Introduction
‘All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.’ John 16:1-15
Here we find the work of the Holy Spirit. The end is now drawing close for the Lord and He is very aware that He has little time before being separated from the apostles and so, Jesus takes some time to encourage and teach His disciples before the separation.
in John 16:1-4, Jesus refers to the thing He said in the previous chapter, warning that the world will hate the ones who love the Lord, John 15:18-25. As someone once said, ‘forewarned is forearmed.’ He repeats frequent warnings of coming persecution.
The words, ‘fall away,’ John 16:1, is the same word from which we get the word ‘scandal,’ and the same word is used in 1 Corinthians 1:23, a stumbling block.
Jesus holds nothing from them, He seems concerned that the apostles are fully aware of the future, and the horrors which will befall them so that they aren’t discouraged when all doesn’t go their way.
He tells the disciples they will be ‘put you out of their synagogues,’ John 16:2, which means ex-communication. ‘The time is coming when a man who kills you will think he is thereby serving God’, John 16:2 / Acts 23:1 / Acts 26:9.
He prophecies about people trying even to kill them, John 16:2, the most well know of whom was Saul, Acts 9:1-2, later to become the apostle Paul. The reason why the world at large rejected Jesus was never a secret, the people didn’t know God, and thus couldn’t recognise his Son, John 16:3. They could have recognised Him, but refused.
As one rejects the Son he also rejects the father, so sadly, many people missed the truth, even though it was so very close. This statement seems in the light of Peter asking ‘Lord, where are you going’, just a few hours earlier in John 13:36, and Thomas making a similar mention in John 14:5.
He repeats the reason why men will persecute them because they were ignorant of both the Father and Jesus, John 16:3. Then He repeats His reason for warning them of coming trials, that ‘you may remember that I forewarned you’, John 16:4.
However, at the time these questions were asked, the men had a very superficial understanding of Jesus’ destination, they were of the impression that He was going somewhere else on earth, John 16:5-6. Or if they did understand, they may have been too distressed at the time to understand an answer.
Their grief had an element of selfishness, they were thinking more about themselves than about Him, ‘none of you asks me, where are you going?’ John 16:5.
Previously they had asked questions about His departure, John 13:36 / John 14:5. He had then said that He was returning to the Father and would send another Helper, John 14:16-18. Now the truth has been explained, the question needed to be asked again.
The mention of Jesus’ imminent departure had brought sorrow to the apostles as they considered their loss, John 16:6, rather than the joy that comes from an understanding of the world’s gain.
The words, ‘these things’, John 16:6, refer to the predictions of His own departure and for them coming persecution, which had deeply affected them, ‘sorrow filled your hearts’, John 16:6.
In John 16:7-15, we read about the coming of the Spirit.
Jesus says in John 16:7, that ‘it is to your advantage,’ or ‘good for you’, this is the word, ‘sumphero,’ also used in John 11:50. It’s an ‘expedient’, meaning profitable, good for you, His departure was necessary in order that the Holy Spirit might come.
Jesus’ physical presence imposed limitations, e.g. He could only be in one place at a time but in the coming of the ‘Parakletos’, Christ will be able, as Spirit with Spirit to hold with His people everywhere a communion as close as once He did with His immediate disciples, John 14:18 / Romans 8:9-11 / Galatians 4:16.
Jesus now goes on to explain the benefits they will enjoy on His departure, John 16:7. If He were to stay here, the Spirit would not be sent, but Jesus Himself sent the Spirit which enabled them to do greater works, gave greater knowledge and drew them all closer together in their Spirit, John 14:12-28. It also allowed Jesus to prepare a place for them, John 14:3.
The Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt in three ways.
1. Regarding sin.
2. Regarding righteousness.
3. Regarding judgement.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to ‘convince the world’, John 16:8. This is the word, ‘elegcho,’ which is also used in Luke 3:19. It means to, ‘reprove’, John 3:20, ‘expose’, John 5:11, He will be used to prove the world wrong.
1. Sin.
As the word spreads under the guidance of the apostles and later the believers. The Spirit assists people to realise the depth of sin in their lives, 1 John 1:8-10. The result of the realisation is repentance and acceptance of the whole truth, as seen in Acts 2, when men called out ‘brothers what shall we do?’ Acts 2:37.
When the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sinfulness, Romans 3:10 / Romans 3:23, the sinner must do their part in displaying godly sorrow, 2 Corinthians 7:10, where they don’t want to hurt God anymore by sinning against Him.
Notice the particular sin which Jesus is speaking about in John 16:8. It’s the sin of not believing who He is, John 3:16-19. If Jesus is the Son of God, then the greatest sin in the world is to reject Him, Mark 16:16.
2. Righteousness.
If the Holy Spirit didn’t convict people of sin, then people can’t be convicted of righteousness.
The world has its own standards about what is right and wrong, but the problem is we have our own personal standards. We all have different standards of what is right or wrong, but God has one standard, and that standard is what we all should be striving for.
The word, ‘world’, John 16:8, represents the Jews who were about to put Jesus to death. They believed He ought to die, that He was an evildoer and that killing Him and His followers was the right thing to do, we know the opposite was true.
The righteousness that was the Christ’s, was thoroughly stamped on the world the day that Jesus was resurrected, Romans 3:21-23. This victory of the one the world labelled unrighteous would convict the world with respect to true righteousness.
The return of Jesus to the Father was the ultimate proof that He is the perfect pattern or standard of righteousness. When people look at Jesus, they see what God’s standard of holiness is.
And when we accept that no one has lived up to the standard that Jesus set, Romans 3:21-23, the Holy Spirit convicts us that we all have fallen short of His standard.
The Holy Spirit says that all the good things that we do, are just like filthy rags to God, Isaiah 64:6. In other words, the work of the Spirit convicts us that our righteousness is totally insufficient in God’s eyes, 1 John 1:9.
The Holy Spirit helps us turn away from our sins and turn towards God so that we can learn to live right. But we really need to stop measuring our own goodness against other people’s goodness. The Holy Spirit can only convict us of our shortcomings when we start measuring our own goodness with God’s goodness.
3. Judgement.
The world judged the Son guilty and condemned, by doing this the world became guilty of condemning the Father, which is the same as condemning itself. Thus, by staying with the advice given by the devil, stands convicted.
And so, the Holy Spirit is going to remind the world that because they condemned the only righteous man who has ever lived, they were going to be judged too.
He will convince the world of divine judgement, by showing that the ruler of this world stands condemned. Who is the ruler of this world? It’s the devil himself, 2 Corinthians 4:4, and he is used here because he is the ultimate example of evil, the ultimate example of someone rejecting the Father.
He will convince them of divine judgement, by showing that the Prince of this world stands condemned. In the preaching of the Word, the Holy Spirit is counsel for the prosecution! Acts 2:37 / Acts 5:33 / Acts 7:54 / Ephesians 5:17.
The Holy Spirit will convict the world that the devil has already been judged but everyone else who rejects Jesus as their Saviour will be judged too, Matthew 7:21-23.
The Holy Spirit, through His Word, is the One who judges our thoughts and attitude, not me, Hebrews 4:12-13. He wants us to feel convicted because He knows that on judgment day, we too, like the rest of the world will have to give an account of ourself.
He wants to convict us of your sinfulness and unrighteousness like He convicted Isaiah, Isaiah 6:5. He wants to convict you of your sinfulness and unrighteousness like He convicted Peter, Luke 5:8. We’ve got to see ourself as we really are, we’ve got to measure ourself against God’s standards, not our own.
We have no power to convict anyone of anything, and so we must learn to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to do the convicting, 1 Corinthians 2:4.
Only the power of the Holy Spirit working in human hearts can bring about conviction of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment.
In John 16:12-15 Jesus seems weighed down by the burden of all that He wants to tell them. The impression given is that this is a very emotional time for the Lord and He may have been battling to keep back the tears at this point.
He can’t tell all He wants to, because the disciples would not be able to understand it or accept it all in one moment, the volume of information is just too big, John 16:12.
We see that Jesus had a teaching which they were then unable to ‘bear’, and in John 16:13 we see ‘the Spirit of truth’, bringing the divine revelation, 1 Corinthians 2:13.
The Spirit would be with the apostles, they didn’t need all knowledge, but they need all knowledge about Jesus and His mission on earth. And so, the truth in its fullness was made known to the apostles, John 16:13.
The Spirit would guide the apostles ‘into all the truth’, John 16:13. This is a promise to the apostles, not disciples generally, John 14:26 / John 15:27 / Acts 2:4.
We see the Spirit’s ministry is ‘Christocentric’. Through the preaching of the apostles, He will draw attention, not to Himself, but the Lord Jesus, ‘He will glorify me,’ John 16:14.
The words, ‘ it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you’, John 16:14, refer to the revealing to the apostles of all ‘the truth’, John 16:13.
The words, ‘all that the Father has is mine’, or ‘belongs to me’, John 16:15, only makes sense if Jesus has Deity. If not, He was either out of His mind or the most arrogant deceiver ever known.
Jesus and the Father, as well as the Spirit, make up God and as a result, all three have all and equal knowledge. This knowledge will now be shared with the apostles, John 16:15.
The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy
‘Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So, with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day, you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day, you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:16-33
Jesus declares that He is due to leave but that He would return and they now display a partial understanding. They now realise that He is going to the Father but know He is going to return, John 16:16-17.
How this was to be achieved is still a mystery to them, they appear to be very reluctant to ask Jesus to once again give further clarification to this problem. As a result, they quietly ask the question among themselves, John 16:18.
There are two views of the phrase, ‘after a little while you will see me’, John 16:16-19.
1. It refers to His appearance to them after His resurrection, John 20:19-30 / Luke 24:36-49.
2. It refers to His coming in the Person of the Spirit at Pentecost, John 14:16-20.
The apostles are perplexed, and some express their perplexity, ‘What is this that He says to us, what does He mean? We don’t know what He means?’ John 16:18. In other words, they are thinking, if Jesus wishes to establish the Messianic kingdom, why go away? If He doesn’t wish it, why return?
In John 16:19-28, we see the disciples desired to ask the question, but didn’t need to, Jesus was aware of the problem, and to save them perceived embarrassment, He entered into a clear explanation of the situation.
Jesus firstly assures them that the pain that they are to feel as a result of seeing the Lord upon a cross and His suffering will only be temporary, even though the pain had already started.
Soon, He informs them, they will ‘weep and grieve’, whilst ‘the world’, His enemies, would ‘rejoice’, but their sorrow would ‘turn to joy’, John 16:20.
In John 16:21 Jesus uses the illustration of childbirth, His departure, death, would mean agony for them, but that would be forgotten when, after His resurrection, they saw Him again, John 20:20.
He compares their pain to that of a woman in pain, she undergoes great distress discomfort and pain but once the child is born the pain is quickly forgotten as she sees a new life and it turns to joy, John 16:21.
So, will their joy be complete once the Spirit is upon them.
Again Jesus explains the power that will be available to them once this has occurred, He assures them that all will be made clear once the Spirit comes.
The phrase, ‘in that day’, John 16:23, points to the new dispensation, made possible by His death and resurrection. They would no longer have or need, His physical presence. He will then be the ‘One Mediator’, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, in heaven and petitions will be addressed to the Father in His name.
When we conclude a prayer with ‘in the name of Jesus’, we aren’t reciting a magical formula that necessarily makes the prayer acceptable. We are stating the basis of our acceptable approach to the Father, the merits of Jesus, and the fact that through Him, we can speak to God, Romans 5:2 / Ephesians 2:18 / Hebrews 4:14-16.
In John 16:25-30, we read about the apostle’s faith in Jesus. He had been talking to them in Old Testament in ‘figures’, figurative language, proverbs but now He speaks plainly to them, John 16:25. This will be ‘in that day’, John 16:26, the new era which is soon to begin, the Spirit would guide them into all the truth, John 16:13 / John 14:26.
He seems to sympathise with the disciple’s lack of understanding at this point. In John 16:26, Jesus clearly states ‘in that day you will ask in my name.’
The balance of the John 16:26 and John 16:27, seems to almost contradict this, ‘I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf’.
Up to the arrival of the Spirit, the disciples had done little praying as Jesus had done it on their behalf. Now the Son is to return to the Father so He will not be available to do their praying on their behalf.
They will have to pray to the Father themselves with the intercession of the Son. Hebrews 7:24-25 / Hebrews 13:15 and John 14:6, all clearly teach this.
John 16:27 may also cause difficulties for some as it appears as if it teaches that God loves us as a result of our love of His Son and our acceptance of Him.
Well, this is true, but it doesn’t deny that God also loved us before we had accepted His Son or loved Him, Romans 5:6-8, so we are loved by God before and after we develop a love for His Son, John 16:27.
Now Jesus gets right down to the nitty-gritty, He clearly spells out the truth regarding Himself, ‘I came from the Father and entered the world,’ John 16:28.
We now can be totally assured of Jesus’ pre-existence, He came from the Father, and presents Himself to the world as a man, ‘Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father’, John 16:28.
Nothing could be clearer, He explains that He is to return from where He came, leaving the world and returning to the Father. He gives the idea of His own will be fulfilled and not in contradiction to the fathers, ‘I came, I entered, I am leaving, I am going’.
Based on this voluntary obedience that Jesus is in the process of rendering, the Father exercises loving fellowship with those who are His own, fellowship within the Spirit.
We see in John 16:29-33, that finely, the disciples understand. This clear description is at last understood by the disciples for what it was always meant to be. The enthusiasm for the truth now understood overwhelms the concern they had been feeling for the well-being of their mentor.
They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and even more, than believing, they understand, John 16:29-30. The fact that Jesus hadn’t even been asked to clarify the previously misunderstood statements, John 16:17-18, but had known the question they wanted to be answered, isn’t lost on them.
They state that Jesus is omniscient thus He is, He must be God, John 16:30. The dawning of this great fact isn’t lost on Jesus, He too is pleased and celebrates the new understanding but quickly returns to more pressing matters.
They know two things
1. ‘You know all things,’ John 16:30.
2. ‘You do not even need to have anyone ask you questions’, ‘you can read thoughts’, John 16:30.
As a result, they say, ‘we believe that you come from God’, John 16:30 / John 6:68-69.
Jesus asks His disciples, ‘do you now believe?’ John 16:30. This possibly means that He wants them to consider if their faith is as strong as they think it is.
He warns them that soon they will be scattered and He will be abandoned by them, but not by His Father, John 16:30-32 / John 8:29 / Mark 14:27 / Zechariah 13:7.
In John 16:33, we find two locations, ‘in me, peace, ‘eirene’ and ‘in the world, tribulations, ‘thlipsis’. Serving Him in a hostile world would bring them pressure, suffering, and trouble but at the same time, they would enjoy spiritual peace through their union with Jesus.
Jesus ends this discourse with the most encouraging words, ‘but take heart, I have overcome the world,’ John 16:33. We to can take heart, as He overcame the world for us just as much as He did for them. This He did when He conquered death by being raised on the third day, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
The words, ‘take heart’ is ‘tharseo’, and means courage and in its eight occurrences in New Testament, it is used seven times by Jesus, Matthew 9:2 / Matthew 9:22 / Matthew 14:27 / Mark 6:50 / Luke 8:48 / Acts 23:11.
The words, ‘I have overcome the world’ is the word, ‘nikao,’ and it means to conquer, Revelation 2:7 / Revelation 2:11 / Revelations 2:17 / Revelation 2:26 / Revelation 3:5 / Revelation 3:12 / Revelation 3:21.
Literally, Jesus is saying, ‘but keep up your courage, I have won the victory over the world.’ He hadn’t yet died, but He views the coming battle as already won. The words ‘have overcome’, John 16:33, are the past perfect tense denoting an abiding victory.
