Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.
I tell.
John 8:45,46 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not…
Luke 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
It.
John 11:50-52 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not…
John 14:3,28 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also…
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
the Comforter.
John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
John 14:16,17,26 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; …
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
but.
Psalm 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Acts 1:4,5 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me…
it is for your benefit that I am going away
Jesus speaks of His departure as beneficial, which may have been perplexing to His disciples. The benefit refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would empower and guide the disciples in ways that Jesus, in His physical form, could not. This reflects the transition from Jesus' earthly ministry to the age of the Spirit, fulfilling prophecies such as those in Joel 2:28-29 about the outpouring of the Spirit.
Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you
The term "Advocate" refers to the Holy Spirit, also known as the Paraclete, a term that implies comforter, counselor, and helper. The necessity of Jesus' departure for the Spirit's arrival indicates the distinct roles within the Trinity. This aligns with the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God speaks of a new relationship with His people through the Spirit.
but if I go, I will send Him to you
Jesus assures His disciples that His departure will result in the sending of the Holy Spirit. This promise is fulfilled in Acts 2 during Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles. The sending of the Spirit marks the beginning of the Church and the spread of the Gospel, empowering believers to continue Jesus' mission. This also reflects the unity and cooperation within the Trinity, as the Son sends the Spirit from the Father.
• Jesus prefaces His promise with an iron-clad guarantee. When the One who is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) says, “I tell you the truth,” every doubt must fade.
• Earlier He had assured His disciples, “If it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2). Here He does the same, anchoring their hearts in His perfect reliability (John 8:31-32; 1 Timothy 6:13).
• The disciples dreaded Jesus’ departure, yet He declares it “profitable” for them. His physical absence would usher in greater spiritual presence and power.
• After the resurrection He repeated, “Rejoice that I am going to the Father” (John 14:28). Only by leaving could He prepare a place for them (John 14:2-3) and secure their eternal advocacy (Romans 8:34).
• What felt like loss would turn into lasting gain, just as “you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:22).
• The plan of redemption required not only the cross and resurrection but also the ascension.
• Without returning to the Father, Jesus could not take His rightful seat of authority (Hebrews 9:24; Philippians 2:9-11) or pour out the gift promised long beforehand (Luke 24:49).
• His going was therefore non-negotiable—an essential step, not an optional detour.
• “Advocate” (Paraklete) describes the Holy Spirit as Counselor, Comforter, Helper, and legal representative.
• Jesus had already introduced Him: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever” (John 14:16-17).
• The Spirit’s unique, indwelling ministry could not begin until Christ’s earthly mission was complete (John 14:26; Acts 1:4-5).
• This is not a limitation on the Spirit but a divine ordering: first the Son finishes the work; then the Spirit applies it.
• The condition is met—He did go, ascending visibly before their eyes (Acts 1:9-11; Luke 24:51).
• His exaltation fulfills Psalm 110:1, placing every enemy under His feet and positioning Him to dispense heavenly gifts (Ephesians 4:8).
• Because the “if” became reality, everything that follows is certain.
• The risen Lord kept His word. “Having been exalted to the right hand of God, He has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).
• The Spirit was not merely released in a general sense; He was sent “to you”—personally, individually, collectively—to indwell, empower, teach, and remind (John 14:26; Galatians 4:6).
• From Pentecost onward, every believer enjoys what the first disciples could only anticipate: the abiding presence of God within (John 7:39).
John 16:7 assures believers that Jesus’ departure was not a setback but a strategic victory. By ascending, He secured our salvation, our heavenly home, and the indwelling Advocate who comforts, convicts, guides, and empowers. His promise stands fulfilled, inviting us to walk each day in confident dependence on the Spirit He lovingly sent.
(7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth.--The words He is about to utter are words of strange sound for the ears of disciples, and He prefaces them by an appeal to His own knowledge and candour in dealing with them, as in John 14:2. The pronoun bears the weight of the emphasis, "I, who know all."It is expedient for you that I go away.--"There is no cause," He would say, "for the deep sorrow which has filled your hearts. It is for your advantage that I, as distinct from the Paraclete, who is to come, should go away" (John 14:16). Yes; for those who had left all to follow Him; for those who had none to go to but Himself (John 6:68); for those whose hopes were all centred in Him, it was--hard and incomprehensible as the saying must have seemed--an advantage that He should go away.
For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.--Better, . . . the Advocate will not come unto you. (Comp. Excursus G.) For the connection between the departure of Christ and the coming of the Advocate, comp. Notes on John 7:39, and Acts 2:33. We may not fathom the deep counsels of God in which the reason of these words is to be found; but the order fixed in these counsels was that the Son of Man should complete His work on earth, and offer the sacrifice of Himself for sin, and rise from the dead, and ascend to the Father's throne, before the Advocate should come. The Son of Man was to be glorified before the Spirit was to be given. Humanity was to ascend to heaven before the Spirit could be sent to humanity on earth. The revelation of saving truth was to be complete before inspiration was to breathe it as the breath of life into man's soul. The conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment could only follow the finished work of Christ. . . .
Verses 7-33. -(9) The promise of the Paraclete. Verses 7-11. - (a) The threefold conviction of the world. The extraordinary fullness of suggestion in the following words, and the strong opinions entertained by different theological schools, render interpretation a difficult task. Verse 7. - Though you are crushed with a sense of your approaching bereavement, and so imperfectly apprehend the conditions of your future power and the method which it is incumbent upon me to adopt for your consolation and the completion of my earthly work, nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is wonderful that he who is the Truth itself should have needed, in such various forms, to have reiterated and affirmed the supreme right he possessed to claim their acceptance of his veracity. The truth, then, thus solemnly asserted, because in their then frame of mind it was so utterly unpalatable and incredible notwithstanding all that he had said - the truth is, It is expedient for you that I go away. The ἵνα ἀπέλθω clause simply defines that which is expedient, profitable to the disciples. Many commentators, holding everywhere the relic force of ἵνα, say, with Meyer and Lange, that "ἵνα marks fact considered with regard to the purposes destined to be accomplished by it." Here, however, the profitableness to the disciples is the chief and solitary thought. "For you:" here lies the gist of the mystery. They might have accepted his own assurance that, bitter as the mode of his departure must be, yet they ought, to and would rejoice because he was going to the Father. How was it possible for them to rejoice so far as they were personally concerned? He answers the question, For if I go not away - and surely this solemn departure meant, as he had recently told them, by the way of death and glorification - the Paraclete, of whom I have spoken, the Spirit of truth (see John 15:26, 27), will not come to you; but if I go (πορευθῶ, to my Father; observe the form of the two conditional sentences, the degree of uncertainty as to the issue, to be determined by the result), I will send him to you (see notes on John 7:39. "The Holy Spirit," as the Divine dispensation of grace to men bringing a renewed humanity into living incorporation with its great Head, was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified). Jesus could not become the Divine Life-center of the human family, radiating from himself the full glory of a universal harmony, until he had been taken up, until he had been glorified in God. Unspeakably precious as many of our earthly gifts and friendships are, we do not apprehend them, nor profit by them to the full, until they are taken from us. The youth, submitted to the condition of perfect dependence on a parent's care and guidance, can scarcely ever reach the fullness of his manhood until he is thrown back upon the spirit of his father's counsel, apart from that father's presence, and brings into daily practice from a new standpoint the principles he has learned. So, without any hyperbole, nothing had ever been so wonderful and blessed to the human spirit as the fellowship which had prevailed between the Son of man and his disciples. They were with him, they sat at his feet, they watched his countenance, they experienced a continuous series of Divine surprises at his judgments and his mercies. They were walking by sight, as the children of Israel did, following the pillar of fire and cloud, and drinking of the living water; but they were nevertheless living by sight. Nevertheless, there was something more wonderful and gracious still, when, in his physical absence, they would have the sense of his spiritual presence. They would lose him as an earthly Friend, but they would regain him as a Divine Reality; they would discover more than his humanity in his God-Manhood. They would wield his Divine Word as their weapon, and would become the channels of his healing and convincing and judging powers. The promise, "I will send him," is the guarantee of something more than a "Christ after the flesh" could ever be.
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