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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Future Persecution (16:1-4)
16:1. τῦαλλλκ ὑῖ: see on 15:11. τῦαcovers all that has been said about future persecution (15:20), as well as about the promise of the Paraclete, who was to bear witness concerning Christ.
ἵαμ σαδλσῆε This image of the σάδλ of faith, the stumbling-blocks which trip up a disciple, is very common in the Synoptists, but in Jn. only here and at 6:61 (cf. 1Jn_2:10). These parting counsels were given in order that they might not be surprised or “offended” when troubles came.
2. ἀουαώοςπισυι ὑᾶ, “they will put you out of synagogue,” i.e. excommunicate you. For ἀουάωο, see on 9:22 and 12:42.
ἀλ ἔχτιὥα “indeed, furthermore, a time is coming.” ἀλ has no adversative sense here, nor must we press ὥαto mean “the predestined time,” as if it were ἡὥα(but cf. v. 4), although, as we have seen (2:4), the idea of the inevitableness of what has been foreordained is a favourite one in Jn. See 4:21.
ἵα i.e. “when”; see note on 12:23.
πςὁἀοτία ὑᾶ, “whosoever killeth you,” whether he be Jew or Gentile.
δξ λτεα ποφρι τ θῷ “shall think (so blind will he be) that he is offering service to God.” (λτεαdoes not occur elsewhere in the Gospels.) Paul’s persecution of the early disciples was a notable instance of such mistaken zeal (cf. Act_22:3, Act_22:4, Act_22:26:9, also 8:1, 9:1). A Midrash on Num_25:13 (cited by De Wette) has the maxim, “Quisquis effundit sanguinem impii idem facit ac si sacrificium offerat.” And among Gentiles the same fanaticism has often displayed itself. Tacitus (Ann. xv. 44) evidently thought that persecution of Christians to their death was morally justified. Many persecutors are sincere, but their sincerity does not excuse them, if they might have learnt the truth, and did not do so.
3. τῦαπισυι ὑῖ. The rec., with א and some vss., retains ὑῖ, which ABΓΘomit. Probably it ought to be retained (cf. 15:21).
ὅιοκἔνσνκλ “because they did not recognise the Father or me.” This is virtually repeated from 15:21 (where see note). That the Jews did not “know” God, and thus did not recognise Divinity in Jesus, has been said several times before (7:28, 8:19); and that “the world knew Him not” (1:10) when He came is the constant theme of the “Gospel of the Rejection.”
Ignorance, or want of appreciation of the true bearing of facts, may often be at the root of wrong doing, and it is wholesome to remember this. “When some one does you an injury or speaks ill of you, remember that he either does it or speaks it, believing that it is right and meet for him to do so. …So you will bear a gentle mind towards him …saying each time, So it appeared to him” (Epictetus, Enchir. 42). Cf. Luk_23:34, Act_3:17, 1Co_2:8.
But the ignorance of the Jews of the true character of Jesus is always treated in Jn. as blameworthy and as deserving of punishment, for they ought to have known.
4. For τῦαλλλκ ὑῖ, see on 15:11. It is preceded by ἀλ, not because what follows is in contrast with what goes before, but as a resumptive particle, v. 3 being in the nature of an explanatory parenthesis.
ἡὥαατνis the true reading (ABΘsyrr.), although ατνis omitted by אΓ, to assimilate the sentence to the more usual ἔθ ἡὥα
τῦαrefers primarily (but cf. v. 1) to the persecutions which have been foreshadowed (15:20, 16:1-3), of which Jesus says that when their hour comes the disciples will remember that He had predicted them. See on 13:19; and cf. 2:22.
ἐώis emphatic, “that I told you.” See Introd., p. cxvii.
τῦαδ ὑῖ ἐ ἀχςοκεπν We cannot distinguish ἐ ἀχςfrom ἀʼἀχςof 15:27 (see on 6:64). The statement is precise: “These things I did not tell you from the beginning”; that is, He did not speak in the early stages of His teaching of the persecutions which would come upon His disciples after He had gone. That is what one would have expected; and the predictions of future persecutions in the Synoptists are mainly found at the close of His ministry, e.g. Mat_23:34, Mar_13:9f. = Luk_21:12f. It is true that Mt. puts his parallel passage to Mar_13:9f. as early as the tenth chapter (Mat_10:17f.); and it is also noteworthy that persecution is foreshadowed in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat_5:10, Mat_5:11, Luk_6:22). But Mt. has rearranged our Lord’s sayings in such contexts as suit the frame of his narrative, and it is not surprising that he has placed the warning about persecution immediately after the charge to the Twelve. Nor is it to be thought that all the reported sayings in the Sermon on the Mount were delivered at one time: the Beatitude of the Persecuted would naturally be one of the last that would have been proclaimed, so austere a saying is it. There is, therefore, no good reason for doubting the statement which Jn. places in the mouth of Jesus, sc. that He did not speak at the beginning of His ministry of the ardua in store for His followers, although the perpetual burden of His exhortation was that they must be ready to “take up the cross.” Cf. 15:18.
The reason assigned for this reserve is ὅιμθ ὑῶ ἤη, “because I was with you.” That is, seemingly, as long as He was there, the attacks of His enemies would be directed against Him rather than against them; persecution of a serious kind would come upon them only after His departure.
The Coming of the Paraclete Consequent on the Departure of Jesus (vv. 5-7)
5. ὑάωπὸ τνπματ μ, repeated verbally from 7:33, where see note on ὑάεν Cf. vv. 10, 17, 28, and 14:12.
κὶοδί κλ κίis used for ἀλ, as often in Jn.: see note on 1:10. These words show that 13:36, 14:5 came after the present chapter in their original setting (see Introd., p. xx); for πῦὑάες is the question put by Peter directly, and indirectly by Thomas at 14:5. At the point which the discourse has now reached, the disciples were thinking rather of themselves and of the dangers in front of them (15:21, 16:2, 3), than of the issue of their Master’s mission.
For the Johannine use of ἐωᾶ, primarily meaning “to ask a question,” see on 11:22.
The “going” of Jesus “to the Father” throughout this chapter refers directly to His Death, when He re-entered the world of spirit (cf. Luk_23:46). This was the moment when His mission was completed: ττλσα (19:30). Jn. lays no stress on the Ascension as distinct from the Resurrection of Christ (although he makes allusion to the Ascension as a specific event, 6:62). See 20:17. For him the hour of the “glorification” of Jesus was the hour of His Passion (cf. 13:31 and 14:7).
6. ὅιτῦαλλλκ ὑῖ, sc. because He had told them of the persecutions which they would experience: see on 15:11.
λπ is found in Jn. in this chapter only (vv. 20, 21, 22); λπ, λπῖ, are never used of Jesus in the Gospels.
7. For the asseveration τνἀήεα λγ, cf. Rom_9:1, 1Ti_2:7. Jesus had used it before, in disputation with the Jews (8:45, 46). Here, however, it introduces with solemnity the enigmatical saying “it is expedient for you that I go away,” and is used like the prelude ἀὴ ἀὴ λγ ὑῖ (vv. 20, 23), which is a feature of the Fourth Gospel (see on 1:51).
σμέε (cf. 11:50, 18:14) ὑῖ ἵαἐὼἀέθ. This was a hard and perplexing saying. The disciples, who had been accustomed to look to Jesus for counsel and guidance in every difficulty, were now told that it would be better for them that He should go away than that He should stay with them. (1) Hitherto, He had trained them for His service by precept and visible example, but this method of spiritual direction was only preliminary. His strange words told them now that there is a better education in discipleship than that which can be supplied by a visible master, whose will for his disciples can never be misunderstood. The braver and more perfect disciple is he who can walk by faith, and not by sight only (cf. 20:29). So much might be reasoned out after reflexion on the way in which Jesus dealt with some would-be disciples who wished to be always by His side (cf. Luk_8:38, Luk_9:57). (2) But the reason assigned by Jesus Himself for the profitableness to His disciples of His departure is quite different. He said that if He did not go away from them, the Paraclete would not come to them, and that the mission of the Spirit could not begin until He had gone. This is one of those profound spiritual sayings in the Fourth Gospel which cannot be fully explained; but we have it hinted at before in the evangelist’s words, “the Spirit was not yet, for Jesus was not yet glorified” (7:39). Why the Spirit’s influence could not be released during the earthly ministry of Jesus, as it was after His Passion and Resurrection, is a question to which no complete answer can be given. Perhaps it provides the supreme illustration of the gospel law that life comes only through death: a principle which is applied by Paul as well as by Jn., when he speaks of the Risen Christ (who had passed through death) as a Quickening Spirit. See further on 7:39 above.1 It has been well said that “the Coming of the Holy Ghost was not merely to supply the absence of the Son, but to complete His presence.”2
ἀέθ. Three verbs are used in this passage (vv. 7-9) of Jesus “going” to God; and attempts have been made to distinguish their meaning. Thus, ἀέχσα is “to depart,” simply; πρύσα is “to journey,” sc. with a definite purpose, the purpose here being the sending of the Paraclete; while ὑάεν the word most commonly used in Jn. by Jesus of His “going to the Father” (see on 7:33), is “to withdraw,” sc. from the visible presence of men. But such distinctions are over subtle; e.g. in 11:8 ὑάενis not used of a withdrawal, but of going to Judæ with a definite purpose. Again, Mar_14:21 has ὑάε where the parallel Luk_22:22 has πρύτι in Tob. 8:21 B has πρύσα, while אhas ὑάεν These verbs are discussed at length by Abbott (Diat. 1652-1664), who endeavours to distinguish the Johannine usage of each: see on 7:33, and cf. 6:67.
ἐνγρμ ἀέθ. After ἐνγρAΓ ins. the emphatic ἐώ as in the preceding clause; but om. אΘ
ὁπρκηο (see on 15:26) οκἐεστιπὸ ὑᾶ. So אΘ but BL have ο μ ἔθ, an even stronger negative.
The language of this passage implies that the mission of the Paraclete, to help and to bear witness, will be of a different order from that influence of the Spirit of God which is a frequent topic of the O.T. writers. His mission will, henceforth, be primarily a mission of witness, bearing testimony to Jesus as the Revealer of God. The Spirit of God had always been at work in the world, inspiring, enlightening, strengthening mankind; but that He was to come as the πρκηο of Jesus and His disciples was a new thing. Henceforth He will come ἐ ὀόαιΧιτῦ(see note on 14:26).
ἐνδ πρυῶ πμωατνπὸ ὑᾶ. See 15:26, where we have ἐὼπμωὑῖ, ὑῖ and πὸ ὑᾶ being identical in meaning. Jn. is apt (see on 3:17) to repeat an important statement in slightly different words.
The Work of the Paraclete (vv. 8-15)
8. In the following verses the work of the Paraclete is predicted in some detail. We have already had His office described as one of witness (15:26): He is to vindicate Jesus to the world. But He is also to vindicate the apostles in the testimony which they are to deliver (15:27). They will be exposed to persecution (16:1, 2); but, notwithstanding this, they will have a powerful advocate by their side (16:7). He will be their πρκηο no less than the πρκηο of Jesus; or, rather, He will be theirs because He is His.
In the Synoptists, this promise of support and Divine help in persecution is recorded more briefly, but quite explicitly. “When they lead you to judgment …be not anxious what you shall speak … for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mar_13:11, Mat_10:19, Luk_12:11, Luk_21:15). Here is assured to the apostles the help of the πρκηο, as the advocate for their defence, who speaks through their mouths. In the present passage Jn. presents this thought more fully. The πρκηο will not only provide their defence, but He will assume the part of the prosecutor, who convicts their accusers and the accusers of Jesus of being in the wrong. All early Christian preaching was, of necessity, apologetic and polemical. The first heralds of the gospel had to defend their new message, and were constrained to attack the Jewish and heathen doctrines in which much of evil was present. Both in defence and attack, the Holy Spirit was their unseen πρκηο.
κὶἐθνἐενςἐέξικλ ἐέχι τν πρ τνς(cf. 8:46) is a classical construction (Aristoph. Plutus, 574), “to convict one of anything.” ἐέχι is to cross-examine for the purpose of convincing or refuting an opponent (the word being specially used of legal proceedings), and the ἔεχςmay be brought to a head by means of witness or testimony.1 Philo speaks of the ἔεχςof a man’s conscience, and in one place identifies it with the Logos (τνσφοιτνἔεχν τνἑυο λγν quod det. pot, c. 40; cf. also c. 8). In another passage (de animal. sacr. idon. 11), when speaking of a penitent going into the Temple, he calls the ἔεχςor conviction of his soul (ὁκτ ψχνἔεχς a “blameless advocate,” πρκηο ο μμτς This brings together the ideas of πρκηο and ἔεχς as in the verse before us.
ἐέξιτνκσο (see on 1:9 for the Johannine use of κσο) πρ ἁατα. Jesus had confidently asked τς…ἐέχιμ πρ ἁατα; (8:46; cf. Luk_3:19 for the constr.); but the Paraclete would definitely convict the world of sin, as Jesus Himself had begun to do while He was in the flesh (7:7). This would not be until the Passion had been fulfilled (cf. 8:28; and see on v. 7 above). An early illustration of this “conviction” is given Act_2:36, Act_2:37, where the crowds who had heard Peter’s inspired preaching were “pricked to the heart”: cf. 1Co_14:24, 1Co_14:25. It will be observed that in vv. 7-11, as well as at 15:26, the Paraclete is spoken of, not as man’s advocate with God (1Jn_2:1), but as Christ’s advocate with the world. See Introd., p. xxi.
9. Abbott (Diat. 2077) notes that in Johannine words of Jesus, μνoccurs only twice (here and at v. 22), in both cases being followed by δ.
πρ ἁατα μν ὅιο πσεοσνεςἐέ This was the sin to which He had just referred (15:22), and which He had already said (15:26) that the witness of the Paraclete would expose. It is the touchstone of moral character to discern God in Christ, as is repeatedly insisted on by Jn.: cf. 3:18, 36, 9:41, 1Jn_5:10. This is “to believe on Him”: cf. 1:12, 4:39, and see 8:24.
The primary thought is of the vindication of Jesus to the world, which shall be “convicted” by the Paraclete of the sin which is inherent in its rejection of Jesus. But, although it is not directly stated here, the fact that the Spirit “convicts” of sin has been the experience of every disciple, as well as of the antagonists, of Jesus.
10. πρ δκισνς Syr. sin. has (at v. 8) “He will reprove the world in its sins and about His righteousness.” This brings out that the δκισν of which the world will be “convinced” to its shame is the δκισν of Christ. It will be “convicted of righteousness” by pointing to Christ the Righteous One (1Jn_2:1, 1Pe_3:18, Act_3:14, Act_7:52). The Jews, as Paul says, were “ignorant of God’s righteousness” (Rom_10:3); they had not perceived that a new type of righteousness had been exhibited in the Person of Jesus, in whom was “no unrighteousness” (7:18 above). But the words used here go deeper.
“He shall convict the world of righteousness, because I go to the Father.” Absolute Righteousness could be revealed only in the Risen Christ. With the Passion, His Revelation of the Father was completed (see on v. 5); and henceforth the Paraclete was to convince the world of the Perfect Righteousness which is in Christ revealed and made accessible to men.
It is apposite to cite here the testimony of one of the most impartial of modern historians. “It was reserved for Christianity,” writes Lecky,1 “to present to the world an ideal character, which through all the changes of eighteen centuries has inspired the hearts of men with an impassioned love; has shown itself capable of acting on all ages, nations, temperaments, and conditions; has been not only the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice; and has exercised so deep an influence that it may be truly said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists.” If we put this tribute into Johannine language, we shall say that the Spirit has convinced the world of the Righteousness of Christ.
ὅιπὸ τνπτρ ὑάω Cf. vv. 5, 16, 17, 19, 28; and see 7:33 for ὑάω After πτρ, the rec. inserts μυ with AΓΘ but om. א
κὶοκτ θωετ μ, “and ye behold me no longer,” sc. with the bodily eyes, for Jesus will have entered into the region of spirit: cf. vv. 16, 17, 19. There is no contradiction between this and ὑεςθωετ μ of 14:19 (q.v.), θωενbeing there used of spiritual vision. See on 2:23 for the various usage of this verb in Jn.
11. πρ δ κίες As the Spirit will convict the world of its sin, and reveal the true δκισν, thereby the spiritual significance of judgment will be disclosed (cf. 5:30, Act_17:31). There is nothing arbitrary in the Divine judgment; it is the inevitable issue of moral laws. Good is not the same as evil, and the sharpness of the distinction is revealed by the Spirit in His assurance of κίι, i.e. separation or judgment. He will convince the world at once of the justice and the inevitableness of God’s judgments.
The world (see 8:23) is not yet judged; but it will be judged at last; and the assurance of this is part of the message of Christ’s Passion; for in this, which was apparently defeat but really victory, ὁἄχντῦκσο τύο (cf. 12:31, 14:30 for this title) κκια, “the prince of this world has been judged.” See on 12:31, where this has been said before, in similar words; and cf. 13:31, where the Passion is regarded as already begun. For this aspect of the Passion, that it is the defeat of the Evil One, cf. Heb_2:14, “that through death He might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” In later times, pious imagination played round the idea of the defeat and judgment of Satan, and the legend of the Harrowing of Hell, first found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, was widespread. All that is said in Jn. is κκια, “he has already been judged” (cf. Luk_10:18), and this will issue in final expulsion from the domain over which he claims rule (12:31).
In the fifth century Freer MS. (W), which contains the last twelve verses of Mark, there is interpolated after Mar_16:14, in which Jesus has rebuked the unbelief of the disciples, a remarkable passage which recalls the order of ideas in Joh_16:8-11, as follows: “And they excused themselves, saying that this age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who, through the agency of unclean spirits, does not allow the true power of God to be apprehended. Wherefore, they said to Christ, reveal now Thy righteousness. And Christ said to them, The limit of the years of Satan’s authority has been fulfilled (ππήωα ὁὅο τνἐῶ τςἐοσα τῦΣτν), but other terrors (δῖα draw near, and I was delivered up to death on behalf of those that have sinned, that they may be turned to the truth and sin no more, so that they may inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory of righteousness in heaven. But go ye into all the world, etc.” Here we have a complaint of unbelief caused by Satan, to be cured by the revelation of Christ’s righteousness, to which Christ replies that Satan’s power is ended, that is, “he has been judged” (Joh_16:11). The impending “terrors” may be the persecutions foretold in Joh_16:2, Joh_16:3. In this apocryphon there may be preserved an independent tradition of words recorded in Joh_16:2-11.
12. ἔιπλὰἔωὑῖ λγι κλ So א but the rec. has λγι ὑῖ. The constr. is thoroughly classical; cf. Demosth. Olynth. ii. τ μνἄλ σωῶ πλʼἄ ἔω επῖ.
At 15:15 Jesus had assured His disciples that He had withheld from them nothing of His Father’s purpose, but this was necessarily subject to the reservation that there were some matters which they could not understand. All revelation is subject to the condition “Quicquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis.” So He now tells them that there are many things which they cannot yet bear (cf. 1Co_3:2). βσάενis used figuratively (as at Act_15:10) of “bearing” a mental burden; see on 12:6. For ἄτ, see on 9:19: its position here at the end of the sentence gives it emphasis.
The words of this verse show that the full Christian message is not contained in such teaching as, e.g., is found in the Synoptic Gospels. That marks a stage only in the revelation of God in Christ. If the challenge “Back to Jesus” means that we may safely neglect the interpretation of His gospel put forth by the Christians of the Apostolic age, then it is misleading. It is part of the teaching of Jesus Himself, if Joh_16:12 truly expresses His mind, that much would be learnt of Divine things under the guidance of the Spirit, which could not have been taught with profit during His public ministry on earth.
13. We have here a new thought as to the office of the Paraclete. Hitherto He has been presented as the vindicator of Jesus to the world, by His witness (15:26), and His convincing and convicting power (16:9-11). But now He appears in a different capacity, sc. as a Guide and Teacher of the faithful (vv. 13-15). Cf. 14:26, where a short summary is given of what is said more fully here as to the office of the Spirit in relation to the Church.
ὅα δ ἔθ ἐενς τ πεμ τςἀηεα. This is repeated from 15:26, where see the note.
ὁηήε ὑᾶ εςτνἀήεα πσν So AB, but the rec. has πσντνἀήεα. ἐ τ ἀηεᾳπσ is read by אΘ and supported by many O.L. texts: a reading perhaps due to the greater frequency of ἐ than εςafter ὁηέ in the Psalms (e.g. 5:8, 27:11, 67:4, 106:9, 119:35).
The Vulgate rendering docebit uos omnem ueritatem has been thought to represent δηήεα ὑῖ τνἀ. πς a reading which is found in Cyril Hier. (Cat. xvii. 11) and in Eusebius, but which is not supported by any extant Greek MS. of the Gospel. Wordsworth and White (in loc.) suggest that we have here a trace of a Greek MS. used by Jerome which is now lost, but the inference is doubtful.1 Neither δηέμιnor ὁηέ are used elsewhere by Jn., but the true Greek reading may be taken to be ὁηήε ὑᾶ εςκλ The Spirit is represented as the Guide or Leader who points the Way (ὄο) to the Truth (ἀήεα Christ being Himself both the Way and the Truth (14:6).
In Rev_7:17 ὁηενis used of the Lamb leading the saints to fountains of living water; but the thought and the language of the verse before us seem to go back to the O.T. conception of the Divine leadership of Israel as a whole and of individual Israelites, which is so often expressed in the Psalms. Cf. Psa_143:10 τ πεμ συτ ἄιν(v.l. ἀαό) ὀηήε μ ἐ τ εθί, Psa_25:5 ὁήηό μ ἐὶτνἀήεά συ See also Psa_107:7.
We have a similar phrase in Philo (de vit. Mos. iii. 36), who says that sometimes a guess is akin to a prophecy, for the mind would not hit on the point so directly, were not a divine spirit leading it towards the truth, ε μ κὶθῖνἦ πεμ τ πδγτῦ πὸ ατντνἀήεα.
In this verse, then, the work of the Paraclete as a guide is brought into close relation with what is said in the Psalms (especially Psa_143:10) as to the work of the Spirit of Yahweh. The Paraclete is not explicitly identified with the “Holy Spirit,” a Name familiar to every Jew, until 14:26; but what is said at this point prepares us for the identification.
ὁηήε ὑᾶ κλ “He will guide you” sc. the apostles, to whom the words were addressed. It is natural, and in a sense legitimate, for modern readers to give the promise a wider reference, and to interpret it of a gradual revelation of the truth to the Church under the guidance of the Spirit.2 But it is not clear that the author of the Fourth Gospel would have recognised such an interpretation of the words which he records. For him, the revelation to the apostles after the Descent of the Spirit was final and complete (cf. 20:22 and Heb_1:1). In any case, by “all the truth” is meant here “all the truth about Christ and His Gospel”; the thought of the gradual revelation of scientific truth, and the ever-increasing knowledge of the works of God in nature, is not present in the text. The promise to the apostles did not mean, e.g., that they would be divinely guided into all truth as to economic law or as to the distribution of property (Act_4:35). See further on 14:26.
ο γρλλσιἀʼἑυο. This is the reason why the guidance of the Paraclete is sure and trustworthy in the things of God and Christ. As the Son did not speak “of Himself” (12:49, 14:10, and cf. 7:17, 5:19), so the Spirit will not speak “of Himself.”
ἀλ ὅαἀοσιλλσι So BDW; the rec. has ἅαἄ ἀοσ Θhas ὅαἄ ἀοσι א read ἀοε. “Whatsoever He shall hear (sc. from God), that will He speak”; cf. 8:26, where Jesus says, “The things which I heard from Him, these I speak unto the world.” Westcott calls attention to the difference of tense, ἤοσ at 8:26, ἀοσιhere. In the former passage, the message which the Son had to deliver was complete and definite, but here the thought is of a message being enlarged from time to time. This is attractive, but it is not certain (see above) that this thought of the continuous education of the Church was really present to the mind of the evangelist.
κὶτ ἐχμν ἀαγλῖὑῖ. It was popularly believed that Messiah when He came would reveal new truths: cf. ἀαγλῖἡῖ πνα(4:25, where see note; and cf. 16:25 for ἀαγλεν “to report”). Here it is thrice repeated (vv. 14, 15) that the Spirit’s office will also include that of “declaring” or “reporting” Divine things.
To report τ ἐχμν is to predict the future, so that prophecy in the sense of prediction is included here in the work of the Paraclete. This is the only place in Jn. where any of the Pauline χρσααof the Spirit is mentioned (cf. 1Co_12:29, 1Co_12:30); and Wendt would treat the words τ ἐχ…ὑῖ as an editorial addition, regarding them as out of harmony with the context.1 But we have already seen that the description of the Paraclete’s office as “guiding into truth” recalls O. T. phrases as to the work of the Holy Spirit, a main part of which, to Jewish thought, was the inspiration of the prophets. That it should be said of the promised Paraclete τ ἐχμν ἀαγλῖὑῖ is entirely in harmony with the identification of Him with the Divine Spirit (cf. Rev_1:1, Rev_22:6).
To Jewish thought the expected Christ was ὁἐχμνς the Coming One (Luk_7:20, Joh_6:14); and to Christian thought He is still ὁἐχμνς for He is, in some sense, to come again. There is a hint of apocalyptic prevision of the Last Things in τ ἐχμν ἀαγλῖ such as Jn. keeps in the background for the most part, although we have it in the Synoptists (Mar_13:26). See Introd., p. clix.
14. ἐενςἐὲδξσι The Spirit was not to come until Jesus had been “glorified,” i.e. in His Passion (7:39); but thenceforth every fresh revelation of the Spirit, all new insight into the meaning of Christ’s gospel, would be a fresh “glorification” of Christ, an enlargement of man’s sense of His majesty. As the Son had “glorified” the Father while He was on earth (17:4), so the Spirit will “glorify” the Son after He has departed from human vision.
ὅιἐ τῦἐο λμεα κὶἀαγλῖὑῖ. This “glorification” will be brought about by the Spirit’s revelation of Christian truth. The advanced Christology of the Pauline Epistles, and of the Fourth Gospel itself, as compared with that to which the apostles had attained before the Passion, is a signal illustration of this.
See 14:22, where the question of Jude shows that very different thoughts as to the future “glorification” of Jesus filled the hearts of the apostles. They expected a visible manifestation in glory, which should convict the world and put it to shame.
15. πναὅαἔε ὁπτρἐάἐτν This is the perpetual claim of the Johannine Christ, repeated once more at 17:10. So Paul can speak of “the unsearchable wealth of the Christ” (Eph_3:8).
δὰτῦο referring to what precedes (see on 5:16). “Wherefore I said that (ὄιrecitantis) He takes of mine and shall show it unto you,” repeated from v. 14, with the slight verbal change of λμάε (BDLNWΘ for λμεα of v. 14 (which is retained by the rec. with א the Latin vss., and Syr. sin.). This repetition of a striking phrase, a word or two being altered, is a feature of Johannine style (see on 3:16).
ἀαγλῖὑῖ, thrice repeated at the end of vv. 13, 14, 15, is like a solemn refrain, calling special attention to the revealing office of the Spirit.
The Disciples’ Perplexity as to Jesus’ Return (vv. 16-19)
16. μκό, “a little while”; see on 7:33, 13:33, 14:19. Jesus dwells again and again on the nearness of His Passion.
οκτ is the true reading at this point (אΘ but the rec. has ο (assimilated to v. 17), with AΓ. κὶοκτ θωετ μ is here repeated from v. 10.
“A little while, and ye no longer behold me,” sc. with the bodily eyes (see on 2:23 for θωεν On the day after these words were spoken, He would meet death, after which they would no longer be able to look upon His face as heretofore. It is to be observed that οκτ (see on 4:42) always means “no longer” in Jn., sc. that the action in question is discontinued; it does not necessarily mean “never again.”
κὶπλνμκὸ κὶὄεθ μ, “And again, a little while,” sc. the period between His Death and His Resurrection, “and ye shall see me.” ὄτμι a verb always used in Jn. of the vision of spiritual realities (see on 1:51), now takes the place of θωεν πλνδ ὄοα ὑᾶ, Jesus says, in like manner, at v. 22. The “seeing” of the Risen Lord in His spiritual body, and His “seeing” of His disciples after His Resurrection, are more suitably expressed by ὄτσα than by θωεν(although cf. 20:14).
The rec. adds (from v. 10 or v. 17), after ὄεθ μ, ὅιἐὼὑάωπὸ τνπτρ, with ANΔ; but the phrase is not found at this point in א or Pap. Oxy. 1781.
17. The disciples were puzzled. ὑάωπὸ τνπτρ (v. 10) seemed to indicate a final withdrawal of His visible presence, and yet He used the word μκό (v. 16), which suggested that it would be only temporary.
επνονἐ τνμθτνατῦκλ We must supply τνς For a similar elliptical construction, cf. 7:40; and for πὸ ἀλλυ, cf. 4:33.
They repeated the enigmatic words of Jesus to each other, being unable to catch their meaning.
Note that they quote Jesus as having said Μκὸ κὶο (not οκτ) θωετ μ, and Jesus is represented in verse 19 as repeating ο θωετ. This provides one more illustration of Jn.’s habit of altering slightly a striking phrase when it is reproduced for the second or third time (see on 3:16). Such verbal alterations are not to be taken as indicating a subtle change of meaning; they exemplify merely the freedom of Jn.’s style.
18. τ ἐτντῦο So אΘand Pap. Oxy. 1781; but the rec. has τῦοτ ἐτν with A.2Δ
ὅλγι τ μκό; “What is this that He says, this word μκό?” τ before μκό singles out the word as the point of difficulty.
οκοδμντ λλῖ (See on 3:11 for the frequent inter-changeability of λγι and λλῖ in Jn.) “That which is quite clear to us was to them all mystery. If Jesus were about to found an earthly kingdom, why should He depart? If not, why should He return?” (Godet).
19. ἔν Ἰσῦ ὅικλ He recognised that the disciples wished to interrogate Him (see below on v. 23 for ἐωᾶ). Cf. 2:24.
The rec. adds ονafter ἔν, with AΔ but om. א For ον Θhas δ. Also the rec. has ὁbefore Ἰσῦ, with אΘ but om. BLW and Pap. Oxy. 1781. See on 1:29; and cf. 6:15.
The repetition of phrases in vv. 16-19 is quite in the Oriental manner of narrative. The crucial word μκό is repeated 7 times; and “A little while, and ye behold me not, and again, a little while, and ye shall see me,” is said 3 times over. Although the Fourth Gospel is thoroughly Greek, the Semitic undertone is often present.
Words of Comfort and Hope (vv. 20-24)
20. In the answer which Jesus gives to the bewildered disciples, He fixes on the word μκό, which was the centre of their difficulty, and says nothing about the meaning of “I go to the Father.” Their short time of sorrow at His departure will be followed by a season of joy. That is enough for them to know at the moment.
ἀὴ ἀή κλ See on 1:51.
καστ κὶθηήεε These are the verbs used of the loud wailings and lamentations customary in the East after a death. They both occur Jer_22:10; for καενsee on 11:31, and for θηενcf. 2Sa_1:17. That the women lamented for Jesus (ἐρνυ ατν on the way to the Cross is told Luk_23:27; and that they were wailing (καεν on the morning of the Resurrection is mentioned Mar_16:10; cf. Joh_20:11 Μρά …καοσ. Pseudo-Peter (§12) adds that the apostles also exhibited their sorrow by weeping, ἡες…ἐλίμνκὶἐυομθ. It is plain that καστ κὶθηήεεin the present passage refers to the grief which the disciples will display when their Master is taken from them.
ὁδ κσο χρστι but the hostile world, i.e. the Jewish adversaries of Jesus, will rejoice that the Prophet whom they hate (15:18) has been removed.
ὑεςλπθσσε referring to the inward grief which they will feel (cf. 21:17, the only other place where the verb is found in Jn.). ὑεςis emphatic.
ἀλ ἡλπ ὑῶ εςχρνγνστι So it came to pass. ἐάηα ο μθτὶἰότςτνκρο (20:20). Cf. ἀὸπνοςεςχρν(Est_9:22; and see Jer_31:13). See also 2 Ezr_2:27.
21. ἡγν, sc. any woman, what follows being universally true; Cf. ὁκκο (12:24) or ὁδῦο (15:15). Abbott (Diat. 1948) takes the article as indicating that it is the woman of a household, i.e. the wife, that is in question. But this is to miss the point.
The image of a woman in travail is frequent in the O.T., where the suddenness and inevitableness of travail pains are often mentioned (e.g. Isa_26:17, Isa_26:2 Esd. 16:38); but the thought of the joy which follows the pain does not occur except here. Some expositors have thought that the Birth of the Church and the travail pains of the Passion are contemplated in this passage (cf. Isa_66:7, Hos_13:13, Mar_13:8); but it is over subtle and inconsistent with the context to bring in such an idea. The apostles were not in travail with the Church that was to be. The true (and only) exposition of this beautiful image is given in the verse which follows. The image provides a familiar and touching illustration of the truth that pain is often the necessary antecedent to the supreme joys of life.
22. κὶὑεςον For the constr. see 8:38. This is the application of the image of the joy which follows the pain of childbirth. “You now, indeed (for μν see on v. 9), have grief,” but presently you will rejoice. ἔεε(אΔ is to be preferred to ἔεεof אΘ
πλνδ ὄοα ὑᾶ. Here is even a greater promise than ὄεθ μ of v. 16: it is better to be seen of God than to see Him (cf. Gal_4:9). This was the promise of Jesus, that He would see His disciples after He was risen.
κὶχρστιὑῶ ἡκρί The phrase is identical with that of Isa_66:14 (ὄεθ, κὶχρστιἡκρί ὑῶ: cf. also Psa_33:21) Cf. 20:14-16, when the promise was fulfilled in the first instance. Such joy is inalienable, οδὶ αριἀʼὑῶ, the future which is certain being represented by a present tense. Nevertheless BD*N Pap. Oxy. 1781 have ἀε, which Westcott adopts. But אΔ and Pap. Oxy. 1228 give αρι W has ἀέε.
23. ἐ ἐεν τ ἡέᾳ This phrase occurs again at v. 26, and at 14:20; and in each case it signifies the day when the Spirit has been released, Jesus having been “glorified” (see on 7:39). The teaching of the Fourth Gospel is that the moment of consummation of the work of Jesus is the moment of His Death: ττλσα (19:30). After His Resurrection, He gave the Spirit to the assembled disciples: λβτ πεμ ἅιν(20:22). The Day of Pentecost is described in Act_2 as a Day when a special gift of spiritual power was manifested, and there is nothing in Jn. which is inconsistent with such a manifestation. But for Jn. the Day of the Spirit’s Advent is the Day of the Resurrection of Jesus; and to introduce the thoughts of what happened at Pentecost into the exegesis of these Last Discourses is to make confusion. ἐ ἐεν τ ἡέᾳsignifies the new Dispensation or Era of the Spirit, which began with the Resurrection, to the thought of Jn.
ἐὲοκἐωήεεοδν ἐωᾶ may mean either “to ask a question,” as often in Jn. (1:19, 21, 25, 5:12, 9:2, 15, 19, 21, 23, 16:5, 19, 30, 18:19, 21), or “to entreat, to beseech, to ask a boon” (as at 4:31, 40, 47, 12:21, 19:31, 38). We have already noted (on 11:22) that it is the verb used of the prayers of Jesus by Himself (16:26, 14:16, 17:9, 15, 20), but that it is not used elsewhere in the Gospel of the prayers of men (cf., however, 1Jn_5:16).
Hence ἐὲοκἐωήεεοδνmay be translated in two ways:
(1) “In that day ye shall ask me no questions,” as they had desired to do, v. 19; cf. v. 30. When the Paraclete came, they would no longer need to ask Jesus questions, such as those addressed to Him at 13:36, 14:5, 22; for the Spirit would teach them all things (14:26, 16:13). But this seems to break the sequence of thought, and there is no mention of the Spirit in the immediate context. Further, as Field points out, the emphatic position of ἐέbefore the negative and the verb, naturally suggests a comparison with τνπτρ in the next clause.
(2) It is better to render, “In that day, ye shall ask nothing of me.” The visible company of Jesus would be withdrawn, so that they would no longer be able to ask favours of Him or proffer requests to Him, face to face. But there is a great compensation, and its promise is introduced by the solemn prelude ἀὴ ἀὴ λγ ὑῖ (see on 1:51). They can henceforth have direct access to the Father, and whatever they ask of Him, the due conditions of Christian prayer being observed (see on 15:16), shall be given.
The view that the contrast is between “asking me” and “asking the Father” has been rejected by some commentators because ἐωᾶ is used in the first case, and ατῖ in the second. But (see on 11:22) these verbs are not sharply distinguished in later Greek (cf. Act_3:2, Act_3:3 for an illustration of their being used interchangeably). The general purport of the teaching of these discourses is that it will be spiritually beneficial for the disciples that their Master should depart (16:7). New sources of knowledge and spiritual power will henceforth be available for them. They will be empowered to achieve great things on earth (14:12), and their prayers will have a potential efficacy, such as could not have been before it was possible to offer them in the Name of Jesus.
δσιὑῖ ἐ τ ὀόαίμυ This is the order of words in אΔ and is supported by Origen and the paraphrase of Nonnus. The rec. has ἐ τ ὀόαίμυδσιὑῖ, with AC3DNWΓ, the Syriac and Latin vss. generally.
If we adopt the former reading, which prima facie has the weight of MS. authority, the natural rendering of the sentence is, “If you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in my Name.” This is difficult of interpretation. It is true that Jesus speaks later of “the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my Name” (14:26, where see note), but that is a way of speaking which has parallels at 5:43, 10:25. To say that the Father gives in the Name of the Son a boon which has been sought in prayer is unlike anything elsewhere in the N.T. It is not adequate to interpret this as meaning only that the Son is the medium through which prayer is answered as well as offered. That is true in a sense (see on 14:13), but to speak of the Father acting ἐ ὀόαιτῦυο is foreign alike to Johannine doctrine and to Johannine phraseology. The phrase ἐ τ ὀόαίμυoccurs 15:16, 16:23, 24, 26, 14:13, 14, 26 (7 times in all) in these Last Discourses; and in every case (except the last, 14:26, to which reference has already been made) it has reference to the essential condition of Christian prayer, sc. that it should be offered “in the Name” of Christ.
The Greek, however, does not necessarily require us to connect ἐ τ ὀόαίμυhere with δσιὑῖ, even if δσιὑῖ precedes ἐ τ ὀόαίμυ For we have seen above (on 12:13) that ελγμνςὁἐχμνςἐ ὀόαικρο must be rendered “Blessed in the Name of the Lord is He that cometh,” ἐ ὀόαικρο being taken with ελγμνς although ὁἐχμνςimmediately precedes. In the present passage, in like manner, it is legitimate to take ἐ τ ὀόαίμυwith ατστ τνπτρ, although δσιὑῖ immediately precedes. The meaning, then, is exactly similar to that of 15:16 ἵαὅτ ἂ ατστ τνπτρ ἐ τ ὀόαίμυδ ὑῖ. See notes on 14:13, 15:16. And that this is here also the true sequence of words is confirmed by the next verse, where Jesus goes on to say that hitherto the apostles had asked nothing in His Name. See on 20:31.
24. For ἓςἄτ, cf. 2:10, 5:17.
Hitherto they had asked nothing in the Name of Jesus. They could not have done so, nor had they before this been taught to do so. The dispensation of the Spirit had not yet begun. Not yet could a Christian disciple say δʼατῦἔοε τνποαωὴ …ἐ ἑὶπεμτ πὸ τνπτρ (Eph_2:18).
ατῖε “Be asking,” the pres. indicating continuous prayer; κὶλμεθ, “and ye shall receive.” The new mode of prayer has a more certain promise of response than anything that had gone before, although ατῖεκὶδθστιὑῖ (Mat_7:7) had bee