John 16:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
John 16:19
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?
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
again
πάλινpalin
G3825
(adverbially) anew · adverb
a little while
μικρόνmikrón
G3397
a small space of time or degree
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
ye shall see
ὄψεσθέopsesthe
G3700
to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes · verb — future middle deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
me
με;¶me
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
John 16:16 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.
John 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from G…
John 2:24-25 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
John 7:33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say…
Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have…
Psalms 139:1-4 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 16:16-22
Our Lord Jesus, for the comfort of his sorrowful disciples, here promises that he would visit them again.
I. Observe the intimation he gave them of the comfort he designed them, Joh 16:16. Here he tells them,
1. That they should now shortly lose the sight of him: A little while, and you that have seen me so long, and still desire to see me, shall not see me; and therefore, if they had any good question to ask him, they must ask quickly, for he was now taking his leave of them. Note, It is good to consider how near to a period our seasons of grace are, that we may be quickened to improve them while they are continued. Now our eyes see our teachers, see the days of the Son of man; but, perhaps…
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--The joy of the world at their not seeing Him seems to show that His removal from them by death was what He meant; and in that case, their joy at again seeing Him points to their transport at His reappearance amongst them on His Resurrection, when they could no longer doubt His identity. At the same time the sorrow of the widowed Church in the absence of her Lord in the heavens, and her transport at His personal return, are certainly here expressed.
Adam Clarke on John 16:18
What is this that he saith - They knew from what he had said that he was to die, but knew not what he meant by their seeing him again in a little time.
John Gill on John 16:19
Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him,.... This is a proof of Christ's deity, that he is the omniscient God who knows all things, what is in man, even the secrets of the heart; for he not only knew the whisperings of the disciples, and their inquiries among themselves about the sense of his words, but also their secret desires to ask him concerning it:
and said unto them, do ye inquire 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? which he said before they could put the question to him, they being bashful, and backward, through fear or shame; and which not only confirms what is before observed of his omnisc…
The Church Fathers
It follows; 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. Their merciful Master, understanding their ignorance and doubts, replied so as to explain what He had said.
As then they were thirsting for information and sought to know more exactly the meaning of His words, He gives a clearer exposition of His Passion, and vouchsafes them the foreknowledge of the sufferings that He was about to undergo to their great profit. It was not in order that He might engender in them premature alarm that He deemed it meet to give them this explanation beforehand, but in order that, forearmed by their knowledge, they might perchance be found more courageous to withstand the terror that would assail them. For that of which the advent is expected is milder in its approach than that which is wholly unlooked for.
Christ, however, anticipates their desire for information, and once more very seasonably shows them that He knows their hearts as God, and that He is as well aware of what they are turning over in their minds, and what was as yet buried in the depths of their hearts, as though they had already given utterance to it in speech. For what is there which can be hid from Him before Whom all things are naked? Wherefore also He saith to one of the Saints: Who is this that hideth counsel from Me, and putteth together words in his heart and thinketh that he keepeth it secret from Me? He then at every turn uses occasion as it offers to nurture in them secure and unshaken faith.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
John 16:16-20
16. A little while, and you do not see me [98] and again a little while, and you will see me; because I go to the Father. 17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith to us, a little while, and you do not see me and again a little while, and you will see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18. They said, therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? We know not what he saith. 19. Jesus, therefore. knew that they wished to ask him, and he said to them, You ask among yourselves about what I said, A little while, and you do not see me: and again a little while, and you will see me. 20. Verily, verily, I tell you, That you will weep an…
a little while: This refrain reassured the disciples that their separation from Jesus would be short-lived.
16:16 Jesus reassured the disciples that his departure (on the cross) would be short and his return (in the resurrection) would be soon. When they saw him again, the disciples would experience overwhelming joy and intimacy with him in the Spirit.