Context No. 4130 of 4322 · John

John 16:1-11: in context

1“I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble. 2They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God. 3They will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me. 4But I have told you these things so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. 5But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; 9about sin, because they don’t believe in me; 10about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; 11about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.

As Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure, warning them of coming persecution, he says something that seems, at first, hard to accept: it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. The disciples were filled with sorrow at the thought of losing Jesus, but he tells them his going is actually for their good.

How could Jesus' departure be an advantage? Because while Jesus in the flesh could be in only one place at a time, the Spirit he would send would dwell within every believer, everywhere, always. His going away made way for a nearer and abiding presence, the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, given to all his people. There is comfort here for us who did not walk with Jesus in the flesh. We are not at a disadvantage for having come after his earthly life; in a sense we have something better, the promised Spirit, who is with us and in us always. What felt to the disciples like loss was in fact gain: the abiding presence of God's Spirit.

Do I live in the good of Christ's promise, that his going away made way for the Spirit to dwell within his people always, so that I am not at a disadvantage but blessed with the abiding presence of the Counselor he sent?

Sources

John 16:7: "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don't go away, the Counselor won't come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."
John 16:8: "When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment."
John 16:6: "But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart."