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| Chapter 16 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not lose faith. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. "And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go My way to Him that sent Me, and none of you asketh Me, ‘Whither goest Thou?’ 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 ¶ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. 8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they believe not in Me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to My Father and ye see Me no more; 11 concerning judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 However when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come. 14 He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are Mine; therefore I said that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you. 16 ¶ "A little while, and ye shall not see Me; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father." 17 Then said some of His disciples among themselves, "What is this that He saith unto us, ‘A little while, and ye shall not see Me; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me,’ and, ‘because I go to the Father?’" 18 They said therefore, "What is this that He saith, ‘A little while?’ We cannot tell what He saith." 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous of asking Him, and said unto them, "Do ye inquire among yourselves of what I said, ‘A little while, and ye shall not see Me; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me?’ 20 Verily, verily I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 ¶ And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name. Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs; but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day ye shall ask in My name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me and have believed that I came out from God. 28 ¶ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." 29 His disciples said unto Him, "Lo, now speakest Thou plainly and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that Thou knowest all things and needest not that any man should ask Thee. By this we believe that Thou camest forth from God." 31 Jesus answered them, "Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." |
John starts this chapter by reminding the readers why he wrote this letter, that the world was beginning to hate the Christian, they must prepare for this but not lose their faith. v2 To be put out of the synagogue for a Jew was very serious, separation from the Jewish family. "the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." Saul of Tarsus Acts 26:9-11; Gal 1:13; Phil 3:6 is an example of this in New Testament Times, but it is even more obvious in today’s world. v3 These people do not know about Christ and that He is the Son of God, this does not make an excuse for their action. v4 John reminds the readers of the promises of Jesus, "I will be with you" when these things happen. As He said this just before He went away this was very important. v5,6 When Christ left the earth physically He would go back to be with the Father who had sent Him. This fact had not entered the minds of the disciples, they were still not able to take in of his soon departure, they were so sad and confused and so did not ask "Where are you going." v7,8 The end of His ministry on earth and the departure of Jesus back to the Father was a disadvantage to the disciples way of thinking, but when Jesus left, the Father was able to let the Holy Spirit come to His children. This was to change the disciples from frightened men to powerful tools for the spread of the ‘Good News.’ The Holy Spirit was to convict the world of their wrong and sin. The work of the Spirit to bring people to the saving grace of God through Jesus. Acts 2:37. v9 The world was rejecting Christ at the time He was opening the door to the Fathers grace. They were so blind to His ministry that they were even calling Jesus a sinner as they nailed Him to the cross. v10 The proof that Jesus was not a sinner was that the Father received Jesus back in to glory Rom 1:4; Rom 4:25; 1 Tim 3:16. v11 When Jesus was crucified those who did it said that there was no apparent interference from God, they felt this confirmed their judgement but in fact it was Satan who was being judged, Christ had claimed back the world for the Father and paid the price. Final Judgement is only a matter of time. v12 Though Jesus had revealed many things to come He felt that the disciples would not yet be able to take any more at this time. v13 The Spirit of Truth was to be sent after the death and resurrection of Jesus, The Holy Spirit would do the rest of the teaching. "He shall not speak from Himself" The Spirit will not try to initiate (start) the things He will teach, but like the Son, v15, will pass on the information given to Him by God the Father. This means that all believers are being taught by the Father 1 Thess 4:9. v14 Just as the life and actions of Christ were done to glorify the Father, so the Spirit will glorify Christ. Therefore any believers life or ministry, if it claims to be a spirit filled life, must always give glory to Christ. v15 The truths taught by Jesus came from the Father and explained the thoughts and actions of the Father, so when the teaching is done by the Spirit it gives all the truth. v16 Jesus turns back to preparing the disciple of His coming departure, "You will not be able to see me for a little while, but I’ll come back." ‘A little while’ appears often in the next verses. They will not be able to see Him while He is buried, but then resurrection and they will see Him again, but He will be different. v17,18 The disciples still could not understand what He was saying, they were too scared to openly ask Jesus so were asking each other what He meant. v19,20 Jesus can see and knows of their problems, He offers extra information but it may have been even more confusing to them for He said that they would be sad and weeping for a little, while the world would rejoice. Rev 11:10. But the thing which brought them sadness would soon turn to joy as they saw the cross as salvation. v21 Jesus give a human example, the woman in labour has great pain but forgets this at the joy of the birth of the child. Is there any meaning when Jesus says ‘a man is born’ not a child as Christ was to be the first born from the dead. Col 1:18. v22 The joy you will have will never be taken away from you, just as the disciples had even when Jesus went up to heaven Luke 24:51-53. v23,24 "In that day," Jesus was referring to the time after He returns to the Father. It appears that during the 40 days He spent with the disciples after His resurrection, they just did not ask questions, but the Father was still to be available afterwards through prayer in His Name. v25 Jesus had realized that they were not able to understand what was about to happen so he had used proverbs (example stories) or sayings but things were about to change, after the return of Jesus to the Father the disciples and those seeking would be taught clearly by the Spirit. v26,27 Prayer would be offered in the Name of Jesus, but not in the sense that Jesus would be acting as way of overcoming a ‘wall’ before the Father, but the Father loves His children and is prepared to allow direct contact because they had loved and believed His Son. v28-30 The plan of God the Father and ministry of Jesus is simply stated, from God to earth, now back to the Father was about to happen. "We understand that" is the response of the disciples. The disciples thought that they now have some special knowledge, they do not need to ask anyone for they understood and believed that Jesus was from God the Father. v31,32 But Jesus tells them that their belief is not that strong, in a little time your belief will fail you and you will run away and leave me alone. But I will not be alone as the Father will be with me. v32 Jesus has been telling them about the coming events so that they will understand and be peaceful. "You are about to go through a time of trial, but do not worry I have already won, the world cannot win." The coming victory of Christ would give them the peace that they needed. |
Easy English Translation
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