:16-18
Joh 16:16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Joh 16:17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”
Joh 16:18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
The Apostles still didn’t understand what Jesus meant when He told them He was going to leave them and then see them again.
Jesus used a very similar statement to verse 16 in John 14:19.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
There, Jesus seems to apply those words to His ascension back to heaven and arrival of the Holy Spirit.
Here, He seems to apply the words to His death and resurrection.
You’ll notice, it isn’t exactly the same statement.
In 14:19, Jesus tells the Apostles the world wouldn’t be able to see Him but they would.
In 16:16, Jesus says the Apostles wouldn’t be able to see Him for a period of time but then they would be able to see Him.
The next couple verses make it even more clear that Jesus is referring to His death and resurrection in 16:16.
John 16:19-20
Joh 16:19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?
Joh 16:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
The Apostles may have been hesitant to ask Jesus to clear up their confusion.
Have you ever been confused in a class but didn’t want to ask for an explanation because you thought the teacher would be disappointed with you?
They didn’t get it but they didn’t want to ask.
Or it may be Jesus just beat them to it.
He could read their minds.
He may have begun answering their question before they even had a chance to form it in their mind and articulate it.
Jesus begins His answer in verse 20.
There was coming a time when they would weep and lament.
When they were weeping and lamenting the world (sinners) would be rejoicing.
The Apostles would be sorrowful for a period of time but their sorrow would eventually be turned into joy!
Can you piece together in your mind what future event Jesus was talking about?
John 16:21-22
Joh 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Joh 16:22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
No matter what culture you come from you can understand the basics of Jesus’ illustration in verse 21.
When a woman is ready to have a baby, she goes into labor and experiences a lot of pain.
But that pain is necessary to complete the beautiful work of bringing life into the world.
When the child is born and handed to its mother, the pain is forgotten and is replaced by the joy.
The Apostles were going to have to go through a similar phenomenon.
Over the upcoming days, they were going to weep and lament because Jesus was going to be killed.
For three days, they wouldn’t be able to see Jesus (verse 16) because He would be sealed away in a tomb.
They were going to think Jesus had failed and it would be heavy on their hearts.
But three days after the crucifixion, Jesus was going to resurrect from the dead and appear to the Apostles (verse 16).
All of a sudden, the hopelessness of the Apostles would be turned into joy and rejoicing.
Their joy would be so great Jesus told them, “no one will take your joy from you.”
What caused them pain was a necessary part of bringing life into the world.
John 16:23-24
Joh 16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
Joh 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
What is “that day”?
I think “that day” refers to the days following Jesus’ resurrection.
Jesus is about to give them an instruction for how they are to proceed following “that day.”
Following His resurrection, Jesus made limited appearances to the Apostles.
40 days after the resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven.
He wasn’t going to be around when the Apostles had questions they wanted to ask.
In the future, instead of them coming to Christ and making their requests, Jesus tells them they can ask God the Father directly (in prayer).
Because they belong to Christ, God will answer their requests.
They will have permission and ability to approach God because of what Jesus is about to do for them on the cross.
This would have been new for the Apostles.
Up to this point they had asked Jesus everything.
They had never attempted to approach God the Father (at least not through the authority of Jesus).
APPLICATION:
This is why Christians often end their prayers “in Jesus’ name we pray” or “through Jesus we pray.”
We have the ear of God because of the relationship we have with Him which was made possible by Jesus.
John 16:25
Joh 16:25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
If we had the ability to put ourselves in the Apostles shoes and hear Jesus teach the concepts found in chapters 13-16, I’m confident most of us would be equally as confused as the Apostles. I know I would have been!
It is somewhat easy for us to look back at Jesus’ words and interpret them already knowing the end of the story (even that can be difficult in places).
The Apostles were in a much more difficult position.
I like what Albert Barnes says in his commentary:
[Jesus taught] in a manner that appears obscure, enigmatic, and difficult to be understood. It is worthy of remark, that though his declarations in these chapters about his death and resurrection appear to us to be plain, yet to the apostles, filled with Jewish prejudices, and unwilling to believe that he was about to die, they would appear exceedingly obscure and perplexed.
There is no question Jesus could have used plainer language to describe the events of the next few days and His eventual ascension back to heaven but He intentionally chose to speak in a somewhat veiled way.
That being said, the time was coming when He would speak to them more plainly.
I suspect this is probably a reference to the time after His ascension when the Holy Spirit would be sent to the Apostles.
The Holy Spirit would guide them into truth and speak plainly about the Father’s work and plans.
John 16:26-27
Joh 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
Joh 16:27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
Again, “that day” refers to the days following Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Spirit.
Following these things, when the Apostles made requests to God the Father, Jesus wasn’t going to have to beseech the Father on their behalf, they were going to be able to ask the Father directly (verse 23).
God wasn’t an angry Father sitting up in heaven who had to be coaxed by Jesus into doing things for these humans He didn’t like.
It’s not as if God was indifferent to those who believed in Jesus and was only going to grant their prayers because He loved Jesus and Jesus asks Him to.
Christ does pray the Father for His people, but not for the purpose of inclining an unwilling ear (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown).
God would grant the Apostles requests because He loved them.
He loved Jesus and them!
He loved them because they had loved His Son who He sent into the world.
Joh 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
John 16:28
Joh 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Jesus could speak with authority about all of these things because He knew the Father and the Spirit and had a relationship with Them.
He had come from heaven, He was going back to heaven, and He knew the affairs of heaven.
Jesus’ ascension to God would have been confirmation to the Apostles Jesus was able to secure all of the things He promised them in chapter 13-16.
John 16:29-32
Joh 16:29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!
Joh 16:30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”
Joh 16:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
Joh 16:32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
The Apostles make this statement of confidence, suggesting they now understand what Jesus has been talking about.
He had read their minds in verses 16-17 and given them the answer to the question they were pondering.
By this, they said, they knew He had come from God and they verbally reaffirm the strength of their faith.
Jesus immediately calls the strength of their faith into question.
“Do you now believe”?
Jesus had knowledge of the future that suggested the strength of their faith wasn’t as strong as they asserted.
Jesus tells them in just a few hours they will all be scattered from Him.
They are going to abandon Him when things don’t go the way they expect.
Their faith isn’t as strong as they think.
But although they would leave Him, God would still be with Him.
John 16:33
Joh 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus told the Apostles these things so they could be at peace.
They would be very far from “at peace” the next few days, but eventually they were going to realize they hadn’t had any reason to fear.
That recognition would propel them into their future work, knowing they had nothing to fear while Jesus was with them.
Jesus’ words at the end of verse 33 are refreshing.
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
If you live in a world that is in love with sin and you are opposed to that sin, you are going to run into trouble.
That is what happened to Jesus.
The world loved their sin.
Jesus was in every way opposed to their sin.
They killed Him.
That is going to be our lot too. Maybe not death but definitely trouble, persecution, hardship.
Jesus says, “take heart.”
How can someone take heart when they know the world will give them trouble?
Jesus, that very hour, was walking into the most decisive spiritual battle ever!
It is the sinful world under the influence of Satan against the Son of God.
Who will win?
Jesus tells the Apostles before it happens… “I have overcome the world.”
Jesus wins and Jesus reigns.
So, how can we take heart in a life full of tribulation?
By knowing that joining Jesus means we’ve already won.
