John Chapter 16
The Departing Jesus’ Final Teaching
A. More on the Work of the Holy Spirit
1. (John 16:1–4) The Reason for Jesus’ Warning: Certain Persecution
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
Jesus begins this section by explaining why He has given such difficult and sobering words to His disciples: “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” He wanted His followers to be prepared, not blindsided, by the hatred of the world. The term stumble translates the Greek skandalon, which referred to the trigger of a trap that could suddenly spring when least expected. Jesus was warning His disciples that if they were not spiritually prepared, persecution could ensnare them like a trap and cause them to fall into discouragement or unbelief.
He then foretells the reality of persecution: “They will put you out of the synagogues.” For Jewish believers in Christ, to be expelled from the synagogue was no small matter. The synagogue was the center of community, worship, and even civic life. To be excluded was to become an outcast socially and religiously. Importantly, Jesus makes clear that His disciples would not choose to leave the synagogue, but rather, they would be driven out for His sake. This would fulfill what He had already said about the world’s hatred of those who follow Him (John 15:18–20).
Jesus intensifies the warning by saying, “Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.” This chilling statement reveals the depths of spiritual blindness. Some would not merely excommunicate believers but murder them, sincerely believing they were acting in devotion to God. This was dramatically fulfilled in the life of Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted Christians with zeal, dragging men and women to prison and consenting to their deaths (Acts 8:1–3; Acts 22:3–5; Acts 26:9–11). Saul genuinely believed he was honoring God by persecuting Christians until he encountered the risen Christ. Jesus uses the word latreia for “service,” the same word used in the Greek Old Testament for the sacred service of priests in the temple. Thus, He was saying that the murder of His followers would be carried out as if it were temple worship, an act of supposed piety.
The Lord explains the reason for this hatred: “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” Here, Jesus exposes the root of religious persecution. Those who persecute true believers do so not out of a true knowledge of God, but out of ignorance of Him. They may be zealous, but it is a zeal without truth, as Paul later wrote about Israel, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). To reject Jesus Christ is to reject the Father also, no matter how outwardly religious one may appear.
Jesus then comforts His disciples by telling them the benefit of this warning: “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” The disciples, when faced with persecution, would recall that their Lord had predicted it all. This would strengthen their faith, showing that none of these events took Him by surprise. The gospel of Christ is glorious, but it provokes hostility because the world is in rebellion against God. Jesus did not hide this reality from His disciples. He did not want them to mistake persecution as a failure of His plan, but rather to see it as the fulfillment of His Word.
Finally, Jesus adds, “And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” In the early stages of their walk with Him, the disciples were shielded from the full weight of the world’s hatred because Jesus Himself bore the brunt of it. Now that He was departing, He prepared them more directly. While He was with them, His presence absorbed the hostility. But as He prepared to return to the Father, He transferred the reality of persecution onto them, together with the promise of the Spirit’s sustaining power.
This passage underscores the sober truth that persecution is not an accident of history but part of the Christian calling. Yet, Jesus forewarns and prepares His people so that they may stand firm and not stumble when the hatred of the world comes against them.
2. (John 16:5–7) Jesus Explains the Benefits of His Departure
“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
Jesus now turns His disciples’ attention away from the immediate grief they feel and toward the eternal purpose of His departure. He says, “But now I go away to Him who sent Me.” His words emphasize not only His return to the Father but also the fulfillment of His divine mission. He had come from the Father (John 13:3), and now He was returning, showing the completion of His work of redemption. The disciples, however, were still focused on their own loss rather than the glory of His return to the Father.
Jesus continues, “And none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’” On the surface, this appears contradictory, since Peter had asked earlier, “Lord, where are You going?” (John 13:36), and Thomas had asked a similar question (John 14:5). Yet here, Jesus is not referring to the mere words of a question but to the heart and intent behind it. Peter and Thomas were focused on what His departure meant for them, not on what it meant for Him. Their concern was self-centered: “What will become of us?” rather than Christ-centered: “What is awaiting You in glory?” As one commentator observes, Peter’s earlier question “had not really indicated a serious inquiry as to Jesus’ destination. He had in mind only the consequences for himself and his fellows.” Their grief prevented them from grasping the triumph of His return to the Father.
Jesus acknowledges their state: “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” The disciples were overwhelmed with the immediate sense of loss. Their sorrow was genuine, yet short-sighted. They were unable to see beyond the cross to the resurrection and the sending of the Spirit. Jesus, with patience, recognized their grief but sought to lift their eyes to the greater reality of God’s plan.
Then He utters one of the most startling statements in the Gospel: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away.” The word nevertheless is a hinge of hope, a challenge to their sorrow and their unbelief. Despite their inability to comprehend how His departure could be good, He assures them it is not merely beneficial for Him but for them. This must have been profoundly difficult for the disciples to accept. How could the arrest, trial, scourging, crucifixion, and burial of their beloved Lord be to their advantage? Yet from God’s eternal perspective, this was the only way salvation could be secured, and the Spirit could come.
Jesus explains further: “For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” The Helper, the Holy Spirit, could not be given until the work of the Son was completed. The Spirit’s ministry depends upon the finished work of Christ on the cross and His exaltation at the right hand of the Father. It was necessary for Jesus to go away bodily so that His universal presence could be mediated through the Spirit. As one commentator notes, “The withdrawal of the bodily presence of Christ was the essential condition of His universal spiritual presence.”
This truth also carries several practical benefits for believers:
The Spirit’s universal presence. If Jesus remained bodily on earth, His presence would be limited to one place at one time. By sending the Spirit, He can be with every believer, in every place, at every moment. This fulfills His promise, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
The Spirit’s ministry of illumination. The Holy Spirit enables believers to understand, recall, and apply the teachings of Christ. Were Jesus still bodily on earth, His words would fill endless volumes, overwhelming us. Instead, the Spirit applies the truth of Christ to our hearts personally and practically.
The Spirit cultivates faith rather than sight. Paul says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). If Jesus were present bodily, believers would be tempted to rely on physical sight instead of spiritual faith. But now, through the Spirit, we trust in Christ’s unseen presence and promises.
The Spirit empowers transformation. Before Pentecost, the disciples were often confused, fearful, and self-centered. After the Spirit was poured out, they became bold, wise, and surrendered servants of Christ. Truly, the Spirit accomplished in them what the physical presence of Jesus had not yet done.
Thus, Jesus’ departure was not a defeat but a victory. His leaving opened the door for the Spirit’s coming, ensuring a greater blessing for His people than they could ever imagine. What seemed like loss was actually gain, what seemed like sorrow was in reality joy, and what looked like defeat was eternal triumph.
3. (John 16:8–11) The Work of the Holy Spirit in the World
“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Jesus describes here one of the central works of the Holy Spirit in relation to the world: conviction. The Spirit will expose and lay bare the truth about humanity’s condition. “He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Each of these three truths addresses a fundamental reality: sin reveals the truth about man, righteousness reveals the truth about God, and judgment reveals the unavoidable result of these two realities coming together. While every human conscience retains some faint awareness of guilt, of right and wrong, and of the inevitability of judgment, these impressions are weak and often distorted. Only the Holy Spirit brings the sharp, unavoidable conviction that unmasks sin, magnifies God’s righteousness, and warns of impending judgment.
The Greek word translated convict (elencho) carries a wider meaning than our English word “convict.” It means to expose, to refute, and to convince. The Spirit’s work is not only to accuse but to press truth upon the heart until the sinner sees himself as God sees him. This is why resistance to the Spirit’s conviction is so dangerous. In times of revival, for example, the Spirit’s work becomes particularly powerful, stripping away false assurances and awakening consciences. Before conviction, a person may lightly admit, “I make mistakes, but no one is perfect.” After conviction, that same person cries, “I am a guilty rebel against God, utterly lost unless Christ saves me.” The Spirit functions as the Advocate for the believer, but in relation to the unbelieving world, He is the prosecutor, revealing the reality of guilt.
Jesus explains this work in detail: “Of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” Unbelief is the essence of sin. It is not merely intellectual doubt but the willful refusal to trust God’s appointed Savior. The Spirit makes clear that rejecting Christ is not a minor difference of opinion, but the central act of rebellion against God. This is why Scripture emphasizes faith in Christ as the decisive dividing line. As Paul says, “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4–5). The Spirit convinces the heart that failing to believe in Christ is not simply unfortunate, it is damning. A sinner truly convicted of unbelief becomes, in Spurgeon’s words, “a jewel that will adorn the crown of the Redeemer.”
Next, Jesus says, “Of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more.” The ascension of Jesus proves His perfect righteousness and vindication by the Father. During His earthly life, Jesus was slandered as a deceiver, accused of breaking the law, of being demon-possessed, and even of being illegitimate. But His resurrection and return to the Father vindicated Him completely. The Spirit now testifies to the world that Jesus was not a criminal but the Righteous One, as Peter boldly proclaimed at Pentecost: “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). In Him righteousness is no longer an abstract code of commandments but a Person who perfectly fulfilled the Father’s will. The Spirit presses upon hearts both the beauty of Christ’s righteousness and the bankruptcy of their own.
Finally, Jesus declares, “Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” Satan, the god of this age, has already been judged at the cross. His doom is sealed, and his final destruction is certain. Therefore, the Spirit warns the world that judgment is not hypothetical but inevitable. To side with the world is to follow a condemned ruler and to share in his fate. Yet here is the gospel’s glory: conviction of judgment is not meant to drive sinners to despair but to drive them to Christ, in whom judgment has already been satisfied. As Paul wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
In summary, the Spirit’s work in the world is both gracious and severe. He strips away illusions, unmasks sin, vindicates Christ, and announces Satan’s defeat. Those who listen and repent find forgiveness and life. Those who resist cling to a sinking ship.
4. (John 16:12–15) The Work of the Holy Spirit among the Disciples
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
Jesus acknowledges the limits of His disciples’ present understanding: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” This is not a denial of truth but a recognition of their weakness. The disciples were overwhelmed with sorrow (John 16:6) and spiritually immature, not yet ready to receive the fullness of divine revelation. Here Jesus points forward to the continued teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, which would be necessary after His departure. This anticipates the inspiration of the New Testament, in which the Spirit would guide the apostles into a fuller understanding of the gospel.
This statement also addresses the error of those who claim, “I will take only what Jesus taught, but not what Paul or the others wrote.” Jesus Himself promised that His teaching would continue through the apostles by the Spirit. For example, the disciples could not yet understand that the ceremonial customs and laws of Israel would be fulfilled in Christ and thus no longer binding under the New Covenant (Colossians 2:16–17; Acts 15:28–29). Nor could they yet grasp that Gentiles would be brought into the covenant family as full equals without first becoming Jews (Ephesians 3:6). These truths, later revealed through the Spirit, show the continuity between Jesus’ words and apostolic teaching.
Jesus then assures them: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” This promise had a unique, apostolic fulfillment when the New Testament was completed as the written record of Spirit-inspired truth (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21). At the same time, the Spirit continues to illuminate Scripture for every believer, leading us into understanding and obedience. Importantly, He never leads in contradiction to Scripture, since God’s authoritative revelation is complete and closed in the New Testament canon.
The Spirit’s role is not autonomous: “For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak.” The Spirit does not invent a message apart from the Father and the Son, but faithfully communicates the divine will. This guarantees unity within the Trinity. The Spirit, though distinct in Person, speaks with the same authority as the Father and the Son, bearing witness to their eternal agreement.
Jesus adds, “And He will tell you things to come.” This does not mean the Spirit would satisfy human curiosity about every future detail but that He would disclose the great realities of God’s plan in the new covenant. Through the Spirit, the apostles were given prophetic insight into the future of the church, the spread of the gospel, and even the consummation of all things (as seen in the book of Revelation). The Spirit’s guidance prepared them to navigate life without the visible presence of Christ but with His continual guidance through the Word.
Jesus then centers the Spirit’s ministry on Himself: “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” The Spirit never exalts Himself, never distracts from Christ, but always magnifies the Lord Jesus. This provides a critical test for discerning true spiritual experiences. Any dream, vision, or supposed revelation that does not glorify Jesus is not of the Spirit. As one commentator noted, “It is being the work of the Spirit to testify and to declare the things of Christ; not anything new and beyond Him.” The Spirit draws our attention to Christ’s person, His work, and His glory.
Finally, Jesus declares, “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” This statement affirms His equality with the Father. All that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son, which would be blasphemous if Jesus were not truly divine. Because of this unity, the Spirit can faithfully reveal Christ to us, since in doing so He reveals the very heart of the Father. Thus, the Spirit mediates to the believer the reality of the Triune God: the Father’s authority, the Son’s redemptive work, and the Spirit’s illumination.
In summary, Jesus promises His disciples that the Spirit would be their teacher, their guide into all truth, their revealer of what was to come, and the One who would continually glorify Christ. This work was vital for the apostles and remains essential for every believer. Without the Spirit’s guidance, Scripture would remain veiled, but with His illumination, the glory of Christ shines forth in every page.
B. Jesus Prepares the Disciples for His Coming Challenge on the Cross
1. (John 16:16–18) Jesus Tells Them of His Immediate, Brief Departure
“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” They said therefore, ‘What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”
Jesus speaks of a “little while,” referring to the events that would unfold within hours. His arrest, trial, and crucifixion would lead to a sudden absence. Their eyes would no longer behold Him as He was taken from them and executed. Yet He assures them, “again a little while, and you will see Me,” pointing to His resurrection appearances and ultimately to His ascension to the Father. What would seem like a devastating end would be followed by the triumph of life.
The disciples, however, were perplexed. “We do not know what He is saying.” They struggled to make sense of His words because they could not yet comprehend the necessity of His death and resurrection. Their expectations of the Messiah leaned heavily on immediate kingdom glory, not on suffering and rejection. To them, His words seemed like riddles, and their confusion grew as they whispered among themselves, “What is this that He says to us?”
Jesus’ phrase “you will not see Me” reminds us that in the dark hours between His death and resurrection, the disciples’ faith faltered. Their spiritual vision dimmed, and they no longer beheld Him by faith any more than the unbelieving world did. Their despair was so great that they returned to hiding, thinking the mission was lost. Yet His promise, “you will see Me,” was literally fulfilled when He appeared to them in His risen body. As Trench observed, this was not merely spiritual sight but physical—bodily eyes beholding the risen Lord in triumph over death.
Their bewilderment highlights the limits of human understanding apart from the Spirit’s illumination. Even though Jesus had foretold His death and resurrection repeatedly (Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:33–34), the disciples could not yet receive it. The Greek wording shows that they “kept asking” one another what He meant, revealing their restless anxiety and the fact that the discourse unfolded more like a dialogue than a simple lecture. Their hearts were troubled because their expectations did not align with the will of God.
This moment captures the tension between the hidden wisdom of God’s plan and the inability of human reason to grasp it apart from divine revelation. To the disciples, the idea that Jesus would go away and then return seemed contradictory. As one commentator notes, “Where for us all is clear, for them all was mysterious. If Jesus wishes to found the Messianic kingdom, why go away? If He does not wish it, why return?” Their confusion is a reminder that the cross, though foretold, was a stumbling block to Jewish expectation (1 Corinthians 1:23). Only after the resurrection, and especially after the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost, would these words become clear.
2. (John 16:19–22) Jesus Explains the Coming Sorrow Being Turned into Joy
“Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, ‘Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me”? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.’”
Jesus, knowing the hearts of His disciples, addresses their unspoken confusion. “Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him.” Though they whispered among themselves, He revealed His awareness of their questions and their need for reassurance. Their problem was not merely intellectual; it was spiritual. They did not need just clearer information but preparation for the emotional and spiritual trial that awaited them.
He tells them plainly: “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” Their sorrow would be profound, the deepest grief of their lives. They would mourn at the arrest, suffering, and death of their beloved Lord, while the unbelieving world—represented by the religious leaders and the Romans—would gloat over His death. Their rejoicing would be hollow and temporary, but the disciples’ sorrow would be genuine and piercing.
Yet Jesus promises, “Your sorrow will be turned into joy.” Notice the wording: their sorrow would not simply be replaced by joy, as though one emotion were exchanged for another. Rather, the very thing that produced sorrow—the cross—would become the foundation of their joy. By the resurrection, the darkest moment of history would be transformed into the brightest. This is the pattern of God’s redemptive work: He brings triumph out of tragedy, life out of death, joy out of sorrow.
To illustrate, Jesus uses the picture of childbirth: “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” The pain of labor is real and unavoidable, but it is also purposeful. The very pain is directly connected to the joy that follows. In the same way, the disciples’ grief at the cross would be necessary and intense, but it would give way to the incomparable joy of the resurrection. Just as no mother laments her labor when holding her newborn, so the disciples would not lament the cross when beholding the risen Christ.
Then He assures them: “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” The disciples’ sorrow was temporary, their joy eternal. Their reunion with the risen Lord would be so sure, so undeniable, that it would transform them into bold witnesses willing to endure persecution and even death. Indeed, after Pentecost, the apostles never spoke of Christ’s death with regret but proclaimed it as the very heart of the gospel (Acts 2:23–24). Their testimony was marked by unshakable joy, rooted in the certainty of His resurrection.
The phrase, “your joy no one will take from you,” is profound. Human joys often fade, circumstances rob us of happiness, and trials steal away comfort. But resurrection joy is untouchable. The world cannot remove it, death cannot silence it, and Satan cannot overcome it. It is anchored in the unchanging reality of the risen Christ.
3. (John 16:23–27) Jesus Promises Greater Joy Regarding Their Coming Access to God After His Departure
“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
Jesus begins with the promise, “And in that day you will ask Me nothing.” The phrase “that day” points to the time following His resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, when the disciples’ relationship with God would be transformed. At the resurrection, their confusion would give way to understanding, and their questions would be replaced with certainty. But Jesus is not closing access to Himself; instead, He is opening a new, fuller access to the Father through His name.
He continues, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” This was revolutionary. Until this point, the disciples had not prayed in the name of Jesus. To pray in His name means to come before God on the basis of Jesus’ authority, His atoning work, and His mediation. It does not mean merely attaching the phrase “in Jesus’ name” to a prayer, but approaching the Father in full recognition that Christ is the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). The cross would establish this access, and the resurrection would confirm it.
Jesus adds, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” The disciples had prayed, but they had not yet entered into the new covenant reality of prayer through Christ’s finished work. Soon, they would be able to pray with the full authority of His name, and this would bring them fullness of joy. Their joy would not merely be emotional relief but the deep satisfaction of knowing they were heard and answered by the Father Himself. This joy flows directly from communion with God.
He clarifies further: “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.” Up to this point, Jesus had often used parables, metaphors, and symbolic language that the disciples did not fully grasp. After the resurrection and the Spirit’s coming, He would reveal plainly the Father’s character, purposes, and love. Their knowledge of God would be deepened in a way that was not possible before the cross.
Jesus then provides remarkable assurance: “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you.” This does not mean Christ ceases to intercede (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), but rather that believers do not need to fear a distant or reluctant Father who must be persuaded by the Son. The cross reveals that the Father Himself loves His children. The Son intercedes not to change the Father’s mind but to apply what the Father has already purposed in love. The cross demonstrates not that God was reluctant to save but that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
Finally, Jesus explains, “because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” The Father’s love toward His disciples is not earned by their imperfect love, but their love for Jesus is the evidence of God’s prior love for them. Just as a pulse reveals the heartbeat, so the believer’s love for Christ reveals the reality of the Father’s love at work within. Their belief that Jesus came forth from God marked them as recipients of that love, showing they had entered into true relationship with Him.
In this promise, Jesus presents prayer as a profound privilege of the new covenant. Through His death and resurrection, believers are invited into the Father’s presence, welcomed in love, and assured of hearing and answering. Prayer in the name of Jesus is both a duty and a joy, designed to deepen our fellowship with God and fill our hearts with unshakable gladness.
4. (John 16:28–32) The Disciples Proclaim Their Faith; Jesus Places It in Perspective
“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”
Jesus offers in verse 28 a succinct summary of His entire redemptive mission: “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” Each phrase carries immense theological weight. “I came forth from the Father” affirms His divine preexistence and eternal glory with the Father before the Incarnation (John 1:1–2). “And have come into the world” points to the Incarnation itself, the Son taking on true humanity in order to dwell among us (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6–7). “Again I leave the world” refers to His coming death and departure from earthly life. Finally, “and go to the Father” speaks of His resurrection, ascension, and exaltation at the Father’s right hand. In one verse, Jesus encapsulates the movement of salvation history: from glory to humility, from humiliation to glory again. As Morgan observed, in these sentences “we have a declaration of the whole redemptive progress of the Son of God.”
Hearing this plain statement, the disciples respond with relief: “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” For them, this simple summary felt like the clarity they longed for. They were sincere in their profession of faith, but their confidence was premature. They thought they had grasped the fullness of His mission, but they had yet to face the testing of their faith. As Morgan noted, they were perfectly sincere in their belief, yet Jesus knew their faith was more fragile than they realized.
Jesus responds with gentle realism: “Do you now believe?” This can be read as a question or as a statement—either way, He acknowledges the reality of their faith while warning of its weakness. “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone.” In only a short time, their bold words would give way to fear, and their professed loyalty would collapse into self-preservation. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when soldiers arrived to arrest Jesus, they would flee (Matthew 26:56). What seemed firm in the safety of the upper room would falter under pressure. Yet Jesus did not recount this to shame them but to prepare them, so that when they looked back, they would remember that He had foretold their weakness and still loved them.
The phrase “each to his own” captures the tragic self-centeredness of their scattering. Instead of standing with their Lord, each disciple would retreat into his own concerns, leaving Jesus apparently alone. Spurgeon remarked on the painful irony: when Jesus did not need their help, they were eager companions, but when He truly needed faithful friends, they vanished. Yet even in His abandonment, He stood resolute: “He has come to save, and He will save. He has come to redeem, and He will redeem. He has come to overcome the world, and He will overcome it.”
Yet Jesus closes with a profound assurance: “And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” Even as He faced betrayal, denial, desertion, and crucifixion, He rested in the unbroken fellowship of the Father. This confidence carried Him through His darkest hours. Spurgeon beautifully compared this to Abraham walking with Isaac toward Mount Moriah: “So they went both of them together.” In the same way, the Eternal Father walked with His Son as He went to Calvary. Though forsaken by men, He was never forsaken by the Father until the moment of bearing sin on the cross, when He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Even then, the Father’s purpose and presence sustained Him unto victory.
Thus, in this passage we see the disciples’ sincerity mixed with weakness, and Christ’s unshakable confidence in the Father. It is a reminder that our faith, however frail, is sustained not by our own strength but by Christ’s fidelity and the Father’s presence.
5. (John 16:33) The Triumphant Conclusion to Jesus’ Farewell Discourse
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus closes His farewell discourse with words of triumph and reassurance. After teaching His disciples at length, He now summarizes the purpose of His message: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.” Though His arrest, trial, and crucifixion were mere hours away, He offered His followers a gift they could not find in the world—peace. This peace is not dependent on outward circumstances but is rooted in union with Him. At that very moment Judas was completing his betrayal, soldiers were preparing to seize Him, and the cross loomed in sight, yet Jesus spoke not of panic or defeat but of peace. He possessed it in Himself and extended it to His disciples.
Importantly, Jesus did not command peace as though it were automatic; He offered it: “that in Me you may have peace.” Believers may fail to experience this peace if they look elsewhere for comfort or if they allow fear and doubt to dominate. But peace is found only in Christ. As Paul later wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). In Christ, believers are reconciled to God and no longer under condemnation. This peace also extends horizontally, reconciling believers to one another, as Paul declared, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Ephesians 2:14). Thus, Jesus’ peace encompasses reconciliation with God, harmony with others, and calm within ourselves, even in the midst of storms.
Yet Jesus speaks honestly of reality in this fallen world: “In the world you will have tribulation.” He does not hide the difficulties of discipleship behind false promises of ease or prosperity. Tribulation—pressure, affliction, opposition—is inevitable for those who belong to Him. To follow Christ means to share in His sufferings, to face hostility from a world that hated Him first (John 15:18–20). Understanding this truth keeps us from false expectations. Many Christians stumble when trials come, as if something strange had happened to them, but Jesus makes it plain: “you will have tribulation.” The Christian life is not a life of uninterrupted comfort; it is a life of struggle and conflict, yet sustained by supernatural peace.
Then, with boldness, He exhorts them: “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” This statement, uttered on the eve of His betrayal, is breathtaking in its confidence. Jesus speaks as if the victory were already accomplished, though the cross still lay ahead. His death would look like defeat, but in reality it would be the decisive victory over sin, Satan, and death. His resurrection would confirm this triumph. As Paul later wrote, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).
Notice that Jesus does not tell His disciples to “cheer up” because they will overcome the world, but because He has overcome the world. Their victory would be derivative of His. By faith, His triumph becomes theirs. He overcame in His sinless life, in His atoning death, and in His glorious resurrection. He overcame where no one else could, defeating the world at its strongest point. As Spurgeon said, “He overcame the world when nobody else had overcome it.”
This promise became central to John’s later writings. The Greek word nikeo (“to overcome”) appears only here in the Gospel of John but occurs repeatedly in his epistles and Revelation. For example, John wrote, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). And in Revelation, Christ promises reward “to him who overcomes” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26). The foundation of all these exhortations is Jesus’ declaration here: “I have overcome the world.”
Finally, Jesus’ words remind us that the world “conquers” us when it distracts us from God, absorbs our desires, or blinds us to eternity. But in Christ, who has already secured victory, we find peace and courage. His triumph assures us that even in tribulation, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). Therefore, we can face the trials of life not with despair but with good cheer, knowing that our Lord has already won the ultimate battle.
