Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 16:23-24

"And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full." — John 16:23-24 (ASV)

1. Previously, our Lord elaborated on two things that would comfort His apostles: the promise of the Paraclete and His own return (C. 16, L. 2, 5). Here He mentions a third reason by which He comforts them, promising them access to the Father.

   First, He promises them an intimate relationship with the Father; second, He gives a reason for this intimacy: These things I have spoken to you in proverbs (John 16:25).

   He does two things concerning the first point:

   1. He gives them the security that comes from confidence.
   2. He encourages them to act on their confidence: Until now you have not asked anything in my name.

   He does two things concerning the first of these:

   1. He rejects a need for an intercessor.
   2. He promises them an opportunity to ask: Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you.

2. He says, In that day you will not ask me anything. According to Augustine, where we have ask, the Greek text has a word that means two things: to ask for something, or to pose a question.Tractates on the Gospel of John 101.4. Consequently, in that day you will not ask me anything can mean two things: you will not ask me for anything, or you will not question me about anything.

   In that day. What "that day" is can be seen from what He said before: I will see you again (John 16:22). This can be understood as either the day of His resurrection or the day when we will have the vision of His glory.

3. Chrysostom understands this passage in the first way.Commentary on Saint John 79.1. Thus, in that day, when I arise from the dead, you will not ask me anything; that is, you will not say things like, Show us the Father (John 14:8).

   Augustine objects to this interpretation because after the resurrection the disciples did say, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6), and Peter posed the question, Lord, what will this man do? (John 21:21).

   Yet, one can uphold Chrysostom’s explanation by saying that our Lord calls that day not only the day of His resurrection but also the day the disciples were to be taught by the Holy Spirit: When he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will teach you all truth (John 16:13). And so, by speaking in a general way about that time, our Lord also includes the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is like saying: In that day, once the Holy Spirit has been given, you will not ask me anything, because you will know all things by the Holy Spirit: His anointing teaches you about everything (1 John 2:27). Again, according to Chrysostom, in that day, when the Holy Spirit comes, you will not ask me anything, meaning you will have no need to ask me.

4. But after the resurrection, did the apostles not pray to Christ for things? It seems so, for the Apostle says, Three times I pleaded with the Lord—that is, Christ (2 Corinthians 12:8).

   I answer that there are two natures in Christ: His human nature, by which He is the mediator between God and us (1 Timothy 2:5), and His divine nature, by which He is one God with the Father. Christ, in His human nature, was not a mediator who failed to unite us to God, unlike some mediators who never connect the two extremes. Christ joins us to the Father, and to be joined to God the Father is the same as to be joined to Christ as God.

   Thus, He says it is not necessary for you to use His mediation as man. So, in that day you will not ask me anything as mediator, because you will have access to God by yourselves; but you will ask Me as God. Although Christ intercedes for us, as the Apostle says (Romans 8:34), the Church still does not ask Him as an intercessor. Thus, we do not say, Christ, pray for us; but we do ask Him as God, adhering to Him as God by faith and love.

5. Augustine explains this passage as referring to the day of the vision of glory in this way:Tractates on the Gospel of John 102.2. In that day, when I see you in glory, you will not ask me anything. This means you will not ask me for anything, because there will be nothing left to desire, since all good things will be ours in superabundance in our heavenly homeland: You will fill me with joy by your face (Psalms 16:11); and again, I will be satisfied when your glory appears (Psalms 17:15). Also, you will ask no questions because you will be filled with the knowledge of God: In your light we see light (Psalms 36:9).

6. An objection can be raised against both interpretations. The saints do pray in our heavenly homeland: Call now, if there is any who will answer you; and turn to some of the saints (Job 5:1). In 2 Maccabees, we see that a saint prayed for the entire Jewish people . Nor can one say that the saints pray only for others and not for themselves, for we read: How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth? (Revelation 6:10).

   Furthermore, the saints ask questions, for they will be equal to the angels (Matthew 22:30), and the angels ask questions: Who is the King of glory? (Psalms 24:8). According to Dionysius, it is the angels who ask, Who is this that comes from Edom? (Isaiah 63:1).The Celestial Hierarchy 7.3. Therefore, the saints also ask questions.

   Two points can be made in answer to this. The time of glory can be considered in two ways: the time of the beginning of glory and the time of its full completion. The time of the beginning of glory lasts until the day of judgment. During this period, the saints receive glory in their souls, but something still remains to be received: the glory of the body for each one, and the completion of the number of the elect. Consequently, until the day of judgment, the saints can both ask for things and ask questions, but not about what pertains to the very essence of beatitude. The time of fully complete glory is after the day of judgment, and after this, nothing is left to be asked for and nothing left to be known. It is about this that He says, in that day of perfected glory, you will not ask me anything.

   The observation about the angels asking questions is true in this way: they do ask about the mysteries of Christ’s humanity and the incarnation, but they do not question the divinity.

7. Now He promises them an opportunity to ask. This is related to the above in two ways. According to Chrysostom, this refers to the time of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.Commentary on Saint John 79.1. It is as if to say: It is true that in that day of the resurrection and of the Holy Spirit you will not ask Me; yet you will have My help, because you will ask the Father, to whom you have access through Me, in my name.

   Augustine explains it the other way.Tractates on the Gospel of John 102.2. In that day of My glory, you will not ask me anything; but in the meantime, during your sorrowful pilgrimage, if you ask the Father anything... he will give it to you. According to this explanation, if you ask the Father anything does not refer to in that day, but to the time that precedes that day.

8. Our Lord lays down seven conditions for good prayer.

   1. Spiritual goods should be sought, as when He says, if... anything. For what is entirely earthly, even though it is something in itself, is nothing when compared to spiritual goods: I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her ; I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void (Jeremiah 4:23). An objection might be raised: in Matthew, our Lord teaches us to ask for temporal goods: Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). I answer that a temporal good, when asked for in relation to a spiritual good, is then something of value.
   2. It must be made with perseverance, as He says, if you ask, with perseverance: They ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1); Pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
   3. We should pray in harmony with others; He says, if you, in the plural, ask: If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven (Matthew 18:19). Thus the Gloss says, regarding the final chapter of Romans, "that it is impossible for the prayers of many not to be heard."
   4. It should arise from an affection like that of a child for its parents, as He says, the Father. One who asks out of fear does not ask a father, but a master or an enemy: If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? (Matthew 7:11).
   5. It must be made with piety, that is, with humility: He will regard the prayer of the humble and will not despise their petitions (Psalms 102:17); with confidence that it will be granted: Let him ask in faith, with no doubting (James 1:6); and it should be made correctly: You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly (James 4:3). In regard to this, He says, in my name, which is the name of the Savior. One asks in that name when asking for things pertaining to salvation and when asking in the way by which one can attain salvation: There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
   6. Prayer must be made for an appropriate time, so He says, he will give. One should not stop praying if one does not immediately receive what is asked; it will be given to us, even if it is postponed until a better time, so as to increase our desire: You give them their food in due season (Psalms 145:15).
   7. One should ask for oneself. Thus He says, to you, because sometimes prayers for others are not heard when the faults of those we ask for stand in the way: Do not pray for this people (Jeremiah 7:16); Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people (Jeremiah 15:1).

9. Now He encourages them to act with the confidence He has given them. First, He reminds them of what they lacked in the past. Second, He encourages them to advance in the future: Ask, and you will receive.

10. What they lacked in the past was not asking, so He says, Until now you have not asked anything in my name.

    But this seems to conflict with Luke, where it says that Christ gave the twelve power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1; Matthew 10:1). Now, they did these things by praying. Therefore, they did ask for something in the name of Christ, especially because the disciples said, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name (Luke 10:17).

    We must say, then, that this can be explained in two ways. First, until now you have not asked anything—that is, nothing great—in my name. For to ask for cures for the body is a small matter compared to the great things they would accomplish by their prayers. Nor had they yet received the Spirit of adoption to make them aspire to spiritual and heavenly things. If you object that they did ask for something great when they previously asked, Lord, show us the Father (John 14:8), I answer that they were not asking the Father, which is what Christ is talking about here, but only Christ as man, trusting that as a mediator He would show them the Father.

    Another explanation of if you ask the Father anything in my name is that up to now they had not asked in His name because they did not have a complete knowledge of the name of Christ.

11. When He says, Ask, and you will receive, He is urging them to make progress, meaning they are now to ask: Ask, and it will be given you (Matthew 7:7). He says, Ask, and you will receive... that your joy may be full. This joy is noted when the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17).

    The phrase that your joy may be full can be understood in two ways. It can indicate the reason their prayers are heard. Or, it can point to what they are praying for, so the meaning is: Ask, and you will receive, and what you should ask for is that your joy may be full.

12. Note that the object of joy is a desired good. Since desire is a kind of movement toward a good, and joy is rest in that good, a person has joy when he rests in a good, now possessed, to which his desire was moved. One’s joy is proportionate to the good possessed.

    There cannot be full joy in a created good because it does not give complete rest to a person’s desires and yearnings. Our joy will be full only when we possess that good in which all the goods we can desire are found in superabundance. This good is God alone, who satisfies our desire with good things (Psalms 103:5). Therefore, He says, ask for this, that your joy may be full—that is, ask to enjoy God and the Trinity, as Augustine says, for no joy is greater.The Trinity 1.10.20. You will fill me with joy with your face (Psalms 16:11). And why is this? Because all good things came to me along with her—that is, with the contemplation of divine wisdom .