John 16:9-20

16:9 concerning sin, because ¹  they do not believe in me; ²  16:10 concerning righteousness, ³  because ⁴  I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 16:11 and concerning judgment, ⁵  because ⁶  the ruler of this world ⁷  has been condemned. ⁸ 

16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, ⁹  but you cannot bear ¹⁰  them now. 16:13 But when he, ¹¹  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ¹²  you into all truth. ¹³  For he will not speak on his own authority, ¹⁴  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ¹⁵  what is to come. ¹⁶  16:14 He ¹⁷  will glorify me, ¹⁸  because he will receive ¹⁹  from me what is mine ²⁰  and will tell it to you. ²¹  16:15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit ²²  will receive from me what is mine ²³  and will tell it to you. ²⁴  16:16 In a little while you ²⁵  will see me no longer; again after a little while, you ²⁶  will see me.” ²⁷ 

16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ²⁸  ‘In a little while you ²⁹  will not see me; again after a little while, you ³⁰  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ³¹  16:18 So they kept on repeating, ³²  “What is the meaning of what he says, ³³  ‘In a little while’? ³⁴  We do not understand ³⁵  what he is talking about.” ³⁶ 

16:19 Jesus could see ³⁷  that they wanted to ask him about these things, ³⁸  so ³⁹  he said to them, “Are you asking ⁴⁰  each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you ⁴¹  will not see me; again after a little while, you ⁴²  will see me’? 16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴³  you will weep ⁴⁴  and wail, ⁴⁵  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ⁴⁶  but your sadness will turn into ⁴⁷  joy.

[16:9]  ¹ tn Or “that.” It is very difficult to determine whether ὅτι (Joti; 3 times in 16:9, 10, 11) should be understood as causal or appositional/explanatory: Brown and Bultmann favor appositional or explanatory, while Barrett and Morris prefer a causal sense. A causal idea is preferable here, since it also fits the parallel statements in vv. 10-11 better than an appositional or explanatory use would. In this case Jesus is stating in each instance the reason why the world is proven guilty or wrong by the Spirit-Paraclete.

[16:9]  ² sn Here (v. 9) the world is proven guilty concerning sin, and the reason given is their refusal to believe in Jesus. In 3:19 the effect of Jesus coming into the world as the Light of the world was to provoke judgment, by forcing people to choose up sides for or against him, and they chose darkness rather than light. In 12:37, at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry in John’s Gospel, people were still refusing to believe in him.

[16:10]  ³ tn There are two questions that need to be answered: (1) what is the meaning of δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosunh) in this context, and (2) to whom does it pertain – to the world, or to someone else? (1) The word δικαιοσύνη occurs in the Gospel of John only here and in v. 8. It is often assumed that it refers to forensic justification, as it does so often in Paul’s writings. Thus the answer to question (2) would be that it refers to the world. L. Morris states, “The Spirit shows men (and no-one else can do this) that their righteousness before God depends not on their own efforts but on Christ’s atoning work for them” (John [NICNT], 699). Since the word occurs so infrequently in the Fourth Gospel, however, the context must be examined very carefully. The ὅτι (Joti) clause which follows provides an important clue: The righteousness in view here has to do with Jesus’ return to the Father and his absence from the disciples. It is true that in the Fourth Gospel part of what is involved in Jesus’ return to the Father is the cross, and it is through his substitutionary death that people are justified, so that Morris’ understanding of righteousness here is possible. But more basic than this is the idea that Jesus’ return to the Father constitutes his own δικαιοσύνη in the sense of vindication rather than forensic justification. Jesus had repeatedly claimed oneness with the Father, and his opponents had repeatedly rejected this and labeled him a deceiver, a sinner, and a blasphemer (John 5:18, 7:12, 9:24, 10:33, etc.). But Jesus, by his glorification through his return to the Father, is vindicated in his claims in spite of his opponents. In his vindication his followers are also vindicated as well, but their vindication derives from his. Thus one would answer question (1) by saying that in context δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") refers not to forensic justification but vindication, and question (2) by referring this justification/vindication not to the world or even to Christians directly, but to Jesus himself. Finally, how does Jesus’ last statement in v. 10, that the disciples will see him no more, contribute to this? It is probably best taken as a reference to the presence of the Spirit-Paraclete, who cannot come until Jesus has departed (16:7). The meaning of v. 10 is thus: When the Spirit-Paraclete comes he will prove the world wrong concerning the subject of righteousness, namely, Jesus’ righteousness which is demonstrated when he is glorified in his return to the Father and the disciples see him no more (but they will have instead the presence of the Spirit-Paraclete, whom the world is not able to receive).

[16:10]  ⁴ tn Or “that.”

[16:11]  ⁵ sn The world is proven wrong concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Jesus’ righteousness before the Father, as proven by his return to the Father, his glorification, constitutes a judgment against Satan. This is parallel to the judgment of the world which Jesus provokes in 3:19-21: Jesus’ presence in the world as the Light of the world provokes the judgment of those in the world, because as they respond to the light (either coming to Jesus or rejecting him) so are they judged. That judgment is in a sense already realized. So it is here, where the judgment of Satan is already realized in Jesus’ glorification. This does not mean that Satan does not continue to be active in the world, and to exercise some power over it, just as in 3:19-21 the people in the world who have rejected Jesus and thus incurred judgment continue on in their opposition to Jesus for a time. In both cases the judgment is not immediately executed. But it is certain.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Or “that.”

[16:11]  ⁷ sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.

[16:11]  ⁸ tn Or “judged.”

[16:12]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or (perhaps) “you cannot accept.”

[16:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:13]  ¹² tn Or “will lead.”

[16:13]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “speak from himself.”

[16:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or will announce to you.”

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

[16:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “That one.”

[16:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “will honor me.”

[16:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “he will take.”

[16:14]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[16:15]  ²² tn Grk “I said he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[16:16]  ²⁵ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”

[16:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “they kept on saying.”

[16:18]  ³³ tn Grk “What is this that he says.”

[16:18]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Or “we do not know.”

[16:18]  ³⁶ tn Grk “what he is speaking.”

[16:19]  ³⁷ tn Grk “knew.”

[16:19]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”

[16:19]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:19]  ⁴² tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:20]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “will become.”