John 16:12-33

16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, ¹  but you cannot bear ²  them now. 16:13 But when he, ³  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ⁴  you into all truth. ⁵  For he will not speak on his own authority, ⁶  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ⁷  what is to come. ⁸  16:14 He ⁹  will glorify me, ¹⁰  because he will receive ¹¹  from me what is mine ¹²  and will tell it to you. ¹³  16:15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit ¹⁴  will receive from me what is mine ¹⁵  and will tell it to you. ¹⁶  16:16 In a little while you ¹⁷  will see me no longer; again after a little while, you ¹⁸  will see me.” ¹⁹ 

16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ²⁰  ‘In a little while you ²¹  will not see me; again after a little while, you ²²  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ²³  16:18 So they kept on repeating, ²⁴  “What is the meaning of what he says, ²⁵  ‘In a little while’? ²⁶  We do not understand ²⁷  what he is talking about.” ²⁸ 

16:19 Jesus could see ²⁹  that they wanted to ask him about these things, ³⁰  so ³¹  he said to them, “Are you asking ³²  each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you ³³  will not see me; again after a little while, you ³⁴  will see me’? 16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ³⁵  you will weep ³⁶  and wail, ³⁷  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ³⁸  but your sadness will turn into ³⁹  joy. 16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ⁴⁰  because her time ⁴¹  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ⁴²  has been born into the world. ⁴³  16:22 So also you have sorrow ⁴⁴  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ⁴⁵  16:23 At that time ⁴⁶  you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁷  whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ⁴⁸  16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it, ⁴⁹  so that your joy may be complete.

16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; ⁵⁰  a time ⁵¹  is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you ⁵²  plainly ⁵³  about the Father. 16:26 At that time ⁵⁴  you will ask in my name, and I do not say ⁵⁵  that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 16:27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ⁵⁶  16:28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn, ⁵⁷  I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ⁵⁸ 

16:29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly ⁵⁹  and not in obscure figures of speech! ⁶⁰  16:30 Now we know that you know everything ⁶¹  and do not need anyone ⁶²  to ask you anything. ⁶³  Because of this ⁶⁴  we believe that you have come from God.”

16:31 Jesus replied, ⁶⁵  “Do you now believe? 16:32 Look, a time ⁶⁶  is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, ⁶⁷  and I will be left alone. ⁶⁸  Yet ⁶⁹  I am not alone, because my Father ⁷⁰  is with me. 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, ⁷¹  but take courage ⁷²  – I have conquered the world.” ⁷³ 

[16:12]  ¹ sn In what sense does Jesus have many more things to say to the disciples? Does this imply the continuation of revelation after his departure? This is probably the case, especially in light of v. 13 and following, which describe the work of the Holy Spirit in guiding the disciples into all truth. Thus Jesus was saying that he would continue to speak (to the twelve, at least) after his return to the Father. He would do this through the Holy Spirit whom he was going to send. It is possible that an audience broader than the twelve is addressed, and in the Johannine tradition there is evidence that later other Christians (or perhaps, professed Christians) claimed to be recipients of revelation through the Spirit-Paraclete (1 John 4:1-6).

[16:12]  ² tn Or (perhaps) “you cannot accept.”

[16:13]  ³ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:13]  ⁴ tn Or “will lead.”

[16:13]  ⁵ sn Three important points must be noted here. (1) When the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide the disciples into all truth. What Jesus had said in 8:31-32, “If you continue to follow my teaching you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” will ultimately be realized in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit to the disciples after Jesus’ departure. (2) The things the Holy Spirit speaks to them will not be things which originate from himself (he will not speak on his own authority), but things he has heard. This could be taken to mean that no new revelation is involved, as R. E. Brown does (John [AB], 2:714-15). This is a possible but not a necessary inference. The point here concerns the source of the things the Spirit will say to the disciples and does not specifically exclude originality of content. (3) Part at least of what the Holy Spirit will reveal to the disciples will concern what is to come, not just fuller implications of previous sayings of Jesus and the like. This does seem to indicate that at least some new revelation is involved. But the Spirit is not the source or originator of these things – Jesus is the source, and he will continue to speak to his disciples through the Spirit who has come to indwell them. This does not answer the question, however, whether these words are addressed to all followers of Jesus, or only to his apostles. Different modern commentators will answer this question differently. Since in the context of the Farewell Discourse Jesus is preparing the twelve to carry on his ministry after his departure, it is probably best to take these statements as specifically related only to the twelve. Some of this the Holy Spirit does directly for all believers today; other parts of this statement are fulfilled through the apostles (e.g., in giving the Book of Revelation the Spirit speaks through the apostles to the church today of things to come). One of the implications of this is that a doctrine does not have to be traced back to an explicit teaching of Jesus to be authentic; all that is required is apostolic authority.

[16:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “speak from himself.”

[16:13]  ⁷ tn Or will announce to you.”

[16:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “will tell you the things to come.”

[16:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “That one.”

[16:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will honor me.”

[16:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “he will take.”

[16:14]  ¹² tn The words “what is mine” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:14]  ¹³ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[16:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “I said he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ¹⁵ tn The words “what is mine” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[16:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase after a little while, you will see me is sometimes taken to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus departs, but (as at 14:19) it is much more probable that it refers to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. There is no indication in the context that the disciples will see Jesus only with “spiritual” sight, as would be the case if the coming of the Spirit is in view.

[16:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”

[16:17]  ²¹ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ²² tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ²³ sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.

[16:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “they kept on saying.”

[16:18]  ²⁵ tn Grk “What is this that he says.”

[16:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “A little while.” Although the phrase τὸ μικρόν (to mikron) in John 16:18 could be translated simply “a little while,” it was translated “in a little while” to maintain the connection to John 16:16, where it has the latter meaning in context.

[16:18]  ²⁷ tn Or “we do not know.”

[16:18]  ²⁸ tn Grk “what he is speaking.”

[16:19]  ²⁹ tn Grk “knew.”

[16:19]  ³⁰ tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:19]  ³¹ tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.

[16:19]  ³² tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”

[16:19]  ³³ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:19]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ³⁷ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ³⁸ tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ³⁹ tn Grk “will become.”

[16:21]  ⁴⁰ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ⁴² tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ⁴³ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[16:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ⁴⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.

[16:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “And in that day.”

[16:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:23]  ⁴⁸ sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.

[16:24]  ⁴⁹ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiai") precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.

[16:25]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:25]  ⁵² tn Or “inform you.”

[16:25]  ⁵³ tn Or “openly.”

[16:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “In that day.”

[16:26]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “I do not say to you.”

[16:27]  ⁵⁶ tc A number of early mss (א¹ B C* D L pc co) read πατρός (patros, “Father”) here instead of θεοῦ (qeou, “God”; found in Ì⁵ א*^,2 A C³ W Θ Ψ 33 Ë^1,13 Ï). Although externally πατρός has relatively strong support, it is evidently an assimilation to “I came from the Father” at the beginning of v. 28, or more generally to the consistent mention of God as Father throughout this chapter (πατήρ [pathr, “Father”] occurs eleven times in this chapter, while θεός [qeos, “God”] occurs only two other times [16:2, 30]).

[16:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “into the world; again.” Here πάλιν (palin) functions as a marker of contrast, with the implication of a sequence.

[16:28]  ⁵⁸ sn The statement I am leaving the world and going to the Father is a summary of the entire Gospel of John. It summarizes the earthly career of the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, on his mission from the Father to be the Savior of the world, beginning with his entry into the world as he came forth from God and concluding with his departure from the world as he returned to the Father.

[16:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “openly.”

[16:29]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “not in parables.” or “not in metaphors.”

[16:30]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “all things.”

[16:30]  ⁶² tn Grk “and have no need of anyone.”

[16:30]  ⁶³ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:30]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “By this.”

[16:31]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[16:32]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “each one to his own”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The phrase “each one to his own” may be completed in a number of different ways: “each one to his own property”; “each one to his own family”; or “each one to his own home.” The last option seems to fit most easily into the context and so is used in the translation.

[16:32]  ⁶⁸ sn The proof of Jesus’ negative evaluation of the disciples’ faith is now given: Jesus foretells their abandonment of him at his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (I will be left alone). This parallels the synoptic accounts in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when Jesus, after the last supper and on the way to Gethsemane, foretold the desertion of the disciples as a fulfillment of Zech 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Yet although the disciples would abandon Jesus, he reaffirmed that he was not alone, because the Father was still with him.

[16:32]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).

[16:32]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “the Father.”

[16:33]  ⁷¹ tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.

[16:33]  ⁷² tn Or “but be courageous.”

[16:33]  ⁷³ tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”