John 16:17

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? THEN SAID SOME OF HIS DISCIPLES AMONG THEMSELVES - afraid, perhaps, to question the Lord Himself on the subject, or unwilling to interrupt Him, WHAT IS THIS THAT HE SAITH UNTO US, A LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL NOT SEE ME (OR, 'AND YE BEHOLD ME NOT:') AND AGAIN, A LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL SEE ME: AND, BECAUSE I GO TO THE FATHER?...

16-22 It is good to consider how near our seasons of grace are to an end, that we may be quickened to improve them. But the sorrows of the disciples would soon be turned into joy; as those of a mother, at the sight of her infant. The Holy Spirit would be their Comforter, and neither men nor devils, neither sufferings in life nor in death, would ever deprive them of their joy. Believers have joy or sorrow, according to their sight of Christ, and the tokens of his presence. Sorrow is coming on the ungodly, which nothing can lessen; the believer is an heir to joy which no one can take away. Where now is the joy of the murderers of our Lord, and the sorrow of his friends?...

EXPOSITION JOHN 16:1 (c) _The bitter issues of the hostility of the world_. JOHN 16:1 THESE THINGS. What things? Primarily the explanation he had given of the opposition and hatred of the world, and the vast consolation which he had promised in the identification of the disciples with himself, and the witness which would be borne by the Paraclete; but not exclusively, for they include all the preparatory instructions based on his own Person, his going to the Father, his return in the power of the Spirit. HAVE I SPOKEN TO YOU, THAT YE SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED; that you should not be made to fall over the stumbling block of persecution, and the refusal of the people to hear your message concerning me. For the mome

THEN SAID SOME OF HIS DISCIPLES AMONG THEMSELVES,.... It may be, some of them might better understand the meaning of Christ than others, or they might all be ignorant of it; for before the effusion of the Spirit on them, they were attended with a great deal of ignorance; and what through their being overwhelmed at this time with sorrow, and what with their national sentiments they retained about a temporal kingdom, they understood very little of what Christ said to them concerning his death, the nature, use, and end of it. Wherefore some might make the motion first, and inquire, WHAT IS THIS THAT HE SAITH UNTO US, A LITTLE WHILE AND YE SHALL NOT SEE ME? they knew not what he meant by it, though he had so often and so clearly spoken of his death unto them: and as ignorant were they what he should design by saying, AND AGAIN A LITTLE WHILE AND YE SHALL SEE ME; though he had expressly tol...

This chapter contains some of the most precious words that the Lord Jesus uttered before he died upon the cross. John 16:1. _These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended._ Or, as the Revised Version translates it, «be made to stumble.» Christ would not have his children stumble. There is an offence of the cross, but he would not have us needlessly offended. How careful is our dear Saviour not to give us offence! We ought to be very careful not to offend him; but what condescension it is on his part that he should be careful of offending us, or of permitting us to be offended, or made to stumble. John 16:2. _They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service._ Can you r

CHAPTER 16 1. Persecutions Predicted. (John 16:1 .) 2. The Comforter and His Demonstration. (John 16:7 .) 3. Sorrow and joy. (John 16:16 .) 4. The Father Himself Loveth You. (John 16:23 .) 5. His Final Word before His Prayer. (John 16:28 .) Again He announced coming persecutions. The world is the same today as then, and before this age ends these predictions of our Lord will be again fulfilled, during the great tribulation. The coming of the Comforter is once more announced by Him. He could not come unless the Lord departed.

JOHN 16. There is no break between chs. 15 and 16. Jesus has told them beforehand, so that His death and their suffering may not daunt their faith, as the Baptist was offended by the course of the ministry, which did not correspond to his Messianic expectation. They must expect actual excommunication. Their execution will be thought an acceptable sacrifice to God (_cf._ the Jewish comment on Numbers 25:13, He who sheds the blood of a transgressor should be thought of as if he had offered an offering). There is no reference in John 16:2 to the rebellion of Bar-Kochba (John 5:43 *). This hostile attitude will be due to men's ignorance of God and His Messenger. In after time they will remember His warning. It was not necessary to giv

LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL NOT SEE ME: AGAIN,. LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL SEE ME. On the morrow he would die at the ninth hour; that evening he would be buried, and for "a little while," three days and nights, they would not see him; then he would rise, and for another "little while,". space of forty days before "he went to his Father," they would see him, while he remained on the earth. When he ascended to his Father they, in. spiritual sense, would "see him coming in the kingdom of God." This is all very plain to us, but the apostles, to whom it was yet future, could not understand it....

WARNING AND CHALLENGE (John 16:1-4)...

THEN. Therefore. AMONG THEMSELVES. to (Greek. _pros._ App-104.) one another....