17 Therefore said 'some' of his disciples one to another, 'What is this that he saith to us, A little while, and ye do not behold me, and again a little while, and ye shall see me, and, Because I go away unto the Father?' 18 they said then, 'What is this he saith—the little while? we have not known what he saith.' 19 Jesus, therefore, knew that they were wishing to ask him, and he said to them, 'Concerning this do ye seek one with another, because I said, A little while, and you do not behold me, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, and the world will rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow joy will become. 21 'The woman, when she may bear, hath sorrow, because her hour did come, and when she may bear the child, no more doth she remember the anguish, because of the joy that a man was born to the world. 22 'And ye, therefore, now, indeed, have sorrow; and again I will see you, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one doth take from you,
23 and in that day ye will question me nothing; verily, verily, I say to you, as many things as ye may ask of the Father in my name, He will give you; 24 till now ye did ask nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
25 'These things in similitudes I have spoken to you, but there cometh an hour when no more in similitudes will I speak to you, but freely of the Father, will tell you. 26 'In that day, in my name ye will make request, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father for you, 27 for the Father himself doth love you, because me ye have loved, and ye have believed that I from God came forth;
28 I came forth from the Father, and have come to the world; again I leave the world, and go on unto the Father.' 29 His disciples say to him, 'Lo, now freely thou dost speak, and no similitude speakest thou; 30 now we have known that thou hast known all things, and hast no need that any one do question thee; in this we believe that from God thou didst come forth.' 31 Jesus answered them, 'Now do ye believe? lo, there doth come an hour, 32 and now it hath come, that ye may be scattered, each to his own things, and me ye may leave alone, and I am not alone, because the Father is with me; 33 these things I have spoken to you, that in me ye may have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, but take courage—I have overcome the world.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 16:17-33
Commentary on John 16:16-22
(Read John 16:16-22)
It is good to consider how near our seasons of grace are to an end, that we may be quickened to improve them. But the sorrows of the disciples would soon be turned into joy; as those of a mother, at the sight of her infant. The Holy Spirit would be their Comforter, and neither men nor devils, neither sufferings in life nor in death, would ever deprive them of their joy. Believers have joy or sorrow, according to their sight of Christ, and the tokens of his presence. Sorrow is coming on the ungodly, which nothing can lessen; the believer is an heir to joy which no one can take away. Where now is the joy of the murderers of our Lord, and the sorrow of his friends?
Commentary on John 16:23-27
(Read John 16:23-27)
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 parables, the import of which the disciples did not fully understand, but after his resurrection he intended plainly to teach them such things as related to the Father and the way to him, through his intercession. And the frequency with which our Lord enforces offering up petitions in his name, shows that the great end of the mediation of Christ is to impress us with a deep sense of our sinfulness, and of the merit and power of his death, whereby we have access to God. And let us ever remember, that to address the Father in the name of Christ, or to address the Son as God dwelling in human nature, and reconciling the world to himself, are the same, as the Father and Son are one.
Commentary on John 16:28-33
(Read John 16:28-33)
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 supported it, and put comfort and value into Christ's sufferings. And while we have God's favourable presence, we are happy, and ought to be easy, though all the world forsake us. Peace in Christ is the only true peace, in him alone believers have it. Through him we have peace with God, and so in him we have peace in our own minds. We ought to be encouraged, because Christ has overcome the world before us. But while we think we stand, let us take heed lest we fall. We know not how we should act if brought into temptation; let us watch and pray without ceasing, that we may not be left to ourselves.