“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
Commentary:
Jesus was referring to his death, now only a few hours away, and his resurrection three days later. What a contrast between the disciples and the world! The world rejoiced as the disciples wept, but the disciples would see him again (in three days) and rejoice. The world’s values are often the opposite of God’s values. This can cause Christians to feel like misfits, as some may feel today. Remember, until Jesus died and was raised from the dead, we did not have direct access to God the Father. The disciples didn’t fully understand the promise Jesus made until the Holy Spirit came after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit revealed truths to the disciples that they wrote down in the books that now form the New Testament.
In the New Testament it is the Holy Spirit guiding us in the truth about Jesus Christ. The Spirit also helps us through patient practice to discern right from wrong. Christ’s death made a personal relationship with God possible.