What Does Little While Mean?

Lesson #265

With this lesson we will start the next major section of chapter 16, titled in the ESV translation, “Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy”. The section begins with Jesus saying, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me” (John 16:16 ESV). In “a little while” Jesus would die on the cross and be placed in the tomb where he would be concealed from their view. Then after three days he would rise from the dead and appear to them. Who else saw Jesus after he rose from the dead?

When people saw Jesus and in what order is not clear from the gospels, but we know that Mary who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus did; the two disciples on their way to Emmaus saw him; when the disciples were gathered together and Jesus appeared among them (Luke 24:36 – 49); a group of more than 500 saw him (1 Corinthians 15:6) are some examples. This link is to a document listing twelve appearances Jesus made to different groups ranging in size from one person to more than 500.

This statement from Jesus was not understood by his disciples as we see from the next verse: “So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”” (John 16:17 – 18 ESV). Not much more needs to be said about these verses other than the disciples really did not understand and would not understand until later when various events would occur.

“Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?” (John 16:19 ESV). Jesus doesn’t try to clear up the confusion, but turns their focus to how they are going to feel when this occurs. Jesus said to them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20 ESV). When Jesus leaves them through his death on the cross, the disciples “will weep and lament” over their loss of one they loved and lived with for the last three years, but the world will rejoice that he is finally gone, so they think.

Prayer

Father, when I try to imagine being a disciple to understand what they were experiencing, I think of how I felt when I was a college student and the professor just presented some complex new material. Like the disciples, I look to a fellow student and ask what they thought he meant. Maybe that feeling was similar to what the disciples were experiencing.