Church Fathers Commentary John 16:16-22

"A little while, and ye behold me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see me. [Some] of his disciples therefore said one to another, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? We know not what he saith. Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you." — John 16:16-22 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: After relieving the disciples’ spirits with the promise of the Holy Spirit, our Lord again saddens them: A little while, and you shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the topic of His departure, so that they may bear it well when it comes. For nothing quiets a troubled mind so much as continually returning to the subject of its grief.

The Venerable Bede: He said, A little while, and you shall not see Me, alluding to His being taken by the Jews that night, His crucifixion the next morning, and His burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.

St. John Chrysostom: But upon examination, these are words of consolation: Because I go to the Father. For they show that His death was only a transition. More consolation follows: And again, a little while, and you shall see Me. This was an intimation that He would return and, after a short separation, come and live with them forever.

St. Augustine of Hippo: However, the meaning of these words was obscure before their fulfillment. Then some of His disciples said among themselves, What is this that He said to us, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again, a little while, and you shall see Me; and, Because I go to the Father?

St. John Chrysostom: Either sorrow had confused their minds, or the obscurity of the words themselves prevented them from understanding and made them seem contradictory. They said, “If we are to see You, how are You going? If You go, how will we see You?” They asked, “What is this that He said to us, ‘A little while’? We cannot tell what He said.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: For previously, when He did not say, A little while, but simply, I go to the Father, He seemed to speak plainly. But what was obscure to them at the time, and only afterward made clear, is clear to us. For in a little while He suffered, and they did not see Him; and again, in a little while He rose, and they saw Him. He says, And you shall see Me no more, for they would no longer see the mortal Christ.

Alcuin of York: Alternatively, it will be a little time during which you will not see Me—that is, the three days He rested in the grave. And again, it will be a little time during which you will see Me—that is, the forty days He appeared among them, from His Passion to His Ascension. You will see Me for that little time only, Because I go to the Father; for I am not going to remain here in the body always, but am to ascend to heaven in the humanity that I have assumed.

It follows: Now Jesus knew that they were wishing to ask Him, and said to them, Do you inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again, a little while, and you shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say to you, That you shall weep and lament. Understanding their ignorance and doubts, their merciful Master replied in a way that explained what He had said.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This must be understood as follows: namely, that the disciples sorrowed at their Lord’s death and then immediately rejoiced at His resurrection. The world (that is, the enemies of Christ who put Him to death) rejoiced at the very time the disciples sorrowed—at His death. You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

Alcuin of York: But these words of our Lord are applicable to all believers who strive through present tears and afflictions to attain eternal joys. While the righteous weep, the world rejoices; for since it has no hope of the joys to come, all its delight is in the present.

St. John Chrysostom: Then, using an example from nature, He shows that sorrow brings forth joy—that short sorrow brings infinite joy: A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This comparison does not seem difficult to understand. It was a ready one, and He Himself immediately shows its application: And you now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. The labor is compared to sorrow and the birth to joy, which is especially true in the birth of a boy. And your joy no man takes from you. Their joy is Christ. This agrees with what the Apostle said: Christ being risen from the dead dies no more (Romans 6:9).

St. John Chrysostom: By this example, He also intimates that He loosens the chains of death and creates people anew. However, He does not say that she will not have tribulation, but that she will not remember it, so great is the joy that follows. And so it is with the saints. He did not say that a boy is born, but a man—a subtle allusion to His own resurrection.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is better to refer what was said above to this joy: A little while and you shall not see Me, and again, a little while and you shall see Me. For the entire time that this world continues is but a little while. The phrase Because I go to the Father refers to the first clause, a little while and you shall not see Me, not to the second, a little while and you shall see Me. His going to the Father was the reason they would not see Him.

So to those who then saw Him in the body, He says, A little while and you shall not see Me, for He was about to go to the Father, and from then on mortals would never again see Him as they saw Him then. The next words, a little while and you shall see Me, are a promise to the whole Church. For this “little while” seems long to us as it is passing, but when it is finished, we will see how short a time it was.

Alcuin of York: The woman is the holy Church, who is fruitful in good works and brings forth spiritual children to God. This woman, while she is giving birth—that is, while she is making her way in the world amid temptations and afflictions—has sorrow because her hour has come, for no one ever hated his own flesh.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Yet even in this labor that brings forth joy, we are not entirely without joy to lighten our sorrow; rather, as the Apostle said, we rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12). For even the woman to whom we are compared rejoices more over her future offspring than she sorrows for her present pain.

Alcuin of York: But as soon as she is delivered—that is, when her laborious struggle is over and she has won the victor’s palm—she no longer remembers her former anguish, for joy at reaping such a reward, for joy that a man is born into the world. For just as a woman rejoices when a man is born into the world, so the Church is filled with exultation when the faithful are born into eternal life.

The Venerable Bede: Nor should it seem strange if someone who departs from this life is said to be born. For just as a man is said to be born when he comes out of his mother’s womb into the light of day, so may he be said to be born who, from the prison of the body, is raised to the eternal light. This is why the festivals of the saints, which are the days on which they died, are called their birthdays.

Alcuin of York: I will see you again means that I will take you to Myself. Or, I will see you again means that I will appear again and be seen by you, and your heart shall rejoice.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Indeed, the Church now yearns for this fruit in her labor, but she will enjoy it then in her delivery. And it is a male child because all active duties are for the sake of devotion. For only that is free which is desired for its own sake and not for anything else, and action exists for this end.

This is the end that satisfies and is eternal, for nothing can satisfy except what is itself the ultimate end. Therefore, of this joy it is well said, Your joy no man takes from you.