John 16–17

16“I have told you all of this so that you will not go down the wrong path. ²You will be thrown out of the synagogue. In fact, a time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a favor. ³They will do things like that because they do not know the Father or me.

⁴“Why have I told you this? So that when the time comes, you will remember that I warned you. I didn’t tell you this at first because I was with you.

What the Holy Spirit Will Do

⁵“Now I am going to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Because I have said these things, you are filled with sadness.

⁷“But what I’m about to tell you is true. It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Friend will not come to help you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will prove that the world’s people are guilty. He will prove their guilt concerning sin and godliness and judgment.

⁹“The world is guilty as far as sin is concerned. That is because people do not believe in me. ¹⁰The world is guilty as far as godliness is concerned. That is because I am going to the Father, where you can’t see me anymore. ¹¹The world is guilty as far as judgment is concerned. That is because the devil, the prince of this world, has already been judged.

¹²“I have much more to say to you. It is more than you can handle right now. ¹³But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears. And he will tell you what is still going to happen.

¹⁴“He will bring me glory by receiving something from me and showing it to you. ¹⁵Everything that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Holy Spirit will receive something from me and show it to you.

¹⁶“In a little while, you will no longer see me. Then after a little while, you will see me.”

The Disciples’ Sadness Will Turn Into Joy

¹⁷Some of his disciples spoke to one another. They said, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while, you will no longer see me. Then after a little while, you will see me’? And what does he mean by saying, ‘I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about those things. So he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant? Didn’t you understand when I said, ‘In a little while, you will no longer see me. Then after a little while, you will see me’? ²⁰What I’m about to tell you is true. You will cry and be full of sorrow while the world is full of joy. You will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy.

²¹“A woman giving birth to a baby has pain. This is because her time to give birth has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a baby has been born into the world.

²²“That’s the way it is with you. Now it’s your time to be sad. But I will see you again. Then you will be full of joy. And no one will take your joy away.

²³“When that day comes, you will no longer ask me for anything. What I’m about to tell you is true. My Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive what you ask for. Then your joy will be complete.

²⁵“I have not been speaking to you plainly. But a time is coming when I will speak clearly. Then I will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶When that day comes, you will ask for things in my name. I am not saying I will ask the Father instead of you asking him. ²⁷No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me. He also loves you because you have believed that I came from God.

²⁸“I came from the Father and entered the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking plainly. You are using examples that are clear. ³⁰Now we can see that you know everything. You don’t even need anyone to ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹“At last you believe!” Jesus said. ³²“But a time is coming when you will be scattered and go to your own homes. In fact, that time is already here. You will leave me all alone. But I am not really alone. My Father is with me.

³³“I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But cheer up! I have won the battle over the world.”

Jesus Prays for Himself

17After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said,

“Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you. ²You gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him.

³“And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. ⁵So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶“I have shown you to the disciples you gave me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me. And they have obeyed your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸I gave them the words you gave me. And they accepted them. They knew for certain that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.

⁹“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world. I am praying for those you have given me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. Glory has come to me because of my disciples.

¹¹“I will not remain in the world any longer. But they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name. It is the name you gave me. Keep them safe so they can be one, just as you and I are one.

¹²“While I was with them, I guarded them. I kept them safe through the name you gave me. None of them has been lost, except the one who was sentenced to be destroyed. It happened so that Scripture would come true.

¹³“I am coming to you now. But I say these things while I am still in the world. I say them so that those you gave me can have all my joy inside them. ¹⁴I have given them your word. The world has hated them. This is because they are not part of the world any more than I am. ¹⁵I do not pray that you will take them out of the world. I pray that you will keep them safe from the evil one.

¹⁶“They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to it. ¹⁷Use the truth to make them holy. Your word is truth. ¹⁸You sent me into the world. In the same way, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹I make myself holy for them so that they too can be made holy in a true sense.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰“I do not pray only for them. I pray also for those who will believe in me because of their message. ²¹Father, I pray that all of them will be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. I want them also to be in us. Then the world will believe that you have sent me.

²²“I have given them the glory you gave me. I did this so they would be one, just as we are one. ²³I will be in them, just as you are in me. I want them to be brought together perfectly as one. This will let the world know that you sent me. It will also show the world that you have loved those you gave me, just as you have loved me.

²⁴“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am. I want them to see my glory, the glory you have given me. You gave it to me because you loved me before the world was created.

²⁵“Father, you are holy. The world does not know you, but I know you. Those you have given me know you have sent me. ²⁶I have shown you to them. And I will continue to show you to them. Then the love you have for me will be in them. I myself will be in them.”