I GO TO THE FATHER

John 16:25-28 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. (Also See Vss. 21-24)

Jesus had prophetically warned His apostles of the sorrow they would experience at His death and burial. But in a little while later their sorrow would be turned into joy (Vs. 20), when He conquers death, is resurrected, and is reunited with them once again. In the verses preceding the lesson text, Jesus likens their travail to that of a woman immediately before giving birth, but when the child is born, her sorrow is replaced with joy. Like the joy of the apostles being reunited with the Savior would be a feeling of elation that no earthly being could ever take away from all faithful Christians (See Vss. 21-22). Jesus continued to comfort His apostles by telling them in that day ye shall ask Me nothing.

"That day" without any doubt, refers to the Day of Pentecost following His resurrection and ascension back into heaven - that day when the Kingdom of Christ was established, and His church came into existence, and when God added three thousand souls to the church of Christ. It was on that day when the Holy Spirit of God descended on the apostles giving them clear and complete knowledge of God's plan of salvation, which they preached to the Jewish nation and was later made available to the entire world through His Son, Jesus Christ. With perfect spiritual understanding coming from the Holy Spirit, the apostles needed not to ask Jesus anything. Any question they had about the reason for His sacrificial death had been fully answered. In the absence of Jesus, the physical and spiritual needs of the apostles would now be filled directly by God through prayer. Here the Lord gave them, and gives us today, the only acceptable avenue of prayer to God is through His Son, Christ Jesus (See Vss. 23-24).

In the lesson text, Jesus continues to forewarn His apostles about what is to be expected on that day. He told them that until this point in His life on earth, His teachings had been spoken unto you in proverbs. Although to the readers of God's word today, His teachings appear clear and understandable, yet to His apostles they seemed obscure, vague, and not easily perceived. No doubt the reason for their lack of understanding was due to their biased Jewish upbringing. They, like the entire Jewish nation, were falsely led by the humanistic interpretation of God's word by their spiritual leaders to believe the Messiah was coming to establish His kingdom on earth, and there rule the nation of Israel forever.

But the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. Again, the time referred to here undoubtedly refers to the Day of Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus back into heaven. It was then that He sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, to teach them God's truths in the plainest manner possible, leaving no doubt about their ability to fully understand the things that Jesus had taught them before in a proverbial manner. By seeking God's guidance by prayer, the Lord promised to intercede for them, assuring them that God loves them, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. Jesus came forth from the Father, that is, He was sent by God from heaven into the world. Although the apostles did not have full knowledge of God's plan of forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal salvation through the death of Jesus, it is evident that they truly believed Him to be the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Soon His mission on earth would be completed and He would leave the world, and go to the Father.

It is good to close this lesson with a full description of that day the apostles experienced after Jesus had returned to His Heavenly Father - the day referred to in verse 23. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4).