John 16:19

19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won't see me, and soon after that you will see me'?

John 16:19 Meaning and Commentary

John 16:19

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him
This is a proof of Christ's deity, that he is the omniscient God who knows all things, what is in man, even the secrets of the heart; for he not only knew the whisperings of the disciples, and their inquiries among themselves about the sense of his words, but also their secret desires to ask him concerning it:

and said unto them, do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, a
little while and ye shall not see me, and again a little while and ye
shall see me?
which he said before they could put the question to him, they being bashful, and backward, through fear or shame; and which not only confirms what is before observed of his omniscience, but also shows his readiness to open his mind and meaning, and explain himself to his disciples, as he does in the following words.

John 16:19 In-Context

17 Some of Jesus' disciples said to each other, "What does he mean: ‘Soon you won't see me, and soon after that you will see me' and ‘Because I'm going to the Father'?

18 What does he mean by ‘soon'? We don't understand what he's talking about."

19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won't see me, and soon after that you will see me'?

20 I assure you that you will cry and lament, and the world will be happy. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

21 When a woman gives birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers her distress because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.