John 16:18

John 16:18, in plain English

The disciples keep asking each other: what does He mean by 'a little while'? We just don't understand. Their honest confusion is something anyone can relate to.

Why it's here

There is no shame in not understanding everything God is doing. The disciples were in the dark too. The understanding came later, and it will come for you too.

Who's speaking

The disciples admit to each other that they are completely confused.

Where it sits in the story

They don't get it. And they are honest enough to say so. 'We don't understand.' These are the words of people who love Jesus but are in over their heads. In a few days, everything will make sense. But right now, they are simply holding on.

The scholarly reading

The disciples openly admit their inability to understand: 'We do not understand what He is saying' (ouk oidamen ti lalei). The repeated phrase 'a little while' (mikron) has become a source of frustration and bewilderment.

Language and setting

The disciples' confession of incomprehension is characteristic of Johannine irony: Jesus' words will become luminously clear after the resurrection but are opaque in the present. Their honesty sets the stage for Jesus' clarification.

Voice

The disciples express their collective confusion to one another.

Significance

The disciples reach the limits of their understanding and admit it: they simply do not know what Jesus is talking about. Their honest confusion is the very condition that will make the resurrection's clarifying power all the more powerful when it finally arrives.

16In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”

17Then some of His disciples asked one another, “Why is He telling us, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”

18They kept asking, “Why is He saying, ‘a little while’? We do not understand what He is saying.”

19Aware that they wanted to question Him, Jesus said to them, “Are you asking one another why I said, ‘In a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little while you will see Me’?

20Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

Read all of John 16 — Jesus warns of persecution and promises the Spirit of truth. A woman in labor forgets her anguish when the child arrives — and so will they.