John 16:8

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."

Key Reflection

In John 16:8, Jesus speaks to his disciples about his departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit, known as the Counselor. For the original audience, who were familiar with the concept of divine messengers and prophetic figures, Jesus' statement would have underscored that his absence was necessary for the presence of the Spirit among them. The term "Counselor" (parakletos) conveys a sense of one who defends, intercedes, and guides, which would resonate with their understanding of how prophets and other divine intermediaries worked in their culture.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 8. He will reprove. The word translated reprove means commonly to demonstrate by argument, to prove, to persuade anyone to do a thing by presenting reasons, It hence means also to convince of anything, and particularly to convince of crime. This is its meaning here. He will convince or convict the world of sin. That is, he will so apply the truths of God to men's own minds as to convince them by fair and sufficient arguments that they are sinners, and cause them to feel this. This is the nature of conviction always. The world. Sinners. The men of the world. All men are by nature sinners, and the term the world may be applied to them all, Joh 1:10; 12:31; 1 Jo 5:19.

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