...believe...

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see Me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but will speak whatever He hears, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify Me, because He will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you.

16 “A little while, and you will no longer see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me.” 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does He mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What does He mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22 So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in My name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking  plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that You know all things, and do not need to have anyone question You; by this we believe that You came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world”  John 16:4-33.

Here we have the continuation of the final discourse of Jesus as He mounts the cross, rises from the dead, and returns to His father in heaven.  We see clearly words of Jesus’ immanent departure, the sorrow of the disciples, and words about where Jesus is going.  The coming of the Advocate is announced twice with Jesus being the One who sends the Spirit, which is understandable because the Spirit is the representative of the Son and the Son is the representative of the Father.   Verse 7 is key: “7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

Notice that Jesus says the Spirit, the Advocate, will go on the offensive when He comes and resemble a prosecuting attorney: “I will send the Advocate to you. 8 And when He comes, He will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see Me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned”  John 16:7-11.   The Spirit will prove the world wrong about sin, because they do not believe in Jesus.   Here Jesus is referring to the jews who crucified Jesus, for they did not believe they were sinning, they believed they were serving God.   But later Luke tells us that when the Jews later learned the truth about the crucifixion “37 …they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?  38 Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’”  Acts 2:37-38.  They were sharply convicted  y the realization that the crucifixion was the greatest time in human history and that their sin caused it.   And John wishes to point out that what gives us all a sense of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit!

Then Jesus says that the Spirit will prove the world wrong “10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see Me no longer”  John 16:10.  It is the Spirit who will convince us all of Jesus Christ’s righteousness.  Jesus was tried unjustly, found guilty, looked upon by His accusers as a blasphemous heretic, and by the Romans as a criminal, a felon, deserving of the cruelest death of all - crucifixion.   It was only through the work of the Holy Spirit that our hearts were changed so that we could see the complete and total righteousness of Jesus Christ, solidified, of course, by the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

And finally Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned”  John 16:11.  For on the Cross evil stands condemned and defeated, and so what makes us certain that judgement lies ahead for all of us is the work of the Holy Spirit who give us the unshakable conviction that we will all stand before the judgement seat of God begging for mercy.

What John does not mention here is our certainty that in the Cross of Jesus Christ is our salvation, and that with Christ, we are forgiven and saved from judgement.   This too is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In these beautiful verses we see again the theme of praying in Jesus’ name, only this time it will be the Father who will answer your prayer.  And notice too Jesus’ promise that the Father will reveal Himself “plainly” because of the intimacy of the Father’s love for all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.   23 On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.   25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in My name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God”  John 16:23-26.

And in the end, Jesus speaks of His glory again, but this time in a way that convinces the disciples of what He is saying.   And Jesus concludes this discourse with His promise of peace:  33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world”  John 16:33.   We have the peace of Christ in His leaving us, because in His leaving He has conquered the world.

So once again, dear friends, take time with this chapter and these verses.   Pray that you will believe every day that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He did what He said He would do.   Oh dear Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.   I love You and believe in You, and despite my sin and despite my suffering, I know You are present.   may I never forget to turn to you in humble love and prayer.  In Jesus’ name i pray, amen.

From the Bible:

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”

Genesis 1:2.

“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”

Ephesians 1:13.

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” 

Ezekiel 36:26-27.