Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 16:17

"[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?" — John 16:17 (ASV)

The two problems that vex the disciples are the prediction of disappearance and then reappearance after a short interval, and the concept of “going to the Father” (for the second one, see 14:28). The disciples have not yet established the mental perspective Jesus wishes them to have and are thinking only in terms of the present situation. They therefore hold a consultation among themselves about it; the discourse, in other words, does not proceed as an uninterrupted lecture. Apparently it is a casual conversation with periods of silence on Jesus’ part.