John
Chapter 16
John 16: This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter.
(John 16:1 NASB) “These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling.
John 16:1: Some of the things Yeshua told them are:
1. That they should obey His Father’s commandments
2. Bear much fruit (obey Torah)
4. Glorify the Father with their lives (obey Torah)
5. Love one another;
6. The world will hate them if they are truly one of His (and obey His Torah).
7. They will be persecuted;
8. And that He revealed the sin of His enemies.
They were to remember these things. He told them these things so they can be kept from stumbling. Yeshua told them this in other ways such as parables also (Matt. 13:18-21). Peter also state that stumbling meant being disobedient to Torah (1 Peter 2:7-8).
(John 16:2 NASB) “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
John 16:2: Yeshua is telling them that they are going to be kicked out of the local Baptist church of that day for obeying the Torah. Those who kick them out will think they are doing what Elohim wants them to do.
He says they will be despised by others and even killed by those who think this is what Elohim wants.
Yeshua does not paint a false rosy picture of the price of following His example. He tells them how it is really going to be.
Paul tells us that those who are against Torah were seeking to establish their own form of righteousness (Romans 10:1-4).
(John 16:3 NASB) “And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Me.
John 16:3: They do these things because they do not know the Father or Yeshua. We know that they do not know Him because they do not keep His Torah (Deut. 7:9-11).
(John 16:4 NASB) “But these things I have spoken to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
John 16:4: Yeshua is not going to let them be blindsided by all this. He wants them to know what’s coming.
(John 16:5 NASB) “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
(John 16:6 NASB) “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
John 16:6: These men are letting the fact that Yeshua is going to leave them overcome them with sorrow. They do not yet understand that He has to leave in order for the Spirit of the Father to come into the world.
(John 16:7 NASB) “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
John 16:7: Yeshua says that it is better for Him to leave in order for Him to send the Helper. Where is that spoken of in the Tanakh? It is in a couple of places. For one, it is in the psalms (Psalm 68:18). Paul interpreted that passage as saying that Yeshua would send the Spirit of the Father to the people (Eph. 4:8-24). The sending of the Spirit of the Father from above is also referenced in the Torah (Deut. 30:11-14). Also in the Tanakh (Prov. 30:2-6). Yeshua told this to Nicodemus also (John 3:13-15).
The question also arises, “Why did Yeshua have to ascend to the Father? Couldn’t He have sent His Spirit without His Son ascending?” The answer is that Elohim had another plan (Psalm 110).
(John 16:8 NASB) “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;
John 16:8: This was prophesied in the Tanakh (Zech 12:10, Prov. 1:23, Joel 2:28-30, Isa. 44:3-6).
(John 16:9 NASB) concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
(John 16:10 NASB) and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;
(John 16:11 NASB) and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
John 16:11: The Spirit of the Father, as shown in the Tanakh, shows His people their sin and leads them to righteousness in Torah. Then we no longer strive for a righteousness through our works of obeying Torah, but we trust in the righteousness of Messiah through faithfulness to Him which we have through His Spirit within us (Phil. 3:8-9).
(John 16:12 NASB) “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
(John 16:13 NASB) “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 16:13: The Spirit of Truth will guide the disciples in “all Truth.” Truth is His Torah (Psalm 119:142, Romans 2:20).
He will tell you (the disciples) things to come. That is certainly true of many of the Epistles and of the book of the Revelation. It is also true for us in understanding His prophetic word.
(John 16:14 NASB) “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.
(John 16:15 NASB) “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.
John 16:15: The Spirit of the Father will glorify Messiah. The Spirit will take of the things of Messiah and disclose them to His people.
All things were given into the Hand of the Son (John 3:34-36, 13:3).
(John 16:16 NASB) “A little while, and you will no longer behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
John 16:16: This speaks of Messiah’s death, burial for three days, and His resurrection.
(John 16:17 NASB) Some of His disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not behold Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”
(John 16:18 NASB) And so they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”
(John 16:19 NASB) Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not behold Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?
(John 16:20 NASB) “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.
John 16:20: They didn’t understand that He was going to die and be in a grave for three days. The world would rejoice during this time, but they would be sad. But their sorrow would turn into joy three days later.
(John 16:21 NASB) “Whenever a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a child has been born into the world.
(John 16:22 NASB) “Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.
John 16:22: Yeshua compares their ordeal to a woman giving birth. She has to go through the most dreadful and agonizing pain imaginable in order for a new life to take place which brings her great joy. They will have sorrow, but it will be temporary.
(John 16:23 NASB) “And in that day you will ask Me no question. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name.
(John 16:24 NASB) “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
John 16:24: Yeshua told us previously that this means we are to be abiding in Him and obeying Him (John 15:14-16). When we obey Torah, we can bear fruit and total joy is part of that.
(John 16:25 NASB) “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
(John 16:26 NASB) “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request the Father on your behalf;
(John 16:27 NASB) for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
John 16:27: Yeshua is saying that the time is coming when they will know what He is speaking of when He refers to His death and resurrection. It really hasn’t sunk in to them what He has meant by that so far.
He is also saying that their heavenly Father is loving and cares for them. Yeshua does not have to ask the Father to be good to us because He is already good to us.
(John 16:28 NASB) “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father.”
John 16:28: The disciples did not comprehend what He meant by having to leave the world and go to the Father.
(John 16:29 NASB) His disciples said^, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly, and are not using a figure of speech.
(John 16:30 NASB) “Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
John 16:30: They believe the facts. They believe that Yeshua must go back to the Father. But they do not understand the darkness of death and torment that is about to take place.
(John 16:31 NASB) Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
(John 16:32 NASB) “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
John 16:32: They may believe the facts, but they are all going to head for the hills when the going gets rough. They are still in the dark as to how difficult the next few days will be on them. He told them that they would be scattered and leave Him alone. This was prophesied in the Tanakh (Zech. 13:7). Yeshua would be left alone to be tortured and killed (Isa. 50:6-10).
(John 16:33 NASB) “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33: Yeshua told us them these things in order that they may have peace during the upcoming turmoil.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2015
Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
Fort Smith, Arkansas