John 3:29

3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ¹  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ² 

John 14:28

14:28 You heard me say to you, ³  ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad ⁴  that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. ⁵ 

John 16:20

16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶  you will weep ⁷  and wail, ⁸  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ⁹  but your sadness will turn into ¹⁰  joy.

John 16:22

16:22 So also you have sorrow ¹¹  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ¹² 

[3:29]  ¹ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

[3:29]  ² tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

[14:28]  ³ tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”

[14:28]  ⁴ tn Or “you would rejoice.”

[14:28]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ statement the Father is greater than I am has caused much christological and trinitarian debate. Although the Arians appealed to this text to justify their subordinationist Christology, it seems evident that by the fact Jesus compares himself to the Father, his divine nature is taken for granted. There have been two orthodox interpretations: (1) The Son is eternally generated while the Father is not: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Hilary, etc. (2) As man the incarnate Son was less than the Father: Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, Augustine. In the context of the Fourth Gospel the second explanation seems more plausible. But why should the disciples have rejoiced? Because Jesus was on the way to the Father who would glorify him (cf. 17:4-5); his departure now signifies that the work the Father has given him is completed (cf. 19:30). Now Jesus will be glorified with that glory that he had with the Father before the world was (cf. 17:5). This should be a cause of rejoicing to the disciples because when Jesus is glorified he will glorify his disciples as well (17:22).

[16:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ⁶ tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ⁷ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ⁸ tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “will become.”

[16:22]  ⁷ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ⁸ 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.