John 16:28 - Meaning and Application

Christ comforts his disciples here in two ways. First, he assures them that, though he is leaving the world, he is returning to his Father, from whom he came. Second, he shows them that his leaving should not be seen as failure, because it is the completion of his work and the path back to glory.

Jesus gives a clear statement of his mission from the Father and his return to the Father: “I came forth from the Father and came into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28). This is the heart of the matter. He had spent much time teaching them these two great truths, where he came from and where he was going, the beginning and the end of the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16). The Redeemer entered as God revealed in human flesh, and he departed by being taken up in glory.

These truths are set in a brief, memorable form, which is very helpful for new believers. Short summaries of Christian teaching, like creeds and catechisms, can carry divine light and warmth with great power. Scripture often gives this kind of compact teaching: “much in a little” (Job 28:28; Ecclesiastes 12:13; 1 Timothy 1:15; Titus 2:11, 12; 1 John 5:11). Here, Christ’s coming and going are also placed side by side. They fit together beautifully, and each helps explain the other.

Christ had just praised the disciples for believing that he came from God (John 16:27). From that, he showed the fairness and necessity of his returning to God again. So his departure should not seem strange or sorrowful to them. When we rightly use what we already know and confess, it helps us understand what still feels hard or unclear.

If we ask where the Redeemer came from and where he went, the answer is plain. He came from the Father, who set him apart and confirmed him for his work. He came into this world, the world of human beings, and joined himself to our nature through his incarnation, the act of becoming flesh. His work belonged here, and he came to carry it out. He left his home for this foreign land, his palace for this humble dwelling, a great act of condescension, or lowering himself in love.

When he had finished his work on earth, he left the world and went back to the Father at his ascension. He was not driven away. He left by his own will, and he will not return to live here again until he comes to bring this world to an end. Yet he is still spiritually present with his church and will be to the end.

The disciples were encouraged by this clear statement (John 16:29, 30). “Now you are speaking plainly,” they said. It seems that this one saying did them more good than many others, even though Christ had said much that should have stayed with them. The Holy Spirit works as he chooses, like the wind, and may use a word that was heard before, or even many times before, before it finally takes hold.

They grew in two ways through this saying. First, they grew in understanding: “Now you are speaking plainly.” When they had been confused, they did not accuse Christ of speaking badly. Now that they understood him, they honored him for making himself clear to their level. Plain speech is often the most useful way to teach divine truth (1 Corinthians 2:4). They rejoiced like a person who has finally found what he was seeking.

Second, they grew in faith: “Now we know that you know all things.” They believed the truth Christ had already said, that he came from God. They could now say, “Lord, we do believe it, and we know we believe it.” What strengthened their faith was his perfect knowledge. His ability to answer the doubts hidden in their hearts showed that he was more than a prophet and truly sent from God.

Those know Christ best who know him by experience. They can say that his power works in them, and that his love reaches them personally. His knowledge also proves that he is a divine person, not just a messenger. He sees the thoughts and intentions of the heart, which belongs to the eternal Word of God (Hebrews 4:12, 13). He has shown all the churches that he searches hearts and minds (Revelation 2:23). That same knowledge first moved the woman of Samaria, who saw that he told her everything she had ever done (John 4:29), and Nathanael, who learned that Jesus had seen him under the fig tree (John 1:48, 49).

The words, “You do not need anyone to ask you,” may mean two things. First, they may show Christ’s readiness to teach. He gives instruction before we ask and freely shares the wisdom stored in him. Second, they may show his power to teach. Unlike other teachers, he does not need learners to explain their doubts to him, because he already knows what they are struggling with. Human teachers can answer only what is spoken, but Christ answers even what is only thought or feared and not yet said, as the disciples were afraid to ask (Mark 9:32). In this way he truly has compassion on us (Hebrews 5:2).

Christ then gently rebukes the disciples for their confidence that they now understood him (John 16:31, 32). Seeing how they were boasting in their progress, he asked, “Do you now believe?” He was pressing them to think carefully. “If you believe now,” he was saying, “why not sooner? Have you not heard these same things many times before?” People who are finally persuaded after many warnings and invitations should feel shame that they resisted so long.

He also meant, “If you believe now, why assume you will always stand firm? When testing comes, where will your faith be then?” If our faith changes often, we should question whether it is truly sincere and ask whether we really believe. Christ then predicted their fall. Though they felt sure of themselves, they would soon all abandon him. That happened the very night he was seized by a band of guards, when all his disciples left him and fled (Matthew 26:56). They were scattered from one another, each person looking only to his own safety and not to the others.

Troubled times scatter Christian communities. In dark and cloudy days, Christ’s flock is dispersed (Ezekiel 34:12).

So Christ, as a company of disciples, was not visible to the world. They were scattered for his sake: “You will leave me alone.” They should have stood as witnesses for him at his trial and served him in his suffering. Even if they could not comfort him, they could have at least shown loyalty. But they were ashamed of his chains and afraid to share in his pain, so they left him alone.

Many a good cause, when enemies attack it, is deserted by its friends. The disciples had stayed with Christ through his other trials, yet now they turned their backs on him. People who are tested do not always prove faithful. If we ever find our friends unkind to us, we should remember that Christ’s friends were unkind to him too. When they left him alone, they each went to his own place, not to their homes and property, which were in Galilee, but to their own friends and acquaintances in Jerusalem. Each one went where he thought he would be safest, looking out for himself and his own life.

People will not dare to suffer for their religion if they care more about their own interests than Christ’s. They are also less likely to suffer if they treat the things of this world as their own lasting treasure, as if their happiness were bound up in them. Christ knew before hand that his disciples would desert him at the critical moment, and yet he remained gentle with them in every way. We may say of some people, “If we had known their ingratitude, we would not have been so generous to them.” Christ knew theirs ahead of time, and still he was kind.

He also told them about it to correct their present pride. He was saying, in effect, “Do you now believe? Do not become proud, but fear, because in a little while you will see your faith so shaken that you may question whether it is real.” Even when we enjoy the comfort of our Christian graces, it is good to be reminded of the danger from our sinful nature. When faith is strong, love is burning, and our signs of grace are clear, we still cannot assume tomorrow will be the same as today. Even when we seem most secure, we still need to watch carefully so we do not fall.

He spoke of this as something very near. The time was already almost here when they would be as shy of him as they had once been fond of him. A short time can bring great changes, both around us and within us.

Yet Christ gives this assurance about his own comfort: “Yet I am not alone.” He did not want anyone to think he was complaining about their desertion as if it truly injured him. In their absence, he was sure of his Father’s presence, which was enough for all things. “The Father is with me.”

We can think of this in two ways. First, it was a special privilege belonging to the Lord Jesus. The Father was with him in his sufferings in a way unlike any other person, because he still remained in the Father’s bosom. His divine nature did not leave his human nature, but supported it and gave his sufferings an unbreakable comfort and priceless worth. The Father had promised to be with him in the whole work (Psalm 89:21ff.) and to protect him (Isaiah 49:8). This made him bold (Isaiah 50:7). Even when he cried out as if the Father had forsaken him, he still called him “My God.” Soon after, he was so sure of the Father’s favor that he committed his spirit into his hands. He had always comforted himself with this truth (John 8:29), “He who sent me is with me; the Father has not left me alone,” and this was especially true at the end. This strengthens our trust that Christ’s sacrifice was fully acceptable. There is no doubt the Father was pleased with him, because he was with him from beginning to end.

Second, this is also a privilege shared by all believers through their union with Christ. When they are alone, they are not truly alone, because the Father is with them. When solitude is their choice, as with Isaac in the field, Nathanael under the fig tree, or Peter on the housetop, meditating and praying, the Father is with them. Those who talk with God in solitude are never less alone than when alone. A good God and a good heart are good company at any time.

When solitude is their trouble, and enemies leave them alone while friends go away too, so that their company becomes desolate, they are still not as alone as others think. The Father is with them, as he was with Joseph in prison and John in exile. In their greatest troubles they are like a child whom his father pities or a child whom his mother comforts. And while we have God’s favorable presence with us, we are happy and should rest easy, even if the whole world leaves us. We do not give God the honor he deserves unless we consider him enough by himself.

Christ also comforts them with a promise of peace in himself, because he has overcome the world, no matter what troubles they may meet in it (John 16:33). “I have spoken these things to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” Christ’s aim in this farewell message was that they would have peace in him. He did not mean to explain all the doctrine they would soon learn through the Holy Spirit, but to reassure them for the moment that his departure was for their good. More generally, he had spoken all this so that by enjoying him they might enjoy themselves rightly.

It is Christ’s will that his disciples should have peace inside, whatever troubles they have outside. Peace in Christ is the only true peace, and believers have it only in him, for “this man shall be the peace” (Micah 5:5). Through him we have peace with God, and so in him we also have peace in our own minds. The word of Christ aims at this, that in him we may have peace, because peace is the fruit of his lips (Isaiah 57:19).

They should also expect the world to treat them badly. “In the world you will have trouble,” he says, “so do not expect outward peace.” Though they were sent to announce peace on earth and good will toward men, they must expect trouble on earth and ill will from men. It has always been the lot of Christ’s disciples to have trouble in this world. People persecute them because they are too good, and God corrects them because they are not better. Men mean to drive them out of the earth, and God uses affliction to make them ready for heaven. So between the two, they will have trouble.

Still, Christ gives them courage with these words: “Take heart.”

Christ does not only tell his disciples to be comforted, he tells them to be courageous and to take heart. In the middle of this world’s troubles, it is both their duty and their good to stay cheerful. They should keep delighting in God, whatever weighs on them, and keep hoping in God, whatever threatens them. So they may be sorrowful, in step with the sorrow around them, and yet still always rejoice and remain cheerful (2 Corinthians 6:10), even in suffering (Romans 5:3-4).

The reason for this courage is plain: “I have overcome the world.” Christ’s victory is the believer’s victory. He overcame the prince of this world, Satan, stripped him of his power, and drove him out. He still keeps Satan under our feet. He also overcame the children of this world by bringing many to faith and obedience to his gospel, making them children of his kingdom.

When he sends his disciples out to preach the gospel to the whole world, he can say, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world as far as I have gone, and so shall you.” Though they will have trouble in the world, they will still succeed in their mission and win people from the world’s grip (Revelation 6:2). He overcame the wicked people of the world too, because many times he silenced and shamed his enemies. So his people may also take heart, because the Spirit will help them do the same.

Christ also overcame the evil things of the world by submitting to them. He endured the cross and was not broken by its shame. He overcame the good things of the world by being completely free from them. Its honors did not attract him, and its pleasures had no charm for him. Never was there a conqueror like Christ, and that should encourage us.

It encourages us, first, because Christ has gone before us and overcome the world. We can therefore look at it as a defeated enemy, one that has already been beaten many times. It also encourages us because he overcame it for us, as the captain of our salvation. We share in his victory. By his cross, the world is crucified to us, which means it is fully conquered and placed under our feet. “All things are yours,” even the world. Since Christ has overcome the world, believers have only to carry forward that victory and take the spoil, and we do this by faith (1 John 5:4). We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.