John 7:33

7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, ¹  and then ²  I am going to the one who sent me.

John 8:21

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ³  said to them again, ⁴  “I am going away, and you will look for me ⁵  but will die in your sin. ⁶  Where I am going you cannot come.”

John 12:35

12:35 Jesus replied, ⁷  “The light is with you for a little while longer. ⁸  Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. ⁹  The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

John 13:33

13:33 Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me, ¹⁰  and just as I said to the Jewish religious leaders, ¹¹  ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ ¹²  now I tell you the same. ¹³ 

John 16:16

16:16 In a little while you ¹⁴  will see me no longer; again after a little while, you ¹⁵  will see me.” ¹⁶ 

John 16:22

16:22 So also you have sorrow ¹⁷  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ¹⁸ 

[7:33]  ¹ tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”

[7:33]  ² tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:21]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ⁴ tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.

[8:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ⁶ tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.

[12:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”

[12:35]  ⁸ tn Grk “Yet a little while the light is with you.”

[12:35]  ⁹ sn The warning Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you operates on at least two different levels: (1) To the Jewish people in Jerusalem to whom Jesus spoke, the warning was a reminder that there was only a little time left for them to accept him as their Messiah. (2) To those later individuals to whom the Fourth Gospel was written, and to every person since, the words of Jesus are also a warning: There is a finite, limited time in which each individual has opportunity to respond to the Light of the world (i.e., Jesus); after that comes darkness. One’s response to the Light decisively determines one’s judgment for eternity.

[13:33]  ¹⁰ tn Or “You will seek me.”

[13:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem in general, or to the Jewish religious leaders in particular, who had sent servants to attempt to arrest Jesus on that occasion (John 7:33-35). The last option is the one adopted in the translation above.

[13:33]  ¹² sn See John 7:33-34.

[13:33]  ¹³ tn The words “the same” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[16:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:16]  ¹⁶ 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.

[16:22]  ¹⁷ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ¹⁸ 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.