John 16:1-4 (WEL) “I have spoken these things to you, so that you will not fall away. 2 “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming that whoever kills you will think they are serving God. 3 “They will do these things to you because they have not known the Father or me. 4 “I have told you these things, so that whenever that time comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I didn’t say these things to you at the beginning because I was with you.”
Chapter summary:
Joseph Benson:
“In this chapter we have the conclusion of Christ’s farewell discourse to his disciples; in which,
(1) He warns them of the persecutions they should suffer, John 16:1-4.
(2) Taking notice of their grief at the thoughts of his departure from them, he shows it was expedient, as being necessary in order to his sending them the Holy Spirit, John 16:5-7.
(3) He explains the nature and effects of the Spirit’s influences, John 16:8-15.
(4) He gives them intimations of his death, resurrection, and ascension, assuring them that their sorrow should be turned into joy, and their prayers in his name should be heard and answered, John 16:16-28.
(5) The disciples, comprehending his meaning, profess their faith in him, and he foretells they would desert him in his sufferings, and yet promises them peace and comfort amidst their tribulation in the world, John 16:29-33.”
V1 “I have spoken these things to you, so that you will not fall away.
Jesus spoke a message. Now, He tells them His motive. He wants to protect them by warning them, so they will not fall away.
The Greek word for fall away is G4624. σκανδαλίζω skandalizō, which means putting something on the path to make people trip and stumble. (Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary) “to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey.” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (Louw & Nida)) “to cause someone to no longer believe— to cause to give up believing, to make someone no longer believe.”
Instead of closely following the teachings of Jesus Christ, something happens to cause one to doubt their faith and give up. The stumbling block may be an argument, a sermon, someone’s action (a strong believer sins, for example), a lie, threats, etc. Often today, it is twisted Bible interpretation.
Compare the parable of the sower in Matthew 3:3–9. Note how the three ineffective sowings of seed are due to diversions.
There are three main diversions:
- The devil used diversion as current events, something drawing one’s attention, having a thought that makes one worry. Compare Felix in Acts 24:25–27.
- Persecution as mockery, bullying, threats. Compare Peter in Matthew 26:69–75.
- Weeds as prioritizing money, work, social media, sports, etc. Compare the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17–22.
The cure for these three things is preparing them:
- When witnessing to someone, remind them that the evil one will do anything to stop you from placing your faith and trust in Jesus alone. Compare Revelation 13:15 and 1 Samuel 1:6–7. Felix is the example—Acts 24:25–27.
- Tell new converts they will have opposition, but God gives assisting grace (2 Corinthians 12:9). Compare 1 John 3:13.
- Teach them to read and study the Bible every day in its plain, normal sense, prayer, and fellowship. When people neglect these things, our spirit is malnourished and weak, making it ripe for misplacing priorities. Compare Galatians 5:16–17 and 1 Peter 5:8.
V2 “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming that whoever kills you will think they are serving God.
For a Jew, the importance of the synagogues and Temple was identity, acceptance, assistance in time of need, etc. Jesus warns them what the evil Jewish leaders will be doing to the believers in the future. Compare John 9:34–35, John 9:22, and John 12:42.
Our help is the Lord Himself. See Matthew 5:10–12, Luke 6:22, Psalm 121:2, and Matthew 10:28.
V3 “They will do these things to you because they have not known the Father or me.
Jesus reveals His enemies’ motive. They do not know God, which means they do not know God on a personal level, for they refuse to believe, trust, or follow God’s ways. They are rejectors of Jesus.
Principle: Those who do not believe, are rejecting, and even hate Jesus will persecute those who believe, accept, and love Jesus.
Even knowing this helps. Let us believe and trust in God’s strength and help. See Acts 23:11. God’s grace gives us boldness and faithfulness.
V4 “I have told you these things, so that whenever that time comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I didn’t say these things to you at the beginning because I was with you.
Jesus protected them while He was on earth. Now we have opposition, but we have the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
He didn’t tell them these things at first because they might have been discouraged.
Principle: Be aware of what you teach. Tailor your teaching to one’s age and maturity.
(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible) “Our Lord Jesus, by giving his disciples notice of trouble, designed that the terror might not be a surprise to them. It is possible for those who are real enemies to God’s service, to pretend zeal for it. This does not lessen the sin of the persecutors; villainies will never be changed by putting the name of God to them. As Jesus in his sufferings, so his followers in theirs, should look to the fulfilling of Scripture. He did not tell them sooner, because he was with them to teach, guide, and comfort them; they needed not then this promise of the Holy Spirit’s presence.”
We learn:
- That the perfect teacher, Jesus Christ, tailored His teaching to the maturity level of the disciples.
- To have a good and edifying attitude when teaching.
Questions:
- What have you learned from Jesus’s words here?
- How will you handle persecution when it comes?