12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you."
The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy
16 Jesus went on to say, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" 18 They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Dig Deeper
Almost seven years ago now, my wife and I decided that we would have another child. We already had a seven year-old and thought that it would be a good time to have another baby. My wife was particularly excited about the prospect of having another baby. A couple of months in to her pregnancy we went to the doctor’s office for a routine appointment, only to be told after the ultrasound that there was a problem with my wife and she would have to immediately go on restrictive bed rest until the baby was born. This meant that she could not get up out of the bed for any reason for what turned out to be four months. That was a difficult time for her. She had to learn to eat and do everything while laying with her feet elevated slightly above her head. We had to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas from the hospital room, and the doctor decided that she was going to have to give birth to the baby during what was supposed to have been her baby shower, which had also been scheduled in the hospital. The whole experience was trying, full of challenges and grief, but what kept her going was the hope of a wonderful baby boy at the end. Yes, the same baby boy that was causing all of this pain and anguish in the first place. Suddenly that day, the very thing that had caused all of the trouble came. The baby turned from a source of grief into a source of great joy. She had her baby and all of that time and trouble quickly seemed like a distant memory. In fact, as I type this, that wonderful little package, who is now going to be six in a few days, is sitting next to me asking me what "expedition" means. Looking back now through time, the struggles that we went through still seem very real but they seem quite worth it in perspective of what came out of it all.
The disciples know that Jesus is about to leave them in some shape or form. They don’t exactly know everything that is about to happen, but all they can think about is how difficult it will be for them. How could they possibly go on without their teacher? It was hard for them to see how any good could come of all of this. Jesus wants them, however, to see beyond the trial that is coming towards them all like a runaway boulder. They shouldn’t see things as dark and dismal with no hope in sight. Rather, this situation is much like having a child. The way that the new creation will come into the world will be painful and cause them as well as Jesus serious anguish, but once it comes, everything will be put in perspective. The very thing that had caused them anguish will now give them the greatest joy and they will know that it was all worth the pain.
By this time, the disciples are surely feeling near to the point of being overwhelmed by all that Jesus has told them. It really was quite a lot when you think about it. Imagine their surprise, then, when he tells them there is much more that he’d like to say, but he won’t right now because they would not be able to bear it. He will leave that all to the Spirit of truth. Jesus doesn’t tell them exactly what it is and why they won’t be able to bear it, and John doesn’t specifically enlighten us either, but we can assume that Jesus is referring, at least in part, to the things that they will do under the guidance of the Spirit. They will be transformed into the image of Jesus’ life and will be led by the Spirit into all corners of the world to preach the Gospel and subsequently undergo the same type of rejection and death that Jesus is about to experience.
Why doesn’t Jesus tell them all of the details about this? There are at least three reasons that seem immediately obvious. First, Jesus has only told them things about the future that they need to strengthen them so that their faith is not shaken beyond repair when those things happen. He has told them enough of those things and evidently the other things he would like to tell them don’t fall under this category. Second, telling them would likely have overwhelmed them. We can all probably relate to that. If someone had come to me ten years ago and tell me about all of the changes I would need to make in my life and all the things that I would do for the Gospel and the ways that I would be used by God, I would have been completely overwhelmed and probably would have quit right there. Third, Jesus doesn’t need to tell them these things, because the Holy Spirit will do that all in due time. He will guide them into the truth. This truth, as Jesus has already told them (Jn. 14:26), will be what Jesus has already taught them. Through the guidance of the spirit, they will understand the things that Jesus taught throughout his life and the natural extension of those teachings. The Spirit will guide them in the teachings and life of Christ. As we noted above (in the commentary on 14:26), the Holy Spirit is an educator, not an innovator. Everything the Spirit does is to faithfully reveal the truth of Christ and to glorify him. The Spirit does not speak on his own but only guides in those things that the Father has given to the Son, and that the Son has, in turn, given to the Spirit.
This should stand as a word of caution for critics of the Bible who say that they seek to go back to Jesus’ words, but desire to discount the words of the apostles and writers of the New Testament. There is even a group that calls themselves "red letter Christians," meaning that they only value the words of Jesus but disregard anything else in the New Testament. This passage, however, shows that approach to be untenable. Jesus says that the Spirit is the same source behind the apostles recounting his teachings and guiding their own New Testament writings. We cannot have one without the other.
Jesus has clearly told them that he is leaving and that this departure will be to their benefit, but now what he tells them in verse 16 is just confusing. What could he possibly mean that "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." The disciples were simply having trouble matching up their messianic expectations with the things that Jesus was telling them. If he is going to begin the messianic kingdom, then why go to the Father, and if he is going to the Father and not being his kingdom, then why return? They just could make little sense of what he was saying.
Jesus doesn’t really lessen the gravity of what is to come with his birth analogy. Giving birth is an immensely difficult thing. It is terrifying. We have some friends who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, but in the months leading up to the birth, the expectant mother was absolutely haunted by the daunting specter of pain that was to come. Comedian Carol Burnett once famously remarked that giving birth feels like having your bottom lip pulled over your head. The time that is coming, Jesus tells them, will be painful and frightening.
Jesus is, no doubt, referring to his own coming death. It will be a terrible thing. It will seem that the darkness has overcome the light. Living in a Friday world (the traditional day of Jesus’ death) where evil has overcome good, is a terrifying prospect. Yet, the very thing that causes them grief, his death, will turn to joy. They will finally understand all that has happened. The crucifixion will be terrible but the Sunday of resurrection is surely coming. The new creation, the way that God will reconcile the world to Himself, will be born through that grief. They will suddenly realize that they can enter into that very death and find life. They can die to the old creation and enter into the new. They can become Sunday people in a Friday world. His death and resurrection have to happen. They are the necessary events that will lead to his return to the Father, the onset of the new creation and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
When a woman has a baby, it’s not that the pain and anguish she experienced suddenly did not happen. It’s not even that something entirely different comes in and replaces her anguish with joy. The very thing that caused the pain, once given birth to, replaces that pain with joy. The pain was real, but the joy of the reality of the new baby far outweighs the pain and makes it all seem worthwhile. The Old Testament background behind this comes from passages such as Hosea 13:13-15 and possibly Isaiah 66:7-14, but it seems to come more specifically from Isaiah 26:17-19, a passage in which giving birth and the hope of resurrection are directly linked. What caused pain will bring joy. That’s what the Cross will be for them. First a source of grief, but when the resurrection comes, and the new creation with it, it will become the very source of their joy and the foundation of their hope.
Devotional Thought
God specializes in using situations that seem painful and terrible to produce good fruit in our lives. James, in chapter 1 of his letter, says that we should consider trials with pure joy because they produce perseverance in us which makes us complete in the life of Christ. Do you believe that? Do you see struggles as a source of growth and opportunities to stand in God’s grace rather than just a terrifying prospect of pain and difficulty? Try trusting in God and see what joy and growth come through the very thing that is causing a hard time.
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