What did he mean?

¹⁶ Soon you won’t be able to see me; soon after that, you will see me.” ¹⁷ Some of Jesus’ disciples said to each other, “What does he mean: ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’ and ‘Because I’m going to the Father’? ¹⁸ What does he mean by ‘soon’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.” ¹⁹ Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’? ²⁰ I assure you that you will cry and lament, and the world will be happy. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹ When a woman gives birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers her distress because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. ²² In the same way, you have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and you will be overjoyed. No one takes away your joy. ²³ In that day, you won’t ask me anything. I assure you that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Up to now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy will be complete. (John 16:16-24, CEB)

I love this passage, because Jesus says, “soon you won’t be able to see me; soon after that, you will see me.” And the disciples are like what does he mean? What is soon? Where is he going? What does all of this mean?

And Jesus, of course, hears or knows what they are talking about and explains again and in crystal clear Jesus form. So no one still understands what Jesus is talking about.

You will cry and the world will rejoice! You will be sorrowful, but that sorrow will become joy.

He didn’t plainly say what was happening, that he was going to he arrested, beaten, put on trial, and killed, and then 3 days later come back to life and then go back to be with the Father. He didn’t say this plainly because they wouldn’t have believed it. I say this because I wouldn’t have believed it. Even after it happened the disciples questioned it.

People still question it today. It is hard to believe. But isn’t that what faith is, believing what we can’t believe?

So stop worrying about figuring out what Jesus meant by everything we have written down that he “said.” Because all you have to do is have faith that the promises are true, not understand everything completely now.

Love People. Love God.