A little while When I am dead and buried; and ye shall not see me I shall not converse with you on earth, as I have hitherto done; and again For your encouragement and comfort, I assure you it will be but a little while longer, and ye shall see me And that to your much greater comfort and advantage; because I go to the Father When I shall be so mindful of your interest with him, as, ere long, to bring you to an eternal abode with him. Then said some, What is this that he saith The terms in which Jesus had spoken of his death, resurrection, and ascension, being very obscure, the disciples were altogether at a loss to understand them. Wherefore, having revolved them a while in their own minds, they asked one another privately if they could comprehend what he meant. But each of them declared, with a kind of astonishment, that he could affix no idea to his words at all. Jesus, observing their perplexity, and knowing that they inclined to ask him about this matter, prevented them, by signifying that he knew what they had been saying. He therefore said, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, &c. I will explain myself upon this point: Verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament When ye see me dead; but the world shall rejoice Your not seeing me is an event which shall occasion great grief to you, and joy to my enemies. However, your sorrow shall be turned into joy When ye see me risen. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, &c. “The state of mind you shall be in when the events happen of which I am speaking, I cannot better describe than by comparing it to the condition of a woman in travail. During her labour she hath exquisite pain, because the birth approaches; but as soon as she is delivered, she forgets the anguish she was in, being filled with joy that she has brought one of the human species into the world. Just so, you, my disciples, will be in the greatest distress during the time of my departure. But, as I am to rise again from the dead, and to ascend into heaven, you will forget your sorrow, and rejoice exceedingly; and from that time forth your joy shall be of such a kind, as that it shall not be in the power of men to rob you of it.” Macknight.
Related Commentaries of John 16:16
John 16:16-22
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us,A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again,a little while, and ye shall see me: and,Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith,A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them,Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.