John 16 with Metaphysical Footnotes (ASV)

^16:1These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble. ^16:2They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. ^16:3And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.1 ^16:4But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you.

1. And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me. The Pharisaical or worldly state of mind has no conception of the higher realm within but thinks it governs the whole man and is jealous of any attempt to usurp its power. Hence persecution follows.

And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you. ^16:5But now I go unto him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?^16:6But because I have spoken these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. ^16:7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away;1 for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you.^16:8And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:2 ^16:9of sin, because they believe not on me; ^16:10of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; ^16:11of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged.

^16:12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.3 ^16:13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come. ^16:14He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you. ^16:15All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he taketh of mine, and shall declare it unto you.

1. It is expedient for you that I go away. Jesus realized that, so long as He remained manifest in material form to His followers, they would continue to focus all their attention on Him in a personal way, that thus they would fail to recognize the Spirit of truth within themselves. In order to overcome as Jesus overcame, it was necessary that they should consciously know the power and presence of Spirit; hence arose the necessity that Jesus disappear from their mortal vision.
2. The Comforter ... will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. The Spirit of truth quickens the conscience of man, which, as Paul says, has been seared over as with a hot iron. Spirit then reveals the right way to think and to live. Sinlessness is taught in the Bible and man must demonstrate it. When ill-temper, vanity, greed, selfishness, or error of any other kind appears, it should be denied, and the love, unselfishness, purity, uprightness, and integrity of the higher self should be affirmed, until the Christ righteousness is fully realized and demonstrated.
3. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. The only reason why there is Truth we do not know yet, is that there is no reason why we have to know certain things yet. There are certain things that we once knew but have forgotten and for the reason that we no longer need that knowledge. That knowledge has been incorporated into other knowledge. Nothing is lost in Spirit, but forms come and go. It is the essence of knowledge which matters, not the current factual form of knowledge which one must preserve forever. It is the essence of knowledge that will be preserved forever.—Ed Rabel

^16:16A little while, and ye behold me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see me. ^16:17Some 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? ^16:18They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? We know not what he saith. ^16:19Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? ^16:20Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.1 ^16:21A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. ^16:22And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. ^16:23And in that day ye shall ask me no question.2 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. ^16:24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.

1. but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. Spiritual perception reveals to us that we are not persons but ideas in the cosmic Mind. Jesus knew that the hour for His crucifixion was approaching. Crucifixion means the giving up of the whole personality. This was the demonstration that the Master was facing. However, He knew His spiritual power, and He was well aware that He would rise from the dead, would again be with His disciples, and would be more able than ever to instruct them in the mysteries of Being. "I will see you again."
2. in that day ye shall ask me no question. The apostles would have unfolded to the point where they would understand the laws of Spirit and would be able to read out of the law for themselves.

^16:25These things have I spoken unto you in dark sayings:1 the hour cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings, but shall tell you plainly of the Father. ^16:26In that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you; ^16:27for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. ^16:28I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father.2

^16:29His disciples say, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no dark saying. ^16:30Now know we that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. ^16:31Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? ^16:32Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ^16:33These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

1. dark sayings. The "dark sayings" refers to the darkened consciousness that cannot see the true light. But this Scripture indicates that "the night is far spent, and the day is at hand." The apostles are coming into a great illumination and will be able to go direct to the Father for light and guidance and power. Hitherto the apostles have been students. Now they are to come into a consciousness in which they can tap the great universal reservoir and receive therefrom.
2. I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father. Where did He come from? What was his pre-natal state and where did He go to? Where did He go from the transition? Jesus does not explain or elaborate. He simply calls his pre-incarnation state the Father, and He leaves it up to our intuitive understanding to guess what this means.—Ed Rabel