John 16:16 begins the second part of Christ’s farewell message. Jesus just gave them warnings and promises to prepare His disciples for what was coming. Several times He said He was going away. He told of the joy that is prepared for them when they would be together in His Father’s House. As Jesus entered the second part of His farewell message, His disciples do not understand.
John 16:16 NKJV A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.
What did He mean? It is more obvious to us than it was to them. Jesus was saying He would be arrested and taken from them. Matthew and Mark gave a word from this time that Luke and John did not include. Jesus told them that they would be made to stumble because of Him that night. Peter said he would never deny the Lord. Jesus said, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” Jesus quoted a prophecy from Zechariah 13:7, “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” He meant they would be scattered like sheep. He meant they would be separated from Him. He would be crucified and buried. He would be absent a little while and they would not see Him. On the third day, He would come back. In a little while, they would see Him. This text has an additional meaning for us today.
John 16:17-19 NKJV Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.” Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’?”
What did Jesus mean?
- The first “little while” referred to the time Jesus was in the grave for three days.
- The second “little while” would be when Jesus would go to the Father (which has been almost 2,000 years now).
During this time, Jesus would not leave them comfortless. He would not leave them orphans. He would be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would take all of the things of Christ and make them known and real to them.
We are living in the second ‘little while.’ During this period of 2,000 years, the Spirit of God has made Jesus real to multitudes.
John 16:20 NKJV Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
All of the Lord’s disciples have gone through sorrow. They have been hated and ridiculed. We all face many things that have brought tears and sorrow. Some of those things are in direct relation to our position in the body of Christ. Some of them are because we are not like the world.
How many things has the Lord brought you through?We need to recognize the abiding presence of the Helper and Comforter. Throughout this ‘little while’ the Holy Spirit has carried us along. We have been through testing, trial, and trouble, but God is faithful.
He turns our sorrow into joy.
John 16:21-22 NKJV A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
Regardless of where you are or who you are, this promise is for you. He will dry your tears and heal your broken heart. He will give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy and gladness for mourning. He will give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
The sorrows of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Heaven will be worth the journey when we get there. That city will be wonderful, bright and fair. When we see Jesus sitting on His throne, we will be so glad we made my soul press on. Heaven will be worth the journey when we get there. The joy of His presence will overwhelm any sorrow we may have.
John 16:23-24 NKJV And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Jesus is telling us what our prayer life is going to be like during this second ‘little while’. This is the third time Jesus talks about praying in His name.
John 14:13-14 NKJV And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
“Praying in Jesus’ name” is much more than using the “name of Jesus” during your prayers. This is a positional prayer. Since we are abiding in Christ and obeying Him, we pray in His name. We cannot simply apply the tag of His name to the end of a request and expect to get what we ask. That is not what He is saying. We speak the ‘name of Jesus’ from a position of redemption. All of these words that Christ has been speaking to them refer to a change in position for believers. The Holy Spirit had been with them, but Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit will not only be with them but will also be in them. Their relationship with the Father is about to have a dramatic change. In the past, they witnessed the relationship Jesus had with the Father. Now believers are being brought into a new position in Christ. Now believers are enabled to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus.
John 16:23-24 NKJV And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Jesus was talking about an entrance into the presence of the Father with our petitions. We have a bold entrance into the throne room of the Father. We enter by faith in Jesus and pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus.
This access to the Father is made possible because we have a standing in heaven’s courts through Christ. So, we stand in the presence of the Father by grace through faith in Christ. The bloody sacrifice of Jesus our Lord has opened up a way to the Father.
When we are before the Father, Jesus tells us how to pray. Jesus said: “Ask the Father in My name.”
Why use the name of Jesus? When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are using a legal right to approach the throne of grace and make a petition. We are standing before the Father on the basis of all that Christ has accomplished.
John 16:25-27 NKJV These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
Jesus said: “The time is coming.” He was nearing His crucifixion and the hour He would pay for our redemption. He would give His body and blood and take upon Himself the penalty for our cleansing and healing. After He finishes His suffering and death, everything changes and the believer has access to the Father in Jesus’ name. Jesus is a way maker. He made a way for us into the Father’s presence.
Jesus is saying He does not have to ask the Father for us. Our position in Christ is the guarantee of access and success.
A second part of our security is asking the Father’s love for us. You need to know that the Father loves you. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are brought into the blessing of the Father’s love.
We can abide in the Father’s love. When we love the Son of God, we are in a position to get our prayer answered. Walking in the love and fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ opens the doors into the Father’s blessings.
John 16:28 NKJV I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.
The Son of God came into the world for one purpose. He came from the Father in glory to redeem man and when His mission was finished, He returned to the Father. This verse reaches back into eternity when God purposed to send His Son to redeem us from sin. It addresses the few moments that Jesus was on this earth. He came in out of eternity and He went back into eternity.
John 16:29-30 NKJV His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
It should be easy to understand that the Lord Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. This great truth was made clear to His disciples. They were convinced that He came from the Father and that He was the Messiah and Savior. Yet, they still did not understand what Christ would face. They did not understand His cross and death. They did not understand His resurrection and ascension back into the Father’s glory. They could not understand it until it happened.
John 16:31-32 NKJV Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
The time had come when they all would scatter and leave Him alone. Jesus said: He was not alone “because the Father is with me.” God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Jesus had constantly known the Father’s love and fellowship. He knew the mind, heart and word of the Father.
The time was coming when Christ would bear the sins of mankind alone. It would not be long until Christ would be on the cross and He would cry out in agony, “My God why have you forsaken Me!” Jesus would pay the ultimate price of redemption so that all believers may have access to the Father.
John 16:33 NKJV These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus closes with peace. You can have real peace in your life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus said: “In the world you shall have tribulation.” The word tribulation means “affliction, distress, and trouble.” As long as you are in this world, you should expect some trouble, distress and affliction. (This does not refer to the great tribulation of Revelation 6.) There is more to this message than “you are going to have trouble in the world.” He does not leave us in trouble.
Jesus said, “I have overcome the world!” His victory is our victory. The only way to victory over the world is in Jesus Christ. When we identify with Him, we will have victory. In Christ we have peace, joy and life.
Read it one more time…
John 16:33 NKJV These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
