King James Version
John 16
33 verses with commentary
The Work of the Holy Spirit
These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. offended: scandalized or, made to stumble
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That ye should not be offended</strong> (ἵνα μὴ σκανδαλισθῆτε, <em>hina mē skandalisthēte</em>)—Jesus warns disciples to prevent them from stumbling or falling away. The verb <em>skandalizō</em> means to cause to sin or apostatize, derived from <em>skandalon</em> (a trap-stick, snare). Christ's forewarning serves as spiritual inoculation against persecution.<br><br>The phrase <strong>these...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **These things have I spoken unto you.**—Comp. Note on John 15:17. Here, too, the reference is to the things which he had just said (John 16:17-27). He had foretold them of the hatred of the world and also of the witness of the Spirit.
**That ye should not be offended.**—Comp. Matthew 11:6; Matthew 13:21; Matthew 24:10, *et al.* In St. John the word occurs only here and in John 6:61.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Put you out of the synagogues</strong> (ἀποσυναγώγους ποιήσουσιν, <em>aposynagōgous poiēsousin</em>)—this compound word (<em>apo</em> = from, <em>synagōgē</em> = assembly) describes formal excommunication, the severest form of Jewish discipline. For first-century Jews, this meant complete social, religious, and economic ostracism from the covenant community.<br><br><strong>Think that he do...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **They shall put you out of the synagogues.**—Comp. Notes on John 9:22; John 12:42.
**Will think that he doeth God service.**—Better, *will think that he offereth to God a sacrificial service.* The word rendered “doeth” in the Authorised version, is the technical word for offering sacrifice. (Comp., *e.g.,* Notes on Matthew 5:23; Matthew 8:4.) The word rendered “service” means the service of w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They have not known the Father, nor me</strong> (οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν πατέρα οὐδὲ ἐμέ, <em>ouk egnōsan ton patera oude eme</em>)—the aorist tense of <em>ginōskō</em> (to know) points to their decisive failure to recognize God. This is relational knowledge, not mere information. Jesus identifies the root cause of religious persecution: ignorance of God's true character as revealed in Christ.<br>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Because they have not known the Father, nor me.**—Comp. Note on John 15:21. He repeats that ignorance of God is the cause of the world’s hatred and persecution, and adds here that it is ignorance of God revealed in Himself. There is a special force in the mention of this ignorance in connection with the previous verse. Men think that in exclusion, and anathemas, and persecutions, and deaths ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-15. Know ye what I have done?--**that is, its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the time shall come, ye may remember</strong> (ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἡ ὥρα αὐτῶν μνημονεύητε, <em>hotan elthē hē hōra autōn mnēmoneuēte</em>)—the verb <em>mnēmoneuō</em> (to remember, recall) is subjunctive, suggesting purpose: Jesus spoke these warnings so that when persecution arrived, disciples would remember His words and find their faith strengthened rather than shaken. Fulfilled prophecy be...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **But these things have I told you . . .**—He recurs to the thought of John 16:1. (Comp. also John 13:19; John 14:29.) He strengthens them by forewarning them. When the persecution comes they will remember His word, and find in it support for their faith and evidence of His presence with them.
**These things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.**—While with them, He wo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-15. Know ye what I have done?--**that is, its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I go my way to him that sent me</strong> (ὑπάγω πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντά με, <em>hypagō pros ton pempsanta me</em>)—the present tense <em>hypagō</em> (I am going) emphasizes the immediacy and certainty of Jesus's departure via cross, resurrection, and ascension. The Father is consistently described as 'the one having sent me' (perfect participle <em>pempsanta</em>), underscoring Christ's mission ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **But now I go my way to him that sent me.**—(Comp. John 13:1; John 14:12.) The work of His apostleship on earth was drawing to its close, and He was about to return to the Father from whom He had received it. This was to Him matter of joy, and if they had really loved Him would have been so to them. They would have thought of the future before Him, as He was then thinking, in the fulness of H...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-15. Know ye what I have done?--**that is, its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Sorrow hath filled your heart</strong> (ἡ λύπη πεπλήρωκεν ὑμῶν τὴν καρδίαν, <em>hē lypē peplērōken hymōn tēn kardian</em>)—the perfect tense of <em>plēroō</em> (to fill) indicates a completed state: grief has completely saturated their hearts. The word <em>lypē</em> denotes pain, grief, and sorrow. Jesus diagnoses their condition with pastoral precision before offering the remedy (verse 7'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Sorrow hath filled your heart.**—The thought of their own separation from Him, and of the dark future which lay before them, so filled their hearts that it left room for no thoughts of Him, and the brightness of the glory to which He was returning.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-15. Know ye what I have done?--**that is, its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Persecution foretold.(1-6)
The promise of the Holy Spirit, and his office.(7-15)
Christ's departure and return.(16-22)
Encouragement to prayer.(23-27)
Christ's discoveries of himself.(28-33)
**Verses 1-6**
Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for t...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
Christ declares His departure 'expedient' (Greek 'sympheron', beneficial, profitable)—a startling claim that His physical absence benefits believers more than His presence. The Comforter (Paraclete, meaning advocate, helper, counselor) cannot come unless Jesus departs, showing the Holy Spirit's ministry depends on Christ's finished work. The Spirit's coming means Christ's work multiplied through a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Nevertheless I tell you the truth.**—The words He is about to utter are words of strange sound for the ears of disciples, and He prefaces them by an appeal to His own knowledge and candour in dealing with them, as in John 14:2. The pronoun bears the weight of the emphasis, “I, who know all.”
**It is expedient for you that I go away.**—“There is no cause,” He would say, “for the deep sorrow w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-17. The servant is not greater than his lord, &c.--**an oft-repeated saying (Mt 10:24, &c.).
**If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them--**a hint that even among real Christians the doing of such things would come lamentably short of the knowing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: reprove: or, convince
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He will reprove the world</strong> (ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον, <em>elenxei ton kosmon</em>)—the verb <em>elenchō</em> means to convict, expose, or prove guilty, as in a legal proceeding. The Spirit acts as divine prosecutor, bringing irrefutable evidence of the world's guilt. The threefold conviction concerns <strong>sin, righteousness, and judgment</strong> (περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ δικαιοσύνης κα...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And when he is come, he will reprove the world.**—Better, as in margin, *convince the world.* (Comp. John 3:20; John 8:46.) The only other passages where it occurs in the Gospels are in Matthew 18:15, and Luke 3:19. It is not in the better reading of John 8:9; but it occurs not unfrequently in the Epistles. (See especially Note on 1Corinthians 14:24.) This conviction of the world is by witne...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-17. The servant is not greater than his lord, &c.--**an oft-repeated saying (Mt 10:24, &c.).
**If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them--**a hint that even among real Christians the doing of such things would come lamentably short of the knowing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →Of sin, because they believe not on me;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Of sin, because they believe not on me</strong> (περὶ ἁμαρτίας μέν, ὅτι οὐ πιστεύουσιν εἰς ἐμέ, <em>peri hamartias men, hoti ou pisteuousin eis eme</em>)—Jesus identifies unbelief in Him as the fundamental sin underlying all others. The present tense <em>pisteuousin</em> (they are believing) describes continuous rejection. The preposition <em>eis</em> (into) suggests faith as personal comm...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Of sin, because they believe not on me.**—This should not be interpreted, as it very frequently is, of the sin of unbelief, but of sin generally; unbelief in Christ is stated as the cause of sin. Sin is missing the aim of life, the disordered action of powers that have lost their controlling principle. Christ is the revelation to the world of the Father’s love. In union with God through Him ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-19. I speak not of you all--**the "happy are ye," of Joh 13:17, being on no supposition applicable to Judas.
**I know whom I have chosen--**in the higher sense.
**But that the scripture may be fulfilled--**that is, one has been added to your number, by no accident or mistake, who is none of Mine, but just that he might fulfil his predicted destiny.
**He that eateth bread with me--**"did...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Of righteousness, because I go to my Father</strong> (περὶ δικαιοσύνης δέ, ὅτι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ὑπάγω, <em>peri dikaiosynēs de, hoti pros ton patera hypagō</em>)—the Spirit convicts concerning <em>dikaiosynē</em> (righteousness, justice) by proving Christ's vindication through His ascension. <strong>Ye see me no more</strong> (οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτέ με, <em>ouketi theōreite me</em>) marks the tran...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Of righteousness, because I go to my Father.**—In the conviction of sin, the world is convinced of its own sin by the Spirit’s representation of Christ to it. That representation of Christ brings also the conviction of righteousness, but this is the righteousness of Christ, not that of the world. The conviction of Christ’s righteousness necessarily precedes that of the heart’s own sin. The ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-19. I speak not of you all--**the "happy are ye," of Joh 13:17, being on no supposition applicable to Judas.
**I know whom I have chosen--**in the higher sense.
**But that the scripture may be fulfilled--**that is, one has been added to your number, by no accident or mistake, who is none of Mine, but just that he might fulfil his predicted destiny.
**He that eateth bread with me--**"did...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged</strong> (περὶ κρίσεως δέ, ὅτι ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου κέκριται, <em>peri kriseōs de, hoti ho archōn tou kosmou toutou kekritai</em>)—the perfect tense <em>kekritai</em> (has been judged) indicates completed action with ongoing results. Satan's judgment at the cross is finished fact, though final execution awaits. <strong>The prince...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.**—Comp. Notes on John 3:17-18, and John 12:30-31. The tense here is perfect, marking the completion of the condemnation. “The prince of this world hath been and remaineth judged.” The conviction is regarded from the point of view of the coming of the Advocate when Christ’s work shall have been completed. That work is the redemption of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me, &c.--**(See on Mt 10:40). The connection here seems to be that despite the dishonor done to Him by Judas, and similar treatment awaiting themselves, they were to be cheered by the assurance that their office, even as His own, was divine.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have yet many things to say unto you</strong> (ἔτι πολλὰ ἔχω ὑμῖν λέγειν, <em>eti polla echō hymin legein</em>)—Jesus acknowledges the incompleteness of His disciples' training. The <strong>ye cannot bear them now</strong> (ἀλλ᾽ οὐ δύνασθε βαστάζειν ἄρτι, <em>all' ou dynasthe bastazein arti</em>) uses <em>bastazō</em>, meaning to bear a burden or weight. The disciples lacked the spiritua...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **I have yet many things to say unto you.**—The “many things” are defined by the next verse to be things with regard to which the Spirit of Truth shall be their guide—*i.e.,* they are parts of the revelation which the minds of the disciples are not yet fitted to receive.
**Ye cannot bear them now.**—Comp. John 15:15. The statements are not opposed to each other. On His side there is the readi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Joh 13:21-30. The Traitor Indicated--He Leaves the Supper Room.
**21. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, One of you shall betray me--**The announcement of Joh 13:18 seems not to have been plain enough to be quite apprehended, save by the traitor himself. He will therefore speak it out in terms not to be misunderstood. But ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Spirit of truth 'shall guide you into all truth' promises progressive illumination, not new revelation contradicting Christ's words. The Spirit doesn't speak 'of himself' but glorifies Christ—true Spirit-led teaching always exalts Jesus. The phrase 'all truth' refers to spiritual truth necessary for salvation and godliness, not omniscience. 'He will shew you things to come' enabled apostles to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come.**—Comp. Note on John 14:17.
**He will guide you into all truth.**—Better, . . . *into all the truth.* The words do not mean that the Holy Spirit will fully guide them into truth, but that He will be their guide into the fulness of truth. The word rendered “guide,” occurs again in Matthew 15:14; Luke 6:39; Revelation 7:17; and metaphorically, as...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake--**Further intensely interesting particulars are given in the other Gospels: (1) "They were exceeding sorrowful" (Mt 26:22). (2) "They began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing" (Lu 22:23). (3) "They began to say unto Him one by one, Is it I, and another, Is it I?" (Mr 14:19). Generous, simp...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.</strong> Jesus defines the Holy Spirit's central mission: to glorify Christ (δοξάσει με/<em>doxasei me</em>). The future tense indicates the Spirit's ongoing work from Pentecost onward. The verb δοξάζω (<em>doxazō</em>) means to honor, magnify, or render glorious—the Spirit exalts Christ, not Himself.<br><br>The...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **He shall glorify me.**—The pronoun is here full of emphasis. The thought is that the future guidance of the Spirit promised in John 16:13, will be the revelation of the many things of Christ Himself which they cannot bear now (John 16:12).
**For he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.**—Better, as in John 16:13, . . . . *announce it unto you.* This is the test of the Spirit, “...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-26. there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved--**Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.
**Peter ... beckoned to him to ask who it should be of whom he spake--**reclining probably at the corresponding place on the other side of Jesus.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All things that the Father hath are mine</strong> (πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ Πατήρ ἐμά ἐστιν/<em>panta hosa echei ho Patēr ema estin</em>)—Jesus declares absolute equality with the Father. The emphatic πάντα (<em>panta</em>, "all things") encompasses divine attributes, authority, glory, knowledge, and power. This is deity language, affirming Christ's full divinity.<br><br>The present tense ἔχει (<e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **All things that the Father hath are mine.**—He has told them that the Spirit’s work is to glorify Him, to receive of His, and announce to the world. The ground of this saying is in the fact that the Son is the Revealer of the Father, and that the fulness of the truth (John 16:13) is given unto Him. The words appear from the context not to express the spiritual relation of the Son to the Fat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-26. there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved--**Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.
**Peter ... beckoned to him to ask who it should be of whom he spake--**reclining probably at the corresponding place on the other side of Jesus.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to ...
Read full commentary →Your Sorrow Will Turn to Joy
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me</strong> (μικρὸν καὶ οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτέ με, καὶ πάλιν μικρὸν καὶ ὄψεσθέ με/<em>mikron kai ouketi theōreite me, kai palin mikron kai opsesthe me</em>)—Jesus uses two different Greek verbs for "see." Θεωρέω (<em>theōreō</em>) means to behold, observe with attention, contemplate. Ὁράω (<em>horaō</em>) means t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **A little while, and ye shall not see me.**—The better reading is, *A little while, and ye no longer behold Me.* For the sense, comp. Notes on John 14:18-19. The time here referred to is that between the moment of His speaking to them and His death.
**And again, a little while, and ye shall see me.**—The time here referred to is the interval between His death and the Day of Pentecost. That t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-26. there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved--**Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.
**Peter ... beckoned to him to ask who it should be of whom he spake--**reclining probably at the corresponding place on the other side of Jesus.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →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?
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KJV Study Commentary
The disciples' question—<strong>What is this that he saith unto us, A little while...?</strong> (τί ἐστιν τοῦτο...;/<em>ti estin touto...?</em>)—reveals honest confusion in the face of divine mystery. They verbatim repeat Jesus's words back to each other (λέγουσιν ἐξ ἀλλήλων/<em>legousin ex allēlōn</em>, "they said among themselves"), showing they heard but didn't understand.<br><br>The repetition...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17, 18) **Then said some of his disciples among themselves.**—Better, *Therefore said* . . . The question arises out of what He has said. They draw aside and discuss the matter privately. It is beyond their comprehension, and seems to be contradictory.
**A little while, and ye shall not see me.**—Better, *A little while, and ye behold Me not,* as in John 16:16.
**Because I go to the Father.**—So ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-26. there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved--**Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.
**Peter ... beckoned to him to ask who it should be of whom he spake--**reclining probably at the corresponding place on the other side of Jesus.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
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KJV Study Commentary
Verse 18 intensifies verse 17's confession: <strong>They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith</strong> (οὐκ οἴδαμεν τί λαλεῖ/<em>ouk oidamen ti lalei</em>). The repetition emphasizes their complete bewilderment. The verb λαλέω (<em>laleō</em>, "to speak") appears twice—they heard Christ's words but lacked understanding.<br><br>The double negative...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-30. after the sop Satan entered into him--**Very solemn are these brief hints of the successive steps by which Judas reached the climax of his guilt. "The devil had already put it into his heart to betray his Lord." Yet who can tell what struggles he went through ere he brought himself to carry that suggestion into effect? Even after this, however, his compunctions were not at an end. With th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him</strong> (ἔγνω ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι ἤθελον αὐτὸν ἐρωτᾶν/<em>egnō ho Iēsous hoti ēthelon auton erōtan</em>)—the verb ἔγνω (<em>egnō</em>, "knew") indicates Jesus's divine omniscience. Without hearing their private conversation (verses 17-18), He perceived their desire to question Him. This echoes John 2:24-25: "Jesus did not commit himself unto them...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Now Jesus knew they were desirous to ask him.**—The purpose of His enigmatic saying (John 16:29) has been accomplished. Their attention has been excited, and they have taken the first step towards knowledge. They inquire among themselves, and this spirit of inquiry which He reads in their hearts (comp. John 2:25; John 6:6) He proceeds to answer. The first part of His answer is concerned wit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-30. after the sop Satan entered into him--**Very solemn are these brief hints of the successive steps by which Judas reached the climax of his guilt. "The devil had already put it into his heart to betray his Lord." Yet who can tell what struggles he went through ere he brought himself to carry that suggestion into effect? Even after this, however, his compunctions were not at an end. With th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Verily, verily, I say unto you</strong> (ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν/<em>amēn amēn legō hymin</em>)—Jesus's solemn double ἀμήν (<em>amēn</em>) introduces critical truth, used 25 times in John's Gospel. What follows demands attention.<br><br><strong>Ye shall weep and lament</strong> (κλαύσετε καὶ θρηνήσετε/<em>klausete kai thrēnēsete</em>)—κλαίω (<em>klaiō</em>) means to weep audibly, shed tears of...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Verily, verily, I say unto you.**—Comp. Note on John 1:51.
**That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice.**—Comp. John 20:11, and Luke 23:27. In the original the contrast between the sorrow of the disciples and the joy of the world is rendered the more striking by the order of the words, “Weep and lament shall *ye,* but the world shall rejoice.” The tears and the scoffs at th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-30. after the sop Satan entered into him--**Very solemn are these brief hints of the successive steps by which Judas reached the climax of his guilt. "The devil had already put it into his heart to betray his Lord." Yet who can tell what struggles he went through ere he brought himself to carry that suggestion into effect? Even after this, however, his compunctions were not at an end. With th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →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 joy that a man is born into the world.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus employs childbirth as metaphor for the crucifixion-resurrection pattern: <strong>A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come</strong> (ἡ γυνὴ ὅταν τίκτῃ λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς/<em>hē gynē hotan tiktē lypēn echei, hoti ēlthen hē hōra autēs</em>). The present tense τίκτω (<em>tiktō</em>, "to give birth") describes active labor; λύπη (<em>lypē</em>) is pain, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow.**—The Greek is more exactly, *the woman .* . . *hath pangs*—that is, “the woman in the well-known illustration.” (See Note on John 15:15.) This figure was of frequent use in the prophets. (Comp. Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 26:17-18, and especially Isaiah 66:7-8; Jeremiah 4:31; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 30:6; Hosea 13:13-14; Micah 4:9-10.)
**That a man is b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27-30. after the sop Satan entered into him--**Very solemn are these brief hints of the successive steps by which Judas reached the climax of his guilt. "The devil had already put it into his heart to betray his Lord." Yet who can tell what struggles he went through ere he brought himself to carry that suggestion into effect? Even after this, however, his compunctions were not at an end. With th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And ye now therefore have sorrow</strong> (καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν νῦν μὲν λύπην ἔχετε/<em>kai hymeis oun nyn men lypēn echete</em>)—Jesus acknowledges present reality. Νῦν (<em>nyn</em>, "now") contrasts with coming joy. He doesn't minimize their grief but validates it as temporary.<br><br><strong>But I will see you again</strong> (πάλιν δὲ ὄψομαι ὑμᾶς/<em>palin de opsomai hymas</em>)—the future mi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **And ye now therefore have sorrow.**—The same word is used. The hour of their travail-pangs was at hand; but it would pass away, and the fulness of joy would come in the constant presence of their Lord. Their sorrow would be but temporary; their joy would be abiding. The point of comparison between their state, and the familiar illustration of a woman in travail, is the passage from extreme ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Joh 13:31-38. Discourse after the Traitor's Departure--Peter's Self-Confidence--His Fall Predicted.
**31. when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified--**These remarkable words plainly imply that up to this moment our Lord had spoken under a painful restraint, the presence of a traitor within the little circle of His holiest fellowship on earth preventing the free and full ou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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. Believ...
Read full commentary →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 you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in that day ye shall ask me nothing</strong> (καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐμὲ οὐκ ἐρωτήσετε οὐδέν/<em>kai en ekeinē tē hēmera eme ouk erōtēsete ouden</em>)—"that day" refers to post-resurrection/Pentecost era when the Spirit illuminates truth. The verb ἐρωτάω (<em>erōtaō</em>) means to question, request explanation. They won't need to ask Jesus for clarification because the Spirit will teac...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **And in that day ye shall ask me nothing.**—Comp. Acts 1:6. The time here referred to is, as we have seen (John 16:16), the time of the gift of the Paraclete, who shall fully illumine them, so that they shall not need to ask the meaning of new thoughts and words as they have done hitherto. (Comp., *e.g.,* the certain knowledge of Peter’s speech in Acts 2. with the misunderstandings of these ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. If God be glorified in him, God shall also--**in return and reward of this highest of all services ever rendered to Him, or capable of being rendered.
**glorify him in himself, and ... straightway glorify him--**referring now to the Resurrection and Exaltation of Christ after this service was over, including all the honor and glory then put upon Him, and that will for ever encircle Him as ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-27**
Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only. Asking in Christ's name, is acknowledging our unworthiness to receive any favours from God, and shows full dependence upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness. Our Lord had hitherto spoken in short and weighty sentences, or in para...
Read full commentary →Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name</strong> (ἕως ἄρτι οὐκ ᾐτήσατε οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου/<em>heōs arti ouk ētēsate ouden en tō onomati mou</em>)—ἕως ἄρτι (<em>heōs arti</em>) means "until now." Before the cross, resurrection, and Pentecost, disciples couldn't yet pray with full understanding of Christ's mediatorial work. The aorist tense ᾐτήσατε (<em>ētēsate</em>) looks at their en...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name.**—Comp. Note on John 14:13. They had not up to this time received the Holy Spirit. When He came, He was as the presence of Christ dwelling in them. Under His influence their will became the will of Christ, and their thoughts the thoughts of Christ, and their prayers the prayers of Christ. They had not yet so learnt Him .as to pray in His name. It w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-35. Little children--**From the height of His own glory He now descends, with sweet pity, to His "little children," all now His own. This term of endearment, nowhere else used in the Gospels, and once only employed by Paul (Ga 4:19), is appropriated by the beloved disciple himself, who no fewer than seven times employs it in his first Epistle.
**Ye shall seek me--**feel the want of Me.
**...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-27**
Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only. Asking in Christ's name, is acknowledging our unworthiness to receive any favours from God, and shows full dependence upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness. Our Lord had hitherto spoken in short and weighty sentences, or in para...
Read full commentary →I Have Overcome the World
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 shew you plainly of the Father. proverbs: or, parables
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs</strong> (Ταῦτα ἐν παροιμίαις λελάληκα ὑμῖν/<em>Tauta en paroimiais lelalēka hymin</em>)—παροιμία (<em>paroimia</em>) means proverb, parable, figure of speech, enigmatic saying. Jesus's Upper Room discourse (John 13-17) contains profound truths presented symbolically: vine and branches (15:1-8), childbirth metaphor (16:21), "a little while" (...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs.**—Better, as in the margin, . . . *in parables.* So in the second clause of the verse and in John 16:29. (Comp. Note on John 10:6.) “These things” refers specially to what He had just said from John 16:16 onwards. There is a sense in which it is necessarily true of all Christ’s teaching, and of all teaching in words. They are but parables unt...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-35. Little children--**From the height of His own glory He now descends, with sweet pity, to His "little children," all now His own. This term of endearment, nowhere else used in the Gospels, and once only employed by Paul (Ga 4:19), is appropriated by the beloved disciple himself, who no fewer than seven times employs it in his first Epistle.
**Ye shall seek me--**feel the want of Me.
**...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-27**
Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only. Asking in Christ's name, is acknowledging our unworthiness to receive any favours from God, and shows full dependence upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness. Our Lord had hitherto spoken in short and weighty sentences, or in para...
Read full commentary →At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>At that day ye shall ask in my name</strong> (ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου αἰτήσετε)—Jesus points forward to Pentecost and the new covenant era when believers would pray directly to the Father through Christ's mediatorial work. The phrase <em>en tō onomati mou</em> (in my name) means far more than invoking a formula; it means praying on the basis of Christ's person, work, and autho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **At that day ye shall ask in my name.**—Comp. Notes on John 16:23-24. When guided by the Paraclete, the life will be subject to the will of Christ, and the prayer will be in His name.
**And I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you.**—These words have often been taken to mean, “That I will pray the Father for you, is a matter of course, of which I need not tell you; but this se...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33-35. Little children--**From the height of His own glory He now descends, with sweet pity, to His "little children," all now His own. This term of endearment, nowhere else used in the Gospels, and once only employed by Paul (Ga 4:19), is appropriated by the beloved disciple himself, who no fewer than seven times employs it in his first Epistle.
**Ye shall seek me--**feel the want of Me.
**...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-27**
Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only. Asking in Christ's name, is acknowledging our unworthiness to receive any favours from God, and shows full dependence upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness. Our Lord had hitherto spoken in short and weighty sentences, or in para...
Read full commentary →For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the Father himself loveth you</strong> (αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ φιλεῖ ὑμᾶς)—Notice the verb here is <em>phileō</em> (φιλεῖ), indicating affectionate friendship-love, not the usual <em>agapaō</em>. The Father's love for believers mirrors a father's tender affection for children. The word "himself" (αὐτὸς/<em>autos</em>) emphasizes the Father's direct, personal love—not mediated or reluctant, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me.**—Comp. Notes on John 14:21; John 14:23. The introduction of the thought again here reminds us that, although in the fulness of the higher spiritual life there is communion between the Father and the human spirit, because the Father Himself ever loveth the heart which can receive His love, this power to receive the love of the Fat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36-38. Peter said--**seeing plainly in these directions how to behave themselves, that He was indeed going from them.
**Lord, whither guest thou?--**having hardly a glimmer of the real truth.
**Jesus answered, ... thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards--**How different from what He said to the Jews: "Whither I go ye cannot come" (Joh 8:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-27**
Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only. Asking in Christ's name, is acknowledging our unworthiness to receive any favours from God, and shows full dependence upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness. Our Lord had hitherto spoken in short and weighty sentences, or in para...
Read full commentary →I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world</strong> (ἐξῆλθον παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὸν κόσμον)—This is one of the clearest statements of Christ's pre-existence and incarnation in Scripture. The aorist tense "came forth" (ἐξῆλθον/<em>exēlthon</em>) points to a definite historical moment—the eternal Son's procession from the Father. The perfect tense "am come" (ἐλήλυθ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **I came forth from the Father.**—Comp. Note on John 16:19. He repeats with emphasis that which in the last verse He stated as believed by them—“It is true. I did come forth from the Father, and came into the world. But what follows from this? Heaven, and not earth, is My home. I leave the world again and return to the Father.” They had accepted the truth of the Incarnation, but in this there...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36-38. Peter said--**seeing plainly in these directions how to behave themselves, that He was indeed going from them.
**Lord, whither guest thou?--**having hardly a glimmer of the real truth.
**Jesus answered, ... thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards--**How different from what He said to the Jews: "Whither I go ye cannot come" (Joh 8:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. proverb: or, parable
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb</strong> (ἴδε νῦν παρρησίᾳ λαλεῖς καὶ παροιμίαν οὐδεμίαν λέγεις)—The disciples express relief that Jesus is finally speaking <em>parrēsia</em> (παρρησίᾳ), meaning openly, plainly, without figures or riddles. Earlier in the discourse (John 16:25), Jesus had acknowledged speaking in <em>paroimiais</em> (παροιμίαις)—proverbs, figures, vei...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.**—Better, . . . *parable,* as in John 16:25. (Comp. Note there.) The emphasis is upon the word “now.” He had told them (John 16:25) that the hour would come when He would speak to them no more in parables, but tell them plainly of the Father. His last words have explained what they before could not understand, and it seems to them that...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36-38. Peter said--**seeing plainly in these directions how to behave themselves, that He was indeed going from them.
**Lord, whither guest thou?--**having hardly a glimmer of the real truth.
**Jesus answered, ... thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards--**How different from what He said to the Jews: "Whither I go ye cannot come" (Joh 8:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now are we sure that thou knowest all things</strong> (νῦν οἴδαμεν ὅτι οἶδας πάντα)—The disciples confess Jesus's omniscience, a divine attribute. The verb <em>oidas</em> (οἶδας) means intuitive, complete knowledge—Jesus doesn't need to ask questions to learn information; He already knows. This echoes John 2:25: "He knew what was in man."<br><br><strong>And needest not that any man should ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Now are we sure that thou knowest all things.**—Comp. John 16:19; John 16:23. The “now” is emphatic, as in the previous verse. They see in His present knowledge of their thoughts, and in the light which has come to them from the statements of John 16:28, the fulfilment of the promise which He has made for the future (John 16:23). They think that the day has already come when they shall ask ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?</strong> (ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς Ἰησοῦς Ἄρτι πιστεύετε;)—Jesus's question is both gentle and probing. The adverb "now" (<em>arti</em>/ἄρτι) can mean "just now" or "at this moment," with a hint of irony—"So now you believe?" Their confident confession (v.30) will be tested within hours. The present tense "believe" (πιστεύετε) might imply ongoing faith, yet J...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe.**—Comp. Note on John 1:50. Here, as there, the words do not necessarily ask a question; and, although many expositors prefer to take them interrogatively, a sense more in harmony with the context is got by understanding them as an assertion. Our Lord did not doubt their present faith (John 17:8); but He knew that the hour of their full illumination ha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 14 Joh 14:1-31. Discourse at the Table, after Supper.
**We now come to that portion of the evangelical history which we may with propriety call its Holy of Holies. Our Evangelist, like a consecrated priest, alone opens up to us the view into this sanctuary. It is the record of the last moments spent by the Lord in the midst of His disciples before His passion, when words full of heavenly ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →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. his own: or, his own home
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come</strong> (ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ ἐλήλυθεν)—"The hour" (ἡ ὥρα) throughout John's Gospel refers to Jesus's passion—His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and glorification (John 2:4, 7:30, 12:23, 13:1, 17:1). The perfect tense "is now come" (ἐλήλυθεν) indicates it has arrived and is imminent.<br><br><strong>That ye shall be scattered, every man to his own</st...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come.**—Comp. Notes on Matthew 26:31; Matthew 26:56.
**Every man to his own.**—Or, *his own lodging* in Jerusalem, which must be here intended. That is, as the margin renders it, “to his own home.” (Comp. Note on John 1:11.)
**And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.**—They would each flee to his own place of sojourn. He, too, though appare...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. In my Father's house are many mansions--**and so room for all, and a place for each.
**if not, I would have told you--**that is, I would tell you so at once; I would not deceive you.
**I go to prepare a place for you--**to obtain for you a right to be there, and to possess your "place."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> This verse concludes Jesus' Farewell Discourse with a profound promise and command. The Greek word <em>thlipsin</em> (θλῖψιν, "tribulation") denotes pressure, affliction, and distress—not mere inconvenience but genuine suffer...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **These things I have spoken unto you . . .**—At the conclusion of the discourse He sums up in a single thought what was the object of it, “Peace in Him. In the world, indeed, tribulation, but this as conquered in Him, and not interrupting the true peace in Him.” The thought is closely allied to that of the last verse, “Alone and not alone;” “Troubled, and yet having peace.” He had spoken of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. I will come again and receive you unto myself--**strictly, at His Personal appearing; but in a secondary and comforting sense, to each individually. Mark again the claim made:--to come again to receive His people to Himself, that where He is there they may be also. He thinks it ought to be enough to be assured that they shall be where He is and in His keeping.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 28-33**
Here is a plain declaration of Christ's coming from the Father, and his return to him. The Redeemer, in his entrance, was God manifest in the flesh, and in his departure was received up into glory. By this saying the disciples improved in knowledge. Also in faith; "Now are we sure." Alas! they knew not their own weakness. The Divine nature did not desert the human nature, but ...
Read full commentary →