This chapter contains some of the most precious words that the Lord Jesus uttered before he died upon the cross.
John 16:1. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
Or, as the Revised Version translates it, «be made to stumble.» Christ would not have his children stumble. There is an offence of the cross, but he would not have us needlessly offended. How careful is our dear Saviour not to give us offence! We ought to be very careful not to offend him; but what condescension it is on his part that he should be careful of offending us, or of permitting us to be offended, or made to stumble.
John 16:2. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Can you remain faithful to your Master then, when you lose your position, or your character, or men put you out of the synagogue? When you nearly lose life itself, and when they shall think they are doing God's service by seeking to kill you, can you stand true to Christ then? The Master knew that days of bitter persecution would soon come upon his followers, so he strengthened them against those evil times that were approaching.
John 16:3. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
It is ignorance that makes men hate God's people and his Son: «They have not known the Father, nor me.» Truly did Paul say, «I did it ignorantly in unbelief;» and for such persecutors there is full and free forgiveness. When they turn unto the Lord, even this sin shall be forgiven them; but they will not forgive themselves for having committed it; and, like Paul, they will count themselves the chief of sinners because they persecuted the Church of God.
John 16:4. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.
«You will then see my foresight, my care for you, my prophetic power. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. You will not be taken by surprise.» If any of you who have lately been converted should meet with great opposition, do not be surprised; Jesus has told you to expect it; and if the fire should get seven times hotter, count it no strange thing that the fiery trial has happened unto you. It has happened unto others before you, and will happen to others after you; therefore be prepared for it.
John 16:4. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
«While I was with you, you could run to me, and tell me all about your trials and difficulties. If anybody was hard with you, I could come to your help, and comfort you. You did not need to know these things before, so I did not tell you of them. You do need to know them now, and now I tell you of them.»
John 16:5. But now I go my way to him that sent me;
Christ was going to the cross, and to the grave, and afterwards to heaven.
John 16:5. And none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
For want of asking that question, Christ's disciples were full of grief.
Sometimes we do not ask enough questions. We ask too many questions of doubt; it would be well if we were to ask a few more questions of believing curiosity. There are some things that we ought to wish to know; and Christ encourages his people to come to him for information.
John 16:6. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
When a poor Christian friend is dying, you are full of sorrow because he is going away from you. Why do you not ask whither he is going? If he is going home to heaven and to glory, why, then be comforted about him; you have no cause for distress on his account.
John 16:7. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away.
«It is better for you that I should be absent than that I should be present.» Their Lord was their joy, their Leader, their Teacher, their Comforter. He is going away, and he tells them that his absence will be a gain to them. «It is expedient for you that I go away.»
John 16:7. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him, unto you.
Now, it is better for us to have the Comforter than to have Christ here in bodily presence; for if Christ were here tonight, in this Tabernacle, where could we put him so as to be equally near each one of us? I should certainly want him up here on the platform; and you, up there in the top gallery, would say, «Well, we are a long way off; why should he not come up here?» You see, if it is bodily presence that is enjoyed, some must be near, and some must be far off; but now that Christ has gone up to heaven, his Spirit is here. Where is that Spirit? On the platform, I hope, and everywhere else. Any of you who desire it may have the Holy Spirit's presence. The Lord says,» I will put my Spirit within you.» Better than the bodily presence of Christ is the real, though spiritual, presence of the Holy Ghost.
John 16:8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
What, a Comforter reprove? Yes. The Holy Spirit never comforts till he has reproved. There must be a reproof of sin before there can be comfort in Christ. And while the Spirit comforts saints, he reproves the world.
John 16:9. Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The greatest sin in all the world is, not believing on Jesus. Our Lord did not say, «Of sin, because of the evil of drunkenness.» That is a great sin, a cursed sin, and there are other great sins; but Christ said, «Of sin, because they believe not on me.» That is the root sin, the foundation sin, the sin that keeps a man in his sin.
John 16:10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
It is God's righteousness that takes Christ up to heaven. He has been here; he has lived a perfect life; he has died a sacrificial death; and God has shown his acceptance of him, for he has gone to his reward.
John 16:11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
When Christ came here, there was a crisis, a judgment; and sin was judged and condemned; and the prince of the world, the chief sinner in the world, received his death-blow: «the prince of this world is judged.»
John 16:12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
See how Christ teaches us slowly, wisely, prudently. There are some things which some of you young Christians do not know; you could not bear them if you did know them. You shall know them when you can bear them. A man with a doctrine that he cannot handle is often like a child with a tough piece of meat which he cannot bite. Give the child milk, or the crumb of the loaf. Do not put crusts into his mouth till he has teeth to bite them; do not give him meat till he can digest it. See the gentle Saviour's way of imparting instruction. He teaches us much, but not too much at a time.
John 16:13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
See, my dear brethren in the ministry, how little store the Holy Ghost sets by originality. We have men nowadays straining to be original. Strain the other way, for listen, «He shall not speak of himself,» not even the Holy Ghost, «He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.» He is the Repeater of the Father's message, not the inventor of his own. So let it be with us ministers. We are not to make up a gospel as we go along, as I have heard some say. We are not to shape it to the times in which we live, and suit it to the congregations to which we speak. God forbid! Let this be true of every one of us, «He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak»
John 16:14. He shall glorify me
The Holy Ghost does that; therefore, surely we, who are the preachers of the gospel, should aim at the same object: «He shall glorify me.» It should be our one desire to magnify and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 16:14-16. For he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 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.
That was a very simple statement, every Sunday-scholar understands it now; but the twelve apostles did not understand it when they heard it.
John 16:17-18. 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? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
They said this «among themselves.» This was not a wise course, for what can ignorance learn of ignorance? Here were disciples questioning one another; none of them knew anything, and yet they were trying to teach one another. If they had all gone to their Master, how much more quickly would they have understood his words! Take everything to Jesus. Try everything by the Word of God. Do not believe what you hear because I say it, or because somebody else says it. Go to the Word of God to learn what you need to know, and to the Spirit of God to teach you the meaning of what you read.
John 16:19-20. 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? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament,
Christ would die; he would go away and be unseen. On the cross he would depart out of this life; in the tomb he would be hidden from his disciples: «Ye shall weep and lament.»
John 16:20. But the world shall rejoice:
But not for long; the world's joy at Christ's death was soon over.
John 16:20. And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
I think we may leave off our reading at this verse, with these words to flavor our mouth all this week: «Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.» God grant that it may be so with many here present, for Christ's sake! Amen.