Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 16:4

"But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you." — John 16:4 (ASV)

It may well be that this particular utterance of Jesus was reported by John because of the pressing need for courage in the church of his day. The Apocalypse indicates a wide break between the church and the synagogue at the end of the first century (Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9); those who professed faith in Jesus were completely disowned by their Jewish compatriots.