16 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.”
17 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’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 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’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “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. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 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.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “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.
33 “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.”
Read John 16:16-33 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During the last real conversation Jesus had with His disciples before being arrested and crucified, the disciples make a statement that is amazingly relevant for all of us living after their generation. While Jesus was trying to help them understand that they were about to be separated, He wanted to make sure that they knew they would see Him again.
But while trying to communicate this with the disciples, John tells us that the disciples talked with each other saying, “We don’t understand what he is saying.” (v. 18b)
This is important for all of us living today because all too often, if Jesus says something that we don’t understand, we are quick to either minimize it, or simply ignore it in favor of what we do understand. However, if there are too many things that are confusing or simply unbelievable to our rational minds, then the temptation is that we may not be able to trust Him.
Jesus knew that in a few hours, everything would be different. The disciples will have all ran away, and He would be facing a trial before being sentenced to death. There was no time to allow them to be confused, so Jesus calls them out on their confusion, and tries to explain it again.
The amazing thing in this passage is that Jesus is patient with the disciples. Jesus is willing to look past their closed minds knowing that after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit will remind them of everything He had said and then it would all make sense.
For me living approximately 2,000 years later, the big thing this passage teaches me is that just because I don’t understand something Jesus said or something that God did does not make Him untrustworthy. God does not want us to be confused, and He is patient and willing to explain His truth to us if we will let Him. Rarely does anything make complete sense during the moments it is happening, but only hindsight can clarify the actual results of a statement, decision, or event. Sometimes, time can allow trust to build, and this happens best when we assume that God has our best interests in mind. With this frame of mind, we begin to see all of His blessings, and His blessings are then able to overshadow life’s challenges and cynicism.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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