22: The work of the Holy Spirit — John 16:5-16:33

16  “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 Never-theless 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.^{b  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.^{a  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!”  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What is Jesus describing at the beginning? How do the disciples respond? Who does Jesus promise to help the disciples? What will this person do for them? Why does the world need to understand these things about sin and righteousness and judgment?

2. What is the relationship of the Holy Spirit to Jesus? To God the Father? How will the disciples know the Holy Spirit?

3. What does Jesus turn to next? How does he describe this situation? How do the disciples react to this? What does Jesus do in response? What image does he use to help them understand? 

4. Why do you think Jesus shifts the way he talks with the disciples [v. 25]? What makes “straight” talk appropriate now when it wasn’t before? How do the disciples respond to these new statements?

5. What does Jesus tell them about their new situation? What hope does he offer the disciples? How do you suppose they felt now?

Get Personal

How does God let you know what to expect in your life? How does he give you confidence and hope for your future? How do you respond to God’s assurance?

16.6. Sorrow — the disciples still do not understand the “big picture” of salvation; they remain focused on the loss of their friend and leader.
16.7. Advocate — Jesus uses the same term as in 14:16, but shows a different role for the Spirit: that of God’s advocate against the world.
16:8. Prove — the Greek word means to make the subject so clear there is no possibility of misunderstanding. The Holy Spirit will expose humanity’s guilt in rejecting God (sin), Christ’s death and resurrection (righteousness) and condemnation of evil (judgment). 
16:13-15. Jesus underscores that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, he “speaks” what he hears from God the Father, and he “receives” the truth from Jesus and makes it known.
16:16. You will no longer see me . . . you will see me — though it is literally true, Jesus’ statement is more poetic than clear – so he explains his immanent  death and resurrection in verses 19-22, using the pain and joy of childbirth. 
16:20. Pain will turn to joy – Psalm 30 says: You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

16:23. Ask anything of the Father — Jesus reminds the disciples that they will be his direct representatives and that God the Father will respond to their prayers as he has responded to Jesus.
16:25. Figures of speech — Jesus had used metaphors and parables to explain the kingdom of Heaven and his mission on Earth, but now he shifts to straightforward statements, especially verse 28.
16:31. Now believe — Jesus isn’t really asking a question, he is confirming the disciples’ belief.
16:32. Scattered— Jesus then warns the disciples about the effect of his arrest and death, and also describes their future lives as his Apostles. In Matthew’s Gospel [26:31] Jesus links this to Zechariah: God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, [13:7].
16:33. Persecution — the Greek word actually means pressure, in this case from the world. Jesus was constantly pressured to conform to the world and the disciples are about to feel that same pressure. In the next verse Jesus assures them that he has conquered (literally, “subdued”) that pressure and they will, too.